The Differentiated Services framework (DiffServ) has been proposed to provide multiple Quality of Service (QoS) classes over IP networks. A network supporting multiple classes of service also requires a differentiated pricing structure. We propose a pricing scheme in a DiffServ environment based on the cost of providing different levels of quality of service to different classes, and on long-term demand. Pricing of network services dynamically based on the level of service, usage, and congestion allows a more competitive price to be offered, allows the network to be used more efficiently, and provides a natural and equitable incentive for applications to adapt their service contract according to network conditions. We develop a DiffServ simulation framework to compare the performance of a network supporting congestion-sensitive pricing and adaptive service negotiation to that of a network with a static pricing policy. Adaptive users adapt to price changes by adjusting their sending rate or selecting a different service class. We also develop the demand behavior of adaptive users based on a perceptually reasonable user utility function. Simulation results show that a congestion-sensitive pricing policy coupled with user rate adaptation is able to control congestion and allow a service class to meet its performance assurances under large or bursty offered loads, even without explicit admission control. Users are able to maintain a stable expenditure. Allowing users to migrate between service classes in response to price increases further stabilizes the individual service prices. When admission control is enforced, congestion-sensitive pricing still provides an advantage in terms of a much lower connection blocking rate at high loads. I.

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Bandwidth brokers as proposed in the diffserv framework build on the process of setting up Service Level Agreements (SLA). This is a very static procedure, usually performed manually and based only on a simple description of the SLA. However, diffserv is suited to handle a more dynamic environment and to provide more than connectivity with its service classes. Our proposal enhances bandwidth brokers by including more significant information in SLAs such as the flow's destination network and pricing. In addition, we present a new per-hop behavior that supports flexible allocation of code points which is important to our approach. The system is targeted at large ISPs with good inter-connectivity. We implemented it on top of a flow-based simulation engine. The evaluation is based on parts of the current AS topology and characteristics of aggregated traffic. The results show an improvement of network utilization by up to 40% over a traditional, shortest-path routed inter-domain network for...

Network service providers contract with network owners for connection rights, then offer individual users network access at a price. Within this hierarchy...

Network service providers purchase large point-to-point connections from network owners, then offer individual users network access at a price. Appropriately provisioning (purchasing) and allocating (pricing) connections remains a difficult problem due to increasing demands and network dynamics. However, connection management is more complex with the deployment of Quality of Service (QoS). This paper describes a scalable connection management strategy for QoS enabled networks. The management technique maximizes profit, while reducing blocking experienced by users. Important issues regarding demand estimation, connection duration, and pricing intervals, are addressed and analyzed. Simulation results are also provided to demonstrate the viability of the proposed system.

This paper introduces a new method for optimally provisioning and pricing di#erentiated services, that maximizes profit and maintains a small blocking probability. Resources are provisioned per Quality of Service (QoS) class over the long-term (service level agreement duration), then priced based on user demand over the short-term. Unique to this method is the ability to dynamically promote tra#c from one QoS class to a higher QoS class, based on estimated demand statistics. This additional flexibility encourages better short-term utilization of the classes, resulting in higher profits while maintaining a low blocking probability. Experimental results will demonstrate QoS class promotion can obtain higher profits, as compared to other provisioning and allocation methods.

A methodology is presented for integrating effective-bandwidth-based routing for QoS-sensitive traffic and datagram routing of the best-effort traffic. To prevent excessive delays of best-effort traffic in a network domain, we develop (1) a constraint, stated in the form of a residual link bandwidth, and (2) a cost function for application to routing of QoS connections. Link-based and path-based problem formulations and algorithms are presented. For the case that a cost quantization condition holds, we develop an efficient implementation of a Hnkbased routing strategy that first minimizes a QoS cost, then secondarily minimizes a best-effort cost. The performance of this approach is further enhanced by explicitly accounting for the difference between the effective bandwidth and the average bandwidth of traffic. Simulation results illustrate the application of our BE-friendly method to an algorithm for path routing with restoration.

Grid superscheduling requires support for efficient and scalable discovery of resources. Resource discovery activities involve searching for the appropriate resource types that match the user’s job requirements. To accomplish this goal, a resource discovery system that supports the desired look-up operation is mandatory. Various kinds of solutions to this problem have been suggested, including the centralised and hierarchical information server approach. However, both of these approaches have serious limitations in regards to scalability, fault-tolerance and network congestion. To overcome these limitations, organising resource information using Peer-to-Peer (P2P) network model has been proposed. Existing approaches advocate an extension to structured P2P protocols, to support the Grid resource information system (GRIS). In this paper, we identify issues related to the design of such an efficient, scalable, fault-tolerant, consistent and practical GRIS system using a P2P network model. We compile these issues into various taxonomies in sections 3 and 4. Further, we look into existing works that apply P2P based network protocols to GRIS. We think that this taxonomy and its mapping to relevant systems would be useful for academic and industry based researchers who are engaged in the design of scalable Grid systems. 1

Abstract: The rapid evolution of the DiffServ framework in our days has provided the means for efficient QoS provisioning over contemporary IP networks. The provisioning of services according to the DiffServ framework has in turn raised the requirements for pricing mechanisms that preserve the potential and flexibility of the DiffServ framework. At the same time, such mechanisms should reflect resource usage, allocate resources efficiently, reimburse costs or maximize service provision profits and lead customers to requesting services that will maximize their revenue. This work proposes a policy for pricing based on resource allocation of a particular category of DiffServ-based services for aggregated traffic in the case of transport networks. Our research takes into account the particularities that apply to the case of DiffServ services ’ provision over transport networks while imposing minimal overload and a-priori estimation of costs.

Efficient Resource discovery mechanism is one of the fundamental requirement for Grid computing systems, as it aids in resource management and scheduling of applications. Resource discovery activity involve searching for the appropriate resource types that match the user’s application requirements. Various kinds of solutions to grid resource discovery have been suggested, including the centralised and hierarchical information server approach. However, both of these approaches have serious limitations in regards to scalability, fault-tolerance and network congestion. To overcome these limitations, indexing resource information using a decentralised (such as Peer-to-Peer (P2P)) network model has been actively proposed in the past few years. This article investigates various decentralised resource discovery techniques primarily driven by P2P network model. To summarise, this article presents a: (i) summary of current state of art in grid resource discovery; (ii) resource taxonomy with focus on computational grid paradigm; (iii) P2P taxonomy with focus on extending the current structured systems (such as Distributed Hash Tables) for indexing d-dimensional grid resource queries; (iv) detailed survey of existing works that can support d-dimensional grid resource queries; and (v) classification of the surveyed approaches based on the proposed P2P taxonomy. We believe that this taxonomy and its mapping to relevant systems would be useful for academic and industry based researchers who are engaged in the design of scalable Grid and P2P systems. 1