QoS-Constrained Medium Access Probability Optimization in Wireless Interference-Limited Networks

The medium access probability (MAP) of a random access protocol can severely impact network throughput especially for delay-sensitive applications, since it determines whether a node should transmit packets in a given slot or not. This paper focuses on network throughput maximization through optimizing the MAPs of all users under delay quality-of-service constraints in wireless interference-limited networks. Specifically, first, the total delay for transmitting one packet for a user is analyzed and derived based on an M/G/1 model. Then, the stochastic property of the aggregated interference is analyzed and its distribution is modeled as a log-normal distribution. Based on the delay and interference models, an optimization problem is formulated to derive the optimal MAPs so that the network throughput is maximized under the delay constraints. Two network traffic scenarios, homogeneous and heterogeneous user traffic, are discussed, respectively. For the case of homogeneous traffic, a closed-form expression of the optimal MAP is derived; for the case of heterogeneous traffic, a global $\epsilon $ -optimal algorithm based on the branch-and-bound framework and convex relaxation technology is proposed with relatively low complexity. Simulations results show that the proposed algorithms can achieve superior network throughput performance over existing schemes.