Integration of IEEE 802.11 WLANs with IEEE 802.16-based multihop infrastructure mesh/relay networks: A game-theoretic approach to radio resource management

One of the promising applications of IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX)-based wireless mesh/relay networks is to provide infrastructure/backhaul support for IEEE 802.11-based mobile hotspots. In this article we present an architecture for integrating IEEE 802.11 WLANs with IEEE 802.16-based multihop wireless mesh infrastructure to relay WLAN traffic to the Internet. The major research issues in this integrated architecture are outlined and related work is reviewed. A game-theoretic model is developed for radio resource management in this integrated network architecture. In particular, a multiplayer bargaining game formulation is used for fair bandwidth allocation and optimal admission control of different types of connections (e.g., WLAN connections, relay connections, and connections from standalone subscriber stations) in an IEEE 802.16 base station/mesh router. Both connection-level and inconnection-level performances for this bandwidth management and admission control framework are presented     

IEEE 802.16/WiMAX-based broadband wireless access and its application for telemedicine/e-health services

In this article we investigate the application of IEEE 802.16-based broadband wireless access (BWA) technology to telemedicine services and the related protocol engineering issues. An overview of the different evolutions of the IEEE 802.16 standard is presented and some open research issues are identified. A survey on radio resource management, traffic scheduling, and admission control mechanisms proposed for IEEE 802.16/WiMAX systems is also provided. A qualitative comparison between third-generation wireless systems and the IEEE 802.16/WiMAX technology is given. A survey on telemedicine services using traditional wireless systems is presented. The advantages of using IEEE 802.16/WiMAX technology over traditional wireless systems, as well as the related design issues and approaches are discussed. To this end, we present a bandwidth allocation and admission control algorithm for IEEE 802.16-based BWA designed specifically for wireless telemedicine/e-health services. This algorithm aims at maximizing the utilization of the radio resources while considering the quality of service requirements for telemedicine traffic. Some performance evaluation results for this scheme are obtained by simulations     

A Noncooperative Game-Theoretic Framework for Radio Resource Management in 4G Heterogeneous Wireless Access Networks

Fourth generation (4G) wireless networks will provide high-bandwidth connectivity with quality-of-service (QoS) support to mobile users in a seamless manner. In such a scenario, a mobile user will be able to connect to different wireless access networks such as a wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN), a cellular network, and a wireless local area network (WLAN) simultaneously. We present a game-theoretic framework for radio resource management (that is, bandwidth allocation and admission control) in such a heterogeneous wireless access environment. First, a noncooperative game is used to obtain the bandwidth allocations to a service area from the different access networks available in that service area (on a long-term basis). The Nash equilibrium for this game gives the optimal allocation which maximizes the utilities of all the connections in the network (that is, in all of the service areas). Second, based on the obtained bandwidth allocation, to prioritize vertical and horizontal handoff connections over new connections, a bargaining game is formulated to obtain the capacity reservation thresholds so that the connection-level QoS requirements can be satisfied for the different types of connections (on a long-term basis). Third, we formulate a noncooperative game to obtain the amount of bandwidth allocated to an arriving connection (in a service area) by the different access networks (on a short-term basis). Based on the allocated bandwidth and the capacity reservation thresholds, an admission control is used to limit the number of ongoing connections so that the QoS performances are maintained at the target level for the different types of connections.     

Adaptive power allocation and call admission control in multiservice WiMAX access networks [Radio Resource Management and Protocol Engineering for IEEE 802.16]

To achieve a successful broadband wireless access solution, the IEEE 802.16 subcommittee has released a series of standards for WiMAX (worldwide interoperability for microwave access). From a technical viewpoint, WiMAX is a feasible alternative to the wired Internet access solutions such as cable modem and DSL. Nevertheless, from the commercial viewpoint, whether the promise of WiMAX will be materialized still depends on its revenue rate to telecom operators and its service quality to the subscribers. In such a context, this article addresses two resource management mechanisms in WiMAX access networks, that is, adaptive power allocation (APA) and call admission control (CAC), from the perspectives of both service providers and WiMAX subscribers. APA emphasizes how to share the limited power resource of base station among different WiMAX subscribers and further influences the access bandwidth of each subscriber; CAC highlights how to assign a subscriber's access bandwidth to different types of applications. Moreover, to build a WiMAX access network, APA and CAC have to work cooperatively to provide cross-layer resource management. In this article we focus on the OFDMA-TDD system, which allows high spectrum-utility efficiency on uplink and downlink channels in the asymmetric scenario of "lastmile" Internet access. We conclude the article with an optimization strategy to balance service provider's revenue and subscriber's satisfaction     

