Max-min network flow and resource allocation for backhaul constrained heterogeneous wireless networks

We consider a heterogenous network (HetNet) consisting of a number of base stations (BSs) and network routers connected via a backhaul network. The optimal provision of such networks requires proper resource allocation across the radio access links in conjunction with appropriate traffic engineering within the backhaul network. In this paper we propose an efficient distributed algorithm for the joint resource allocation across the wireless links and the flow control within the backhaul network. The proposed algorithm, which maximizes the minimum rate among all the users and/or flows, is based on a decomposition approach that leverages both the Alternating Direction Method of Multipliers (ADMM) and the WMMSE algorithm, and is shown to be globally convergent to a stationary solution of the joint flow control and resource allocation problem. Moreover, this algorithm is easily parallelizable and can be extended to the multi-antenna scenario.