Stochastic Theory of a Data-Handling System with Multiple Sources

1.1 Physical model A data-handling switch receives messages from many, say N, information sources, which independently and asynchronously alternate between the 'on' and 'off' state. The on periods as well as the off periods are exponentially distributed for each source. These two distributions, while not necessarily identical, are common to all sources; * Presently at the Department of Mathematics, University of California, Berkeley.