Capacity adaptation between services or classes in a packet network

摘要

A method and system is described that adjusts the allocated capacity of a network between services, or service or traffic classes, in dependence on a congestion-influenced shadow price indication in respect of each service or class. In this respect, instead of viewing the congestion price as a cost of using already allocated unit of capacity, such a shadow price indication can be viewed as an indicator of the value obtainable from allocating an extra unit of capacity to a service or class. By so doing the shadow price indication becomes a factor to be taken into account in deciding on capacity allocation between services or classes, with a high shadow price indication for a service or class indicating that additional value would likely be obtained by allocating an additional unit of capacity to the service or class.