Distribution of the loss period for some queues in continuous and discrete time

The stochastic properties of time-out loss periods are characterized for infinite queues, that is, uninterrupted intervals during which the virtual wait is at or above some fixed threshold. Analytic expressions and numerical techniques presented are for computing both time-based measures such as the distribution of periods during which all arriving packets are lost due to excessive delay as well as packet-based measures such as the distribution of the number of consecutively lost packets and the number of successful packets between such periods of loss. Both continuous and discrete-time systems are examined. It is shown that the assumption of random packet loss severely underestimates the number of consecutively lost packets