Characterization of delay-sensitive traffic

Resource allocation is necessary for a network which guarantees quality of service (QoS). In this paper we first present a definition for a traffic stream to be burstier than another traffic stream. The definition is based on the loss probability of a bufferless multiplexer and thus is appropriate for delay-sensitive traffic which cannot tolerate queueing delay caused by buffering. An optimum quantization algorithm is then derived for source characterization. The optimally quantized version achieves minimum loss rate for all possible allocated bandwidths under the condition that it is burstier than the real traffic. The quantized source is called a pseudosource and can be used by the network for resource allocation. Some numerical examples are studied. Results show that, for a bufferless multiplexer, the allocated bandwidth based on optimally quantized pseudosources is only slightly greater than the minimum bandwidth required to meet the requested QoS