Title: Exploring load balancing in heterogeneous networks by rate distribution

Authors: Kuheli Louha Haldar, Jung-Hyun Jun, Talmai Oliveira, Dharma P. Agrawal

Addresses: Department of Computer Science, Center for Distributed and Mobile Computing, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0030, USA. ' Department of Computer Science, Center for Distributed and Mobile Computing, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0030, USA. ' Department of Computer Science, Center for Distributed and Mobile Computing, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0030, USA. ' Department of Computer Science, Center for Distributed and Mobile Computing, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0030, USA

Abstract: In a heterogeneous wireless network (HWN), traffic is distributed primarily by grouping and channelling identical traffic through a particular access point. In this paper, we introduce an effective traffic load balancing scheme for maximising expected throughput in HWNs. Two scenarios are explored. First, we model multiple APs of a HWN as a cascade of independent M/M/1 queues. The expected number of packets in the system is formulated as a convex optimisation problem and solved using a Lagrange multiplier. A recursive approach is used in distributing the traffic to different APs. Then, we model multiple APs as a union of multiple M/M/1 and M/D/1 queues. Here, we minimise the time spent by each job in the system. We use a solver to obtain optimal rate distribution among the networks. Through extensive simulations, we show that distributing the traffic optimally outperforms existing traditional methods of grouping and channelling similar kind of traffic.

Keywords: HWN; heterogeneous wireless networks; M/M/1 queue; M/D/1 queue; nonlinear optimisation; Lagrange multiplier; traffic load balancing; heterogeneous networks; rate distribution; simulation.

DOI: 10.1504/IJAACS.2010.033384

International Journal of Autonomous and Adaptive Communications Systems, 2010 Vol.3 No.3, pp.284 - 307

Published online: 01 Jun 2010 *

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