Fluid models of integrated traffic and multipath routing

In this paper we consider a stochastic model describing the varying number of flows in a network. This model features flows of two types, namely file transfers (with fixed volume) and streaming traffic (with fixed duration), and extends the model of Key, Massoulié, Bain and Kelly [27] by allowing more general bandwidth allocation criteria. We analyse the dynamics of the system under a fluid scaling, and show Lyapunov stability of the fluid limits under a natural stability condition. We provide natural interpretations of the fixed points of these fluid limits. We then compare the fluid dynamics of file transfers under (i) balanced multipath routing and (ii) parallel, uncoordinated routing. We show that for identical traffic demands, parallel uncoordinated routing can be unstable while balanced multipath routing is stable. Finally, we identify multi-dimensional Ornstein-Uhlenbeck processes as second-order approximations to the first-order fluid limit dynamics.