ConTax: A Pricing Scheme for CHOKeW

In order to find a cost-effective solution for combining pricing, admission control, buffer management and scheduling in DiffServ networks, we propose the ConTax-CHOKeW framework. ConTax is a distributed admission controller that works in edge routers, while CHOKeW, designed in our previous research for core networks, is a buffer management scheme. Since a user in a higher priority class requests more bandwidth that is differentiated by CHOKeW, this user is likely to generate more network load. ConTax uses the sum of priority values for all admitted users to measure the network load. When the network load is heavier, ConTax charges a higher price for each priority class. The price includes a basic price and an extra price called congestion tax. By using simulations, we show that ConTax is capable of controlling the network load as well as the number of users that are admitted into the network. In addition, by employing ConTax, network providers can gain more profit, and users have greater flexibility that in turn meets the specific performance requirements of their applications