On the Transient Queue with the Dropping Function

Abstract

We deal with a queueing system, in which arriving packets are being dropped with the probability depending on the queue size. Such a scheme is used in several active queue management schemes proposed for Internet routers. In this paper, we derive and analyze a selected transient characteristic of the model, i.e., the probability that in a given time interval the queue size is kept under a predefined level. As the main purpose of the discussed queueing scheme is to maintain the queue size low, this is a natural characteristic to study. In addition to that, the average time to reach a given level is derived. Theoretical results for both characteristics are accompanied by numerical examples. Among other things, they demonstrate that the transient behavior of the queue may vary significantly with the shape of the dropping function, even if the steady-state performance remains unaltered.