9225010 Whinston The last ten years have witnessed a dramatic growth in the use of computer networks. While the networking has grown in use, its management has not kept pace. Poor network management (as caused by incorrect pricing or the absence of pricing) can contribute to one of two effects: overuse and long response times when prices are too low, and under use when prices are too high. Poor network management prolongs new product design and delays decision making. So far research has concentrated on either heuristic methods or sound economic theory based methods to solve this problem for single processor, single user cases. We propose to extend these theories to the multiple processor, multiple user case. In brief, we will develop a "user transparent" mechanism for efficient resource allocation in distributed computer networks based on our previous research. We propose to test the mechanisms we develop in the form of mathematical theorems or algorithms by implementing them in an existing network simulation environment CSIM. During this simulation stage, the mechanisms will be further refined, leading up to their implementation in actual industrial test en vironments.
