Distributed CSMA Algorithms for Link Scheduling in Multihop MIMO Networks Under SINR Model

In this paper, we study distributed scheduling in multihop multiple-input–multiple-output (MIMO) networks. We first develop a “MIMO-pipe” model that provides the upper layers a set of rates and signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) requirements that capture the rate–reliability tradeoff in MIMO communications. The main thrust of this paper is then dedicated to developing distributed carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) algorithms for MIMO-pipe scheduling under the SINR interference model. We choose the SINR model over the extensively studied protocol-based interference models because it more naturally captures the impact of interference in wireless networks. The coupling among the links caused by the interference under the SINR model makes the problem of devising distributed scheduling algorithms very challenging. To that end, we explore the CSMA algorithms for MIMO-pipe scheduling from two perspectives. We start with an idealized continuous-time CSMA network, where control messages can be exchanged in a collision-free manner, and devise a CSMA-based link scheduling algorithm that can achieve throughput optimality under the SINR model. Next, we consider a discrete-time CSMA network, where the message exchanges suffer from collisions. For this more challenging case, we develop a “conservative” scheduling algorithm by imposing a more stringent SINR constraint on the MIMO-pipe model. We show that the proposed conservative scheduling achieves an efficiency ratio bounded from below.