Construct · 2 fields · 2 citations

backpressure: one construct, many systems

One name. One construct. Different systems. One map.

● invariant · one construct, three systems Nearest construct by meaning·not indexed
borrowed as the backpressure algorithm, with queue length as pressurebackpressure2 SYSTEMSBack pressureÇENGEL · BACK PRESSURENetwork backpressureTASSIULAS & EPHREMIDES · 1992

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1992Network backpressure2013Back pressure
2026

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Fluid mechanics

Downstream resistance pushing back on a flow

In fluid mechanics, back pressure is the pressure exerted on a flow from downstream that opposes its motion: the resistance a pump, exhaust, or nozzle must work against, set by the ambient or receiver pressure at the outlet. Raising the back pressure at a nozzle exit changes the flow upstream of it, and in piping it cuts throughput by pushing against the source. The core idea is a downstream pressure propagating upstream to limit the flow, the same relation that reappears in queueing networks and in the circulation.[1]

Unit
The downstream pressure opposing and limiting an upstream flow
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Measured as the pressure at the outlet and its effect on the upstream flow rate

Networks & queueing

Congestion signalled upstream to slow the source

In communication networks and stream processing, backpressure is the mechanism by which a congested downstream stage signals upstream to slow or stop sending, so that queues do not overflow, the same relation as fluid back pressure, with queue backlog standing in for pressure. Tassiulas and Ephremides' backpressure scheduling routes traffic down the steepest gradient of queue-length differences, a virtual pressure gradient that keeps the network stable. It is genuinely the fluid construct carried over to information flow, measured in queue lengths rather than pascals.[2]

Unit
The backlog signal that throttles an upstream sender or stage
Recovery means
Not applicable
Measured by
Tracked by queue-length gradients and the resulting admitted or forwarded rate

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Nearby constructs

throttle1 fields · 1 citationsanchor · a standalone constructcirculation4 fields · 4 citationsjingle · one word, four constructsconstruct6 fields · 7 citationsjingle · one name, six constructs

References

  1. Çengel, Y. A., & Cimbala, J. M. (2013). Fluid mechanics: Fundamentals and applications (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill. ISBN 9780073380322
  2. Tassiulas, L., & Ephremides, A. (1992). Stability properties of constrained queueing systems and scheduling policies for maximum throughput in multihop radio networks. IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control, 37(12), 1936–1948. https://doi.org/10.1109/9.182479

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