Multi-objective and financial portfolio optimization of p-persistent carrier sense multiple access protocols with multi-packet reception

Abstract

This paper revisits the study of wireless carrier-sense multiple access (CSMA) protocols enabled with multi-packet reception (MPR) capabilities. This study employs a new paradigm in the literature of random access based on multi-objective and financial portfolio optimization tools. Under this new optimization framework, each packet transmission is regarded not only as a network resource, but also as a financial asset with different values of return and risk (or variance of the return). The objective of this network-financial optimization is to find the trans- mission policy that simultaneously optimizes network metrics (such as throughput and efficient power consumption), as well as economic metrics (such as fairness, return and risk). Two transmission models are considered for performance evaluation: a Bernoulli transmission model that facilitates analytic derivations, and a Markov model that considers the backlog states of the network and that facilitates dynamic stability analysis. This work is focused on the characterization of the boundary (envelope) or the Pareto optimal frontier of different types of trade-off performance region. These regions include the conventional throughput and stability regions, as well as new trade-off regions such as sum- throughput vs. fairness, sum-throughput vs. power consumption, and return vs. risk. Fairness is evaluated by means of the Gini-index, which is used in the field of economics to measure population income inequality. Transmit power is directly linked to the global transmission attempt rate. In scenarios with weak MPR capabilities, the system has problems in achieving simultaneously good values of fairness and high values of sum-throughput. This is because of an underlying non-convex through- put region which is typical of protocols dominated by unresolvable collisions. On the contrary, in scenarios with strong MPR capabilities, good fairness, higher energy consumption efficiency, and high sum-throughput performances can be simultaneously achieved. Carrier-sensing is shown to improve the convexity of the throughput region in scenarios with weak MPR, thereby achieving a better trade-off between metrics, including.