Accounting

The process of tracking resources used on a network.

The network supervisor can charge for network services and resources by assigning users account balances that they draw from as they use the services and resources.

Charging for Network Services and Resources

The network supervisor can assign different charge rates for services at different times of the day, in half-hour increments.

The network supervisor can set up charges for

Blocks read. The charge amount is for each block of data read from the server.
Blocks written. The charge amount is for each block of data written to the server.
Connect time. The charge amount is for each minute a user is logged in. User logins and logouts are tracked automatically.
Disk storage. The charge amount is for each block of data stored on the server's disk for one day.
Service requests. The charge amount is for each request to the server.

To calculate the charge rate for services, the supervisor should

Determine network costs and the amount to charge over a given period of time.

Decide which services to charge for (based on network costs) and determine the amount needed to cover the costs of each service.

For example, if server disk storage capacity is a concern, then charge for disk storage. If network use is high, charge for service requests. To encourage users to log out when they aren't working, charge for connect time.

Estimate how much each service is being used by monitoring the server for two or three weeks.
For example, if 30% of the server's charges are from service requests, the supervisor would want to recuperate 30% of network costs by charging for service requests.

At the end of the monitoring period, use ATOTAL to determine total use of each service. (ATOTAL is located in SYS:SYSTEM and requires supervisor rights.) See ATOTAL in Utilities Reference.

After establishing how much each service is used and the amount needed to cover the cost of each service, the supervisor can calculate a charge rate.

The charge rate is the charge per unit of the specified service. This rate converts the amount of service used to a monetary figure. The unit is arbitrary, but consider beginning with one charge unit equaling one cent.

Use the following formula to calculate a charge rate:

For example, a network supervisor needs to charge $100 per month for blocks read. There are 250,000 blocks read each month. Therefore, the charge rate is $100 (or 10,000 cents) divided by 250,000 blocks, or $.01 (1 cent) per 25 blocks:

Assigning Account Balances

The network supervisor can

Assign each user a balance to limit the amount of services a user can use
Assign a credit limit (or allow unlimited credit)
Assign a default account balance for all users
Increase a user's account balance

The user must log out and log in again before changes take effect.

Related utilities: NETADMIN and NetWare Administrator in Utilities Reference.