Statistical QoS Provision in Business-Centric Networks

TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel Business-Centric Network framework that leverages deep reinforcement learning to optimize resource allocation and QoS provisioning, significantly improving spectral and energy efficiency in wireless networks.

Contribution

It proposes a new cross-layer BCN model combined with a DRL framework (COHA-ES) for scalable, efficient QoS management in wireless communication.

Findings

DRL framework converges faster and yields higher rewards.

BCN structure enhances spectral and energy efficiency.

Joint optimization improves QoS metrics like throughput, delay, and reliability.

Abstract

More refined resource management and Quality of Service (QoS) provisioning is a critical goal of wireless communication technologies. In this paper, we propose a novel Business-Centric Network (BCN) aimed at enabling scalable QoS provisioning, based on a cross-layer framework that captures the relationship between application, transport parameters, and channels. We investigate both continuous flow and event-driven flow models, presenting key QoS metrics such as throughput, delay, and reliability. By jointly considering power and bandwidth allocation, transmission parameters, and AP network topology across layers, we optimize weighted resource efficiency with statistical QoS provisioning. To address the coupling among parameters, we propose a novel deep reinforcement learning (DRL) framework, which is Collaborative Optimization among Heterogeneous Actors with Experience Sharing (COHA-ES). Power and sub-channel (SC) Actors representing multiple APs are jointly optimized under the unified guidance of a common critic. Additionally, we introduce a novel multithreaded experience-sharing mechanism to accelerate training and enhance rewards. Extensive comparative experiments validate the effectiveness of our DRL framework in terms of convergence and efficiency. Moreover, comparative analyses demonstrate the comprehensive advantages of the BCN structure in enhancing both spectral and energy efficiency.