Dynamic multi-channel assignment using network flows in wireless data networks
The radio frequency spectrum, a scarce resource in mobile communications, has to be efficiently utilized with the objectives of increasing the network capacity and minimizing the interference. A variety of channel assignment strategies have been developed to achieve these objectives. As the cell sizes get smaller, there is a greater need for efficient channel assignment algorithms which are desired to dynamically balance the load of the system. We propose a dynamic multi-channel assignment (DMCA) algorithm where the assignment decision is assisted by the mobiles. Our algorithm is based on the concept of network flows and handles all the events in the system gracefully. Several existing channel assignment algorithms can be easily modeled in the proposed network flow framework model. Simulation results show that DMCA algorithm performs well under heavy traffic conditions and handles different traffic classes gracefully.
dynamic channel assignment flow network