Analysis of packet loss processes in high-speed networks

The packet loss process in a single-server queueing system with a finite buffer capacity is analyzed. The model used addresses the packet loss probabilities for packets within a block of a consecutive sequence of packets. An analytical approach is presented that yields efficient recursions for the computation of the distribution of the number of lost packets within a block of packets of fixed or variable size for several arrival models and several numbers of sessions. Numerical examples are provided to compare the distribution obtained with that obtained using the independence assumption to compute the loss probabilities of packets within a block. The results show that forward error correction schemes become less efficient due to the bursty nature of the packet loss processes; real-time traffic might be more sensitive to network congestion than was previously assumed; and the retransmission probability of ATM messages has been overestimated by the use of the independence assumption