187 results about "Least cost" patented technology

A method of billing a variable bit rate communication between a first terminal and a distant terminal to a broadband subscriber permits changing billing parameters during a call in real time in response to user inputs including user requested changes in quality of service, changes in data rate and changes in preferred service provider. A variable bit rate communication to be billed has a variable quality of service related to the degree of utilization of a plurality of different networks. The billing method comprises the steps of i.) receiving user identification data at a first terminal and data representing a required bit rate and a default quality of service selected by the user, ii.) verifying the user identification data to be associated with the broadband service subscriber, iii.) determining least cost alternative network resources available for achieving the communication at the user selected default quality of service and the required bit rate, iv.) determining cost data associated with the network resources, v.) outputting to the user a least cost for the communication according to their selected default quality of service and alternative least cost network resources, vi.) coupling the first terminal and the distant terminal via the least cost determined network resources at the default quality of service and the required bit rate responsive to user authorization and vii.) billing for the communication at the default quality of service and according to the required bit rate after the termination of the communication.

Dynamically selecting an endpoint for a tunnel into an enterprise computing infrastructure. A client dynamically selects a gateway (which may alternatively be referred to as a boundary device or server) as a tunnel endpoint for connecting over a public network (or, more generally, an untrusted network) into an enterprise computing infrastructure. The selection is made, in preferred embodiments, according to least-cost routing metrics pertaining to paths through the enterprise network from the selected gateway to a destination host. The least-cost routing metrics may be computed using factors such as the proximity of selectable tunnel endpoints to the destination host; stability or redundancy of network resources for this gateway; monetary costs of transmitting data over a path between the selectable tunnel endpoints and destination host; congestion on that path; hop count for that path; and / or latency or transmit time for data on that path.

Dynamically selecting an endpoint for a tunnel into an enterprise computing infrastructure. A client dynamically selects a gateway (which may alternatively be referred to as a boundary device or server) as a tunnel endpoint for connecting over a public network (or, more generally, an untrusted network) into an enterprise computing infrastructure. The selection is made, in preferred embodiments, according to least-cost routing metrics pertaining to paths through the enterprise network from the selected gateway to a destination host. The least-cost routing metrics may be computed using factors such as the proximity of selectable tunnel endpoints to the destination host; stability or redundancy of network resources for this gateway; monetary costs of transmitting data over a path between the selectable tunnel endpoints and destination host; congestion on that path; hop count for that path; and / or latency or transmit time for data on that path.

The present invention provides a method for allocating appointment time windows. The steps of this method include creating a statistical estimate of a daily schedule comprising a series of estimated service orders. An actual service order is then received. This actual service order is inserted into the daily schedule by using a set of scheduling instructions for determining the least cost to employ the available service resources. At this point, this actual service order does not have a system imposed time window. The set of scheduling instructions is used to determine a time window surrounding this insertion point. If the customer accepts this time window, then the closest estimated service order is replaced by this actual service order, and the daily schedule is recomputed based upon the revised set of service orders to yield a revised daily schedule. This process may be repeated for any number of days or time periods from which the customer may choose the time window best meeting the customer's availability.