Input rate flow control for high-speed networks: source vs. switch level performance trade-off

The authors study the queuing performance of source stations and network switches when an input rate flow control mechanism is applied to regulate the traffic flow between source stations and network switches. They demonstrate the ensuing tradeoffs between message delays imposed at the source stations by the use of the flow regulation mechanism and the message delays incurred by messages at the internal switches as effected by the statistical features of the incoming message streams. They examine the increased queue size and message delays incurred at source stations by the employed input rate flow control access mechanism. The statistical behavior of the output traffic from source stations is characterized. The impact of input rate flow control on message delays incurred at the internal network switches is analyzed. Performance curves are presented to illustrate the queuing behavior and message delays at source stations and internal network switches. Using these results, the system designer can properly select the parameters of the flow control scheme