An efficient time slot allocation algorithm in wireless networks

Wireless communication networks provide convenience, however, also challenges to multimedia services due to typically limited bandwidth and various Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. For a wireless communication network service provider/administrator, it is then essential to develop an effective resource allocation policy so as to fully satisfy possibly different QoS requirements by different classes of traffic; while in the meantime, for example, the overall long-term system revenue rate can be maximized. In this paper, we consider the problem of time slot allocation for multiple classes of traffic in wireless networks under throughput and delay constraints. To solve the problem, we propose an algorithm that is a novel combination of the Markovian decision process (MDP) and Lagrangean relaxation (LR). Another primal heuristic based on the policy enhancement algorithm is also developed for comparison purposes. Our experiment results show that the proposed approach can find a near optimal time slot allocation policy to maximize long-term system revenue under QoS requirements.