A Cross-Layer Optimization Framework for Multihop Multicast in Wireless Mesh Networks

The optimal and distributed provisioning of high throughput in mesh networks is known as a fundamental but hard problem. The situation is exacerbated in a wireless setting due to the interference among local wireless transmissions. In this paper, we propose a cross-layer optimization framework for throughput maximization in wireless mesh networks, in which the data routing problem and the wireless medium contention problem are jointly optimized for multihop multicast. We show that the throughput maximization problem can be decomposed into two subproblems: a data routing subproblem at the network layer, and a power control subproblem at the physical layer with a set of Lagrangian dual variables coordinating interlayer coupling. Various effective solutions are discussed for each subproblem. We emphasize the network coding technique for multicast routing and a game theoretic method for interference management, for which efficient and distributed solutions are derived and illustrated. Finally, we show that the proposed framework can be extended to take into account physical-layer wireless multicast in mesh networks     

On achieving maximum multicast throughput in undirected networks

The transmission of information within a data network is constrained by the network topology and link capacities. In this paper, we study the fundamental upper bound of information dissemination rates with these constraints in undirected networks, given the unique replicable and encodable properties of information flows. Based on recent advances in network coding and classical modeling techniques in flow networks, we provide a natural linear programming formulation of the maximum multicast rate problem. By applying Lagrangian relaxation on the primal and the dual linear programs (LPs), respectively, we derive a) a necessary and sufficient condition characterizing multicast rate feasibility, and b) an efficient and distributed subgradient algorithm for computing the maximum multicast rate. We also extend our discussions to multiple communication sessions, as well as to overlay and ad hoc network models. Both our theoretical and simulation results conclude that, network coding may not be instrumental to achieve better maximum multicast rates in most cases; rather, it facilitates the design of significantly more efficient algorithms to achieve such optimality.     

应用网络编码的分组交换调度算法

网络编码理论与交换调度算法相结合重点是实现在联合输入输出排队（CIOQ）交换结构中提供组播服务。文章证明了对一个流中的分组进行线性网络编码可以承载不允许网络编码时不能够承载的交换流量模式,也就是说,网络编码允许CIOQ交换结构在实现组播服务时有更大的速率区域,并给出了基于图论方法的描述。运用增强冲突图的稳定集多面体等概念,文章证明了计算离线调度的问题可以简化成某种图染色问题,同时,也针对组播调度提出了一个称之为最大权重稳定集的在线调度算法。     

Joint scheduling and power control supporting multicasting in wireless ad hoc networks

This paper addresses the problem of power control in a multihop wireless network supporting multicast traffic. We face the problem of forwarding packet traffic to multicast group members while meeting constraints on the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) at the intended receivers. First, we present a distributed algorithm which, given the set of multicast senders and their corresponding receivers, provides an optimal solution when it exists, which minimizes the total transmit power. When no optimal solution can be found for the given set of multicast senders and receivers, we introduce a distributed, joint scheduling and power control algorithm which eliminates the weak connections and tries to maximize the number of successful multicast transmissions. The algorithm allows the other senders to solve the power control problem and minimize the total transmit power. We show that our distributed algorithm converges to the optimal solution when it exists, and performs close to centralized, heuristic algorithms that have been proposed to address the joint scheduling and power control problem.     

Optimization of layered multicast with network coding and genetic algorithm

This article studies the problem of constructing optimal layered multicast with network coding for heterogeneous networks.Based on the flexibility of layered source coding, a global-favorable optimization scheme is proposed, which maximizes the aggregate throughput of heterogeneous sink nodes for layered multicast with network coding by determining the optimal bit rates of the layers. To solve this global-favorable optimization scheme, especially in the large-scale heterogeneous networks, a new problem-specific genetic algorithm (GA) is further proposed. It not only searches efficiently for the optimal allocation of layer bit rates, but also guarantees the validity of candidate solutions in the whole evolutionary process. Simulation results demonstrate that this new GA-based optimization scheme could obtain efficiently the optimal or satisfactorily near-optimal bit rates for layered multicast with network coding, even in the large-scale heterogeneous networks.     

