Modeling and Performance Comparison of Policing Mechanisms for ATM Networks

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) networks, as proposed by CCITT as the solution for the future broadband ISDN, will provide high flexibility with respect to the varying bandwidth requirements of the different services. They will also support variable bit rates within a connection. The packetized information transfer, without flow control between the user and the network, in combination with the asynchronous multiplexing principle, results in a need to control the individual cell stream during the entire duration of the calls to ensure an acceptable quality of service for all coexisting calls sharing the same network resources. This kind of control will be provided by introducing a policing or usage parameter control function. Basic design objectives and requirements for such a function are described. These requirements serve as a basis for the comparison of some of the mechanisms proposed so far, namely the leaky bucket, the jumping window, the triggered jumping window, the moving window, and the exponentially weighted moving average mechanisms. >