Seserv workshop costas courcoubetis - introduction to tussle analysis methodology

© 2012 The SESERV Consortium 1

Introduction to tussle analysis methodology

Costas Courcoubetis (AUEB)The interplay of economics and technology for the Future InternetSESERV WorkshopAthens, Greece, January 31, 2012

SESERVSocio-Economic Services for European Research Projectshttp://www.seserv.org

European Seventh Framework CSA FP7-2010-ICT-258138


Internet Technology layer

Internet Socio-Economic layer

ISPsEnd-users ASPsRegulators

Socio-Economic layer is governed by laws of socio-economics, while technology layer by laws of physics

routerslinks switches

Internet protocols

Internet applications

Firewalls

middleboxes

3G towers

Out-of-network socio-economic interactions

Stakeholders with varying socio-economic interests

Technology choices (including investments, configurations)

Technology outputs (connectivity, QoS, mobility, security, etc.)

Technology components

…

servers

The Internet as a Platform for Stakeholders’ Interactions


Stakeholders’ strategies / policies with respect to a specific technology (functionality)

Adopt technology

Dimension resources

Configure technology

Use technology

ISPLonger

Shorter

Adap

tatio

n tim

esca

le

The combination of actors’ strategies lead to a tussle outcome, characterized by stakeholders benefits.

Internet Socio-Economic layer

tussle outcome

Basic Socio-economic Technology Cycle

Feed

back

At each stage conflicts of interest (incentives) arise at the socio-economic layer.


Tussle Evolution (1)

• If the tussle outcome is considered “unfair” by certain stakeholders, they can react, and:• leave the system• adopt another technology or reconfigure that used• ask the regulator to intervene

• … thus making the outcome unstable


Tussle Evolution (2)

• Even a “fair” tussle outcome can destabilize other functionalities spillover effect• Case study: Bandwidth sharing:

• ISPs throttle bandwidth of p2p applications by using DPI• p2p applications perform traffic obfuscation• ISPs apply DPI techniques to affect quality of rival VoIP

services

• Analyzing the anticipated tussles can predict unstable periods • and help the long-term success of a technology


Step 1: Identify all primary stakeholder roles and their characteristics for the functionality under investigation

Step 3: For each tussle assess the impact to each stakeholder and potential spillovers

Functionality I Functionality II

Step 2: Identify tussles among identified stakeholders

spillover new iteration

tussle tussle tussle tussle

A tussle analysis methodology


Towards achieving stable outcomes• The “Design for choice” principle provides guidance

in designing protocols that allow for variation in outcome. Useful properties are: • “Exposure of list of choices” suggesting that the

stakeholders involved must be given the opportunity to express multiple alternative choices and which the other party should also consider.

• “Exchange of valuation” suggesting that the stakeholders involved should communicate their preferences in regard to the available set of choices (for instance by ranking them in descending order).

• “Exposure of choice’s impact” suggesting that the stakeholders involved should appreciate what the effects of their choices are on others

• “Visibility of choices made” suggesting that both the agent and the principal of an action must allow the inference of which of the available choices has been selected.

Clark, D. D., Wroclawski, J., Sollins, K. R., and Braden, R.: Tussle in Cyberspace: Defining Tomorrow’s Internet. IEEE/ ACM Trans. Networking 13, 3, pp. 462-475, June 2005


Towards avoiding tussle spillovers to other functionalities

• The “Modularize the design along tussle boundaries” principle helps in identifying whether tussle spillovers can appear.

• A protocol designer can check the following two conditions:• “Stakeholder separation”, or whether the choices of one

stakeholder group have significant side effects on stakeholders of another functionality (another tussle space), for example creates economic externalities between stakeholders of different tussle spaces.

• “Functional separation”, or whether different stakeholders use some functionality of the given technology in an unforeseen way to achieve a different goal in some other tussle space, i.e., the functionality of technology A interferes (and possibly cancels) with functionality of technology B.

Clark, D. D., Wroclawski, J., Sollins, K. R., and Braden, R.: Tussle in Cyberspace: Defining Tomorrow’s Internet. IEEE/ ACM Trans. Networking 13, 3, pp. 462-475, June 2005


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