Multicast with network coding in application-layer overlay networks

All of the advantages of application-layer overlay networks arise from two fundamental properties: 1) the network nodes in an overlay network, as opposed to lower-layer network elements such as routers and switches, are end systems and have capabilities far beyond basic operations of storing and forwarding; 2) the overlay topology, residing above a densely connected Internet protocol-layer wide-area network, can be constructed and manipulated to suit one's purposes. We seek to improve end-to-end throughput significantly in application-layer multicast by taking full advantage of these unique characteristics. This objective is achieved with two novel insights. First, we depart from the conventional view that overlay nodes can only replicate and forward data. Rather, as end systems, these overlay nodes also have the full capability of encoding and decoding data at the message level using efficient linear codes. Second, we depart from traditional wisdom that the multicast topology from source to receivers needs to be a tree, and propose a novel and distributed algorithm to construct a two-redundant multicast graph (a directed acyclic graph) as the multicast topology, on which network coding is applied. We design our algorithm such that the costs of link stress and stretch are explicitly considered as constraints and minimized. We extensively evaluate our algorithm by provable analytical and experimental results, which show that the introduction of two-redundant multicast graph and network coding may indeed bring significant benefits, essentially doubling the end-to-end throughput in most cases.     

支持空间迷你时槽重用的IEEE 802.16Mesh网络多播调度算法

In this paper, we propose a mechanism for multicast data transmission in IEEE 802.16 mesh networks aimed at increasing the throughput by incorporating mini-slot spatial reuse. The proposed mechanism includes two novel algorithms: a source-based multicast tree topology construction algorithm followed by an interference-aware multicast scheduling algorithm. The proposed multicast interfer-ence-aware scheduling algorithm can be ap-plied to both source-based and rendez-vous-based multicast tree topologies. Results of our simulation study show that in compari-son to the mechanism used for the IEEE 802.16’s standard, the proposed multicast tree generation algorithm reduces the number of consumed mini-slots by 64% on average. Moreover, using the proposed interfer-ence-aware scheduling algorithm decreases the number of required mini-slots by a further 22% on average. Therefore, the proposed multicast scheduling mechanism shows a higher throughput than the previous ap-proaches and it is more scalable with respect to increasing the number of multicast groups as well as increasing the number of members inside each multicast group.     

Network Coding for Efficient Multicast Routing in Wireless Ad-hoc Networks

Network coding is a powerful coding technique that has been proved to be very effective in achieving the maximum multicast capacity. It is especially suited for new emerging networks such as ad-hoc and sensor networks. In this work, we investigate the multicast routing problem based on network coding and put forward a practical algorithm to obtain the maximum flow multicast routes in ad-hoc networks. The "conflict phenomenon" that occurs in undirected graphs will also be discussed. Given the developed routing algorithm, we will present the condition for a node to be an encoding node along with a corresponding capacity allocation scheme. We will also analyze the statistical characteristics of encoding nodes and maximum flow in ad-hoc networks based on random graph theory.     

Network coded multicast for multi-hop D2D communication systems

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we consider the wireless communication systems where multi-hop Device-to-Device (D2D) networks can coexist with the conventional cellular networks by sharing the downlink resource of cellular users (CUs). A multicast data flow is distributed over the multi-hop D2D networks where network coding (NC) can be employed at the intermediate nodes. To maximize the utility of the multicast flow, we formulate a joint optimization problem for the systems while guaranteeing the quality-of-service (QoS) for regular CUs. We propose a subgradient algorithm to solve the optimization problem by decomposing it into three sub-problems: multicast rate control, NC subgraph selection, and downlink resource reusing. In particular, we develop a greedy algorithm to deal with the downlink resource reusing sub-problem for it is NP hard. Numerical and simulation results prove the superior performance of the proposed techniques compared with the conventional routing scheme.     

A distributed utility‐based scheduling for peer‐to‐peer video streaming over wireless networks

Interactive multimedia applications such as peer‐to‐peer (P2P) video services over the Internet have gained increasing popularity during the past few years. However, the adopted Internet‐based P2P overlay network architecture hides the underlying network topology, assuming that channel quality is always in perfect condition. Because of the time‐varying nature of wireless channels, this hardly meets the user‐perceived video quality requirement when used in wireless environments. Considering the tightly coupled relationship between P2P overlay networks and the underlying networks, we propose a distributed utility‐based scheduling algorithm on the basis of a quality‐driven cross‐layer design framework to jointly optimize the parameters of different network layers to achieve highly improved video quality for P2P video streaming services in wireless networks. In this paper, the quality‐driven P2P scheduling algorithm is formulated into a distributed utility‐based distortion‐delay optimization problem, where the expected video distortion is minimized under the constraint of a given packet playback deadline to select the optimal combination of system parameters residing in different network layers. Specifically, encoding behaviors, network congestion, Automatic Repeat Request/Query (ARQ), and modulation and coding are jointly considered. Then, we provide the algorithmic solution to the formulated problem. The distributed optimization running on each peer node adopted in the proposed scheduling algorithm greatly reduces the computational intensity. Extensive experimental results also demonstrate 4–14 dB quality enhancement in terms of peak signal‐to‐noise ratio by using the proposed scheduling algorithm. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于分级编码算法的媒体流调度策略

