Channel-aware class-based scheduling for QoS support in IEEE 802.16/WiMAX networks

One of the fundamental requirements for IEEE 802.16/WiMAX to become a key technology for high-speed multimedia service delivery is QoS differentiation. Although the IEEE 802.16 standard gives some guidelines to design a QoS architecture to support multimedia services, implementation details are left to manufacturers. This paper reports on the design and analysis of a channel-aware Deficit Round Robin (DRR) based scheduling algorithm for downlink traffic delivery in a point-to-multipoint WiMAX network. A technique for compensation of channel errors is proposed to preserve QoS differentiation and fairness under non-ideal channel conditions. Simulations confirm effectiveness of the compensation technique under different channel conditions and network loads.