Control problems in manufacturing and communication networks

复杂的互联系统，如制造和通信网络的控制提出了重要的概念和计算挑战。近似系统分解是部分缓解这些挑战的一种方法。研究人员和同事，最近开发了一种分解方法，在制造业的转移线，允许新的结构的见解，大大简化了重要的相关的最佳缓冲区大小的问题。建议通过考虑以下因素在两个重要方向上扩展该分解方法： 首先，生产控制架构比看板更通用（为此，每个传输线机器与其必须尝试填充的固定缓冲器相关联），例如CONSTANT，即恒定的在制品（看板策略应用于一系列计算机）或广义看板（将实际生产与生产授权转移分开）;第二，多部件（相对于单个部件）型系统，因为它们构成了资本密集型柔性制造系统的主体。为了帮助解决下一代通信网络（互联网和无线系统互连以提供具有性能保证的类似互联网的服务）中的相关服务质量（QoS）保证问题，将转移在解决这些制造系统问题中开发的专有技术。事实上，固定的互联网路由非常类似于传输线，并且在所谓的ISOSERV范式（将互联网流量聚合到少量的可扩展性的差异化QoS类别中）内的性能分析与制造中的多部分类型传输线的性能分析密切相关。最后，它已被观察到，流体近似可以产生有趣的见解和可接受的数值精度在分析离散制造过程。使用流体近似的无线数据传输过程中，我们建议进一步探索的潜力，建立良好的（连续）线性调节器理论推导出易于处理的时间表与正确的组合的公平性和效率。

The control of complex interconnected systems such as manufacturing and communication networks presents important conceptual and computational challenges. Approximate system decomposition is one way of partially mitigating these challenges. The researcher and coworkers, have recently developed  a decomposition method for  transfer lines in manufacturing  which permits new structural insights and greatly simplifies the important associated optimal buffer sizing problems. It is proposed to extend this decomposition method in two important directions by considering:   First, production control architectures more general than Kanbans ( for which each transfer line machine is associated with a fixed buffer that it must attempt to fill), such as CONWIP, i.e. CONstant Work In Process (the kanban strategy is applied to a string of machines), or generalized kanbans (desynchronizing actual production from migration of production authorization); second, multi-part (versus single part) type systems, as they constitute the bulk of capital intensive flexible manufacturing systems. The know how developed in solving these manufacturing system problems is to be transferred in order to help address related quality of service (QoS) assurance issues in next generation communication networks (Internet and wireless systems interconnected to offer Internet like services with performance guarantees). Indeed, fixed Internet routes strongly resemble transfer lines, and performance analysis  within the so-called DIFFSERV paradigm (aggregating Internet traffics into a small number of differentiated QoS classes for scalability) is closely related to performance analysis of  multi-part type transfer lines in manufacturing. Finally, it has been observed that fluid approximations can yield interesting insights and acceptable numerical accuracy in analyzing discrete manufacturing processes. Using fluid approximations of wireless data transmission processes, we propose to further explore the potential of the well established (continuous) linear regulator theory in deriving tractable schedules with the right mix of fairness and efficiency.