Delay and Loss Due to Uplink Packet Scheduling in LTE Network

Abstract

In this paper we describe the packet scheduling process and investigate the reasons limiting the medium access control (MAC) layer capacity of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long Term Evolution (3GPP LTE) network. We show that although a scheduling process allows to assign dedicated channels to the users based on their quality of service (QoS) requirements, it introduces the additional delay in the uplink channel. We also show that the scheduling delay may increase significantly if some certain parameters of the system are not set appropriately, and suggest alternative approaches to reduce the scheduling delay in LTE network. Obtained analytical expressions of the packet scheduling delay and loss have been verified using simulation model developed in OPNET platform. Results of this work can be used for resource allocation, packet scheduling and network planning to establish the upper bounds on delay and loss for the users with strict QoS requirements.Keywords3GPP LTEpacket schedulingperformance evaluation