An Axiomatic Theory of Fairness in Network Resource Allocation
Networking and Internet Architecture
2009-10-07 v4 Performance
Abstract
We present a set of five axioms for fairness measures in resource allocation. A family of fairness measures satisfying the axioms is constructed. Well-known notions such as alpha-fairness, Jain's index, and entropy are shown to be special cases. Properties of fairness measures satisfying the axioms are proven, including Schur-concavity. Among the engineering implications is a generalized Jain's index that tunes the resolution of the fairness measure, a new understanding of alpha-fair utility functions, and an interpretation of "larger alpha is more fair". We also construct an alternative set of four axioms to capture efficiency objectives and feasibility constraints.
Keywords
Cite
@article{arxiv.0906.0557,
title = {An Axiomatic Theory of Fairness in Network Resource Allocation},
author = {Tian Lan and David Kao and Mung Chiang and Ashutosh Sabharwal},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:0906.0557},
year = {2009}
}