agent: The program that interacts with the rest of Merkato on behalf of buyers and sellers. Buyers can acquire bandwidth by configuring their agents to offer the price they are willing to pay for a range of available quantity, or use their agent to request a quote for a fixed-price bandwidth reservation. Sellers configure their agents with a quantity of bandwidth for sale and a minimum price they are willing to accept for that quantity.The program that interacts with the rest of Merkato on behalf of buyers and sellers. Buyers can acquire bandwidth The amount of data transmitted or received per unit of time. When we refer to acquiring or selling bandwidth, we mean the amount of information that can be sent over a connection at one time, at the allowed speed, without packet loss or excessive delay. Bandwidth is measured in bits-per-second. by configuring their agents to offer the price they are willing to pay for a range of available quantity, or use their agent to request a quote for a fixed-price bandwidth reservation. Sellers configure their agents with a quantity of bandwidth for sale and a minimum price they are willing to accept for that quantity.
allocation: An amount of bandwidth available for your use. Depending on the type of service being offered through Merkato, this can represent the maximum bandwidth available to you or a minimum guarantee of bandwidth available to you. An amount of bandwidth available for your use. Depending on the type of service being offered through Merkato, this can represent the maximum bandwidth available to you or a minimum guarantee of bandwidth available to you.
bandwidth: The amount of data transmitted or received per unit of time. When we refer to acquiring or selling bandwidth, we mean the amount of information that can be sent over a connection at one time, at the allowed speed, without packet loss or excessive delay. Bandwidth is measured in bits-per-second.
Buyer agent: The program that interacts with the rest of Merkato on behalf of buyers. Buyers can acquire bandwidth by configuring their agents with the price they are willing to pay for a range of bandwidth (on the spot market The Merkato mechanism by which bandwidth is traded, in a progressive second price auction. An optimal fair market price is established and bandwidth is allocated to buyers, based on their bids relative to other buyers. ), or with a time-frame and desired quantity (on the reservation market The Merkato market mechanism by which a specified quantity of bandwidth, for a specific duration, is sold for a firm price specified by the seller and agreed to by the buyer. This is an automated process based on a rate sheet that the seller establishes in advance. ). In a Merkato auction, Buyer agents signal what they are willing to pay for bandwidth in the form of bids, consisting of a unit price and a quantity.
capacity: In the Merkato interface, the term capacity refers to the total amount of bandwidth available from the Seller.In the Merkato interface, the term capacity refers to the total amount of bandwidth available from the Seller.
data transfer rate: The speed at which data is transferred from one port to another. See Kbps, Mbps, and Gbps. The speed at which data is transferred from one port to another. See Kbps One of the ways of expressing units of bandwidth-kilobits-per-second (1,000 bits-per-second). , Mbps One of the ways of expressing units of bandwidth-Megabits-per-second (1,000,000 bits-per-second). , and Gbps One of the ways of expressing units of bandwidth; Gigabits-per-second (1,000,000,000 bits-per-second). .
Desktop agent: The Merkato application for buyers or sellers that runs on a Windows PC. Merkato desktop agents bid for bandwidth from the user’s PC using a Java-based application. Alternatively, Merkato agents can run as an application on a server, called the “Garage.” Users can interact with these remote agents through an HTML browser interface.
Express agent: The Merkato HTTP application for buyers or sellers that configures and obtains status from Merkato agents running from a remote location. Accessing the agent in this way is an alternative to bringing the agent to the user’s desktop and using the Java-based interface. The Express agent is accessible through the Portal The unique market mechanism by which Merkato allocates bandwidth to potential buyers at an optimal market price. An auction is established, where each bid consists of a unit price and the quantity desired at that price. Bidders are ranked according to the unit price they offer. Bidders who get an allocation pay the unit price offered by the lowest accepted bidder. (This is the "second price" aspect of the auction.) Bidders who don't get an allocation can re-bid at a higher unit price, in an attempt to improve their ranking in the auction. (This is the "progressive" aspect of the auction.) An auction round closes when all bidders are either successful, based on their last bid, or cannot match the price offered by the current lowest successful bidder. .
floor price: The lowest price the seller will accept for bandwidth. The seller can establish the floor price through the Seller agent. The lowest price the seller will accept for bandwidth. The seller can establish the floor price through the Seller agent.
garage: A server from which buyer and seller agents can bid when they are not actively bidding on a user's PC desktop. The garage is generally installed on the Merkato server, providing maximum performance and reliability. A server from which buyer and seller agents can bid when they are not actively bidding on a user’s PC desktop. The garage is generally installed on the Merkato server, providing maximum performance and reliability.
Gbps: One of the ways of expressing units of bandwidth; gigabits-per-second (1,000,000,000 bits-per-second).
