Communication networks: Message path delays

A communication network is modeled by a weighted graph. The vertices of the graph represent stations with storage capabilities, while the edges of the graph represent communication channels (or other information processing media). Channel capacity weights are assigned to the edges of the network. The network is assumed to operate in a store-and-forward manner, so that when a channel is busy the messages directed into it are stored at the station, where it joins a queue that is governed by a first-come first-served service discipline. Assuming that fixed-length messages arrive at random at the network, following the statistics of a Poisson point process, we solve for the steady-state distributions of the message overall delay time, for the average message waiting times at the individual stations, for the average memory size requirements at the stations, as well as for other statistical characteristics of the message flow along a communication path.