Richard Combes

Optimal Control of Wake Up Mechanisms of Femtocells in Heterogeneous Networks

We study, in this work, optimal sleep/wake up schemes for the base stations of network-operated femto cells deployed within macro cells for the purpose of offloading part of its traffic. Our aim is to minimize the energy consumption of the overall heterogeneous network while preserving the Quality of Service (QoS) experienced by users. We model such a system at the flow level, considering a dynamic user configuration, and derive, using Markov Decision Processes (MDPs), optimal sleep/wake up schemes based on the information on traffic load and user localization in the cell, in the cases where this information is complete, partial or delayed. Our results quantify the energy consumption and QoS perceived by the users in each of these cases and identify the tradeoffs between those two quantities. We also illustrate numerically the optimal policies in different traffic scenarios.

Self-organization in wireless networks: A flow-level perspective

This paper introduces self-optimization for wireless networks taking into account flow-level dynamics. Users arrive and leave the network according to a traffic model. Elastic traffic is considered here. The developed solutions self-optimize the network stability region using user feedback (measurements). The use case considered is cell size optimization. An algorithm is given, and its convergence is proven using stochastic approximation techniques. Convergence points are characterized, allowing performance gains to be evaluated rigorously. Performance gains are evaluated numerically, showing an important increase of the network capacity.

Self-Organizing Relays: Dimensioning, Self-Optimization, and Learning

Relay stations are an important component of heterogeneous networks introduced in the LTE-Advanced technology as a means to provide very high capacity and QoS all over the cell area. This paper develops a self-organizing network (SON) feature to optimally allocate resources between backhaul and station to mobile links. Static and dynamic resource sharing mechanisms are investigated. For stationary ergodic traffic we provide a queuing model to calculate the optimal resource sharing strategy and the maximal capacity of the network analytically. When traffic is not stationary, we propose a load balancing algorithm to adapt both the resource sharing and the zones covered by the relays based on measurements. Convergence to an optimal configuration is proven using stochastic approximation techniques. Self-optimizing dynamic resource allocation is tackled using a Markov Decision Process model. Stability in the infinite buffer case and blocking rate and file transfer time in the finite buffer case are considered. For a scalable solution with a large number of relays, a well-chosen parameterized family of policies is considered, to be used as expert knowledge. Finally, a model-free approach is shown in which the network can derive the optimal parameterized policy, and the convergence to a local optimum is proven.

Cross-layer analysis of scheduling gains: Application to LMMSE receivers in frequency-selective Rayleigh-fading channels

This paper proposes two novel contributions: a fast statistical method for scheduling gain calculation is introduced, and we show how it can be combined with queuing theory and real network measurements in order to calculate the flow-level performance of a cellular network that uses Proportional Fair (PF) scheduling. A statistical method to evaluate the scheduling gain is proposed and a proof of its convergence is given. This method is three orders of magnitude faster than full system simulation. Based on these results, a queuing theory analysis is performed and is applied to the pedestrian A 3km/h channel model and LMMSE receiver. The evaluation uses drive tests measurements to reflect the realistic distribution of radio conditions. The derived flow-level performance of PF scheduling, including blocking rate, outage rate and flow throughput, is of major interest for network operators.

Scheduling gain for frequency-selective Rayleigh-fading channels with application to self-organizing packet scheduling

This paper investigates packet scheduling in the context of Self-Optimizing Networks, and demonstrates how to improve coverage dynamically by adjusting the scheduling strategy. We focus on @a-fair schedulers, and we provide methods for calculating the scheduling gain, including several closed form formulas. Scheduling gain is analyzed for different fading models, with a particular focus on the frequency-selective channel. We then propose a coverage-capacity self-optimization algorithm based on @a-fair schedulers. A use case illustrates the implementation of the algorithm and simulation results show that important coverage gains are achieved at the expense of very little computing power.

