A multiple-class buffer allocation scheme for ATM networks with VBR traffic

A multiple-class buffer allocation scheme for ATM networks with VBR (Variable Bit Rate) traffic is presented in this paper. It is very important that a switch node of ATM networks have the sufficient bandwidth to dynamically reallocate its buffer space based on the cell loss ratio for different levels of VER traffic with different priorities. The dynamic buffer allocation scheme proposed in this paper consists of two parts. The first part is used to estimate the buffer size required for each class of traffic, The second part is used to dynamically rearrange the buffer space among different priorities of traffic classes. For the purpose of evaluation, we develop a mathematical model to analytically estimate the buffer size required for each stage of switch node. In addition, a simulation model is built. In the simulation study, the analytical results from the mathematical model are verified with the simulation.