Loss Correlation for Queues with Bursty Input Streams

Abstract

The loss probability of a queueing system provides, in many cases, insufficient information for performance evaluation, for example, of data link layer protocols and applications with forward error correction. This paper evaluates and characterizes the correlation between packet losses for two queueing systems in discrete time that are motivated by BISDN applications. The first, a twoclass discrete-time queueing system, approximates the output queue of an ATM switch. The queue serves periodic foreground traffic and random background traffic. The background traffic is modeled as i.i.d. batches of arbitrary distribution. It is shown that the conditional loss probability (CLP) is independent of the buffer size if the buffer size is at least as large as the period of the foreground traffic. Example calculations indicate that losses occur essentially randomly as long as the foreground traffic uses less than 10% of the channel capacity. The second analysis derives the CLP seen by a selected ..