Optimal admission control of markov-modulated batch arrivals to a finite-capacity buffer

Abstract

We consider packet acceptance policies for digitized voice packet transmission in high-speed networks in an ATM setting. The constant length packets, called cells, arrive in batches at an intermediate node. The arrival process is modulated by a random environment, typically arising from the multiplexing of on-off sources. The cells belong to multiple priority classes. The buffer access controller, at times 0,1,2,…, admits some of the cells from the intermediate buffer into the main buffer, discarding the rest. The transmission channel removes one cell per unit time. Dropping a cell causes distortion: the higher the priority of the dropped cell the higher the distortion. We use the methods of Markov Decision Processes to obtain an optimal cell discarding policy that minimizes distortion. We study structural monotonicity properties of the optimal policies and illustrate them with an example. Finally, the implementation issues are discussed