North American Network Operators Group Date Prev | Date Next | Date Index | Thread Index | Author Index | Historical Re: Transaction Based Settlements Encourage Waste (was Re: B
> >> Transaction Based Settlements Encourage Waste > > > I think everyone agrees that the above statement is true in today's Internet > model, where customers are charged flat rates for their connections. But if > we change the peering model, why should we not change the model for > charging customers? If we do that, then settlements can work, and the > problem of metrics for how to charge should become much easier... > > Take the aggregate traffic from A --> B, and from B--> A, and whoever receives > more bits pays the other provider. Say it is A that has to pay B, as B is a > big > content provider and A is a big dial ISP. Now, if A charges $19.95/month flat > rate to all of its dial users, A instantly loses. But if A charges its dial > customers > based on the bits received, or time connected, perhaps it becomes more even. > Or, let's say A finds artificial ways to send more traffic to B to balance it out so they get charged less. Hmmm... I don't see any way changing the charging model addresses that. > Network A can't win in a settlement based peering relationship unless he passes > the costs on to his customers, and at flat-rates, whether it is dial up or > leased line, Sure he can... He just has to change the traffic ratio. > that is not happening. So, charge the content provider for outbound *and* > inbound > traffic. This can and should be subsidized by advertisers, as the more 'hits' > that > site generates, the more $$ you can charge. (Of course, this only works when > advertisers are willing to pay to be on your site, but if they aren't > willing, either > your site has content that doesn't have mass appeal or the advertiser doesn't > want to be associated with your content. For the former, you probably aren't > getting enough hits to worry about usage based costs. For the latter, find > another > advertiser or someone else to pay...) For the dialup user, charge him a lower > fixed > monthly cost of, say $5, but charge him for the traffic to and from him. > What's the > cost? Whatever it takes to make money while remaining competitive! > I don't think that good content should have to succumb to advertising littering it's pages in order to support itself. I don't think that ftp.cs.berkeley.edu should have to install ADs in the readme files so that you see an ad everytime you go to download sendmail, as an example. Get real. > There are still problems with DOS based attacks, but those need to be resolved > anyway. As for writing 'fraudulant apps' that generate asymmetric flows to > try to > 'even out' the peering relationship, it doesn't work anymore for creating flow > in > to your own network. Your paying the other provider because they are sending > you more traffic than you are sending them. For the opposite direction, if you > can write an app that sends more traffic out to the other network, you'll need > a > valid host to talk to. I'm sure the other provider won't have one of their own > machines doing that, so you'll need a customer of the other network to receive > that traffic. But now that they are charged for it, that won't happen. (I'm > sure > someone out there can think of ways around this, but I imagine there are > solutions to them. If its fraudulent traffic, and you face serious fines and/or > periods of time where you have to shut down your network, would you really > take the chance?) > No you don't, you just need something inside one of the prefixes advertised to you. In fact, it's easier to generate what you want to a host that doesn't respond. No need to worry about the responses counteracting your intent. I'm not sure how you would distinguish fraudulent traffic to enforce such a provision. Afterall, it could look like a port scanner, or any number of other things. Another question that evolves is how you measure this at the MAEs. > Of course, the first ISP that starts to do usage-based charges may stand a good > chance of losing many of their customers, so this would have to be Industry > wide. And > the peering charges would have to be the same (or at least on the same order of > magnitude) between all ISPs, or peering imbalances will quickly be created. > Thus, > there will most likely have to be, at a minimum, an Independent Peering > Council, or > at worst, government regulation, to make this happen. :-( > The worst would be if this did happen. The proposal has _WAY_ too many holes and sounds like exactly the kind of proposal that is why we all dread regulation so much. > DISCLAIMER: I'm not advocating this solution, and it may or may not express > the views of my employer. > > I should also state that I am doing my M.S. Thesis on "The Evolution of > Peering." > Any original ideas I see on nanog (or com-priv, where this discussion really > should > be) will be quoted as such! > Fair enough. > Sean > ___________________________________ > Sean Butler, CCIE #3897 > IBM Global Services -- OpenNet Support > Phone: 8-631-9809, 813-523-7353 > Fax: 8-427-5475 813-878-5475 > Internet email: [email protected] > Owen
|