Virtual Marketplace for Real-Time Network Resource Trading
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Solution Overview
Problem
Organizations face challenges in efficiently utilizing and managing network infrastructure resources, particularly during peak demands, as existing infrastructure is often underutilized until peak times, and smaller entities lack flexibility in meeting transient or increased networking needs.
Innovation Solution
A virtual marketplace system that enables real-time trading of network infrastructure resources through a computer program product, allowing entities to offer and bid on resources over a network, with a processing unit determining satisfied bids and transactions, facilitating the sale of network resources between providers and clients.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If organizations develop infrastructure capacity to handle peak demand, then reliability is improved, but loss of substance worsens due to underutilized resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables infrastructure resources to serve multiple functions: their primary organizational use and secondary rental use to other entities. The system allows providers to rent out excess capacity through a marketplace platform, making the infrastructure universally useful to multiple parties at different times, thereby eliminating underutilization while maintaining peak demand capability
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically allocates infrastructure capacity based on real-time demand. Organizations can flexibly rent out excess capacity during low-demand periods and retrieve it during peak periods. The marketplace enables dynamic pricing and temporary transfers of capacity, allowing the system to adapt to changing utilization needs rather than maintaining static allocation
2Reliability
If smaller entities invest in infrastructure capacity, then reliability is improved, but device complexity worsens due to managing excess capacity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a marketplace platform as an intermediary that manages the complexity of capacity allocation. Smaller entities simply list their excess capacity or place bids for needed capacity without managing the complex matching, pricing, and transaction coordination. The marketplace system handles all the complexity of pairing providers with consumers, pricing negotiations, and contract management
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables automated self-service through the marketplace platform where capacity providers and consumers can independently list offers and bids, and the system automatically matches and executes transactions. This eliminates the need for manual negotiation and management of capacity exchanges, allowing smaller entities to participate without complex administrative overhead
3Adaptability or versatility
If entities own infrastructure on full-time basis, then adaptability is improved, but loss of energy worsens due to continuous operation of underutilized resources
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables temporary discarding of infrastructure capacity to the marketplace when not needed by the owner, and recovering it when needed. Instead of continuously operating underutilized resources, organizations can discard excess capacity to rental markets during low-demand periods and recover it during peak periods, thereby reducing energy consumption while maintaining adaptability
Data Source
AI summary
A system can include program instructions embodied with the computer-readable storage medium and executable by a processor to cause the system to: automatically determine to make a bid for resources to add to a computer network of a client receive, from a virtual marketplace, a communication indicating that the bid satisfies an offer for additional resources made by an infrastructure provider gateway; successfully negotiate a link with the infrastructure provider gateway such that the additional resources are thereby usable by the client as part of the computer network of the client integrate the additional resources with the computer network of the client and maintain the link with the infrastructure provider gateway until a period of time expires.