A self-tuning regulator for adaptive overload control in communication networks

The author considers overload control mechanisms that dynamically regulate the rate of data flow or call arrival into a network based on feedback information about the network state. Such mechanisms are used in a wide variety of both circuit- and packet-switched networks. The author interprets the design of these mechanisms as an adaptive feedback control problem. He uses this analog to design and evaluate the performance of an adaptive controller than combines a least-squares parameter estimator with a minimum prediction error control law. Preliminary simulation results indicate that the controller yields high throughput and low loss probability even for large control delays and heavy overload conditions