Accurate decay rate prediction for burst-scale queueing in packet buffers

The multiplexing of on-off sources through a single server buffer is a standard model used in the analysis of many packet networks. However, the results of an extensive simulation study into the accuracy of the analytic prediction of the characteristic queueing decay rate (in this scenario) indicate that significant errors are possible. It is particularly important to ensure that the buffer decay rate predicted is accurate under as wide a range of traffic scenarios as possible; therefore an enhanced queueing theoretic expression is developed. It is shown, by comparison with earlier analytic results and simulation, that this new solution can provide greatly enhanced accuracy, especially where traffic active periods are of similar average duration as mean packet transmission time.