Elsevier

Computer Communications

Volume 34, Issue 9, 15 June 2011, Pages 1045-1054
Computer Communications

Probabilistic framework and performance evaluation for prioritized call admission control in next generation networks

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comcom.2010.01.016Get rights and content

Abstract

Next generation networks (NGN) are designed to support a wide range of applications with various service classes (SCs) guaranteeing the respective quality of service (QoS) levels. Since such networks are resource constrained, call admission control (CAC) is imperative to achieve the required QoS levels. In this paper, a new probabilistic framework for CAC schemes is proposed based on controlling each SC independently by admitting low priority SC calls with a variable imposed probability. The incorporation of such a probabilistic framework is considered under a bandwidth-centric approach named probabilistic bandwidth reservation scheme (PBRS). Though equal service times are usually assumed in the literature, the present analysis considers SCs of different service times. By employing Markov chain analysis to treat the independent SCs that correspond to different call specifications, analytical expressions for the call blocking probabilities (CBPs) are derived. The performance of the proposed CAC scheme is studied not only with regard to CBP but, also, taking into account the priorities assigned to different SCs as well as fairness among various SCs and total network throughput. The proposed probabilistic framework allows the dynamic control of network resources considering also priority assignment, fairness and throughput. Analytical results concerning delay tolerant (DT) and delay-non-tolerant (DNT) traffic have been obtained applying the proposed scheme. Moreover, the relevant simulations have verified the accuracy of the proposed analysis.

Introduction

To support various integrated services, such as voice, data, world wide web (WWW) browsing, e-mail and multimedia via mobile computing devices over the wireless infrastructure of next generation networks (NGN), radio resource management (RRM) has evolved as a critical issue [1], [2]. One of the main RRM functions is call admission control (CAC) which, following a certain policy, determines whether a new call request should be accepted [3], [4]. Thus, due to its critical role with regard to quality of service (QoS), CAC in next generation multi service class (SC) networks is given a great attention. An efficient CAC scheme for present and next generation multi-SC wireless cellular networks, which remains a reliable method of telecommunication infrastructure, should satisfy the following main objectives: (a) establish a mechanism assigning appropriate priorities to different types of traffic load, (b) achieve low call blocking probabilities (CBPs) for all SCs, especially for those of high priority, (c) maximize resource utilization with fairness for all SCs, (d) achieve a high network throughput, (e) prevent congestion and (f) meet the specific QoS requirements of each SC [5].

Calls belonging to different SCs may have different bandwidth requirements, call holding times and cell residence times, which results in different QoS levels [6], [7], [8]. Combined with the limited resources of network cells allowing for only a certain number of calls from every SC, this feature leads to the adoption of prioritization models. In class based CAC, assigning priorities to certain SCs is critical in an attempt to minimize the CBP of high priority SCs. Thus, higher priorities are assigned to delay-non-tolerant (DNT) SC calls compared to delay-tolerant (DT) ones.

The design and implementation of these schemes seem challenging since some important issues come up. The main problem of CAC schemes basing their admission decision on SC priority is that SC calls of high priority often monopolize network resources. This leads to unacceptably high CBP levels for SC calls of low priority. Thus, fairness in call admission among users of the same SC (under different channel conditions and mobility characteristics) as well as among users of different SCs is an important issue in class based CAC schemes [3], [6]. Usually in NGNs, unfairness is a side effect of resource optimization. Furthermore, to provide the required QoS level to high priority SCs, many CAC schemes reserve network resources resulting in low average throughput levels. Therefore, apart from the CBP achieved, CAC schemes should also take into account the effectiveness in assigning priority as well as fairness and average throughput.

To the authors best knowledge, however, little attention has been given to the implementation of probabilistic models in NGNs. In this paper, a probabilistic CAC framework is proposed aiming at fairly and efficiently controlling the admission of different SC calls in NGNs. One of the key points is that the CAC scheme proposed is more general than the existing ones, allowing the extension of the proposed method to multiple SCs, by assigning different call holding times for every SC. The analysis is based on multidimensional Markov chains yielding CBP expressions of closed form. Moreover, the performance of the proposed probabilistic scheme is examined under certain efficiency metrics through appropriate numerical results and simulations.

The rest of the paper is organized as follows. Related work on prioritizing different SCs along with relevant ideas proposed so far are presented in Section 2. Section 3 introduces the system model and the assumptions for the NGN. In Section 4, the proposed probabilistic CAC scheme under consideration is analyzed and relevant CBP expressions are derived. In Section 5, new metrics for efficiency evaluation are introduced. Section 6 presents the simulations to evaluate and validate the performance of the proposed CAC scheme under different load conditions. Conclusions are deduced in Section 7.

Section snippets

Related work

Prioritization among new and handoff calls in wireless networks has been extensively investigated in the literature [9], [10]. In modern multimedia wireless networks research as to resource management has been focused on CAC schemes that assign priority to DNT SC calls over DT ones. Assigning priority to certain SCs is accomplished by adopting criteria that relegate the admission of low priority calls. In [11] three schemes are proposed to assign priorities among calls of different SCs. In this

System model and network assumptions

A single cell of a next generation cellular mobile communication network is considered. The assumptions made and notations used are stated below.

  • (1)

    The cellular network is assumed homogeneous; therefore it suffices to examine a single cell isolated from the others. Each network cell may serve U SCs of calls e.g. telephone, data, etc.

  • (2)

    C is the bandwidth capacity of the cell expressed in terms of bandwidth units (BUs), whereas M = C/c is the total number of calls where c is the BUs required by an

Probabilistic call admission control

The probabilistic CAC scheme for multi-SC wireless NGNs proposed in the present work under the name probabilistic bandwidth reservation scheme (PBRS) is based on the total number of BUs occupied in a cell. The multiple SCs supported by the network necessitate the use of multidimensional Markov chains, where each dimension of the chain corresponds to a different SC call stream. The rationale behind PBRS is to treat new SC calls of low priority by adjusting their admission rate according to

Criteria for performance evaluation

In the following, performance criteria for the proposed CAC scheme are defined. The efficiency of the priority assigning mechanism is evaluated through an appropriate priority index. Also, a fairness metric based on CBP is defined. This metric will next be used in the following to evaluate the performance of the CAC scheme with regard to fairness among calls of different SCs. Furthermore, a method for the estimation of the network throughput is also presented based on CBP.

Numerical results and performance evaluation

The performance of the proposed schemes has been evaluated under different traffic load conditions. The probabilistic framework adopted in the present work has been proven capable to provide priority to DNT calls in NGN. The numerical results intend to mark out how the probabilities imposed through the priority assigning mechanism enhance the performance of the proposed scheme under variable traffic load. Moreover, extensive simulations were performed employing a discrete event simulation

Conclusions and future work

A CAC scheme for NGNs was introduced based on a probabilistic framework to regulate the admission of low priority SC calls. Through this probabilistic framework, a novel priority assigning mechanism is introduced based on the selection of the admission probability of DT SC calls. Assuming independent call holding times for each SC supported, analytical expressions estimating CBP were provided based on Markov chain theory. Apart from the CBPs achieved, the proposed CAC scheme was evaluated under

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