Robust flow control in data-communication networks with multiple time-delays

Robust controller design for a flow control problem where uncertain multiple time-varying time-delays exist is considered. Although primarily data-communication networks are considered, the presented approach can also be applied to other flow control problems and can even be extended to other control problems where uncertain multiple time-varying time-delays exist. Besides robustness, tracking and fairness requirements are also considered. To solve this problem, an H-infinity optimization problem is set up and solved. Unlike previous approaches, where only a suboptimal solution could be found, the present approach allows to design an optimal controller. Simulation studies are carried out in order to illustrate the time-domain performance of the designed controllers. The obtained results are also compared to the results of a suboptimal controller obtained by an earlier approach. Copyright (C) 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.