System and method for dynamic price determination in differentiated services computer networks

摘要

A system and method for dynamically determining a price for priority service on a computer network, such as a Differentiated Services Internet. A computer system, such as an Internet Service Provider (ISP) determines a price based on the amount of traffic currently on the network. Traffic data is gathered by polling, or querying, various network connected devices, such as routers, switches, and other computer systems. Based on the traffic data a price is determined and provided to a user that is interested in using high priority network service. If the user chooses to receive the high priority network service, the dynamic price is applied to the user's account and multiplied by the amount of time the user uses the high priority service. When the user is finished using the high priority service, he informs the ISP and the appropriate charges are applied to the user's network services invoice.