Optimal control of admission to a queueing system

Congestion in a queueing system can sometimes be controlled by restricting arrivals, either by "closing a gate" or by charging an entrance fee or toll. We review both static (open-loop) and dynamic (closed-loop) models for control of admission to a queueing system. The main emphases are on the difference between socially optimal and individually optimal (equilibrium) controls and on the use of dynamic-programming inductive analysis to show that an optimal control is monotonic or characterized by one or more "critical numbers." We discuss the potential for use of these models in the analysis of computer/ communication systems and compare the results to certain others in the literature.