Efficient estimation techniques and a new description of variable-bit-rate video traffic parameters

Traffic descriptors (TDs) for ATM connections are mandatory for many network operations such as call acceptance and network resources allocation. For variable bit rate (VBR) services, the TDs are defined by the ATM Forum as peak cell rate, sustainable cell rate, and maximum burst size. However, the accurate characterization of VBR source traffic in terms of these descriptors is still an open issue. We use the leaky bucket algorithm to estimate the TDs for various MPEG-1 video sequences. We study the effect of two different schemes, namely, delaying and peak removal on the TD values. We show that the valves of TDs are reduced while introducing delay and loss to the video traffic. We show that a single set of TDs does not accurately characterize the MPEG video traffic. Therefore, we propose a new approach for VBR traffic description which involves a sequence of TDs that describes the traffic more accurately while introducing no loss or delay.