Service matching over block Rayleigh fading channels: Buffer utilization via overflow probability

In the paper, we consider information transmission over a block Rayleigh fading channel, where a finite length buffer is employed to match the source traffic. We evaluate the channel utilization efficiency and overflow performance by inputting a constant rate source traffic stream to the buffer and adjust its transmission rate over the block Rayleigh fading channel according to the channel states. The results reveal the relationship among source traffic rate, maximum buffer length, channel utilization efficiency and overflow performance. Two important observations are obtained: (1) the product of the average length of period when the buffer is emptied and the average length of period when the buffer is overflowed is unity, regardless of source traffic rate; (2) with a finite length buffer, the overflow probability decreases no slower than the inverse square of the maximum buffer length. Different from traditional queuing analysis, the obtained results are applicable to communication with finite length buffers and enables one to evaluate system performance in a finite time scale.