Analysis of Heuristic Graph Partitioning Methods for the Assignment of Packet Control Units in GERAN

Over the last few years, graph partitioning has been recognized as a suitable technique for optimizing cellular network structure. For example, in a recent paper, the authors proposed a classical graph partitioning algorithm to optimize the assignment of cells to Packet Control Units (PCUs) in GSM-EDGE Radio Access Network. Based on this approach, the quality of packet data services in a live environment was increased by reducing the number of cell re-selections between different PCUs. To learn more about the potential of graph partitioning in cellular networks, in this paper, a more sophisticated, yet computationally efficient, partitioning algorithm is proposed for the same problem. The new method combines multi-level refinement and adaptive multi-start techniques with algorithms to ensure the connectivity between cells under the same PCU. Performance assessment is based on an extensive set of graphs constructed with data taken from a live network. During the tests, the new method is compared with classical graph partitioning approaches. Results show that the proposed method outperforms classical approaches in terms of solution quality at the expense of a slight increase in computing time, while providing solutions that are easier to check by the network operator.