A Bidding Algorithm for Optimized Utility-Based Resource Allocation in Ad Hoc Networks

This article proposes a scheme for bandwidth allocation in wireless ad hoc networks. The quality of service (QoS) levels for each end-to-end flow are expressed using resource-utility functions, and our algorithms aim to maximize aggregated utility. The shared channel is modeled as bandwidth resources defined by maximal cliques of mutual interfering links. We propose an entirely novel resource allocation algorithm that employs auction mechanisms where flows are bidding for resources. The bids depend both on the flow's utility function and the intrinsically derived shadow prices. Then we combine it with a utility-aware on-demand shortest path routing algorithm where shadow prices are used as a natural distance metric. We also show that the problem can be formulated as a linear programming problem. Thus we can compare the performance of our scheme to the centralized optimal LP solution, registering results very close to the optimum. We isolate the performance of the price-based routing and show its advantages in hotspot scenarios, and also propose an asynchronous version that is more feasible for ad hoc environments. Experimental results of a comparison with the state-of-the-art approach based on Kelly's utility maximization framework show that our approach exhibits superior performance for networks with both increased mobility or increased allocation period.