End-to-End Queueing Performance Evaluation for Multiuser Wireless Relay Networks

An analytical framework for the link-level end-to-end (e2e) queueing performance evaluation in a multiuser wireless relay network with automatic repeat request (ARQ)-based error control is presented. The e2e system consisting of a base station, a relay station, and multiple users is modeled as a probabilistic tandem of two finite queues for the relay and each user. The transmissions from the users are scheduled in a time-division multiplexing (TDM) fashion, i.e., in each time-slot only one user is in tandem with the relay's buffer with a certain probability. To make the analysis of such system tractable, the finite buffer of the relay is decomposed into smaller non-overlapping portions, each corresponding to an individual user's packets (i.e., per-user queueing). Using the decomposed model, radio link-level performance measures such as e2e packet loss rate, e2e delay and throughput are obtained analytically and compared with simulation results. As an application of this model, a method of obtaining optimum values for selection probabilities to maximize e2e aggregate throughput subject to users' individual delay constraints is presented.