Efficient and Fair Scheduling for Wireless Networks

Abstract

We then consider the problem of fair end-to-end resource allocation in wireless networks. First, we consider the problem of allocating resources (time slots, frequency, power, etc.) at a base station to many competing flows, where each flow is intended for a different receiver. The channel conditions may be time-varying and different for different receivers. It is well-known that appropriately chosen queue-length based policies are throughput-optimal while other policies based on the estimation of channel statistics can be used to allocate resources fairly among competing users. We show that a combination of queue-length-based scheduling at the base station and congestion control implemented either at the base station or at the end users can lead to fair resource allocation and queue-length stability. These results are then generalized to multihop wireless networks. However, for general multihop networks, we require a centralized scheduling policy. For a simple interference model, we study distributed and asynchronous versions of the mechanisms that we proposed, and prove their convergence properties.