Energy efficiency and traffic offloading in WLANs with caching and mesh capabilities

In this paper we study a wireless access network based on the WLAN technology and enriched with features such as caching and mesh networking. This system is analysed in terms of energy efficiency and traffic offloading, two objectives that are somewhat in contrast, but both relevant to network and service providers as they directly impact the operational cost. To this aim, we developed a mathematical model of the system and solved it to optimality by means of integer linear programming. We can thus show how much saving can be achieved both in terms of energy and traffic, also considering various tradeoff points among the two contrasting objectives. A basic degree of quality of service is also accounted for.