Unit II Key Takeaways

• Little's Law and M/M/1 models provide the mathematical foundation for switch design.
• Congestion Collapse occurs when retransmissions overwhelm a congested network.
• Token Buckets are more flexible than Leaky Buckets because they allow for controlled bursts.
• Jitter is the primary enemy of high-quality real-time communication.
• RED and ECN are modern ways to handle congestion before it becomes catastrophic.

--- Unit II Checklist:

• [x] Explain Little's Law and its three components.
• [x] Calculate the utilization (ρ) of a system given arrival and service rates.
• [x] Describe the difference between a Leaky Bucket and a Token Bucket.
• [x] Differentiate between Traffic Shaping and Traffic Policing.
• [x] Identify the five ATM service categories and their use cases.
• [x] Explain the "Hidden Node Problem" in wireless networks.
• [x] Define "Jitter" and its impact on VoIP traffic.
• [x] Understand the purpose of Random Early Detection (RED).
• [x] Calculate the max throughput of a TCP session given a window size and RTT.
• [x] List the four stages of Traffic Conditioning (Classification, Metering, Marking, Shaping).