Differentiated TCP User Perception over Downlink Packet Data Cellular Systems

Current downlink scheduling algorithms in the (enhanced) third-generation (3G) cellular packet systems exploit instantaneous channel status of multiple users, but most of them are blind to traffic information. To improve TCP users' perception of quality-of-services (QoSs), characterized by response delay, goodput, and always-on connectivity, we propose a cross-layer hierarchical scheduler with traffic awareness and channel dependence to properly prioritize buffer and radio resource allocation among different TCP classes. The scheduler has two tiers: at the IP layer, an intrauser scheduler enhances a common practice, i.e., the DiffServ-based buffer management, by dequeuing same-user TCP packets according to per-class specified and measured responsiveness; at the MAC layer, an interuser scheduler transmits the dequeued packets by considering the opportunistic channel states, mean throughput, and class ID of all users. Both tiers consider the online measured throughput, a cross-layer metric, to achieve resource and performance fairness and TCP classification. Experiments show that, compared with (variations of) proportional fairness (PF) and other schemes, our scheduler can notably speed up time-critical interactive TCP services (HTTP and TELNET) or TCP slow-starts with minor cost to bulk file transfer (FTP) or long-lived flows. It offers scalable and low-cost TCP performance enhancement over the emerging cellular systems     

Analysis of performance trade-offs for an adaptive channel-aware wireless scheduler

In this paper, we consider the scheduling problem where data packets from K input-flows need to be delivered to K corresponding wireless receivers over a heterogeneous wireless channel. Our objective is to design a wireless scheduler that achieves good throughput and fairness performance while minimizing the buffer requirement at each wireless receiver. This is a challenging problem due to the unique characteristics of the wireless channel. We propose a novel idea of exploiting both the long-term and short-term error behavior of the wireless channel in the scheduler design. In addition to typical first-order Quality of Service (QoS) metrics such as throughput and average delay, our performance analysis of the scheduler permits the evaluation of higher-order metrics, which are needed to evaluate the buffer requirement. We show that variants of the proposed scheduler can achieve high overall throughput or fairness as well as low buffer requirement when compared to other wireless schedulers that either make use only of the instantaneous channel state or are channel-state independent in a heterogenous channel.     

Active Queue Management for Fair Resource Allocation in Wireless Networks

This paper investigates the interaction between end-to-end flow control and medium access control (MAC)-layer scheduling on wireless links. We consider a wireless network with multiple users receiving information from a common access point; each user suffers fading and a scheduler allocates the channel based on channel quality but is subject to fairness and latency considerations. We show that the fairness property of the scheduler is compromised by the transport-layer flow control of transmission control protocol (TCP) New Reno. We provide a receiver-side control algorithm, CLAMP, that remedies this situation. CLAMP works at a receiver to control a TCP sender by setting the TCP receiver's advertised window limit, and this allows the scheduler to allocate bandwidth fairly between the users.     

The Effect of On-Off Scheduling to the Required Transmit Power in Systems with Fast Power Control

Physical layer channel-aware scheduling may significantly improve coverage and throughput of IP based services in wireless cellular networks, and the feasibility of such schedulers is actively studied within 3G and 4G systems. A channel-aware scheduler requires access to instantaneous channel state information in order to direct transmission to users with favorable channel conditions. In frequency division duplex (FDD) systems, this requires a fast feedback channel between mobile and base stations, and the overhead of the feedback control channel should be kept as low as possible.In this paper, we study the effect of control channel overhead to on-off scheduling (OOS) when fast transmit power control is applied in data and control channels. On-off scheduling is a simple channel-aware scheduling algorithm, where transmission to a user is suspended if the transmit power exceeds a given threshold. On-off scheduling is applied on the data channel while control channel is always on so that the scheduler is able to obtain channel state information from active users. The gain of OOS strongly depends on the power ratio between control and data channels, and increased interference due to control signaling and decreased interference due to channel-aware scheduling should be jointly considered in system design. Gains in the required transmit power are translated into gains in coverage and capacity assuming WCDMA parameters, and the results can be applied, e.g., when designing scheduling algorithms and corresponding signaling formats for WCDMA uplink.     

Distributed approaches for exploiting multiuser diversity in wireless networks

In wireless fading channels, multiuser diversity can be exploited by scheduling users to transmit when their channel conditions are favorable. This leads to a sum throughput that increases with the number of users and, in certain cases, achieves capacity. However, such scheduling requires global knowledge of every user's channel gain, which may be difficult to obtain in some situations. This paper addresses contention-based protocols for exploiting multiuser diversity with only local channel knowledge. A variation of the ALOHA protocol is given in which users attempt to exploit multiuser diversity gains, but suffer contention losses due to the distributed channel knowledge. The growth rate of the sum throughput for this protocol is characterized in a backlogged system under both short-term and long-term average power constraints. A simple "fixed-rate" system is shown to be asymptotically optimal and to achieve the same growth rate as in a system with an optimal centralized scheduler. Moreover, asymptotically, the fraction of throughput lost due to contention is shown to be 1/e. Also, in a system with random arrivals and an infinite user population, a variation of this ALOHA protocol is shown to be stable for any total arrival rate, given that users can estimate the backlog.     

