Packet Delay

networking

Definition

Packet Delay

Let a packet traverse a path of $k$ nodes $v_1,\dots ,v_k$ connected by $k-1$ links. The total packet delay at the $i$-th node is:

$$d_{\text{nodal}}^{(i)}=d_{\text{proc}}^{(i)}+d_{\text{queue}}^{(i)}+d_{\text{trans}}^{(i)}+d_{\text{prop}}^{(i)}$$

where each component is defined as follows:

Delay	Notation	Source
Nodal processing	$d_{\text{proc}}$	Time to examine the header and determine the outgoing link
Queueing	$d_{\text{queue}}$	Time the packet waits in the output buffer before transmission begins
Transmission	$d_{\text{trans}}$	Time to push all bits of the packet onto the link
Propagation	$d_{\text{prop}}$	Time for a single bit to travel across the physical medium

The end-to-end delay over the full path is:

$$d_{\text{e2e}}=\sum _{i=1}^k{d}_{\text{nodal}}^{(i)}$$