A generalized processor sharing approach to flow control in integrated services networks: the single-node case

The problem of allocating network resources to the users of an integrated services network is investigated in the context of rate-based flow control. The network is assumed to be a virtual circuit, connection-based packet network. It is shown that the use of generalized processor sharing (GPS), when combined with leaky bucket admission control, allows the network to make a wide range of worst-case performance guarantees on throughput and delay. The scheme is flexible in that different users may be given widely different performance guarantees and is efficient in that each of the servers is work conserving. The authors present a practical packet-by-packet service discipline, PGPS that closely approximates GPS. This allows them to relate results for GPS to the packet-by-packet scheme in a precise manner. The performance of a single-server GPS system is analyzed exactly from the standpoint of worst-case packet delay and burstiness when the sources are constrained by leaky buckets. The worst-case session backlogs are also determined.>