A composable service model for lossy network elements

The development of scalable service models for integrated services networks is crucial for fostering interoperability and competition among multiple network service providers that support quality of service. A key scalability property of a service model is composability, which allows models for network elements in tandem to be lumped together into a composite model which is of the same type as the constituent service models. We present a new service model for lossy network elements, and show that it is composable. To illustrate the new service model, we characterize some fundamental network elements in terms of it.