A Study of Users' Buffer Variations in Random Access Satellite Channels

Abstract

A novel approach to modeling the slotted-ALOHA random access channel is presented. The objectives of the model are threefold: (1) to identify the channel's stability boundaries analytically as a function of the system's independent input parameters; (2) to investigate the impact of buffer-control on the channel's behavior; and (3) to facilitate the structuring of individual users' buffer-control as the focus of a dynamic control scheme. The significance of maintaining channel stability via buffer-control lies in its conceptual simplicity and implementability. Simulation runs of a finite-population model have clearly revealed the variation in individual users' buffer sizes and their sensitivity to the retransmission procedure.