Analysis of a ring–based loss network

Loss networks are a class of resource allocation models which have proved useful in the study and design of communication networks. A major aim when analysing these models is to obtain measures of performance such as congestion probabilities and throughput. Even for moderately sized networks it is often not possible to calculate the quantities of interest exactly in reasonable time. Accordingly there is motivation to investigate methods of accurate approximation. This paper is concerned with estimating the performance measures of a ring–shaped network with branches. Two methods are presented: an asymptotic analysis made possible by the network's cyclic structure, and a technique utilising the network's symmetry which could be applied more generally.