Design and performance evaluation of network interconnection architectures

The performance of two protocol architectures, which are often used in gateways connecting LANs (local area network) or HSNs (high speed network), is studied. The vertical views of both protocol stacks are given and two queueing network models with feedback for both protocol stacks are developed, where each queue represents a protocol layer. The arrival, service and output processes of each queue are characterized by their mean values and coefficients of variations. GI/G/1-K and GI/G/1 models are used to analyze the developed queueing network models. Several performance metrics are introduced and computed (e.g. buffer requirement, end-to-end delay, response time and power). By means of comparing the computed performance metrics the decision about the “better” protocol architecture can be made