Reserved or Spot-Market Bandwidth?

There are two ways to purchase bandwidth in a Merkato system.

• You can request and reserve a fixed amount of bandwidth, at a fixed price, for a fixed term.
• You can create a bidding strategy and contend for bandwidth with other buyers at frequent intervals.

The first method is called the Reservation market and uses a reservation agent. The second method is called the Spot market and uses a spot agent.

To get bandwidth from the spot market, you configure your Merkato agent to bid on your behalf in a continuous bandwidth auction. To get bandwidth in the reservation market, use your Merkato agent to ask for a fixed-price quote, based on the quantity and duration you specify.

(For a complete description of each method, see Merkato Buyer’s User Manual, “Spot Market and Reservation Market Agents.”)