Convergence and Tradeoff of Utility-Optimal CSMA

TL;DR

This paper proves that utility-optimizing CSMA algorithms in wireless networks converge to near-optimal schedules and discusses the tradeoff between optimality and fairness in their operation.

Contribution

It provides the first proof of convergence for adaptive CSMA algorithms towards utility optimization and analyzes the practical tradeoffs involved.

Findings

Proved convergence of adaptive CSMA algorithms to near-optimal utility schedules.

Analyzed the tradeoff between optimality at equilibrium and short-term fairness.

Demonstrated practical effectiveness of message-passing-free distributed MAC algorithms.

Abstract

It has been recently suggested that in wireless networks, CSMA-based distributed MAC algorithms could achieve optimal utility without any message passing. We present the first proof of convergence of such adaptive CSMA algorithms towards an arbitrarily tight approximation of utility-optimizing schedule. We also briefly discuss the tradeoff between optimality at equilibrium and short-term fairness practically achieved by such algorithms.