Analysis, stability, and optimization of slotted ALOHA with a finite number of buffered users

This paper analyzes the slotted ALOHA multiple access scheme for satellite channels with a finite number of users, each having a buffer of infinite capacity. The basic contribution of the paper is the introduction of an improved 2-Markov chain model that permits analysis of this heretofore unsolved problem. Finding an optimal value for the retransmission probability,pthat minimizes the total average packet delay and at the same time ensures stability is also discussed.