Randomized Token Buckets : Reducing the Bu ers Required in

We study the buuer requirements for N identical token bucket streams that are fed to a multiplexor. If the token bucket streams are synchronized the buuer size requirement at the multiplexor is N B, where B is the size of the token bucket. We introduce a new variant of token bucket schemes that we call randomized token bucket schemes that insert random delays to prevent the streams from becoming (and remaining) synchronized. We show, using a combination of analysis and simulation that the buuer size is reduced to at most 3 p N B with xed small (10 ?6) probability of buuer overrow. Because of the randomization, this result does not depend on assumptions about input traac patterns. While our analysis has been focused on a simple multiplexor, our research is motivated by the possible use of randomized leaky bucket as a traac shaping mechanism to reduce buuer size and end-to-end delays across multiple hops in a network.