Modeling resource management in cellular systems using Petri nets

Modeling and analysis tools are essential for the design and evaluation of complex systems. This is particularly true for cellular systems, where, for instance, a variety of handoff, channel allocation, and data-transmission algorithms have been proposed. The capabilities of Petri nets (PNs) are used as a novel approach in the analysis of handoff, dynamic channel allocation (DCA), and cellular digital packet data resource management problems. The generalized stochastic PN (GSPN) models are obtained and analyzed as continuous-time Markov chains (MCs) derived from the reachability graphs. Solution of the MC results in performance indicators, which show the impacts of different algorithms on the system behavior.