A distributed scheduling algorithm for wireless networks with constant overhead and arbitrary binary interference

Abstract

This work investigates distributed transmission scheduling in wireless networks. Due to interference constraints, neighboring cannot be simultaneously activated, otherwise transmissions will fail. Here, we consider any binary model of interference. We follow the model described by Bui, Sanghavi, and Srikant in SBS07,SBS09. We suppose that time is slotted and during each slot we have two phases: one control phase which determines what links will be activated and send data during the second phase. We assume random arrivals on each link during each slot, therefore a queue is associated to each link. Since nodes do not have a global knowledge of the network, our aim (like in SBS07,SBS09) is to design for the control phase, a distributed algorithm which determines a set of non interfering links. To be efficient the control phase should be as short as possible; this is done by exchanging control messages during a constant number of mini-slots (constant overhead). In this article we design the first fully distributed local algorithm with the following properties: it works for any arbitrary binary interference model; it has a constant overhead (independent of the size of the network and the values of the queues); and it needs no knowledge. Indeed contrary to other existing algorithms, we do not need to know the values of the queues of the neighboring links, which are difficult to obtain in a wireless network with interference. We prove that this algorithm gives a maximal set of active links (in each interference set, there is at least one active edge). We also give sufficient conditions for stability under Markovian assumptions. Finally the performance of our algorithm (throughput, stability) is investigated and compared via simulations to that of previously proposed schemes.