On throughput in linear wireless networks

This paper investigates fundamental properties of throughput and energy cost in large wireless linear networks with very limited local resources that do not grow with the size of the network. The maximum throughput of the network is derived and the arrival process that maximizes throughput, given a fixed arrival rate, is established. An asymptotically critical loading regime is identified such that the probability of an arbitrary packet being lost is strictly within (0, 1) as the network size increases. Such a regime delivers throughput comparable to the maximum at a reasonable energy cost.