Dynamic resource allocation in OFDMA wireless metropolitan area networks [Radio Resource Management and Protocol Engineering for IEEE 802.16]

In this article we present important resource allocation problems in IEEE 802.16 wireless metropolitan area networks employing orthogonal frequency division multiple access. We first highlight the unique aspects of these networks and identify challenges and opportunities provided by the physical and medium access control layers. Next, we concentrate on four interrelated resource allocation problems: dynamic subcarrier allocation, adaptive power allocation, admission control, and capacity planning. We describe solution techniques, provide preliminary results, and discuss open problems for future research     

Queue-aware uplink bandwidth allocation and rate control for polling service in IEEE 802.16 broadband wireless networks

IEEE 802.16 standard defines the air interface specifications for broadband access in wireless metropolitan area networks. Although the medium access control signaling has been well-defined in the IEEE 802.16 specifications, resource management and scheduling, which are crucial components to guarantee quality of service performances, still remain as open issues. In this paper, we propose adaptive queue-aware uplink bandwidth allocation and rate control mechanisms in a subscriber station for polling service in IEEE 802.16 broadband wireless networks. While the bandwidth allocation mechanism adaptively allocates bandwidth for polling service in the presence of higher priority unsolicited grant service, the rate control mechanism dynamically limits the transmission rate for the connections under polling service. Both of these schemes exploit the queue status information to guarantee the desired quality of service (QoS) performance for polling service. We present a queuing analytical framework to analyze the proposed resource management model from which various performance measures for polling service in both steady and transient states can be obtained. We also analyze the performance of best-effort service in the presence of unsolicited grant service and polling service. The proposed analytical model would be useful for performance evaluation and engineering of radio resource management alternatives in a subscriber station so that the desired quality of service performances for polling service can be achieved. Analytical results are validated by simulations and typical numerical results are presented.     

Radio resource management of heterogeneous services in mobile WiMAX systems [Radio Resource Management and Protocol Engineering for IEEE 802.16]

IEEE 802.16e, known as mobile WiMAX, has gained much attention recently for its capability to support high transmission rates in cellular environments and QoS for different applications. Beyond what the standard can define, in order to effectively support video streaming, VoIP, and data services, proprietary radio resource management, including multiconnection assignment, scheduling controls, and call admission controls, are essential. In this study we evaluate the downlink performance of a mobile WiMAX cellular system with different radio resource management, especially the scheduler for QoS control and the implementation of multiconnection for streaming applications     

Cognitive Radio Bandwidth Sharing Scheme Based on the Two-way Matching Game

Bandwidth is an extremely valuable and scarce resource, and may become congested to accommodate diverse services in wireless communications. To enhance the efficiency of bandwidth usage, the concept of cognitive radio has emerged as a new design paradigm. In this paper, a new bandwidth sharing algorithm is developed for cognitive radio networks. Under dynamically changing network environments, we formulate the bandwidth sharing problem as a two-way matching game model. In addition, modified game theory is adopted to reach a near Pareto optimal solution while avoiding bandwidth inefficiency. This approach can make the system more responsive to the current network situation. With a simulation study, it is demonstrated that the proposed scheme approximates an optimized solution under widely diverse traffic load intensities.     

基于优先级的IEEE802.16系统接纳控制算法研究

鉴于IEEE802.16标准中未对接纳控制机制提出定义,为了提高系统带宽利用率,在分析现有无线网络接纳控制技术的基础上,结合IEEE802.16的具体机制提出了一种基于业务优先级的接纳控制算法。相比于先到先服务的接纳机制,该算法严格区分业务优先级,为不同优先级业务预留带宽,以保证实时业务的服务质量(QoS)要求。利用NS2网络模拟软件对算法进行了仿真和性能评估。结果表明,本接纳控制算法可以较好地保障高优先级业务的实时性,同时在重负载情况下系统带宽利用率有了明显提高。     

On the impact of physical layer awareness on scheduling and resource allocation in broadband multicellular IEEE 802.16 systems [Radio Resource Management and Protocol Engineering for IEEE 802.16]

