Patent ID: 7284047

Claim:
In a computer network having a node and an observer, the node acting as a source of data transmissions and consuming network data transmission services, and the observer monitoring network load, a method of the node adjusting its service request, based on network load, to avoid data packets being dropped by the network so as to require retransmission of dropped data packets, the method comprising: at the node that requests data transmission services, obtaining price information for the data transmission services, the price being variable based on current network traffic relative to network capacity; and at the node that requests the data transmission services, and while transmitting the data, controlling a rate of transmitting data by the node over the network, the node generating the data as original data free of containing any retransmitted content, the controlling being based on the price information and on a weight value set by an administrator of the node, wherein the weight value corresponds to an assigned predetermined number associated with an operator of the node.