A critique of recently proposed buffer-sizing strategies

Abstract

Internet router buffers are used to accommodate packets that arrive in bursts and to maintain high utilization of the egress link. Such buffers can lead to large queueing delays. Recently, several papers have suggested that it may, under general circumstances, be possible to achieve high utilisation with small network buffers. In this paper we review these recommendations. A number of issues are reported that question the utility of these recommendations.