Load-Balancing Algorithm for Multiple Gateways in Fog-Based Internet of Things

Abstract

This article investigates the performance of multicriteria-based load-balancing scheme among gateways in fog-assisted Internet of Things (IoT). We employ a queueing model of the IoT system to calculate the latency of data streams from the IoT devices to the applications. However, a gateway node may easily become congested since all the traffic to IP networks are directed toward the gateway. A congested point can affect system performance and may cause reliability problems in the system. Thus, we employ multiple gateways to alleviate the performance degradation of the network, along with a multicriteria decision-making (MCDM)-based load-balancing policy among the gateways to achieve a global load fairness. The proposed model is evaluated in single-hop IPv6 over low-power wireless personal area networks (6LoWPANs). The evaluation results show the effectiveness of the proposed load-balancing model in providing fast and reliable responses to user queries.