EE132B-HW Set #2

UCLA 2014 Fall

Prof. Izhak Rubin

Problem 1
Suppose users share a 1 Mbps link. Also suppose that the trac generation
process of each user alternates (independently of the other users) between periods of
activity (active modes), when the user generates data at a constant rate of 100 Kbps
and periods of inactivity (inactive mode) when the user generates no data. Suppose
further that the user is active (independent of other users) only 10 percent of the
time.
(1) When circuit switching is used to allocate resources on the shared link, how
many users can be supported?
(2) Suppose now that users are supported by using accordance with a packet switching method, so that the communications channel is shared on a statistical multiplexing manner. Assume now that the communications channel is used to
support a number of users that is 4 times larger than those supported under
the circuit switching operation. Use normal distribution to approximate the
probability that more than 10 users are simultaneously active. (Hint: Central
Limit Theorem. You may find (3.16) = 0.99921 useful, where (x) is the CDF
of a normal random variable.)

Problem 2
For the Gaussian distribution with mean and variance 2 , find the moment
generating function. Using the moment generating function, calculate the mean and
the variance. (Hint: The probability density function for a Gaussian random variable
X with mean and variance 2 is given by
(

1
(x )2
fX (x) =
exp
.
2 2
2 2

Problem 3
Consider the following probability density function:
fX (x) =

e|x|
, x (, ),
2

where > 0.
(a) Calculate the mean directly.
(b) Calculate the variance directly.
(c) Find the moment generating function.
(d) Find the mean and the variance from the moment generating function.
1

EE132B-HW Set #2

UCLA 2014 Fall

Prof. Izhak Rubin

Problem 4
A coin is flipped until at least a head occur and at least two tails occur. Define
three random variables X, Y , Z to be the trial numbers at which the first head, the
first tail, and the second tail are observed, respectively. Assume that at any trial, the
probability that a head occurs is p (0, 1). Let q = 1 p.
(a) Find the joint probability P (X = m, Y = n, Z = r).
(b) Verify that your answer in (a) is valid by checking

P (X = m, Y = n, Z =

m,n,r

r) = 1.
(c) Calculate P (Z < X) using the joint probability derived in (a).

Problem 5
Two DTEs are communicating via modems and RS-232C interfaces over a half
duplex link. Data transmission is one directional with each message of length M .
After a message is transmitted, the sender waits for a CTS message of length na before
sending another message. Assume error-free operation and the following parameter
values:
R (line bit rate) = 9600 bps
M (message length) = 1000 bits (all data bits)
nh (overhead in each message packet) = 24 bits
na (acknowledgement length) = 24 bits
tp (propagation time in one direction) = 1 msec
Minimum transition time between states (1,2) and (1,0) (CTS delay) is equal to
10 msec at message transmitting end, and 20 msec at message receiving end (CTS
transmitting end). All other delays during message transmission and reception are
assumed to be negligible. For the stated conditions, determine the eective data rate
in bps.