Resource Allocation in Solar-Powered FiWi Networks

The ever increasing demand for higher data rates and more flexible deployment has accelerated the need for integrating optical fiber with wireless networks. Fiber-wireless (FiWi) network consists of a fiber back-end network integrated with a wireless front-end. With the growing popularity of the FiWi network, it is essential to look into energy conservation mechanisms as well. One such energy conservation mechanism is to employ a renewable source of energy, such as solar energy. In this article, we have analysed an integrated FiWi network composed of a 10-Gigabit-capable passive optical network (XG-PON) with a WiFi front end. It is assumed that solar panels are installed at the optical network units (ONUs). Depending on the availability of solar power as well as the load generated due to data traffic at ONU, the requirement of resources to power the ONU varies. Consequently, we propose a) Battery allocation (BA) algorithm and b) Photovoltaic (PV) panel allocation (PA) algorithm, for both off-grid as well as on-grid scenarios. To analyse the cost-effectiveness of the proposed algorithms, battery lifetime has also been calculated. Through the obtained results, it has been demonstrated that for locations with good solar profile, there can be a significant reduction in the number of batteries as well as PV panels required to operate a FiWi network.