Hierarchical Beamforming: Resource Allocation, Fairness and Flow Level Performance

We consider hierarchical beamforming in wireless networks. For a given population of flows, we propose computationally efficient algorithms for fair rate allocation including proportional fairness and max-min fairness. We next propose closed-form formulas for flow level performance, for both elastic (with either proportional fairness and max-min fairness) and streaming traffic. We further assess the performance of hierarchical beamforming using numerical experiments. Since the proposed solutions have low complexity compared to conventional beamforming, our work suggests that hierarchical beamforming is a promising candidate for the implementation of beamforming in future cellular networks.Comment: 34 page

Application-Oriented Flow Control: Fundamentals, Algorithms and Fairness

This paper is concerned with flow control and resource allocation problems in computer networks in which real-time applications may have hard quality of service (QoS) requirements. Recent optimal flow control approaches are unable to deal with these problems since QoS utility functions generally do not satisfy the strict concavity condition in real-time applications. For elastic traffic, we show that bandwidth allocations using the existing optimal flow control strategy can be quite unfair. If we consider different QoS requirements among network users, it may be undesirable to allocate bandwidth simply according to the traditional max-min fairness or proportional fairness. Instead, a network should have the ability to allocate bandwidth resources to various users, addressing their real utility requirements. For these reasons, this paper proposes a new distributed flow control algorithm for multiservice networks, where the application's utility is only assumed to be continuously increasing over the available bandwidth. In this, we show that the algorithm converges, and that at convergence, the utility achieved by each application is well balanced in a proportionally (or max-min) fair manner

Dynamic bandwidth allocation in multi-class IP networks using utility functions.

PhDAbstact not availableFujitsu Telecommunications Europe Lt

A Flow-aware MAC Protocol for a Passive Optical Metropolitan Area Network

The paper introduces an original MAC protocol for a passive optical metropolitan area network using time-domain wavelength interleaved networking (TWIN)% as proposed recently by Bell Labs . Optical channels are shared under the distributed control of destinations using a packet-based polling algorithm. This MAC is inspired more by EPON dynamic bandwidth allocation than the slotted, GPON-like access control generally envisaged for TWIN. Management of source-destination traffic streams is flow-aware with the size of allocated time slices being proportional to the number of active flows. This emulates a network-wide, distributed fair queuing scheduler, bringing the well-known implicit service differentiation and robustness advantages of this mechanism to the metro area network. The paper presents a comprehensive performance evaluation based on analytical modelling supported by simulations. The proposed MAC is shown to have excellent performance in terms of both traffic capacity and packet latency

Network emulation focusing on QoS-Oriented satellite communication

This chapter proposes network emulation basics and a complete case study of QoS-oriented Satellite Communication

Theories and Models for Internet Quality of Service

We survey recent advances in theories and models for Internet Quality of Service (QoS). We start with the theory of network calculus, which lays the foundation for support of deterministic performance guarantees in networks, and illustrate its applications to integrated services, differentiated services, and streaming media playback delays. We also present mechanisms and architecture for scalable support of guaranteed services in the Internet, based on the concept of a stateless core. Methods for scalable control operations are also briefly discussed. We then turn our attention to statistical performance guarantees, and describe several new probabilistic results that can be used for a statistical dimensioning of differentiated services. Lastly, we review recent proposals and results in supporting performance guarantees in a best effort context. These include models for elastic throughput guarantees based on TCP performance modeling, techniques for some quality of service differentiation without access control, and methods that allow an application to control the performance it receives, in the absence of network support

Advances in Internet Quality of Service

We describe recent advances in theories and architecture that support performance guarantees needed for quality of service networks. We start with deterministic computations and give applications to integrated services, differentiated services, and playback delays. We review the methods used for obtaining a scalable integrated services support, based on the concept of a stateless core. New probabilistic results that can be used for a statistical dimensioning of differentiated services are explained; some are based on classical queuing theory, while others capitalize on the deterministic results. Then we discuss performance guarantees in a best effort context; we review: methods to provide some quality of service in a pure best effort environment; methods to provide some quality of service differentiation without access control, and methods that allow an application to control the performance it receives, in the absence of network support

Performance evaluation of multicast networks and service differentiation mechanisms in IP networks

The performance of a communication network depends on how well the network is designed in terms of delivering the level of service required by a given type of traffic. The field of teletraffic theory is concerned with quantifying the three-way relationship between the network, its level of service and the traffic arriving at the network. In this thesis, we study three different problems concerning this three-way relationship and present models to assist in designing and dimensioning networks to satisfy the different quality of service demands. In the first part of the thesis, we consider service differentiation mechanisms in packet-switched IP networks implementing a Differentiated Services (DiffServ) architecture. We study how bandwidth can be divided in a weighted fair manner between persistent elastic TCP flows, and between these TCP flows and streaming real-time UDP flows. To this end, we model the traffic conditioning and scheduling mechanisms on the packet and the flow level. We also model the interaction of these DiffServ mechanisms with the TCP congestion control mechanism and present closed-loop models for the sending rate of a TCP flow that reacts to congestion signals from the network. In the second part, we concentrate on non-persistent elastic TCP traffic in IP networks and study how flows can be differentiated in terms of mean delay by giving priority to flows based on their age. We study Multi Level Processor Sharing (MLPS) disciplines, where jobs are classified into levels based on their age or attained service. Between levels, a strict priority discipline is applied; the level containing the youngest jobs has the highest priority. Inside a particular level, any scheduling discipline could be used. We present an implementation proposal of a two-level discipline, PS+PS, with the Processor Sharing discipline used inside both levels. We prove that, as long as the hazard rate of the job-size distribution is decreasing, which is the case for Internet traffic, PS+PS, and any MLPS discipline that favors young jobs, is better than PS with respect to overall mean delay. In the final part, we study distribution-type streaming traffic in a multicast network, where there is, at most, one copy of each channel transmission in each network link, and quantify the blocking probability. We derive an exact blocking probability algorithm for multicast traffic in a tree network based on the convolution and truncation algorithm for unicast traffic. We present a new convolution operation, the OR-convolution, to suit the transmission principle of multicast traffic, and a new truncation operator to take into account the case of having both unicast and multicast traffic in the network. We also consider different user models derived from the single-user model.reviewe