A Resource Based Pricing Policy for Real-Time Channels in a Packet-Switching Network

In the packet switching networks of the future the need for guaranteed performance on a wide variety of traffic characteristics will be of paramount importance. The generation of revenue, to recover costs and provide profit, and the multiple type of services offered will require that new pricing policies be implemented.This paper presents a resource based pricing policy for real-time channels ( ie., channels with guaranteed performance ) in a packet switching network. The policy is based on a set of specific criteria, and the charges for any channel are based on the resources reserved for use by the channel. This reservation charge is based on the type of service requested, the time of day during which the channel exists, and the lifetime of the channel. We argue that the traditional resources are not sufficient to determine a fair reservation charge for a channel offering guaranteed delay bounds, and we introduce the notion of a delay resource in our charging formula. The type of service requested is thus characterized by the amount of the bandwidth, buffer space, CPU, and delay resources reserved. The analysis of this pricing policy is reduced to the analysis of a single node of the network, assuming a homogeneous network. This single-node characteristic increases the scalability and flexibility of the policy. An example of an implementation of this policy is provided.

ICSI Technical Report TR-92-018

Technical Report