In this paper, an effective bandwidth allocation method is proposed to prev
ent congestion in ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) networks by controlling
the congestion at the VC (virtual channel) level. The proposed method is ba
sed on the Markov chain model to reserve the bandwidth for all connections.
This Markov chain model considers the traffic characteristics of both the
incoming call request and the existing connections, and estimates the resul
ting quality of service (QoS), including the delay time and the loss rate.
If the QoS for the existing connections can be guaranteed, the new call req
uest is accepted. Since this Markov chain model takes into account most of
the important traffic characteristics, such as the peak rate, the mean rate
and the burst period, it effectively models the behavior of the traffic pa
ttern in ATM networks. Furthermore, the algorithm BAM (Bandwidth Allocation
Method) is proposed to efficiently solve the Markov chain model under the
time complexity of O(N). Finally, performance is investigated by simulation
and analysis.