A Survey of Topology-Transparent Scheduling Schemes in Multi-Hop Packet Radio Networks

Abstract

The aim of topology-transparent scheduling in multi-hop packet radio networks is to find a schedule for the nodes in such a way that the schedule of the existing nodes need not be recomputed when the network topology changes. It caters to highly dynamic scenarios where topology changes occur faster than the speed at which schedule updates can be orchestrated. Hence, the scheduler is typically expected to use only global network parameters like upper bounds on the number of nodes in the network and on the maximum degree of any node in the network. The problem is non-trivial if there are restrictions on the frame length or the minimum throughput of a node in a frame. Over the years, several innovative solutions have been proposed using a variety of mathematical techniques. We present a lucid tutorial-style survey of the approaches using an integrative taxonomy and a comparative analysis. We also outline a few directions for future research in the field.