A stop-and-go queueing framework for congestion management

A framework for congestion management in integrated services packet networks based on a particular service discipline, called stop-and-go queueing, is proposed. In this framework, loss-free and bounded-delay transmission is provided to the class of traffic with stringent delay and loss requirements, e.g., real-time traffic, while the bursty traffic without such requirements is treated on a different basis to achieve high transmission efficiency. Loss-free and bounded-delay transmission is accomplished by means of an admission policy which ensures smoothness of the traffic at the network edge, and the stop-and-go queueing which maintains the traffic smoothness throughout the network. Both the admission policy and the stop-and-go queueing are based on a time framing concept, addressed in a previous paper. This concept is further developed here to incorporate several frame sizes into the strategy, thereby providing the necessary flexibility in accommodating throughput and end-to-end delay requirements of different connections on an as-needed basis.