Adaptive Resource Management Strategy in Practical Multi-Radio Heterogeneous Networks

The ongoing evolution of mobile wireless communications has resulted in the vision of a multiradio heterogeneous network (HetNet) that comprises cells of different scales controlled by various radio access technologies (RATs). These emerging architectures call for more advanced methods of cross-RAT radio resource allocation, which are the primary focus of this article. In this paper, based on network flow optimization techniques, we adapt the concept of weighted α-fairness for efficient resource management in future HetNets. The corresponding scheme relies on a certain degree of centralized control of the HetNet architecture and allows to achieve the desired balance between the overall system throughput and the fairness of the resulting resource allocations based on a single parameter. Our analytical findings, validated with detailed system-level simulations, are expected to further advance the understanding of feasible resource control strategies in intelligent multi-radio networks, as well as help optimize the performance of next-generation HetNets.