A Novel Scheme for Packet Scheduling and Bandwidth Allocation in WiMAX Networks

Abstract

Radio Resource Management (RRM) techniques used in the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) can provide for many of the services and features promised by 4G wireless networks, such as supporting multimedia services with high data rates, and wide coverage area, as well as all-IP with security and Quality of Service (QoS) support. The IEEE 802.16 standard, associated with the WiMAX, leaves the details of RRM components open for the vendors to explore. In this paper we propose a novel scheme for the QoS support in WiMAX including packet scheduling and bandwidth allocation strategies. The proposed solution efficiently enhances performance and utilizes resources, while being fair, practical and in compliance with the IEEE 802.16 standard specifications. Our solution provides QoS support to all traffic classes defined by the standard, and it dynamically changes the bandwidth allocation based on the traffic characteristics and service demands. Simulation results show that the proposed solution can deliver QoS support and be fair to all classes of service in a WiMAX network.