Multi-tier service level agreement method and system

• US 7,099,936 B2
• Filed: 03/29/2002
• Issued: 08/29/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Doyle, Ronald P., Ims, Steven D., Chase, Jeffrey S.
• Primary Examiner(s): Follansbee, John
• Assistant Examiner(s): PATEL, ASHOKKUMAR B
• Application Number:
  US10/112,268
• Publication Number:
  US 20030187970A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,614 Days
• Field of Search: 718/104, 709/226, 709/223, 709/229
• US Class Current: 709/223
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/06 Resources, workflows, human or project management; Enterprise or organisation planning; Enterprise or organisation modelling
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/0283 Price estimation or determination

Abstract

A method for managing multi-tier SLA relationships. The method can include first computing costs of utilizing edge server resources in a CDN, costs of dedicating content host resources in a content host in lieu of the utilization, and prospective revenues which can be generated by the content host providing services based on the resources to content consumers. Minimum QoS levels can be identified which must be maintained when providing the services to the content consumers according to QoS terms in established SLAs between the content host and individual ones of the content consumers. Finally, a new SLA can be established between the content host and the CDN. Importantly, the new SLA can include QoS terms for selectively allocating resources in the CDN. Moreover, the QoS terms can optimize revenues generated by the content host providing services based on the selective allocation of resources and the computed costs.

Claims

1. A multi-tier service level agreement (SLA) method, the method comprising the steps of:

computing costs of utilizing edge server resources in a content distribution network (CDN);

computing costs of dedicating content host resources in a content host in lieu of said utilization;

computing prospective revenues which can be generated by said content host providing services to content consumers;

identifying minimum quality of service (QoS) levels which must be maintained when providing said services to said content consumers according to QoS terms in established SLAs between said content host and individual ones of said content consumers;

establishing a new SLA between said content host and said CDN, said new SLA comprising QoS terms for selectively allocating resources in said CDN; and

generating said QoS terms to optimize revenues generated by said content host providing services based on;

said selective allocation of resources,

said computed costs of utilizing edge server resources, and

said computed costs of dedicating content host resources.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said edge server resources and said content host resources comprise at least one of bandwidth, CPU utilization, and memory usage.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said computing step further comprises basing said computation of costs upon allocating said resources during specified time periods, said costs varying by said specified time periods.

4. A multi-tier service level agreement (SLA) system, comprising:

a content host disposed in a middle tier of a multi-tier service provider chain;

an SLA established between said content host and a content consumer disposed in a lower tier of said multi-tier service provider chain; and

,

an additional SLA established between said content host and a content distribution network (CDN) disposed in a higher tier of said multi-tier service provider chain, said additional SLA comprising quality of service (QoS) terms which have been determined both according to;

QoS terms in said SLA established between said content host and said content consumer, and

a cost analysis of;

utilizing edge server resources in said CDN,

dedicating content host resources in said content host in lieu of said utilization, and

prospective revenues which can be generated by said content host providing services to said content consumers.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said edge server resources and said content host resources comprise at least one of bandwidth, CPU utilization, and memory usage.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein said costs analysis comprises an analysis of costs of allocating said resources during specified time periods, said costs varying by said specified time periods.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein said CDN comprises a configuration for serving content to said content consumer in lieu of said content host serving said content to said content consumer in order for said content host to meet QoS terms included in said SLA between said content host and said content consumer.