Multi-connectivity is emerging as promising solution to provide reliable communications and seamless connectivity at the millimeter-wave frequency range. Due to the obstacles that cause frequent interruptions at such high frequency range, connectivity to multiple cells can drastically increase the network performance in terms of throughput and reliability by coordi- nation among the network elements. In this paper, we propose an algorithm for the link scheduling optimization that maximizes the network throughput for multi-connectivity in millimeter-wave cellular networks. The considered approach exploits a centralized architecture, fast link switching, proactive context preparation and data forwarding between millimeter-wave access points and the users. The proposed algorithm is able to numerically approach the global optimum and to quantify the potential gain of multi-connectivity in millimeter-wave cellular networks. 

Information age is a recently introduced metric to represent the freshness of information in communication systems. We investigate age minimization in a wireless network and propose a novel approach of optimizing the scheduling strategy to deliver all messages as fresh as possible. Specifically, we consider a set of links that share a common channel. The transmitter at each link contains a given number of packets with time stamps from an information source that generated them. We address the link transmission scheduling problem with the objective of minimizing the overall age. This minimum age scheduling problem (MASP) is different from minimizing the time or the delay for delivering the packets in question. We model the MASP mathematically and prove it is NP-hard in general. We also identify tractable cases as well as optimality conditions. An integer linear programming formulation is provided for performance benchmarking. Moreover, a steepest age descent algorithm with better scalability is developed. Numerical study shows that, by employing the optimal schedule, the overall age is significantly reduced in comparison to other scheduling strategies.

In this work, we study the benefit of partial relay cooperation. We consider a two-node system consisting of one source and one relay node transmitting information to a common destination. The source and the relay have external traffic and in addition, the relay is equipped with a flow controller to regulate the incoming traffic from the source node. The cooperation is performed at the network level. A collision channel with erasures is considered. We provide an exact characterization of the stability region of the system and we also prove that the system with partial cooperation is always better or at least equal to the system without the flow controller. 

We address the maximum link activation problem in wireless networks with new features, namely when the transmitters can perform cooperative transmission, and the receivers are able to perform successive interference cancellation. In this new problem setting, which transmitters should transmit and to whom, as well as the optimal cancellation patterns at the receivers, are strongly intertwined. We present contributions along three lines. First, we provide a thorough tractability analysis, proving the NP-hardness as well as identifying tractable cases. Second, for benchmarking purposes, we deploy integer linear programming for achieving global optimum using off-theshelf optimization methods. Third, to overcome the scalability issue of integer programming, we design a sub-optimal but efficient optimization algorithm for the problem in its general form, by embedding maximum-weighted bipartite matching into local search. Numerical results are presented for performance evaluation, to validate the benefit of cooperative transmission and interference cancellation for maximum link activation and to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

Long Term Evolution (LTE)-Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) Path Aggregation (LWPA) based on Multi- path Transmission Control Protocol (MPTCP) has been under standardization procedure as a promising and cost-efficient solution to boost Downlink (DL) data rate and handle the rapidly increasing data traffic. This paper aims at providing tractable analysis for the DL performance evaluation of large-scale LWPA networks with the help of tools from stochastic geometry. We consider a simple yet practical model to determine under which conditions a native WLAN Access Point (AP) will work under LWPA mode to help increasing the received data rate. Using stochastic spatial models for the distribution of WLAN APs and LTE Base Stations (BSs), we analyze the density of active LWPA- mode WiFi APs in the considered network model, which further leads to closed-form expressions on the DL data rate and area spectral efficiency (ASE) improvement. Our numerical results illustrate the impact of different network parameters on the performance of LWPA networks, which can be useful for further performance optimization. 

