AbstractThe optimal flow control of aG/G/cfinite capacity queue is investigated by approximating the general (G-type) distributions by a maximum entropy model with known first two moments. The flow-control mechanism maximizing the throughput, under a bounded time-delay criterion, is shown to be of window type (bang-bang control). The optimal input rate and the maximum number of packets in the system (i.e. sliding window size) are derived in terms of the maximum input rate and the second moment of the interinput time, the maximum allowed average time delay, the first two moments of the service times and the number of servers. Moreover, the relationship between the maximum throughput and maximum time delay is determined. Numerical examples provide useful information on how critically the optimal throughput is affected by the distributional form of the input and service patterns and the finite capacity of the queue.