User Optimal Throughput-Delay Trade-off in Multihop Networks Under NUM Framework

In this letter we address the problem of users' desired trade-off between optimal throughput and delay in wireless multihop networks under the framework of Network Utility Maximization (NUM). Via dynamic utility design and proper adaptation of the constraint set of the NUM problem, the impact of users' delay sensitivity on the resulting optimal throughput is considered. A cross-layer policy is proposed—stemming from Lyapunov drift techniques—that performs routing, scheduling and congestion control optimizing the above trade-off. Via modeling, analysis and simulations the performance of the proposed problem formulation and policy is evaluated.