Quality of service provisioning in worldwide interoperability for microwave access networks based on cooperative game theory

Quality of service (QoS) is a critical issue in the design and management of worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WIMAX) networks. In this study, the authors propose a novel two-tier QoS framework and a scheduling scheme for QoS provisioning in WiMAX networks based on the Nash bargaining solution (NBS) obtained from cooperative game theory. The framework cannot only offer Pareto optimality for the entire system, but also assure fairness for each service and connection. They apply the NBS into the issue of QoS service in WiMAX networks. They utilise the equivalent optimisation problem to obtain the bargaining point. The parameters of the optimisation model have been verified by analysing the characteristics of each service flow in the WiMAX networks. A heuristic scheduling algorithm has been designed to implement the optimised solution. The effectiveness of the proposal has been verified by experimental results, which can show much better performance in terms of delay, loss rate and throughput.