[e2e] New approach to diffserv...

[David P. Reed]

I suspect that the following quote/article illustrates why "middleboxes" need to be actively resisted.  It's clearly in the interest of box vendors to sell this stuff, despite its negative impact on the Internet.

"It is clear that a classification processor programmed to perform content inspection is the key element in any next generation network processing architecture. A processor programmed to perform content inspection enables intelligent application management, facilitates the delivery of content-based services and drives content-based billing. This processor makes it possible to build networks that will be able to properly authorize, authenticate, and account for customized services by identifying individual packets and classifying them based on individual customer usage and QoS requirements."

From: "Delivering Differentiated Services Through Deep Content Inspection"
http://www.commsdesign.com/printableArticle?doc_id=OEG20020604S0061