In a computer network, the bandwidth of the communication channel
connecting nodes of the network is limited. A cost function is used to
allocate the bandwidth of the channel among the data for a plurality of
elements in a multimedia session. The cost function relates the distortion
produced by a change in encoding rate for one or more media with a delay
in transferring data related to another medium at a particular rate. A
fairness criterion, expressing the relative weighting of the distorted and
delayed elements for specific applications, can be included in the cost
function. The cost function can be used to allocate the bandwidth between
media from both push and pull sources.
