Asymptotic Capacity Bounds for Wireless Networks with Non-Uniform Traffic

TL;DR

This paper derives asymptotic capacity bounds for various types of wireless networks with non-uniform traffic, providing insights into their fundamental limits and guiding principles for efficient network design.

Contribution

It introduces novel asymptotic capacity bounds for asymmetric, multicast, cluster, and hybrid wireless networks with non-uniform traffic patterns.

Findings

Capacity bounds depend on network type and traffic asymmetry.

Design principles can optimize capacity without complex protocols.

Results hold with high probability as network size grows.

Abstract

We develop bounds on the capacity of wireless networks when the traffic is non-uniform, i.e., not all nodes are required to receive and send similar volumes of traffic. Our results are asymptotic, i.e., they hold with probability going to unity as the number of nodes goes to infinity. We study \emph{(i)} asymmetric networks, where the numbers of sources and destinations of traffic are unequal, \emph{(ii)} multicast networks, in which each created packet has multiple destinations, \emph{(iii)} cluster networks, that consist of clients and a limited number of cluster heads, and each client wants to communicate with any of the cluster heads, and \emph{(iv)} hybrid networks, in which the nodes are supported by a limited infrastructure. Our findings quantify the fundamental capabilities of these wireless networks to handle traffic bottlenecks, and point to correct design principles that achieve the capacity without resorting to overly complicated protocols.