Optimal link scheduling and channel assignment for convergecast in linear WirelessHART networks

Convergecast, in which data from a set of sources is routed toward one data sink, is a critical functionality for wireless networks deployed for industrial monitoring and control. We address the joint link scheduling and channel assignment problem for convergecast in networks operating according to the recent WirelessHART standard. For a linear network with N single-buffer devices, we demonstrate that the minimum time to complete convergecast is 2N-1 time-slots, and that the minimum number of channels required for this operation is lceilN/2rceil. When the devices are allowed to buffer multiple packets, we prove that the optimal convergecast time remains the same while the number of required channels can be reduced to . For both cases, we present jointly time- and channel-optimal scheduling policies with complexity O(N²). Numerical results demonstrate that our schemes are also efficient in terms of memory utilization.