Open interfaces and databases of a modular Internet charge calculation and accounting system

While differentiated services (DiffServ) offer a suitable technology support for quality-of-service (QoS) in multi-service networks, there is a lack of appropriate and technically feasible pricing schemes which would mainly provide an incentive for customers to choose efficiently among various service classes. This paper presents the basics of an implementation of recent developments in the area of charging differentiated services, in detail an Internet charge calculation and accounting system (ICCAS), including its modular architecture, components, open interfaces and databases. Finally, the explicit application of the newly developed cumulus pricing scheme (CPS) onto the ICCAS and DiffServ is discussed as a suitable example use.