Analysis of Packet Loss

In this paper we analyze the packet loss process in a single server queueing system with a nite buuer capacity. The model we use addresses the packet loss probabilities for packets within a block of consecutive sequence of packets. In contrast to other work which used an independence assumption to compute the loss probabilities of packets within a block, we present an analytical approach that yields eecient recursions for the computation of the distribution of the number of lost packets within a block of packets of xed or variable size for several arrival models and a several number of sessions. Numerical examples are provided to compare the distribution obtained from our analysis with the distribution obtained by using the independence assumption. The results give insight to the following areas related to high-speed networks: (i) Forward error correction schemes become less eecient due to the bursty nature of the packet loss processes. (ii) Real time traac such as voice and video might be more sensitive to network congestion than was previously assumed. (iii) The retransmission probability of ATM messages has been overestimated by the use of independence assumption.