Wireless Virtualization as a Hierarchical Combinatorial Auction: An Illustrative Example

Virtualization has been seen as one of the main evolution trends in future cellular networks which enables the decoupling of infrastructure from the services it provides. In this case, the roles of infrastructure providers (InPs) and mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) can be logically separated and the resources of a base station owned by an InP can be transparently shared by multiple MVNOs, while each MVNO virtually owns the entire BS. Naturally, the issue of resource allocation arises. Specifically, the InP is required to abstract the physical resources into isolated slices for each MVNO who then allocates the resources within the slice to its subscribed users. In this paper, we aim to address this two-level hierarchical resource allocation problem while satisfying the requirements of efficient resource allocation, strict inter-slice isolation, and the ability of intra-slice customization. To this end, we propose a hierarchical combinatorial auction model, based on which a truthful and efficient resource allocation framework is provided. And we show by an illustrative example how the proposed model can be applied for wireless virtualization. Specifically, winner determination problems (WDPs) are formulated for the InP and MVNOs, and computationally tractable algorithms are proposed for solving these WDPs. Also, pricing schemes are proposed for ensuring the incentive compatibility. Note that the proposed model can be generalized for the virtualization of resources with more dimensions (e.g., power, antennas, etc.).