QoS-driven MAC-layer resource allocation for wireless mesh networks with non-altruistic node cooperation and service differentiation

Node cooperation has been demonstrated promising in system performance improvement for wireless networks. To effectively provision packet-level quality-of-service (QoS) in wireless mesh networks (WMNs) supporting heterogeneous traffic, medium access control (MAC) with service differentiation is imperative. In this paper, we study the problem of non-altruistic non-reciprocal node cooperative resource allocation for WMNs with QoS support, taking subcarrier allocation, power allocation, partner selection/allocation, service differentiation, and packet scheduling into account. Due to the NP hardness of our resource allocation problem, we propose two low-complexity yet effective approaches based on the Karush-Kuhn-Tucker (KKT) interpretations, tailored for WMNs with QoS assurance and MAC-layer service differentiation. Further, simulation results show that both proposed approaches can effectively provision packet-level QoS and enhance system performance. Our study also sheds some light on the question of whether and when non-altruistic node cooperation is beneficial to WMNs.