Buffer overflow management with class segregation

We consider a new model for buffer management of network switches with Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. A stream of packets, each attributed with a value representing its Class of Service (CoS), arrives over time at a network switch and demands a further transmission. The switch is equipped with multiple queues of limited capacities, where each queue stores packets of one value only. The objective is to maximize the total value of the transmitted packets (i.e., the weighted throughput).We analyze a natural greedy algorithm, greedy, which sends in each time step a packet with the greatest value. For general packet values (v1<⋯1α>1), greedy is shown to be optimal with a competitive ratio of (α+2)/(α+1)(α+2)/(α+1).

► We study a new model for competitive buffer management for QoS switches. ► Multiple queues where each queue stores packets of the same value. ► The greedy algorithm is (1+r)(1+r)-competitive for general values, where r<1r<1 is the max ratio of any two consecutive packet values. ► For two values, 1 and α>1α>1, greedy is (α+2)/(α+1)(α+2)/(α+1)-competitive. ► Our bounds are asymptotically optimal.