Optimal Rate Sampling in 802.11 systems

Rate Adaptation (RA) is a fundamental mechanism in 802.11 systems. It allows transmitters to adapt the coding and modulation scheme as well as the MIMO transmission mode to the radio channel conditions, and in turn, to learn and track the (mode, rate) pair providing the highest throughput. So far, the design of RA mechanisms has been mainly driven by heuristics. In contrast, in this paper, we rigorously formulate such design as an online stochastic optimisation problem. We solve this problem and present ORS (Optimal Rate Sampling), a family of (mode, rate) pair adaptation algorithms that provably learn as fast as it is possible the best pair for transmission. We study the performance of ORS algorithms in stationary radio environments where the successful packet transmission probabilities at the various (mode, rate) pairs do not vary over time, and in non-stationary environments where these probabilities evolve. We show that under ORS algorithms, the throughput loss due to the need to explore sub-optimal (mode, rate) pairs does not depend on the number of available pairs. This is a crucial advantage as evolving 802.11 standards offer an increasingly large number of (mode, rate) pairs. We illustrate the efficiency of ORS algorithms (compared to the state-of-the-art algorithms) using simulations and traces extracted from 802.11 test-beds.

Interference coordination in wireless networks: A flow-level perspective

In dense wireless networks, inter-cell interference highly limits the capacity and quality of service perceived by users. Previous work has shown that approaches based on frequency reuse provide important capacity gains. We model a wireless network with Inter-Cell Interference Coordination (ICIC) at the flow level where users arrive and depart dynamically, in order to optimize quality of service indicators perceivable by users such as file transfer time for elastic traffic. We propose an algorithm to tune the parameters of ICIC schemes automatically based on measurements. The convergence of the algorithm to a local optimum is proven, and a heuristic to improve its convergence speed is given. Numerical experiments show that the distance between local optima and the global optimum is very small, and that the algorithm is fast enough to track changes in traffic on the time scale of hours. The proposed algorithm can be implemented in a distributed way with very small signaling load.

Dynamic Rate and Channel Selection in Cognitive Radio Systems

In this paper, we investigate dynamic channel and rate selection in cognitive radio systems that exploit a large number of channels free from primary users. In such systems, transmitters may rapidly change the selected (channel, rate) pair to opportunistically learn and track the pair offering the highest throughput. We formulate the problem of sequential channel and rate selection as an online optimization problem and show its equivalence to a structured multiarmed-bandit problem. The structure stems from inherent properties of the achieved throughput as a function of the selected channel and rate. We derive fundamental performance limits satisfied by any channel and rate adaptation algorithm and propose algorithms that achieve (or approach) these limits. In turn, the proposed algorithms optimally exploit the inherent structure of the throughput. We illustrate the efficiency of our algorithms using both test-bed and simulation experiments, in both stationary and nonstationary radio environments. In stationary environments, the packet successful transmission probabilities at the various channel and rate pairs do not evolve over time, whereas in nonstationary environments, they may evolve. In practical scenarios, the proposed algorithms are able to track the best channel and rate quite accurately without the need for any explicit measurement of and feedback on the quality of the various channels.

Distributed Coordination of Self-Organizing Mechanisms in Communication Networks

The fast development of the self-organizing networks (SON) technology in mobile networks renders critical the problem of coordinating SON functionalities operating simultaneously. SON functionalities can be viewed as control loops that may need to be coordinated to guarantee conflict-free operation, to enforce stability of the network, and to achieve performance gain. This paper proposes a distributed solution for coordinating SON functionalities. It uses Rosens concave games framework in conjunction with convex optimization. The SON functionalities are modeled as linear ordinary differential equations. The stability of the system is first evaluated using a basic control theory approach. The coordination solution consists in finding a linear map (called coordination matrix) that stabilizes the system of SON functionalities. It is proven that the solution remains valid in a noisy environment using stochastic approximation. A practical example involving three different SON functionalities deployed in base stations of a long-term evolution network demonstrates the usefulness of the proposed method.

Self-Organizing Fractional Power Control for Interference Coordination in OFDMA Networks

This paper shows a Self-organizing networks (SON) algorithm for interference coordination in downlink Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) networks. A distributed algorithm is introduced with a proof of convergence for a static user population. The algorithm uses closed-form formulas for the transmit powers update, and is therefore computationally light. The proposed algorithm is applied to a 117 cells dynamic network simulator with a File Transfer Protocol (FTP) service, showing significant performance gains over a Reuse 1. The Quality of Service (QoS) of cell-edge users improves without degrading the QoS of other users. The trade-off between Block Call Rate (BCR), which is the proportion of users rejected by admission control, and cell-edge users throughput is shown, and a simple method for the network operator to manage it is provided.