Deploying direct device-to-device (D2D) links is a promising technology for vehicle-to-X (V2X) applications. However, intracell interference, along with stringent requirements on latency and reliability, are challenging issues. In this paper, we study the radio resource management problem for D2D-based safety-critical V2X communications. We first transform the V2X requirements into the constraints that are computable using slowly varying channel state information only. Secondly, we formulate an optimization problem, taking into account the requirements of both vehicular users (V-UEs) and cellular users (C-UEs), where resource sharing can take place not only between a V-UE and a C-UE but also among different V-UEs. The NP-hardness of the problem is rigorously proved. Moreover, a heuristic algorithm, called Cluster-based Resource block sharing and pOWer allocatioN (CROWN), is proposed to solve this problem. Finally, simulation results indicate promising performance of the CROWN scheme.

With the densification of nodes in cellular networks, free space optics (FSO) connections are becoming an appealing low cost and high rate alternative to copper and fiber backhaul solutions for wireless communication systems. To en- sure a reliable cellular backhaul, provisions for redundant, disjoint paths between the nodes must be made in the design phase. This chapter aims at finding a cost- effective solution to upgrade the cellular backhaul with pre-deployed optical fibers using FSO links and mirror components. A novel integer linear programming model to approach optimal FSO backhaul design, guaranteeing K-disjoint paths connecting each node pair is presented. Next, a column generation method to a path-oriented mathematical formulation is developed. Applying the method in a sequential man- ner enables high computational scalability. Realistic scenarios are used to demon- strate the proposed approaches which efficiently provide optimal or near-optimal solutions, and thereby allow for accurately dealing with the trade-off between cost and reliability. 

Radio links in wireless mesh networks (WMN) can select one of several modulation and coding schemes (MCS). A MCS assignment influences links data rates and their mutual interference, and therefore should be optimized. We consider joint optimization of link rate assignment and transmission scheduling in order to maximize the minimal flow in a WMN. One of the main difficulties stems from the requirement that each link has to use only one selected MCS for all its transmissions. This requirement leads to a complicated exact branch-and-price method, which is quite time-consuming for networks of practical size. Thus, we propose an original heuristic based on simulated annealing that utilizes specific characteristics of the problem. The method provides a balance between sub-optimality of the obtained solutions and the running time. The presented method is the main purpose and novelty of the paper. An extensive numerical study illustrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach.

We study resource allocation in cellular systems and consider the problem of finding a power efficient scheduling in an uplink single carrier frequency division multiple access system. Due to the discrete nature of this problem and its computational difficulty, particularly in a real-time setting, the use of suboptimal algorithms is common practice. We aim at an effective way of gauging the performance of suboptimal algorithms by finding tight bounds on the global optimum. Toward this end, we first provide a basic integer linear programming formulation. Then we propose a significantly stronger column-oriented formulation and a corresponding column generation method, as well as an enhanced column generation scheme. The latter extends the first scheme through the inclusion of a stabilization technique, an approximate column generation principle, and a tailored heuristic that is embedded in the column generation scheme to find high-quality though not necessarily global optimal solutions. The computational evaluation demonstrates that compared with a poor performance by the integer linear programming formulation, the column generation method can produce near-optimal schedules that enable a sharp bounding interval. The enhanced column generation method significantly sharpens the bounding interval. Hence the column generation approach serves well for the purpose of benchmarking results for large-scale instances.

In cognitive communication, dynamic sensing and opportunistic accessing enable secondary users to recognize and utilize the white spaces of the licensed bandwidth. Most present efforts focus on designing smarter channel sensing and access algorithms for secondary users to optimize the overall throughput and bandwidth utilization efficiency, without interfering with primary users communication. However, the transmission of the primary users are basically random and unpredictable, which usually makes the cognitive process complex and ineffective. In this paper, a non-uniform bandwidth allocation scheme is proposed, in order to regularize primary users bandwidth occupancy, which can in turn improve the sensing efficiency and throughput of the secondary users. The performance benefits are demonstrated analytically and verified by numerical simulations. In comparison to the conventional uniform bandwidth allocation scheme, the non-uniform scheme shows a higher sensing efficiency and spectrum utilization due to less bandwidth loss and lower sensing cost.