Multicellular networks based on the IEEE 802.16 standard appear to be very promising candidates to provide end users with broadband wireless access. However, they also pose interesting challenges in terms of radio resource management, where several design choices are not specified in the standard, intentionally left open to implementors. For this reason, we focus in this article on scheduling and resource allocation, and investigate how they could operate in a cross-layer fashion. In particular, we describe the principles of joint scheduling and resource allocation for IEEE 802.16 operating in AMC mode, and discuss the critical role played by physical layer considerations, especially intercell interference estimation and channel state awareness, in the obtained performance. This leads to identifying key open issues and possible general solutions     

基于优先级的IEEE 802.16中VoIP弹性接纳控制算法

通过分析IEEE 802.16关于VoIP(voice over IP)的传输规范和服务质量保证机制,指出了区分VoIP的优先级和VoIP要求弹性QoS的性质对VoIP接纳控制有着极其重要的意义,提出了VoIP接纳控制的弹性准则和优先级准则。在运用有效带宽理论确定了VoIP传输所需最小带宽的基础上,提出了基于优先级的弹性接纳控制算法,并以概率强度因子对算法进行了优化。该算法能够根据剩余资源动态地调整接纳强度和策略,对不同优先级的VoIP表现出不同的接纳特性,资源紧张时合理限制低优先级VoIP的接纳。为评价算法性能,通过Markov模型对建议算法的拒绝率进行分析,并在PMP(point-to-multipoint)模式下与新呼叫限制算法进行了对比仿真,结果表明本算法在表现出更高接纳能力的同时具有更低的新连接阻塞率和切换连接掉线率。     

Radio Resource Management in MIMO-OFDM- Mesh Networks: Issues and Approaches

We present a survey on the radio resource management issues in MIMO-OFDM-based infrastructure wireless mesh networks. The major components in radio resource management (i.e., scheduling and admission control) and related research issues are discussed. We review related work in the literature. We propose a game-theoretic model for admission control in IEEE 802.11n-based WMNs using the MIMO-OFDM technology. The proposed scheme uses Q-learning, which is a reinforcement learning algorithm, to gain knowledge on system performance. Then this knowledge is used to determine payoff for the game formulation to obtain the Nash equilibrium for the decision on admitting or rejecting a new connection at a mesh router.     

An integrated adaptive bandwidth-management framework for QoS-sensitive multimedia cellular networks

Bandwidth is an extremely valuable and scarce resource in a wireless network. Therefore, efficient bandwidth management is necessary in order to provide high-quality service to users in a multimedia wireless/mobile network. In this paper, we propose new online bandwidth-management algorithms for bandwidth reservation, call admission, bandwidth migration, and call-preemption strategies. These techniques are combined in an integrated framework that is able to balance the traffic load among cells accommodating heterogeneous multimedia services while ensuring efficient bandwidth utilization. In addition, our online framework to adaptively control bandwidth is a cell-oriented approach that has low complexity, which makes it practical for real cellular networks. Simulation results indicate the superior performance of our bandwidth-management framework to strike the appropriate performance balance between contradictory quality-of-service requirements.     

Radio resource management and protocol engineering for IEEE 802.16 [Guest Editorial]

The special section features six articles that focus on radio resource management issues in IEEE 802.16/WiMAX-based broadband wireless systems. This guest editorial discusses the major issues pertaining to the topic and summarizes the articles included in this section.     

Call admission control scheme with normalized quality of service metric in IEEE 802.16 networks

IEEE 802.16 network introduces a multimedia data scheduling service with different quality of service (QoS) requirements. The scheduling service manages transmission resources according to data types, satisfying the requirements of different connections or users. On the basis of the data types defined in the service, we discuss a normalized QoS metric for the multimedia connections in the paper. The QoS value of a connection can be determined just by three components: the data type of the connection, its desired resources, and its allocated resources. Then, we propose an optimum bandwidth allocation solution, which can maximize the utility of base station. Next, we propose a call admission control scheme utilizing the bandwidth allocation solution. In the scheme, the occupied resource of ongoing connections will be regulated for the entry admission of a new connection, without degrading the network performance and the QoS of ongoing connections. Finally, the simulation results confirm that the proposed scheme with the normalized QoS can achieve better trade‐off between ongoing connections and new connections.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A resource management strategy for multimedia adaptive-rate traffic in a wireless network with TDMA access

