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Abstract : |
Network delivery services providing "better-than-best-e#ort " service over the Internet are being studied, and are particularly necessary for multimedia applications. The selection and use of a specific delivery service involves negotiation between the user and the network; they agree upon specifications such as the type of service user packets will receive, the constraints the user tra#c must adhere to, and the price to be charged for the service. In this paper, we describe a protocol through which the user and the network (or two network domains) can negotiate network services. We refer to the protocol as a Resource Negotiation and Pricing protocol (RNAP). Through RNAP, the network service provider communicates availability of services and delivers price quotations and charging information to the user, and the user requests or re-negotiates services with desired specifications for one or more flows. RNAP protocol mechanisms are flexible enough to support multiple delivery service models, and allow dynamic re-negotiation of services during a session. Two di#erent network architectures are defined to support RNAP, a centralized architecture with a Network Resource Negotiator (NRN) administering each network domain, and a distributed architecture without any centralized controlling entity. Mechanisms are proposed for local price and charge computation, formulation of end-to-end prices and charges across multiple domains, and communication of this information through RNAP messages. Results of a prototype implementation are briefly described. 1, |
