Apparatus and method for the templates based scheduling in communication networks with the use of low limit values of equal to moderately strength measurements

摘要

An advantageous scheduling template slot ordering for use in establishing a scheduling order of events such as transmitting communication signals in a communication network is determined by assigning at least two initial slot positions to a particular signal class and then determining a regularity measure based on a lower bound for the regularity measure of such assignments and the remaining unassigned slot positions. This lower bound for the regularity measure of the unassigned slots is advantageously based on a hypothetical assignment of fractions of the slot positions to different signal classes instead of limiting the assignment of a slot to a single signal class. This fractional slot assignment produces a regularity measure that is better than or equal to a corresponding regularity measure based on assigning a whole slot to a particular signal class. The lower bound of the regularity measure is then compared with a threshold regularity measure, such as from a known reference scheduling template. If the threshold regularity measure is lower than the determined lower bound, then it is known that the reference template would provide a more desirable regularity of events than any template having the assigned slot positions to that particular signal class. As a consequence, other slot assignments can be compared to the reference template to rapidly identify scheduling templates with enhanced regularity characteristics.