A fairness index for communication networks

Abstract

This paper introduces a new fairness index in open architecture networks. The concept can be used to balance the load of self-authority servers and keep them operating in a fair manner. Properties, such as existence and uniqueness, of this index are investigated for some typical network structures. By connecting to von Neumann's equilibrium concept, the proposed fairness concept can be related via a pricing duality to an equilibrium index, which uniquely exists in general. We also investigate the problem of how distributed users can achieve a given set of target indices. A distributed, low data rate control algorithm is introduced and its convergence property is discussed. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.