Adaptive routing, flow control, and buffer management in computer communication networks.

Abstract

Adaptive routing and flow control methods are necessary in computer networks due to the nonstationary conditions that exist in such networks. In this dissertation three distinct yet complementary approaches to modeling computer networks for performance evaluation and control under nonstationary conditions are presented namely: queueing theory, discrete event simulation, and state variable modeling. The application of these techniques to the design and performance evaluation of adaptive routing and flow control methods is demonstrated with the development of a new two-level hierarchical adaptive buffer management scheme and a dynamic virtual circuit routing policy.