Computational Load Management Strategies in Cell-Free-Based, Converged-Optical-Wireless 6G Networks

The evolution of the telecommunication networks towards their 6th generation has emerged new research directions in order to deal with the challenges that are posed by the high-complexity of the new infrastructure. In this new era, the structuring of the network management infrastructure is a complex endeavor that should efficiently control both communication and computational resources. In this paper, we present a set of strategies for managing the computational load in a cell-free-based, converged optical-wireless 6G network. The proposed approaches target to control the computational load of a cell-free network, by either compressing the load by considering load-thresholds, or offloading the load to the SDN controller of the fixed network. Both strategies are mathematically formulated by considering traffic-engineering formulas, while their performance is evaluated by comparing analytical results with corresponding results from a baseline scenario, where no load control strategies are applied. Moreover, the proposed analysis can be applied in order to determine the capacity of the network controllers that is required in order to guarantee pre-determined Quality of Service requirements.