23 Aug
1998
23 Aug
'98
4:43 p.m.
As much the "how to count bits" thread is entertaining, the reason why nobody's doing any path-based accounting in packet networks is quite trivial: It is not technically feasible. In other words, the computing resources necessary to perform such accounting (and to retain the accounting information for subsequent billing) by far exceed resources necessary to perform the actual service - transportation of the packets. Which squarely puts it beyond the reach of today's technology. Until someone comes up with a feasible way to do such accounting, the whole point of discussing the best economical model based on such detailed accounting is moot. --vadim