QoS in WiMAX hybrid schedulers for heterogeneous traffic and their performance comparison

ABSTRACT

Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), based on IEEE 802.16, provides first-mile wireless access for broadband users and is capable of satisfying the Quality of Service (QoS) requirements of voice, video and data traffic (triple-play services). This paper proposes two WiMAX hybrid schedulers, developed by integration of homogeneous schedulers, for providing QoS to triple-play services. The Markovian model is solved analytically to derive various performance metrics, which are then compared with an existing scheduler. The splitting of FTP traffic, before scheduling, provides improved throughput as compared to the proposed first hybrid scheduler, making this an exclusive component of the proposed second hybrid scheduler. The results show that the second proposed model provides an improvement of mandatory QoS parameters; reduction in voice traffic mean queuing delay by 68.18%, and improvement in FTP traffic throughput by 67.27% as compared to the first designed model. The first considered scheduler gives high inter-class fairness; however, it does not provide satisfactory QoS performance. The proposed hybrid schedulers are better in overall performance than other schedulers proposed recently, as they not only satisfy the QoS demands of different types of services but also improve the fairness among services.     

Scheduling with base station diversity and fairness analysis for the downlink of CDMA cellular networks

Efficient packet scheduling in CDMA cellular networks is a challenging problem due to the time variant and stochastic nature of the channel fading process. Selection diversity is one of the most effective techniques utilizing random and independent variations of diverse channels to improve the performance of communication over fading channels. In this paper, we propose two packet scheduling schemes exploiting base station selection diversity in the downlink of CDMA cellular networks. The proposed schemes rely on the limited instantaneous channel state information (CSI) to select the best user from the best serving base station at each time slot. This technique increases the system throughput by increasing multiuser diversity gain and reducing the effective interference among adjacent base stations. Results of Monte Carlo simulations are given to demonstrate the improvement of system throughput using the proposed scheduling schemes. In addition, we investigate fairness issue of wireless scheduling schemes. Due to different characteristics of wireless scheduling schemes, the existing fairness indexes may result in misleading comparison among different schemes. We propose a new fairness index to compare the overall satisfaction of the network users for different scheduling schemes. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On the Robustness of Scheduling Against Channel Variations

In this paper, we study the robustness of scheduling against channel variations. Specifically, we consider a class of generalized proportional fairness (PF) schedulers that achieve optimal throughput-fairness trade-off and study their robustness in terms of maintaining a certain fairness criterion when the channel statistics change from the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) to Rayleigh fading for all users. We conclude that the scheduler is robust only when it is configured to achieve the proportional fairness. For the other scheduler configurations, which are not robust, we show how fairness deviates from the ideal one when the channel statistics change and show how scheduler parameters need to be adjusted to restore the desired fairness. We also show simulation results.     

Novel results for the performance of single and double stages cognitive radio systems through Nakagami-<Emphasis Type="Italic">m</Emphasis> fading and log-normal shadowing

Previously reported results presented approximate expressions for the performance of cognitive radio systems through Nakagami fading and log-normal shadowing. In this article, exact expressions for the Receiver Operating Characteristics of cognitive radio system are derived analytically for a single stage and a double stage system. By single stage, it is assumed that the secondary users are close to the fusion centre therefore, they can be considered directly coupled to it. For the second stage system the secondary users are considered far from the fusion centre, thus another communication link is assumed between the secondary users and the fusion centre with similar characteristics as the first link. In both scenarios Nakagami fading and log-normal shadowing are assumed. Results for integer and non-integer Nakagami fading parameter ‘m’ are obtained. Depicted results show that better performance is obtained with the increase of the number of secondary users and increase of ‘m’. Deterioration due to shadowing is also indicated.     

