ADAPTIVE ISARITHMIC FLOW-CONTROL IN FAST PACKET-SWITCHING NETWORKS

We consider the centralized adaptive isarithmic flow control scheme pr oposed by Mason and Gu [1,2] and studied further by Coderre [3]. These previous studies addressed ''traditional'' packet switched networks ( low speeds). In this paper, the flow control technique is studied in t he context of fast packet switching networks. The high transmission ra tes involved in such networks make it necessary to specifically consid er propagation delays. Propagation delay is modeled by M/D/infinity qu eues on all trunks. The previous studies presented heuristic adaptive algorithms for the controller that attempted to maximize a performance criteria: the product of powers. We present an adaptive algorithm for the controller which is a very good approximation to the optimal oper ation in a fast packet switching network under heavy traffic. The clai m is supported by analytic results (expected operation of system) and Monte Carlo simulation results. While the control architecture has bro ader applicability, our frame of analysis is product form networks.