Tight bounds for the tail of the packet waiting time distribution in buffered networks

In this paper we consider the end to end delay through a series of queues in which the service time is fixed and equal to the transmission time of constant length data packets at constant bitrate, for example real time delay sensitive traffic in IP or ATM networks. In these cases, algorithms are required either for on-line admission control or for planning and provisioning of service partitions within such networks. Here we develop concise, accurate and easy to use solutions for the end to end delay through this series of queues, and provide numerical results quantifying the high degree of accuracy obtained. Additionally we compare against a Chernoff Bound approach, showing that our solutions are more accurate. Copyright (C) 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.