Head-of-Line Access Delay-Based Scheduling Algorithm for Flow-Level Dynamics

Abstract

Scheduling algorithm design is a critical and challenging issue in multiuser wireless networks with dynamic flows. The well-known Queue-length-based MaxWeight (QMW) scheduling algorithm can achieve throughput-optimality if there only exist persistent flows that are long-lived with infinite traffic arrival. In this paper, we propose a head-of-line access delay (HAD)-based scheduling algorithm and show that it is throughput-optimal when the flows are dynamic, i.e., they are short-lived with finite data to transmit. HAD is an online algorithm and does not require prior knowledge of the statistics of the arrival traffic and channel information. We also develop the Markov analytic model to study system performance and reveal important properties of the proposed HAD scheduling algorithm. To reduce the complexity of the analysis, we further study two approximation methods corresponding to different arrival traffic intensity. Performance evaluation shows that the HAD scheduling algorithm can outperform the classic QMW and stabilize the system at the presence of flow-level dynamics. Compared to the other existing algorithms, HAD is practical to implement with a better delay performance.