Peer-to-Peer Challenges/Opportunities for Broadband Service Providers
| In this column: .P2P has become one of the premier drivers of broadband network usage. But because of traffic routing and cost issues, service providers should put technological solutions in place to control and charge for the use of P2P. |
Peer-to-peer (P2P) is a killer application that drives massive numbers of people to broadband. Because of its qualities, service providers must protect themselves against its random traffic routing and associated high and unpredictable costs. A P2P application does not know or care where it gets the content from or how much obtaining that content costs a service provider. Thus, it will as likely use an expensive link as a cheap or even free one to get the content. In some networks 5 percent of customers are using P2P software and are, in turn, consuming 60 percent of the bandwidth. These few customers may not only spoil the experience of other users but also devastate the currently predominant business model of flat-rate Internet access. Encouragingly, there are several commercial approaches for controlling costs and turning P2P traffic into revenue.
Making Users Pay for What They Use
One approach that many service providers consider is to make users pay for what they consume. The service provider works out a financial model that gives a fixed usage capacity for customers either on a daily or monthly basis. Users are then free to do whatever they like; but once they go over this limit they incur over-usage charges. This requires careful planning and even more careful communication to customers. Many may think they have to pay extra for normal Internet access. However, with careful planning the majority of customers who do not use P2P extensively will have to pay nothing extra. One way to communicate this would be a phased approach in which users are shown extra charges they would incur under the new scheme for a few months before they are actually charged. However, as bandwidth consumption by P2P grows and the number of P2P users increases it is inevitable that service providers must introduce a method within the network of controlling P2P traffic.
Technical Approaches to P2P Traffic Management
Managing P2P traffic is not particularly difficult from a technology perspective - but can pose problems from a customer relations point of view if it is managed in an obvious manner. Too much management may result in carriers being condemned by lobby groups and abandoned by customers for trying to chain the unfettered Internet dream. But too little management of P2P can also have significant impact on network performance and the experience of the vast majority of non-P2P users.
For those carriers that opt to exercise more control over P2P - and potentially leverage it into new revenue streams - there are a number of technological approaches available. All rely on a network element that is capable of identifying and controlling the different traffic types associated with P2P at layer 7 in the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model. The key issue is how these elements are used and where they are placed in the network to establish maximum control with minimum disruption to legitimate traffic and users.
Technical Approach 1: Control P2P Servers
Controlling those users on the network who are acting as P2P servers means a service provider can prevent other users from downloading from these servers or make them look poor in comparison to other competitive networks. It can also prevent contention on the uplink from the users to the network, which has a negative impact on all users, especially non-P2P users. This type of control can help protect scarce uplink resources that are inherent in the asymmetrical nature of many of today's networks. On the downside, this approach may push local users to simply forego local servers in favor of servers further away, thus increasing the volume of traffic passing across the Internet peering and transit points of the carrier. The resulting increase in the cost of that interconnection may outweigh the benefit of P2P control in the first place.
Technical Approach 2: Limit P2P Traffic in Both Directions
A second approach is to limit P2P traffic regardless of the direction. This can prevent overloading of traffic in both directions and help ensure that P2P traffic doesn't overload other user traffic. This approach makes all P2P traffic look bad and, while not proactively working to keep traffic on the net, it does reduce the level of traffic passing through peering points in proportion to the reduced volume of traffic. However, by simply discouraging the use of P2P altogether, this approach could lead to costly customer churn.
Technical Approach 3: Proactive P2P Control
The third and recommended approach is to drive control of P2P traffic by using policies based on knowledge of the user and current network capacity and availability. This approach allows for P2P use but does not allow it to overload available network capacity. It can also be employed to enable users to change the bandwidth at which they experience allowed P2P traffic.
This approach requires the system to limit the total volume of P2P traffic to some total volume of the network. This keeps P2P traffic in check so it cannot adversely affect non-P2P users, but does mean that the P2P user experience can be variable: when the network is busy with other P2P users, the experience will be less than optimal. Conversely, when there are fewer users, there will be more bandwidth available and the experience will be better. Allowing some P2P users to pay for more bandwidth for their P2P application can augment this model and generate additional revenue. Users selecting this option would be able to get a bigger share of the available bandwidth for P2P traffic, giving them a better experience and providing the carrier a supplementary revenue stream.
Using this architecture, a carrier can manage and control the killer P2P application without eliminating the standard flat rate model that is prevalent today in the broadband consumer access market. P2P user experiences will be affected, but with the right traffic thresholds the impact can be minimal and only noticeable during periods of high usage. Since the system limits all P2P traffic including the search, upload and download of content, the network should just appear to be running slower for P2P traffic.
Bottom Line
P2P has become one of the premier drivers of broadband network usage. But it can negatively impact network performance and cost, and be detrimental to the experience of non-P2P users. Thus it must be controlled - but in a manner that does not break the predominant broadband business model of flat rate usage. Technological solutions should be put in place to control and charge for the use of P2P in a way that is fair to all users and delivers added revenue to service providers.
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Bridgewater Systems provides dynamic IP and data service fulfillment and assurance solutions that enable service providers to generate profits from their networks while enhancing customer loyalty. The modular Bridgewater Systems product suite extracts greater value from existing operations support systems (OSS), business support systems (BSS) and network assets to enable service providers to realize new revenue sources. Unlike traditional OSS vendors, Bridgewater Systems' proven products deliver on-demand dynamic IP and data services, offer extensive revenue capture capabilities, provide out-of-the-box value and can be deployed in weeks -- instead of months.
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