Efficient Time-Slot Adjustment and Packet-Scheduling Algorithm for Full-Duplex Multi-Hop Relay-Assisted mmWave Networks

Millimeter wave (mmWave) technology is one of the innovations with the most potential for the fifth generation (5G) of wireless communication systems. With wider bandwidth and the ability to provide high-quality services, 5G systems are expected to significantly improve network performance. However, mmWave communications are vulnerable to blockage problems. Fortunately, efficient relaying and scheduling scheme can both solve the blockage problem and improve performance for the concurrent transmissions. With this paper, we aim to enhance the efficiency of concurrent transmissions for the mmWave-based networks. For the purpose of serving the transmission requests within minimal time, the full-duplex relay and adaptive transmission rates are first considered for designing the scheduling algorithm. To further enhance the scheduling flexibility, a larger scheduling space is obtained by using smaller scheduling unit. To achieve this, a smaller time slot is properly redefined so that the packet-by-packet transmissions (rather than the burst-by-burst fashion in the conventional scheme) can be carried out. Then, we propose an efficient time slot adjustment scheduling algorithm (named ETA) for multihop transmissions that incorporates full-duplex relaying, adaptive rates, and packet-by-packet transmissions. Using the simulation results, we verify the superior performance of the proposed ETA scheduling algorithm in terms of the time required to serve transmission requests.