One of the challenges today for wireless network operators is to find techniques which will make it possible to introduce multimedia capabilities into mobile communications. The application of a wireless network structure made up of pico-cells to solve this problem will cause an increase in the handover rate. Therefore, a major requirement in a wireless environment is to design an effective call admission control (CAC) strategy to minimize the handover drop probability. Another important requirement is to maximize network utilization in terms of the mean number of channels used. The goal of this paper is to define a resource management strategy for heterogeneous adaptive-rate traffic. The proposed strategy is actually a combination of two: a CAC management strategy and a bandwidth management one. The CAC management strategy extends the Guard Channel strategy to obtain priority-based CAC management for adaptive-rate sources; the bandwidth management strategy allows channels to be assigned proportionally to the throughput window declared by users. In order to assess the effectiveness of the proposed CAC strategy, two Markov models of the system are introduced: one, from the network point of view, to evaluate global system performance, and another, from the user point of view, to evaluate the performance each user is provided with by the network. Numerical examples conclude the paper to analyze which factors most affect performance when the source rate is adaptive and the proposed admission strategy is applied.     

An econometric model for resource management in competitive wireless data networks

This article investigates the role and importance of the economic aspects that are vital to the success of wireless services deployment and provider selection by users in a competitive environment. We show how some of the econometric measures can meaningfully capture the user decisions/actions (e.g., churning) that can potentially be utilized by the providers in managing radio resources (e.g., bandwidth) in wireless data networks. In particular, by modeling the interaction between a service provider and its customers (or users) as a non-cooperative game, we propose a novel cross-layer resource management framework for integrated admission and rate control in CDMA networks. Analytical and simulation results demonstrate how the proposed framework can help minimize customer churning and maximize revenue for the wireless operators, yet optimizing customer satisfaction by providing differentiated quality of service to different classes of users.     

A Bandwidth Efficient Adaptive Call Admission Control Scheme for QoS Provisioning in IEEE 802.16e Mobile Networks

In wireless environment the bandwidth resource is limited and therefore judicious use of the available resources is needed. A bandwidth efficient Call Admission Control (CAC) is proposed in this paper for quality of service (QoS) provisioning for the services defined in IEEE 802.16e mobile WiMAX standards to satisfy both bandwidth and delay guarantees to the admitted connections. The concept of adaptive bandwidth degradation is introduced to improve the bandwidth utilization (BU) of the system. The proposed CAC scheme is analyzed by Markov Chain model and performance evaluation is made in comparison with fixed step size degradation. Results show that the proposed adaptive CAC scheme has excellent BU under stressed network condition. Also the long term average revenue is calculated for different service flows and for the overall system to see the efficiency of the adaptive CAC scheme.     

Radio resource management across multiple protocol layers in satellite networks: a tutorial overview

Satellite transmissions have an important role in telephone communications, television broadcasting, computer communications, maritime navigation, and military command and control. Moreover, in many situations they may be the only possible communication set‐up. Trends in telecommunications indicate that four major growth market/service areas are messaging and navigation services (wireless and satellite), mobility services (wireless and satellite), video delivery services (cable and satellite), and interactive multimedia services (fibre/cable, satellite). When using geostationary satellites (GEO), the long propagation delay may have great impact, given the end‐to‐end delay user's requirements of relevant applications; moreover, atmospheric conditions may seriously affect data transmission. Since satellite bandwidth is a relatively scarce resource compared to the terrestrial one (e.g. in optical transport networks), and the environment is harsher, resource management of the radio segment plays an important role in the system's efficiency and economy. The radio resource management (RMM) entity is responsible for the utilization of the air interface resources, and covers power control, handover, admission control, congestion control, bandwidth allocation, and packet scheduling. RRM functions are crucial for the best possible utilization of the capacity. RRM functions can be implemented in different ways, thus having an impact on the overall system efficiency. This tutorial aims to provide an overview of satellite transmission aspects at various OSI layers, with emphasis on the MAC layer; some cross‐layer solutions for bandwidth allocation are also indicated. Far from being an exhaustive survey (mainly due to the extensive nature of the subject), it offers the readers an extensive bibliography, which could be used for further research on specific aspects. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.