[2681] in Commercialization & Privatization of the Internet
Settlements
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (drw@BOURBAKI.MIT.EDU)
Fri Apr 10 14:32:59 1992
Date: Fri, 10 Apr 92 14:31:29 EDT
From: drw@BOURBAKI.MIT.EDU
To: com-priv@psi.com
In-Reply-To: <9204082158.AA15209@psi.com> "HORN%athena@leia.polaroid.com"
From: HORN%athena@leia.polaroid.com
Why does everyone assume that packets (bytes, whatever) should be counted?
Settlements should correspond to costs, so measure and settle based on the
things that cause costs. Costs are operations labor, capital equipment,
communications line leases, etc. These are capacity related, not usage
related. Usage is just an indirect factor.
Well, for the "last mile" (the wire between your organization and the
first external router), costs are based on the capacity you have, not
the usage. But once you get to that router, the extra capacity needed
to support you is much more dependent on your average usage than your
peak usage.
Dale Worley Dept. of Math., MIT drw@math.mit.edu
--
Computers are like Old Testament gods; lots of rules and no mercy.
-- Joseph Campbell
