Implementing utility-optimal CSMA

Hundreds of papers over the last two decades have studied the theory of distributed scheduling in wireless networks, including a number of them on stability or utility maximizing random access. Several publications in 2008 studied an adaptive CSMA that in theory can approach utility optimality without any message passing under a number of assumptions. This paper reports the results from the first deployment of such random access algorithms through an implementation over conventional 802.11 hardware, an on-going effort that started in summer 2009. It shows both a confirmation that utility optimal CSMA may work well in practice even with an implementation over legacy equipment, and a wide array of gaps between theory and practice in the field of wireless scheduling. This paper therefore also brainstorms the discovery of and bridging over these gaps, and the implementation-inspired questions on modeling and analysis of scheduling algorithms.

[1]  Xiaojun Lin,et al.  Constant-Time Distributed Scheduling Policies for Ad Hoc Wireless Networks , 2006, CDC.

[2]  A. Robert Calderbank,et al.  Utility-Optimal Medium Access Control: Reverse and Forward Engineering , 2006, Proceedings IEEE INFOCOM 2006. 25TH IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications.

[3]  Anthony Unwin,et al.  Reversibility and Stochastic Networks , 1980 .

[4]  Eytan Modiano,et al.  Polynomial Complexity Algorithms for Full Utilization of Multi-Hop Wireless Networks , 2007, IEEE INFOCOM 2007 - 26th IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications.

[5]  Koushik Kar,et al.  Cross-layer rate control for end-to-end proportional fairness in wireless networks with random access , 2005, MobiHoc '05.

[6]  Ness B. Shroff,et al.  Performance of Random Access Scheduling Schemes in Multi-hop Wireless Networks , 2006 .

[7]  Koushik Kar,et al.  Cross-layer rate optimization for proportional fairness in multihop wireless networks with random access , 2006, IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications.

[8]  Leandros Tassiulas,et al.  Achieving proportional fairness using local information in Aloha networks , 2004, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control.

[9]  Vincent W. S. Wong,et al.  Utility-optimal random access: Reduced complexity, fast convergence, and robust performance , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications.

[10]  Vivek S. Borkar,et al.  Stochastic approximation with 'controlled Markov' noise , 2006, Systems & control letters (Print).

[11]  M. Chiang,et al.  Next-Generation Internet Architectures and Protocols: Stochastic network utility maximization and wireless scheduling , 2008 .

[12]  Alexandre Proutière,et al.  Complexity in wireless scheduling: impact and tradeoffs , 2008, MobiHoc '08.

[13]  Leandros Tassiulas,et al.  Linear complexity algorithms for maximum throughput in radio networks and input queued switches , 1998, Proceedings. IEEE INFOCOM '98, the Conference on Computer Communications. Seventeenth Annual Joint Conference of the IEEE Computer and Communications Societies. Gateway to the 21st Century (Cat. No.98.

[14]  Devavrat Shah,et al.  Distributed algorithm and reversible network , 2008, 2008 42nd Annual Conference on Information Sciences and Systems.

[15]  Frank Kelly,et al.  Stochastic Models of Computer Communication Systems , 1985 .

[16]  Prasanna Chaporkar,et al.  Throughput Guarantees Through Maximal Scheduling in Wireless Networks , 2008 .

[17]  Leandros Tassiulas,et al.  Stability properties of constrained queueing systems and scheduling policies for maximum throughput in multihop radio networks , 1992 .

[18]  Alexander L. Stolyar,et al.  Maximizing Queueing Network Utility Subject to Stability: Greedy Primal-Dual Algorithm , 2005, Queueing Syst. Theory Appl..

[19]  Jinsung Lee,et al.  An Open Wireless Mesh Testbed Architecture with Data Collection and Software Distribution Platform , 2007, 2007 3rd International Conference on Testbeds and Research Infrastructure for the Development of Networks and Communities.

[20]  R. Srikant,et al.  Joint congestion control, routing, and MAC for stability and fairness in wireless networks , 2006, IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications.

[21]  Jean C. Walrand,et al.  A Distributed CSMA Algorithm for Throughput and Utility Maximization in Wireless Networks , 2010, IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking.

[22]  Saikat Ray,et al.  Arbitrary Throughput Versus Complexity Tradeoffs in Wireless Networks Using Graph Partitioning , 2008, IEEE Transactions on Automatic Control.

[23]  Ness B. Shroff,et al.  Performance of Random Access Scheduling Schemes in Multi-Hop Wireless Networks , 2006, IEEE INFOCOM 2007 - 26th IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications.

[24]  R. Srikant,et al.  Distributed Link Scheduling With Constant Overhead , 2006, IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking.

[25]  Xiaojun Lin,et al.  Constant-Time Distributed Scheduling Policies for Ad Hoc Wireless Networks , 2006, Proceedings of the 45th IEEE Conference on Decision and Control.

[26]  V. Wong.  For Peer Review Utility-Optimal Random Access : Optimal Performance Without Frequent Explicit Message Passing , 2007 .

[27]  Ness B. Shroff,et al.  The impact of imperfect scheduling on cross-layer rate control in wireless networks , 2005, Proceedings IEEE 24th Annual Joint Conference of the IEEE Computer and Communications Societies..

[28]  Junshan Zhang,et al.  Delay and effective throughput of wireless scheduling in heavy traffic regimes: vacation model for complexity , 2009, MobiHoc '09.

[29]  Eytan Modiano,et al.  Maximizing throughput in wireless networks via gossiping , 2006, SIGMETRICS '06/Performance '06.

[30]  Patrick Thiran,et al.  A Packing Approach to Compare Slotted and Non-Slotted Medium Access Control , 2006, Proceedings IEEE INFOCOM 2006. 25TH IEEE International Conference on Computer Communications.

[31]  Eytan Modiano,et al.  Fairness and Optimal Stochastic Control for Heterogeneous Networks , 2005, IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking.

[32]  R. Srikant,et al.  Low-Complexity Distributed Scheduling Algorithms for Wireless Networks , 2009, IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking.

[33]  Jinsung Lee,et al.  Common Code Architecture for Future Internet Researches in Wireless Mesh Networks , 2008 .

[34]  Alexandre Proutière,et al.  Performance of random medium access control, an asymptotic approach , 2008, SIGMETRICS '08.

[35]  H. Vincent Poor,et al.  Queue Back-Pressure Random Access in Multihop Wireless Networks: Optimality and Stability , 2009, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory.