Thursday 22 September 2011

Flow control


In data communicationsflow control is the process of managing the pacing of data transmission between two nodes to prevent a fast sender from outrunning a slow receiver. It provides a mechanism for the receiver to control the transmission speed, so that the receiving node is not overwhelmed with data from transmitting node. Flow control should be distinguished from congestion control, which is used for controlling the flow of data when congestion has actually occurred [1]. Flow control mechanisms can be classified by whether or not the receiving node sends feedback to the sending node.
Flow control is important because it is possible for a sending computer to transmit information at a faster rate than the destination computer can receive and process them. This can happen if the receiving computers have a heavy traffic load in comparison to the sending computer, or if the receiving computer has less processing power than the sending computer.

Types of flow control

Network congestion
Windowing Flow control

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