介绍了当前广泛使用的媒体流调度策略的优点及技术瓶颈,阐述了分级编码算法的特点,并提出一种基于分级编码算法的媒体流调度策略,通过将音频、视频文件分层,重编码,和资源的合理优化,再配合单播与组播的混合发送.达到降低服务器的网络负载率、提高服务器事务处理能力的目的.     

A Random Linear Network Coding Approach to Multicast

We present a distributed random linear network coding approach for transmission and compression of information in general multisource multicast networks. Network nodes independently and randomly select linear mappings from inputs onto output links over some field. We show that this achieves capacity with probability exponentially approaching 1 with the code length. We also demonstrate that random linear coding performs compression when necessary in a network, generalizing error exponents for linear Slepian-Wolf coding in a natural way. Benefits of this approach are decentralized operation and robustness to network changes or link failures. We show that this approach can take advantage of redundant network capacity for improved success probability and robustness. We illustrate some potential advantages of random linear network coding over routing in two examples of practical scenarios: distributed network operation and networks with dynamically varying connections. Our derivation of these results also yields a new bound on required field size for centralized network coding on general multicast networks     

Scheduling Efficiency of Distributed Greedy Scheduling Algorithms in Wireless Networks

We consider the problem of distributed scheduling in wireless networks subject to simple collision constraints. We define the efficiency of a distributed scheduling algorithm to be the largest number (fraction) such that the throughput under the distributed scheduling policy is at least equal to the efficiency multiplied by the maximum throughput achievable under a centralized policy. For a general interference model, we prove a lower bound on the efficiency of a distributed scheduling algorithm by first assuming that all of the traffic only uses one hop of the network. We also prove that the lower bound is tight in the sense that, for any fraction larger than the lower bound, we can find a topology and an arrival rate vector within the fraction of the capacity region such that the network is unstable under a greedy scheduling policy. We then extend our results to a more general multihop traffic scenario and show that similar scheduling efficiency results can be established by introducing prioritization or regulators to the basic greedy scheduling algorithm     

Distributed algorithms for multicast path setup in data networks

Establishing a multicast tree in a point-to-point network of switch nodes, such as a wide-area asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network, can be modeled as the NP-complete Steiner problem in networks. In this paper, we introduce and evaluate two distributed algorithms for finding multicast trees in point-to-point data networks. These algorithms are based on the centralized Steiner heuristics, the shortest path heuristic (SPH) and the Kruskal-based shortest path heuristic (K-SPH), and have the advantage that only the multicast members and nodes in the neighborhood of the multicast tree need to participate in the execution of the algorithm. We compare our algorithms by simulation against a baseline algorithm, the pruned minimum spanning-tree heuristic that is the basis of many previously published algorithms for finding multicast trees. Our results show that the competitiveness (the ratio of the sum of the heuristic tree's edge weights to that of the best solution found) of both of our algorithms was, on the average, 25% better in comparison to that of the pruned spanning-tree approach. In addition, the competitiveness of our algorithms was, in almost all cases, within 10% of the best solution found by any of the Steiner heuristics considered, including both centralized and distributed algorithms. Limiting the execution of the algorithm to a subset of the nodes in the network results in an increase in convergence time over the pruned spanning-tree approach, but this overhead can be reduced by careful implementation     

The multicast capacity of deterministic relay networks with no interference

The multicast capacity is determined for networks that have deterministic channels with broadcasting at the transmitters and no interference at the receivers. The multicast capacity is shown to have a cut-set interpretation. It is further shown that one cannot always layer channel and network coding in such networks. The proof of the latter result partially generalizes to discrete memoryless broadcast channels and is used to bound the common rate for problems where one achieves a cut bound on throughput.     

