Nearly optimal bounds for distributed wireless scheduling in the SINR model

Abstract

We study the wireless scheduling problem in the physically realistic SINR model. More specifically: we are given a set of n links, each a sender-receiver pair. We would like to schedule the links using the minimum number of slots, using the SINR model of interference among simultaneously transmitting links. In the basic problem, all senders transmit with the same uniform power. In this work, we provide a distributed O(logn)-approximation for the scheduling problem, matching the best ratio known for centralized algorithms. This is based on an algorithm studied by Kesselheim and Vöcking, improving their analysis by a logarithmic factor. We show this to be best possible for any such distributed algorithm. Our analysis extends also to linear power assignments, and as well as for more general assignments, modulo assumptions about message acknowledgement mechanisms. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.