A microscopic model for packet transport in the Internet

A microscopic description of packet transport in the Internet by using a simple cellular automaton model is presented. A generalised exclusion process is introduced which allows to study travel times of the particles (‘data packets’) along a fixed path in the network. Computer simulations reveal the appearance of a free flow and a jammed phase separated by a (critical) transition regime. The power spectra are compared with empirical data for the round trip time (RTT) obtained from measurements in the Internet. We find that the model is able to reproduce the characteristic statistical behaviour in agreement with the empirical data for both phases (free flow and congested). The ocurrence of different phases is therefore due to jamming properties and are not related to the structure of the network. Moreover the model shows, as observed in reality, critical behaviour (1/f-noise) for paths with critical load.