Fairness Index Based on Variational Distance

Fairness index among competing hosts in communication networks is an important system measurement. Several fairness index measurements have been proposed in the technical literature. However, most of these measurements, such as the max/min fairness index and Jain´s index, reflect only a long-term average fairness of the system. Instantaneous fairness property has not been captured. In this paper, we propose a new fairness index to reflect such short-term fairness and long-term fairness at the same time. Comparisons of our proposed fairness index, termed Fairness Index based on Variational Distance (FIVD), and related fairness indices are presented to show the benefit of our measurement.