Layering as Optimization Decomposition: Questions and Answers

Network protocols in layered architectures have historically been obtained on an ad-hoc basis, and much of the recent cross-layer designs are conducted through piecemeal approaches. Network protocols may instead be holistically analyzed and systematically designed as distributed solutions to some global optimization problems in the form of generalized Network Utility Maximization (NUM), providing insight on what they optimize and on the structures of network protocol stacks. In the form of 10 Questions and Answers, this paper presents a short survey of the recent efforts towards a systematic understanding of "layering" as "optimization decomposition". The overall communication network is modeled by a generalized NUM problem, each layer corresponds to a decomposed subproblem, and the interfaces among layers are quantified as functions of the optimization variables coordinating the subproblems. Furthermore, there are many alternative decompositions, each leading to a different layering architecture. Industry adoption of this unifying framework has also started. Here we summarize the current status of horizontal decomposition into distributed computation and vertical decomposition into functional modules such as congestion control, routing, scheduling, random access, power control, and coding. We also discuss under-explored future research directions in this area. More importantly than proposing any particular crosslayer design, this framework is working towards a mathematical foundation of network architectures and the design process of modularization

Rough Consensus and Running Code: Integrating Engineering Principles into Internet Policy Debates

Symposium: Rough Consensus and Running Code: Integrating Engineering Principles into Internet Policy Debates, held at the University of Pennsylvania\u27s Center for Technology Innovation and Competition on May 6-7, 2010

Multicast Scheduling and Resource Allocation Algorithms for OFDMA-Based Systems: A Survey

Multicasting is emerging as an enabling technology for multimedia transmissions over wireless networks to support several groups of users with flexible quality of service (QoS)requirements. Although multicast has huge potential to push the limits of next generation communication systems; it is however one of the most challenging issues currently being addressed. In this survey, we explain multicast group formation and various forms of group rate determination approaches. We also provide a systematic review of recent channel-aware multicast scheduling and resource allocation (MSRA) techniques proposed for downlink multicast services in OFDMA based systems. We study these enabling algorithms, evaluate their core characteristics, limitations and classify them using multidimensional matrix. We cohesively review the algorithms in terms of their throughput maximization, fairness considerations, performance complexities, multi-antenna support, optimality and simplifying assumptions. We discuss existing standards employing multicasting and further highlight some potential research opportunities in multicast systems

Recent Developments on Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks and Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks

This book presents collective works published in the recent Special Issue (SI) entitled "Recent Developments on Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks and Vehicular Ad-Hoc Networks”. These works expose the readership to the latest solutions and techniques for MANETs and VANETs. They cover interesting topics such as power-aware optimization solutions for MANETs, data dissemination in VANETs, adaptive multi-hop broadcast schemes for VANETs, multi-metric routing protocols for VANETs, and incentive mechanisms to encourage the distribution of information in VANETs. The book demonstrates pioneering work in these fields, investigates novel solutions and methods, and discusses future trends in these field

Adaptive Live Video Streaming by Priority Drop

In this paper we explore the use of Priority-progress streaming (PPS) for video surveillance applications. PPS is an adaptive streaming technique for the delivery of continuous media over variable bit-rate channels. It is based on the simple idea of reordering media components within a time window into priority order before transmission. The main concern when using PPS for live video streaming is the time delay introduced by reordering. In this paper we describe how PPS can be extended to support live streaming and show that the delay inherent in the approach can be tuned to satisfy a wide range of latency constraints while supporting fine-grain adaptation

Adaptive Video Streaming for Wireless Networks with Multiple Users and Helpers

We consider the optimal design of a scheduling policy for adaptive video streaming in a wireless network formed by several users and helpers. A feature of such networks is that any user is typically in the range of multiple helpers. Hence, in order to cope with user-helper association, load balancing and inter-cell interference, an efficient streaming policy should allow the users to dynamically select the helper node to download from, and determine adaptively the video quality level of the download. In order to obtain a tractable formulation, we follow a "divide and conquer" approach: i) Assuming that each video packet (chunk) is delivered within its playback delay ("smooth streaming regime"), the problem is formulated as a network utility maximization (NUM), subject to queue stability, where the network utility function is a concave and componentwise non-decreasing function of the users' video quality measure. ii) We solve the NUM problem by using a Lyapunov Drift Plus Penalty approach, obtaining a scheme that naturally decomposes into two sub-policies referred to as "congestion control" (adaptive video quality and helper station selection) and "transmission scheduling" (dynamic allocation of the helper-user physical layer transmission rates).Our solution is provably optimal with respect to the proposed NUM problem, in a strong per-sample path sense. iii) Finally, we propose a method to adaptively estimate the maximum queuing delays, such that each user can calculate its pre-buffering and re-buffering time in order to cope with the fluctuations of the queuing delays. Through simulations, we evaluate the performance of the proposed algorithm under realistic assumptions of a network with densely deployed helper nodes, and demonstrate the per-sample path optimality of the proposed solution by considering a non-stationary non-ergodic scenario with user mobility, VBR video coding.Comment: final version to appear in IEEE Transactions on Communication