Radio resources allocation for decentrally controlled relay stations

Abstract

To enhance throughput and to extend coverage of wireless networks based on IEEE 802.16 standards, relay stations can be implemented. The crucial point influencing the overall system performance is allocation of appropriate amount of resources to individual relay stations depending on their current needs. If resources are not allocated properly, relay stations can experience congestion situations resulting in system throughput decrease and packet delays increase. If the base station is enhanced purely by centrally controlled relay stations, the base station itself is able to dynamically schedule data transmissions of its relays. Nevertheless, decentrally controlled relays schedule data for its users on its own and the base station is no longer capable to allocate the right amount of radio resources for them. The decentrally controlled relays have to ask for radio resources by means of existing scheduling services defined in IEEE 802.16 standard. While utilization of the conventional unsolicited grant service decreases the system capacity, the use of real-time polling or extended real-time polling services results in higher signaling overhead and longer packet delays. In order to maximize system throughput and to minimize packet delays and signaling overhead, we suggest a mechanism that pre-allocates to decentrally controlled relay stations a certain amount of default radio resources while the remaining resources are dynamically shared. The obtained results show that for low traffic load, overhead and packet delays are significantly smaller as relays do not have to ask base stations for resources. On the other hand, at heavy traffic load the system throughput slightly decreases whereas packet delays and signaling overhead are still significantly smaller.