Optimized multipath network coding in lossy wireless networks

Network coding has been a prominent approach to a series of problems that used to be considered intractable with traditional transmission paradigms. Recent work on network coding includes a substantial number of optimization based protocols, but mostly for wireline multicast networks. In this paper, we consider maximizing the benefits of network coding for unicast sessions in lossy wireless environments. We propose Optimized Multipath Network Coding (OMNC), a rate control protocol that dramatically improves the throughput of lossy wireless networks. OMNC employs multiple paths to push coded packets to the destination, and uses the broadcast MAC to deliver packets between neighboring nodes. The coding and broadcast rate is allocated to transmitters by a distributed optimization algorithm that maximizes the advantage of network coding while avoiding congestion. With extensive experiments on an emulation testbed, we find that OMNC achieves more than two-fold throughput increase on average compared to traditional best path routing, and significant improvement over existing multipath routing protocols with network coding. The performance improvement is notable not only for one unicast session, but also when multiple concurrent unicast sessions coexist in the network.     

基于网络编码的双路径组播树生成算法

 为了将网络编码技术引入到全光组播网络中,提出了能够在多项式时间完成的基于网络编码的双路径组播树生成算法.该算法主要包括两大步骤:首先,从给定的组播网络中根据节点间度平衡的原则为源节点和每个目的节点之间确定一条有向路径,从而建立一棵传统有向树并保证有向树中任意节点的出度尽可能小,减少节点之间的关联性;其次,在所建立的传统有向树的基础上,从每一个目的节点到源节点根据冲突回溯原则建立源节点和每个目的节点之间的第二条路径,并保证源节点到任意目的节点间的两条路径为分离路径.算法中包含的约束原则能够保证所建立的双路径组播树包含最少的编码节点,从而使得所建立的组播树支持光域网络编码高效率实现,实现基于网络编码的全光组播并提升全光组播的性能.     

Design of a node architecture for logic-calculation Nased all-optical network coding scheme

Network coding brings many benefits for multicast networks. It is necessary to introduce network coding into optical networks. Nevertheless, the traditional network coding scheme is hard to be implemented in optical networks because of the weak operation capability in photonic domain. In the paper, we focused on realizing two-channel network coding in all-optical multicast networks. An optical network coding scheme which can be realized via logic shift and logic XOR operations in photonic domain was proposed. Moreover, to perform the network coding scheme the coding node structure was designed and the operation principle and processes were illustrated in detail. In the end of the paper, the performance and the cost of different all-optical multicast mode were compared and analyzed.     

An energy-efficient,distributed wireless multicast protocol based on concurrent CTS and <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis><Superscript>2</Superscript> connectivity

Media acquisition process in wireless multicast requires that the sender obtains confirmation replies from a set of receivers. If replies are uncoordinated, the process can be much more time consuming than that of wireless unicast due to packet collisions. We propose a wireless multicast scheme that utilizes a novel concurrent Clear-To-Send (CTS) transmission method and a distributed multicast tree construction method. The concurrent CTS based MAC (Media Access Control) layer design can significantly reduce packet collisions and signaling overhead at the local cell level. Built on top of this new MAC layer protocol, we further propose a distributed multicast tree construction algorithm which grows the tree by maximizing the local multicast gain. The uniqueness of our algorithm is that the tree is constructed implicitly during the media access stage and the algorithm requires little additional message overhead. Extensive simulations are conducted to evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme. Our results indicate that the proposed scheme offers considerable improvement in multicast turnaround time and efficiency. The proposed scheme is also robust against network topology changes caused by node movements.     

Multicast routing and bandwidth dimensioning in overlay networks

Multicast services can be provided either as a basic network service or as an application-layer service. Higher level multicast implementations often provide more sophisticated features and can provide multicast services at places where no network layer support is available. Overlay multicast networks offer an intermediate option, potentially combining the flexibility and advanced features of application layer multicast with the greater efficiency of network layer multicast. In this paper, we introduce the multicast routing problem specific to the overlay network environment and the related capacity assignment problem for overlay network planning. Our main contributions are the design of several routing algorithms that optimize the end-to-end delay and the interface bandwidth usage at the multicast service nodes within the overlay network. The interface bandwidth is typically a key resource for an overlay network provider, and needs to be carefully managed in order to maximize the number of users that can be served. Through simulations, we evaluate the performance of these algorithms under various traffic conditions and on various network topologies. The results show that our approach is cost-effective and robust under traffic variations.