2nd International ICST Conference on Performance Evaluation Methodologies and Tools

Research Article

Stackelberg Approach for Pricing Differentiated Services

Download793 downloads
  • @INPROCEEDINGS{10.4108/valuetools.2007.1939,
        author={Eitan Altman and Richard Marquez and Rachid El-Azou and David Ros and Bruno Tuffin},
        title={Stackelberg Approach for Pricing Differentiated Services},
        proceedings={2nd International ICST Conference on Performance Evaluation Methodologies and Tools},
        proceedings_a={VALUETOOLS},
        year={2010},
        month={5},
        keywords={TCP Buffer Management RED/AQM Stackelberg equilibrium Pricing},
        doi={10.4108/valuetools.2007.1939}
    }
    
  • Eitan Altman
    Richard Marquez
    Rachid El-Azou
    David Ros
    Bruno Tuffin
    Year: 2010
    Stackelberg Approach for Pricing Differentiated Services
    VALUETOOLS
    ICST
    DOI: 10.4108/valuetools.2007.1939
Eitan Altman1,*, Richard Marquez2,*, Rachid El-Azou3,*, David Ros4,*, Bruno Tuffin5,*
  • 1: INRIA, B.P. 93 2004 Route des Lucioles 06902, Sophia-Antipolis Cedex, France
  • 2: Cinvestav-IPN, Sección de Mecatrónica Electrical Engineering Dept.Av. IPN 2508, Col. San Pedro Zacatenco C.P. 07360, Mexico City
  • 3: Universite d’Avignon Pays de Vaucluse ( 339 chemin des Meinajariès,B.P.122884911 Avignon Cedex France
  • 4: GET/ENST Bretagne Rue de la châtaigneraie CS 1760735567 Cesson Sevigne Cedex, France
  • 5: IRISA/INRIA Campus Universitaire de Beaulieu 35042 Rennes Cedex, France
*Contact email: altman@sophia.inria.fr, rmarquez@cinvestav.mx, racrachid.elazouzi@univavignon._fr, david.ros@enstbretagne._fr, btuffin@irisa.fr

Abstract

We consider in this paper a set of connections sharing a common bottleneck link. We assume first that we have data transfer using TCP congestion control protocol and real-time traffic using some TCP-friendly transport protocol that satisfies the same square-root formula for throughput. The performance measures are determined according to the operational parameters of a RED buffer management. Those parameters are assumed to be able to give differentiated services to the applications according to their choice of service class. In terms of loss probabilities and of throughputs, we consider a best effort type of service differentiation where the QoS of connections is not guaranteed, but by choosing a better (more expensive) service class, the QoS parameters of a session can be improved (as long as that session is the only one to change its service class). We assume however, that the system is dimensioned so as to satisfy some average delay requirement. The choice of a service class of an application will depend both on the utility as well as on the cost it has to pay. We first study the performance of each traffic source as a function of the connections' parameters and the pricing policy of the network. We then study the Stackelberg equilibrium, i.e. the service provider's problem of how to choose the pricing so as to maximize its utility, taking into account the reaction of the users.