Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-lcc!ames!mailrus!umix!utah-gr!haas
From: haas@utah-gr.UUCP (Walt Haas)
Newsgroups: comp.protocols.tcp-ip
Subject: Re: Packet accounting and a place to do it
Message-ID: <2466@utah-gr.UUCP>
Date: 21 Apr 88 17:14:25 GMT
References: <8804180833.AA12023@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU> <3950003@wdl1.UUCP> <23668@bbn.COM>
Organization: University of Utah CS Dept
Lines: 13

It seems to me that the most sensible way to do packet accounting is
the way that the public networks (Telenet, Tymnet) do it - that is,
all packets on a virtual circuit are charged to whoever established
that VC unless the call was placed and accepted as "collect", in which
case the recipient pays for it.  So if I had a public-domain database
of general interest, I could make it available to anyone for anonymous FTP
without concern that there would be a sudden explosion of my network
packet charges - because whoever called in to copy my data would end up
paying for the haulage.

To be perfectly honest, I can't see any reason to reinvent a wheel
that currently works just fine.

Cheers  -- Walt Haas    haas@cs.utah.edu    utah-cs!haas