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Accounting Management

Learn about the process of gathering and analyzing data on network utilization, setting usage quotas, billing users, and allocating resources. Discover the benefits, steps, and tools involved, and how it aids in fair resource distribution.

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Accounting Management

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  1. Accounting Management IACT 918 April 2005 Glenn Bewsell/Gene Awyzio SITACS University of Wollongong

  2. Overview • Accounting Management is the process of • Gathering data about the utilisation of network resources • Setting usage quotas using metrics • Billing users for their use of the network • Using collected network statistics to assist in resource allocation

  3. Benefits of the Accounting Management Process • Enables the measurement and reporting of billing information for individuals and groups • This information can be used to • Bill those users • Allocate resources • Compute the cost of transmitting data across the network • Billing users is essential in recovering costs of building and maintaining network

  4. Benefits of the Accounting Management Process • Accounting management assists in ensuring that distribution of charges is fair • Quotas and metrics can be used to ensure users have sufficient resources to do jobs • Usage information can be used to • Decide when to install new equipment • Allocate time on a time share computer • Determine the cost-effectiveness of technologies

  5. Accomplishing Accounting Management • Accounting Management consists of the following steps • Gathering data about the utilisation of network resources • Setting usage quotas using metrics • Billing users for their use of the network • Using collected network statistics to assist in resource allocation

  6. Gathering Data • Time frame for data collection will depend upon storage capacity of devices • Information to be gathered includes • Number of total transactions • Total number of bytes or packets sent and received • This data can be collected by • Querying activity logs on individual hosts • Gathering traffic counters off bridges, switches or routers

  7. Setting Usage Quotas Using Metrics • Metrics can be used to • Learn to what extent users network resources • As part of Accounting management you need to • Decide which resources to measure • Collect metrics about their use • RFC 1272 discusses metrics and setting quotas • Metrics work with quotas to help ensure each user gets a “fair share” of network resources • Going ‘over quota’ could be used to deny access to a resource • Increase bill if over quota

  8. Billing Users for Their Use of the Network • Users are often billed for • One-time installations and monthly fees • Accounting management NOT required • Fee based on amount of resources used • Requires stats on user network installation • The following criteria can be used individually or in combination • Total number of transactions • Total packets • Total bytes

  9. Billing Users for Their Use of the Network • Total number of transactions data can be used to • Determine number of logins to compute server • Connections made from cluster controller • Emails sent • Remote login sessions established • This data cannot differentiate between large and small VOLUMES

  10. Billing Users for Their Use of the Network • Total packets data can be used to • Reflects network usage • Applications that send small packets are billed at a higher rate than those that send LARGE packets

  11. Billing Users for Their Use of the Network • Total bytes • Overcomes many drawbacks of first two methods • Generally users are billed for data received from the network • Drawbacks may include • Users are billed for acknowledgement packets • Unsolicited data adds to the users bill • Users may be billed for management data • These drawbacks can be negated by using statistical analysis to subtract known data quantities from bill

  12. Accounting Management on a Network Management System • Simple tool • Monitor for metrics that exceed quotas • Report ONLY that data • Store data and calculate quotas • More complex tool • Enable network engineer to perform billing and determine WHERE to poll for billing • Advanced tool • Should be able to forecast need for network resources • Assist in metric establishment • Help users predict their billing costs

  13. Reporting Accounting Information • Can be in the form of • Real-time messages • Current value of a metric • Text reports • Historical accounting and billing information • Network statistics • Trend predictions • Reports for users (Bills)

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