Resource allocation and scheduling in wireless mesh networks

The unreliability of wireless mesh networks creates challenge in designing high performance wireless networks in terms of network throughput, end-to-end delay, and fairness provisioning. In this thesis, the goal is to improve the network performance in terms of these metrics. We explore several techniques such as multipath routing, channel coding, network coding, and interference alignment. We consider resource allocation both in terms of average data rate provisioning and scheduling policies in a time slot basis. First, we propose data rate and channel code rate allocation algorithms for networks with multiple paths to maximize the network throughput while all users can fairly exploit the network resources. We study the effect of adaptive and non-adaptive channel coding schemes. We also consider the end-to-end delay that each network flow experiences for data transmission. For that purpose, we formulate the problem of decreasing the end-to-end delay for network flows while improving the network throughput. Simulation results show that we can decrease the delay at the cost of a slight decrease in network throughput. We also formulate a data rate allocation problem in networks with network coding. Simulation results show that considering link reliabilities in the network coding design dramatically increases the network performance. Data rate allocation algorithms provide the average data rates at which the source must transmit data. They do not determine scheduling on a time slot basis. To address that, we consider transmission scheduling in wireless networks. We also compare the suggested algorithm with a centralized optimal data rate allocation algorithm to verify that our algorithm follows the optimal solution. Through simulations, we show that fairness provisioning leads to higher network performance. We show that the suggested algorithm outperforms the current algorithms in the literature in terms of both network throughput and fairness provisioning. Finally, we consider transmission scheduling in wireless multi-input multi-output (MIMO) systems. We formulate the problem of joint scheduling, interference alignment, and admission control in those networks and use Lyapunov stability theory to solve it. We also develop a heuristic approach to solve the problem in a semi-distributed manner.Applied Science, Faculty ofElectrical and Computer Engineering, Department ofGraduat