An optimal link and rate combination search algorithm for STDMA MAC protocols

In this paper, an optimal link selection and data rate assignment algorithm for spatial time division multiple access (STDMA) medium access control (MAC) protocols is exploited. The motivation for this study is jointly searching for optimal links and corresponding rates in simultaneous transmission environments in order to maximize the throughput capacity in each time slot. A mathematical formulation for exploring such links and rates combination under power and delay constrains is developed. Then, we transform this formulation into a standard knapsack problem (KP). Finally, we solve this KP using discrete dynamic programming (DDP) and propose a joint optimal link and rate search (JOLRS) algorithm which can be generically embedded with any existing STDMA MAC protocol. Through theoretical and experimental studies, we show that our JOLRS algorithm significantly outperforms baseline alternatives and similar existing algorithms in throughput, power consumption, and PER performance.