A control-engineering approach to traffic control in wireless networks

The paper deals with the problem of guaranteeing a target QoS (quality of service) to connection set-up over wireless IP (Internet Protocol) networks, while efficiently exploiting the air interface). In the literature, this problem is coped with congestion control and traffic scheduling algorithms: congestion control deals with the problem of computing the traffic relevant to in progress connections which can be admitted into the wireless network without causing the infringing of the QoS, while the scheduling deals with the problem of deciding the priorities for the transmission of the admitted traffic over the air interface. Aiming at solving the above-mentioned problem following a control based approach, the paper presents an original and simple controller which steers the overall system towards an ideal equilibrium at which a desirable performance is achieved. The controller is also in charge of periodically updating this ideal equilibrium, which is a function of the IP traffic presently offered to the wireless network.