On Optimal Scheduling Algorithms for Small Generalized Switches
- Resource Type
- Periodical
- Authors
- Ji, T.; Athanasopoulou, E.; Srikant, R.
- Source
- IEEE/ACM Transactions on Networking IEEE/ACM Trans. Networking Networking, IEEE/ACM Transactions on. 18(5):1585-1598 Oct, 2010
- Subject
- Communication, Networking and Broadcast Technologies
Computing and Processing
Signal Processing and Analysis
Optimal scheduling
Scheduling algorithm
Switches
Traffic control
Packet switching
Telecommunication traffic
Throughput
Network topology
Wireless networks
Fading
Generalized switches
heavy traffic analysis
scheduling
workload optimality
- Language
- ISSN
- 1063-6692
1558-2566
It has been conjectured that MWS-$\alpha $ scheduling policies with $\alpha $ going to zero are heavy-traffic optimal for scheduling in a generalized switch when the objective is to minimize the number of backlogged packets in the system. We examine this conjecture by first deriving optimal or heavy-traffic optimal policies for small switches and then comparing them to MWS- $\alpha $ policies by simulation. Our conclusion is that the conjecture is not true in general, i.e., there are simple topologies for which there exist policies that outperform MWS-$\alpha $ in heavy traffic.