Java: A programming language, useful for internet and networking applications. The environment used for the Merkato Desktop Interface.A programming language, useful for internet and networking applications. The environment used for the Merkato Desktop The Merkato desktop is the first window that appears when the user begins to bring the Merkato buyer or seller agent to their desktop. It lets users specify which Merkato agent or agents they want to download to the desktop. Interface.
kbps: One of the ways of expressing units of bandwidth: kilobits-per-second (1,000 bits-per-second).
market price: The price for something that buyers and sellers agree on. Merkato establishes a market price for bandwidth during each spot market auction round. There is a fixed amount for sale, so as demand increases, prices rise. The market price is reached when the cumulative demand of all the buyers is exactly equal to the amount of bandwidth being offered by the seller.The price for something that buyers and sellers agree on. Merkato establishes a market price for bandwidth during each spot market auction round. There is a fixed amount for sale, so as demand increases, prices rise. The market price is reached when the cumulative demand of all the buyers is exactly equal to the amount of bandwidth being offered by the seller.
Mbps: One of the ways of expressing units of bandwidth: megabits-per-second (1,000,000 bits-per-second).
Merkato desktop: The Merkato desktop is the first window that appears when the user begins to bring the Merkato buyer or seller agent to their desktop. It lets users specify which Merkato agent or agents they want to download to the desktop.
Merkato: InvisibleHand’s software platform, which dynamically prices, sells, and allocates IP bandwidth in real time. Merkato means “market” in Esperanto.
Player: A buyer or seller in the Merkato auction. A buyer or seller in the Merkato auction.
Portal: The main access point to all Merkato applications. It is an HTML-based interface accessible from a standard web browser.
progressive second price auction: The unique market mechanism by which Merkato allocates bandwidth to potential buyers at an optimal market price. An auction is established, where each bid consists of a unit price and the quantity desired at that price. Bidders are ranked according to the unit price they offer. Bidders who get an allocation pay the unit price offered by the lowest accepted bidder. (This is the “second price” aspect of the auction.) Bidders who don’t get an allocation can re-bid at a higher unit price, in an attempt to improve their ranking in the auction. (This is the “progressive” aspect of the auction.) An auction round closes when all bidders are either successful, based on their last bid, or cannot match the price offered by the current lowest successful bidder.
PSP: The Progressive Second Price auction: The unique market mechanism by which Merkato allocates bandwidth to potential buyers at an optimal market price. An auction is established, where each bid consists of a unit price and the quantity desired at that price. Bidders are ranked according to the unit price they offer. Bidders who get an allocation pay the unit price offered by the lowest accepted bidder. (This is the "second price" aspect of the auction.) Bidders who don't get an allocation can re-bid at a higher unit price, in an attempt to improve their ranking in the auction. (This is the "progressive" aspect of the auction.) An auction round closes when all bidders are either successful, based on their last bid, or cannot match the price offered by the current lowest successful bidder. See “progressive second price auction.”
Reservation market: The Merkato market mechanism by which a specified quantity of bandwidth, for a specific duration, is sold for a firm price specified by the seller and agreed to by the buyer. This is an automated process based on a rate sheet that the seller establishes in advance.
Resource The bandwidth service that is offered through a single Merkato marketplace. It will have service attributes, an available quantity earmarked for it by the NSP, and a market mechanism for distributing bandwidth (either the spot market or reservation market). agent: The application that manages the Merkato marketplaces, where bids are received and allocations issued (the spot market) or where price quotes for reservations are generated and accepted quotes for reservations are processed.
Seller agent: The program that interacts with the rest of Merkato on behalf of sellers. Sellers configure their agents with a quantity of bandwidth capacity for sale and a minimum price for that quantity. Buyer agents then express what they are willing to pay for bandwidth in the form of bids, consisting of a unit price and a quantity. Currently, there is no seller agent for the reservation market, but one will be supported in a future release.
Spot market: The Merkato mechanism by which bandwidth is traded, in a progressive second price auction. An optimal fair market price is established and bandwidth is allocated to buyers, based on their bids relative to other buyers.
valuation: The value a buyer or seller places on bandwidth. Setting a valuation is part of setting a purchasing strategy. Valuation settings within a buyer agent let buyers specify the amount they are willing to pay for varying amounts of bandwidth. This information is used by the agent to respond to changing market conditions during a Merkato progressive second price auction. The value a buyer or seller places on bandwidth. Setting a valuation is part of setting a purchasing strategy. Valuation settings within a buyer agent let buyers specify the amount they are willing to pay for varying amounts of bandwidth. This information is used by the agent to respond to changing market conditions during a Merkato progressive second price auction.
Wizard: In Merkato, an automated series of inquiry screens that walks you through the process of creating and configuring a buyer agent.In Merkato, an automated series of inquiry screens that walks you through the process of creating and configuring a Spot market Buyer agent.