A Dynamic Resource Allocation Scheme for the Downlink Heterogeneous Traffic of Internet Protocol (IP) Based OFDM networks

Radio Resource management mechanisms such as physical-centric radio resource allocation and medium access control (MAC)—centric packet scheduling are expected to play a substantial role in the performance of orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) based wireless networks. OFDM provide fine granularity for resource allocation since they are capable of dynamically assigning sub-carriers to multiple users and adaptively allocating transmit power. The current layered networking architecture, in which each layer is designed and operated independently, results in inefficient resource use in wireless networks due to the nature of the wireless medium, such as time-varying channel fading. Thus, we need an integrated adaptive design across different layers, allowing for a cross-layer design. In this paper, a scheduling scheme is proposed to dynamically allocate resources for the downlink data transmission of internet protocol based OFDM networks. Generally to maximize the capacity and user satisfaction improvements in packet data admission, scheduling and policing are necessary. Of the three, efficient scheduling has the greatest impact on increased system capacity or effective spectrum usage. In addition, proper scheduling can greatly improve user satisfaction. The contribution of this work is twofold: first we evaluate current allocation schemes by exploiting the knowledge of channel sate information (CSI) and traffic characteristics in terms of queue state information (QSI) to acquire the system performance on a real time network. Second, the resource allocation scheme is extended by incorporating MAC layer information as well as opportunistic packet scheduling in the time-domain-based on minimum weight cost function. The key factors that affect the overall system performance in terms of system average throughput and delay are identified, evaluated and discussed.     

An adaptive cross-layer scheduler for improved QoS support of multiclass data services on wireless systems

With the rapid growth of the Internet and other Internet protocol-related applications, wireless systems have shifted toward supporting a wider variety of data services. This has placed an enormous strain on the already tight capacity of wireless systems. Many improvements have been made at the link layer in second- and third-generation wireless systems. However, further improvements in packet data admission, scheduling, and policing are necessary to maximize capacity and user satisfaction. Of the three, efficient scheduling has the greatest impact on increased system capacity. In addition, proper scheduling can greatly improve user satisfaction. We introduce an adaptive cross-layer packet scheduler, which outperforms popular packet schedulers with respect to both packet delay and user throughput.     

Cross-Layer Optimized Rate Adaptation and Scheduling for Multiple-User Wireless Video Streaming

We present a cross-layer optimized video rate adaptation and user scheduling scheme for multi-user wireless video streaming aiming for maximum quality of service (QoS) for each user,, maximum system video throughput, and QoS fairness among users. These objectives are jointly optimized using a multi-objective optimization (MOO) framework that aims to serve the user with the least remaining playback time, highest delivered video seconds per transmission slot and maximum video quality. Experiments with the IS-856 (1timesEV-DO) standard numerology and ITU pedestrian A and vehicular B environments show significant improvements over the state-of- the-art wireless schedulers in terms of user QoS, QoS fairness, and the system throughput.     

分布式天线系统混合SC/MRC分集中断概率性能

在频率选择性复合Nakagami/lognormal衰落信道条件下,研究了层叠分布式天线系统(Cascade Distributed Antenna System--CDAS)采用混合SC/MRC分集的中断概率性能.针对中断概率性能,分析了多径密度函数(Multipath Intensity Profile MIP)衰减因子、空时分集维数、活动用户数、每比特平均接收信噪比以及衰落因子对系统性能的影响.仿真表明CDAS系统可以有效对抗衰落,提高系统容量,削弱对数正态阴影衰落影响.     

Performance analysis of multiuser diversity scheduling schemes in FSO communication sys-tem

Taking into consideration the aperture averaging, the system performance of a point-to-multipoint free space optical (FSO) system for various multiuser diversity scheduling schemes is studied over exponentiated Weibull (EW) fading channels. The selection principles of greedy scheduling (GS), selective multiuser diversity scheduling (SMDS), proportional fair scheduling (PFS) and selective multiuser diversity scheduling with exponential rule (SMDS-ER) schemes are introduced and compared on the basis of time-varying behavior of turbulence channel fading in the present system. The analytical average capacity expressions for the GS and SMDS schemes are derived, respectively. Then, the relative capacity simulations for PFS and SMDS-ER schemes are also provided over EW fading channels with the binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation. The results show that the GS scheme obtains the maximum average capacity at the cost of the fairness of users. The SMDS-ER receives the minimum capacity, but it guarantees the fairness of users. The SMDS and PFS schemes can get balance between capacity and fairness. This study can be used for FSO system design.     

The ALOHA systems in shadowed mobile radio channels with slow orfast fading

The influence of receiver capture on the performance of the ALOHA protocol in the presence of shadowing is investigated. The combined effect of Rayleigh fading, log-normal shadowing, and spatial distribution of mobile users is also studied. It is shown that shadowing is similar to fading and near/far phenomena, in that it makes the capture effect possible and provides ALOHA systems with substantial improvements in throughput. It is also confirmed that the superimposed Rayleigh fading, log-normal shadowing, and spatial distribution can further enhance the capture effect, resulting in a ALOHA system with higher throughput. The fast fading effect in ALOHA systems is explored. A very fast fading case is examined which may be considered to be equivalent to interleaving in slow fading. It is found that an ALOHA system under fast fading conditions also benefits from the capture results in higher throughput     

