Integration of pricing and flow control for available bit rate services in ATM networks

We present a theoretically justified pricing scheme for ABR services which utilizes mechanisms provided by rate-based flow control as defined by the ATM Forum. As a result, the scheme imposes no additional communication overhead, while the added complexity at the switches and end-systems is minimal. Our approach complements the ABR rate-based flow control and leads to economically efficient utilization of network resources. According to the scheme, a connection is charged based on the sum of the price per unit of bandwidth on all links along its route. Prices depend on the demand for bandwidth and are adjusted in a decentralized and iterative manner. Simulation results show that prices converge reasonably fast and do not have a negative effect on the convergence properties of flow control.