Research On Pricing-Based Network Resource Allocation

In recent years, the development of Internet takes on three important features: the scarcity of resources, a wide variety of applications and commercialization. Overprovision can neither solve the problem of resource scarcity and nor meet differentiate service requirements,so how to optimally allocate the scarce network resources and incent users to select appropriate service types is an important issue. Traditional research on of network resource allocation focused on the improvement of engineering efficiency, but not took the satisfaction of users into consideration. As a result the network resource is not optimally utilized. The recent research on network resource allocation based on microeconomic theory brings us a new approach, where utility is introduced as an important concept. Optimal resource allocation is realized by the demand-supply mechanism and pricing mechanism. The new approach can be utilized in the following four aspects. First, utility based evaluation can be used as a comparatively unified evaluation criterion for network resource allocation. Secondly, combined with rate control and call admission control, pricing can be used as an optimal resource allocation mechanism. Thirdly, pricing can incent users to choose the appropriate service in a network with service differentiation. Finally pricing is the base of a commercial network. Up to now, however, most research on pricing-based rate control deals with the unicast scenario. The optimal rate control of multicast scenario is more complex because of the heterogeneity of multicast receivers. Today's Internet only provides best effort service, and it is becoming more and more a multi-service network, the modeling and mechanism design of multi-service pricing are important issues to be dealt with. This thesis addresses on bandwidth allocation in multicast network and priority allocation in multi-service network, where pricing mechanism plays an important role. The work in this thesis has been supported by the National Science Foundation of China "Internet-based interactive streaming delivery technique"(No.60302004). The dissertation contributes in the following aspects. (1) A rate control and pruning algorithm for single-rate multicast sessions is proposed. Unlike the previous inter-receiver fairness criteria, a utility based fairness criterion is proposed. Based on the utility of junction node, a rate control and pruning algorithm is proposed to maximize the net benefit of the session. The algorithm is dynamic programming based and scalable. (2) A convex model is proposed for the bandwith allocation of network both with unicast and multirate muticast sessions, and an optimal multi-rate multicast rate control algorithm is proposed based on the utility of junction node. The optimal object of resource allocation is to maximize the social welfare. The algorithm is based on dual theory and gradient projection algorithm, where price is used to transfer congestion information to users. Compared with previous related work, the cost of links and discrete receiver rate of multicast are considered. An important step in the resource allocation iterative algorithm is to obtain the optimal rates which maximize the group net benefit. To address this problem a dynamic programming based algorithm is proposed based on the utility of junction node. The algorithm is distributed and scalable. (3) The incentive compatible problem of priority service is discussed. The optimal pricing strategy of preemptive priorities and non preemptive priorities is analyzed. It is proved that the optimal pricing strategy in implicit supply model is incentive compatible when the service is explicitly supplied. Compared with others'work, it indicates that the incentive compatible pricing is related with the user model. (4) Two auction-based priority allocation mechanisms are proposed. An infinite priority auction mechanism is proposed to solve the problem of priority allocation problem when users are with a continuous distribution of delay cost. The equilibrium bidding strategy and reserve price are discussed. An incentive compatible aggregate priority auction mechanism is proposed. Every user's strategy-proof strategy is to announce the true value in the mechanism. The higher priorities are allocated to delay-sensitive users, and as aresult, the total delay cost of all users is minimized.