A Poisson Based Bursty Model of Internet Traffic

This paper presents a model for bursty data traffic on modern networks. The model is simple and amenable to analysis, thus enhancing its practical utility. We use the model to generate arrivals to a single queue and compute its performance measures. We also propose a measure of burstiness based upon these performance parameters that is easy to measure and use. Several traffic traces were downloaded from the internet and analyzed to determine their burstiness properties. We conclude that predictions from the model are consistent with the data on the internet and the degradation of all the parameters due to burstiness.