A Novel Distributed Scheduling Algorithm for Downlink Relay Networks

摘要

To extend network coverage and to possibly increase data packet throughput, the future wireless cellular networks could adopt relay nodes for multi-hop data transmission. This letter proposes a novel distributed scheduling algorithm for downlink relay networks. Soft-information indicating the probability of activating each network link is exchanged iteratively among neighboring network nodes to determine an efficient schedule. To ensure collision-free simultaneous data transmissions, collision-avoiding local constraint rules are enforced at each network node. To increase resource utility, the soft-information is weighted according to the urgency of data transmission across each link, which also helps maintain throughput fairness among network users.