Krishna P. Jagannathan

Delay analysis of maximum weight scheduling in wireless Ad Hoc networks

This paper studies delay properties of the well-known maximum weight scheduling algorithm in wireless ad hoc networks. We consider wireless networks with either one-hop or multi-hop flows. Specifically, this paper shows that the maximum weight scheduling algorithm achieves order optimal delay for wireless ad hoc networks with single-hop traffic flows if the number of activated links in one typical schedule is of the same order as the number of links in the network. This condition would be satisfied for most practical wireless networks. This result holds for both i.i.d and Markov modulated arrival processes with two states. For the multi-hop flow case, we also derive tight backlog bounds in the order sense.

Non-Cooperative Spectrum Access — The Dedicated vs. Free Spectrum Choice

We consider a dynamic spectrum access system in which Secondary Users (SUs) choose to either acquire dedicated spectrum or to use spectrum-holes (white spaces) which belong to Primary Users (PUs). The trade-off incorporated in this decision is between immediate yet costly transmission and free but delayed transmission (a consequence of both the possible appearance of PUs and sharing the spectrum holes with multiple SUs). We first consider a system with a single PU band, in which the SU decisions are fixed. Employing queueing-theoretic methods, we obtain explicit expressions for the expected delays associated with using the PU band. Based on that, we then consider self-interested SUs and study the interaction between them as a non-cooperative game. We prove the existence and uniqueness of a symmetric Nash equilibrium, and characterize the equilibrium behavior explicitly. Using our equilibrium results, we show how to maximize revenue from renting dedicated bands to SUs and briefly discuss the extension of our model to multiple PUs. Finally, since spectrum sensing can be resource-consuming, we characterize the gains provided by this capability.

Scheduling of Multi-Antenna Broadcast Systems with Heterogeneous Users

We study the problem of efficiently scheduling users in a Gaussian broadcast channel with M transmit antennas and K independent receivers, each with a single antenna. We first focus on a scenario with two transmit antennas and statistically identical users, and analyze the gap between the full sum capacity and the rate that can be achieved by transmitting to a suitably selected pair of users. In particular, we consider a scheme that picks the user with the largest channel gain, and selects a second user from the next L - 1 strongest ones to form the best pair, taking channel orientations into account as well. We prove that the expected rate gap converges to 1/(L- 1) nats/symbol when the total number of users K tends to infinity. Allowing L to increase with K, it may be deduced that transmitting to a properly chosen pair of users is asymptotically optimal, while considerably reducing the feedback overhead and scheduling complexity. Next, we tackle the problem of maximizing a weighted sum rate in a scenario with heterogeneous user characteristics. We establish a novel upper bound for the weighted sum capacity, which we then use to show that the maximum expected weighted sum rate can be asymptotically achieved by transmitting to a suitably selected subset of at most MC users, where C denotes the number of distinct user classes. Numerical experiments indicate that the asymptotic results are remarkably accurate and that the proposed schemes operate close to absolute performance bounds, even for a moderate number of users.

A State Action Frequency Approach to Throughput Maximization over Uncertain Wireless Channels

We consider scheduling over a wireless system, where the channel state information is not available a priori to the scheduler, but can be inferred from the past. Specifically, the wireless system is modeled as a network of parallel queues. We assume that the channel state of each queue evolves stochastically as an ON/OFF Markov chain. The scheduler, which is aware of the queue lengths but is oblivious of the channel states, has to choose one queue at a time for transmission. The scheduler has no information regarding the current channel states, but can estimate them by using the acknowledgment history. We first characterize the capacity region of the system using tools from Markov Decision Processes (MDP) theory. Specifically, we prove that the capacity region boundary is the uniform limit of a sequence of Linear Programming (LP) solutions. Next, we combine the LP solution with a queue length based scheduling mechanism that operates over long ‘frames,’ to obtain a throughput optimal policy for the system. By incorporating results from MDP theory within the Lyapunov-stability framework, we show that our frame-based policy stabilizes the system for all arrival rates that lie in the interior of the capacity region.

A state action frequency approach to throughput maximization over uncertain wireless channels

We consider scheduling over a wireless system, where the channel state information is not available a priori to the scheduler, but can be inferred from the past. Specifically, the wireless system is modeled as a network of parallel queues. We assume that the channel state of each queue evolves stochastically as an ON/OFF Markov chain. The scheduler, which is aware of the queue lengths but is oblivious of the channel states, has to choose one queue at a time for transmission. The scheduler has no information regarding the current channel states, but can estimate them by using the acknowledgment history. We first characterize the capacity region of the system using tools from Markov Decision Processes (MDP) theory. Specifically, we prove that the capacity region boundary is the uniform limit of a sequence of Linear Programming (LP) solutions. Next, we combine the LP solution with a queue length based scheduling mechanism that operates over long ‘frames,’ to obtain a throughput optimal policy for the system. By incorporating results from MDP theory within the Lyapunov-stability framework, we show that our frame-based policy stabilizes the system for all arrival rates that lie in the interior of the capacity region.

