Flow Control Power is Nondecentralizable

Flow control in store-and-forward computer networks is appropriate for decentralized execution. A formal description of a class of "decentralized flow control algorithms" is given. The feasibility of maximizing power with such algorithms is investigated. On the assumption that communication links behave like servers it is shown that no "decentralized flow control algorithm" can maximize network power. Power has been suggested in the literature as a network performance objective. It is also shown that no objective based only on the users\´ throughputs and average delay is decentralizable. Finally, a restricted class of algorithms cannot even approximate power.