Constrained decentralized flow control of communication networks

We present a decentralized nonlinear flow control scheme for a classof communication networks with physical constraints.Through a detailed analysis, we demonstrate that nonlinear systemtheory can be applied to cope with saturation nonlinearity and unknown disturbances in network flow control problems.We solve the constrained queue regulation problem against trafficinterferences with control input and state saturation, under two explicitly identified conditions, namely a ``PE" conditionand a Lipschitz-like condition.Asymptotic regulation is achieved for both a single-node systemand large-scale networks, for all feasible initial states. The trade-offs of various control parameter settings are revealedthrough our analysis. Computer simulations confirm the effectivenessof our nonlinear network flow control scheme.