Non-cooperative spectrum access: the dedicated vs. free spectrum choice

We consider a dynamic spectrum access system in which Secondary Users (SUs) choose to either acquire dedicated spectrum or to use spectrum-holes (white spaces) which belong to Primary Users (PUs). The trade-off incorporated in this decision is between immediate yet costly transmission and free but delayed transmission (a consequence of both the possible appearance of PUs and sharing the spectrum holes with multiple SUs). We first consider a system with a single PU band, in which the SU decisions are fixed. Employing queueing-theoretic methods, we obtain explicit expressions for the expected delays associated with using the PU band. Based on that, we then consider self-interested SUs and study the interaction between them as a non-cooperative game. We prove the existence and uniqueness of a symmetric Nash equilibrium, and characterize the equilibrium behavior explicitly. Using our equilibrium results, we show how to maximize revenue from renting dedicated bands to SUs and briefly discuss the extension of our model to multiple PUs. Finally, since spectrum sensing can be resource-consuming, we characterize the gains provided by this capability.

Throughput optimal scheduling in the presence of heavy-tailed traffic

We investigate the tail behavior of the steady-state queue occupancies under throughput optimal scheduling in the presence of heavy-tailed traffic. We consider a system consisting of two parallel queues, served by a single server. One of the queues receives traffic that is heavy-tailed (the “heavy queue”), and the other receives light-tailed traffic (the “light queue”). The queues are connected to the server through time-varying ON/OFF links. We study a generalized version of max-weight scheduling, called the max-weight-α policy, and show that the light queue occupancy distribution is heavy-tailed for arrival rates above a threshold value. We also obtain the exact ‘tail coefficient’ of the light queue occupancy distribution under max-weight-alpha scheduling. Next, we show that the policy that gives complete priority to the light queue guarantees the best possible tail behavior of both queue occupancy distributions. However, the priority policy is not throughput optimal, and can cause undesirable instability effects in the heavy queue. Finally, we propose a log-max-weight (LMW) scheduling policy. We show that in addition to being throughput optimal, the LMW policy guarantees that the light queue occupancy distribution is light-tailed, for all arrival rates that the priority policy can stabilize. Thus, the LMW scheduling policy has desirable performance on both fronts, namely throughput optimality, and the tail behavior of the light queue occupancy distribution.

Efficient Scheduling of Multi-User Multi-Antenna Systems

The capacity region of the Gaussian multi-antenna broadcast channel was characterized recently in [19]. It was shown that a scheme based on Dirty Paper Coding [2] achieves the full capacity region when the transmitter has perfect channel state information. However, this scheme potentially involves considerable amounts of feedback and complex algorithms for coding and user selection. This has led to a quest for practical transmission schemes and ways to reduce the amount of channel state information required. In particular, it has been shown that when the total number of users is large, the sum capacity can be closely approached by transmitting to a small subset of near-orthogonal users. In order to further quantify the latter observation, we study a Gaussian broadcast channel with two transmit antennas and K statistically identical, independent users each with a single receive antenna. We obtain an exact asymptotic characterization of the gap between the full sum capacity and the rate that can be achieved by transmitting to a suitably selected pair of users. Specifically, we consider various simple schemes for user-pair selection that take into account the channel norms as well as the relative orientation of the channel vectors. We conclude that a scheme that picks the strongest user and selects a second user to form the best pair, is asymptotically optimal, while also being attractive in terms of feedback and operational complexity.

Throughput Optimal Scheduling Over Time-Varying Channels in the Presence of Heavy-Tailed Traffic

We study the problem of scheduling over time varying links in a network that serves both heavy-tailed and light tailed traffic. We consider a system consisting of two parallel queues, served by a single server. One of the queues receives heavy-tailed traffic (the heavy queue), and the other receives light-tailed traffic (the light queue). The queues are connected to the server through time-varying ON/OFF links, which model fading wireless channels. We first show that the policy that gives complete priority to the light-tailed traffic guarantees the best possible tail behavior of both queue backlog distributions, whenever the queues are stable. However, the priority policy is not throughput maximizing, and can cause undesirable instability effects in the heavy queue. Next, we study the class of throughput optimal max-weight-α scheduling policies. We discover a threshold phenomenon, and show that the steady state light queue backlog distribution is heavy-tailed for arrival rates above a threshold value, and light-tailed otherwise. We also obtain the exact tail coefficient of the light queue backlog distribution under max-weight-α scheduling. Finally, we study a log-max-weight scheduling policy, which is throughput optimal, and ensures that the light queue backlog distribution is light-tailed.

Queue-Aware Optimal Resource Allocation for the LTE Downlink With Best

We address the problem of optimal downlink resource allocation in an OFDMA system, in a scenario where very limited channel quality information (CQI) is available at the base station. This paper is particularly applicable in the context of the LTE downlink since the feedback mechanism that we consider closely resembles one of the CQI reporting modes in LTE. Specifically, the users only report the indices of their best M subbands and an effective CQI corresponding to these best M bands. Our policy simultaneously performs optimal subband assignment and rate allocation, by taking into account channel quality and the queue backlogs of each user. The technical novelty of our work lies in exploiting a limit theorem on the best SNRs reported by the users, and combining it within a Lyapunov stability framework. We show that our policy is throughput maximizing among all policies, which are constrained to the CQI mechanism considered. Numerical results indicate that, in terms of throughput and average delay, our policy compares favorably to existing resource allocation policies such as proportional fair.