WCFQ: an opportunistic wireless scheduler with statistical fairness bounds

We present wireless credit-based fair queuing (WCFQ), a new scheduler for wireless packet networks with provable statistical short- and long-term fairness guarantees. WCFQ exploits the fact that users contending for the wireless medium will have different "costs" of transmission depending on their current channel condition. For example, in systems with variable coding, a user with a high-quality channel can exploit its low-cost channel and transmit at a higher data rate. Similarly, a user in a code-division multiple access system with a high-quality channel can use a lower transmission power. Thus, WCFQ provides a mechanism to exploit inherent variations in channel conditions and select low-cost users in order to increase the system's overall performance (e.g., total throughput). However, opportunistic selection of the best user must be balanced with fairness considerations. In WCFQ, we use a credit abstraction and a general "cost function" to address these conflicting objectives. This provides system operators with the flexibility to achieve a range of performance behaviors between perfect fairness of temporal access independent of channel conditions and purely opportunistic scheduling of the best user without consideration of fairness. To quantify the system's fairness characteristics within this range, we develop an analytical model that provides a statistical fairness bound in terms of the cost function and the statistical properties of the channel. An extensive set of simulations indicate that the scheme is able to achieve significant throughput gains while balancing temporal fairness constraints.     

基于802．16的跨层调度器设计

首先对基于IEEE802．16标准定义的QoS架构进行了扩充,然后对BS分组调度器进行了具体的设计,将其分为服务信息模块、信道状态反馈模块和服务调度模块3个部分。为不同类型的服务流提供QoS支持,设计了MAC—PHY跨层调度器,综合考虑无线信道的状态和MAC层业务QoS要求,对业务进行3级调度：     

Performance Analysis of Multiuser Selection Diversity

In this paper, the performance of scheduling algorithms exploiting the multiuser selection diversity is studied. The authors consider schedulers with affordable-rate transmission and adaptive transmission based on the absolute signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and the normalized SNR. In contrast to previous studies on multiuser diversity systems, channel dynamics is taken into consideration in this paper by a novel formulation based on the level-crossing analysis of stochastic processes. Then, a connection is made between the Doppler frequency shift, which indicates the channel temporal correlation, and the average (channel) access time, the average waiting time between accesses, and the average access rate of active users. These properties are important for the scheduler design, especially for applications where delay is a concern. In addition, analytical expressions for the system throughput and the degree of fairness when users have nonidentical average channel conditions are presented. These expressions quantify the effect of disparateness in users' average channel conditions on the system performance.      

Exploiting Multiuser Diversity With Imperfect One-Bit Channel State Feedback

It has been well recognized that significant throughput gains can be leveraged in multiuser wireless communication systems by exploiting multiuser diversity with a smart scheduler. This scheduler collects channel state information (CSI) from all users and allocates the resources to the user(s) experiencing favorable channel conditions. However, for a frequency-division-duplex system with a large number of users, how to efficiently collect the required CSI will be a challenging task, especially when the feedback links are of limited capacity. In this paper, we propose a scheduling algorithm to exploit multiuser diversity with possibly imperfect one-bit channel state feedback. The basic idea is to define a threshold lambda and let each user report one-bit information to the scheduler about the comparison between its measured channel fading level and lambda. Correspondingly, the scheduler uses these feedback bits to classify all users into two sets and assigns the channel to one user belonging to the set experiencing favorable channel conditions. Several implementation schemes are developed by attacking the optimization of lambda under different system configurations, covering both the case when the one-bit feedback is perfect and those when the one-bit feedback is imperfect. Computer simulations show that when the user number is large, say, more than ten users, the proposed scheduling supports significantly larger data rate over the round-robin scheduling, while in comparison with the optimum scheduling with complete CSI, the performance loss is limited if the one-bit feedback is of high reliability. In addition, our studies show that we can effectively enhance the robustness against feedback imperfectness by incorporating the feedback reliability into optimization of lambda     

Saturation throughput analysis of a carrier sensing based MU-MIMO MAC protocol in a WLAN under fading and shadowing

In wireless local area networks (WLANs), the traditional carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) medium access control (MAC) protocol cannot use the full benefits from multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) technique due to random medium access of the users. In this paper, we propose a carrier sensing based MAC protocol for a MU-MIMO based WLAN with full utilization of MU-MIMO technique. By modeling the WLAN system under the proposed MAC protocol as a discrete time Markov chain, we develop an analytical model for computing the saturation throughput in presence of path loss, Rayleigh fading and log-normal shadowing. The analytical model is then validated via simulation. By means of numerical and simulation results, we demonstrate that the proposed MAC protocol significantly improves throughput performance than the traditional CSMA/CA MAC protocol. Further, we compare the performance of the proposed MAC protocol with a MU-MIMO MAC protocol called Uni-MUMAC protocol and find that the proposed MAC protocol performs better than the Uni-MUMAC protocol. We also explore the effect of some of the network and wireless channel parameters on the performance of the proposed MAC protocol.