Throughput Analysis of Buffer-Constrained Wireless Systems in the Finite Blocklength Regime

TL;DR

This paper analyzes the throughput of buffer-limited wireless systems using finite blocklength codes, considering queueing constraints, decoding errors, and various transmission strategies, providing insights for practical system design.

Contribution

It integrates finite blocklength coding theory with queueing constraints to evaluate throughput, offering a comprehensive analysis of different transmission strategies under practical conditions.

Findings

Throughput decreases with stricter queueing constraints.

Variable-rate transmission outperforms fixed-rate in certain regimes.

Optimal blocklength balances coding efficiency and queueing delay.

Abstract

In this paper, wireless systems operating under queueing constraints in the form of limitations on the buffer violation probabilities are considered. The throughput under such constraints is captured by the effective capacity formulation. It is assumed that finite blocklength codes are employed for transmission. Under this assumption, a recent result on the channel coding rate in the finite blocklength regime is incorporated into the analysis and the throughput achieved with such codes in the presence of queueing constraints and decoding errors is identified. Performance of different transmission strategies (e.g., variable-rate, variable-power, and fixed-rate transmissions) is studied. Interactions between the throughput, queueing constraints, coding blocklength, decoding error probabilities, and signal-to-noise ratio are investigated and several conclusions with important practical implications are drawn.