Resource Allocation for Semi-Elastic Applications in Wireless Networks

Resource allocation for elastic applications is often accomplished using concave utility functions. We consider the more challenging case of resource allocation for semi-elastic applications modeled using sigmoid utility functions. Whereas elastic applications only require rate scheduling, we find that semi-elastic applications require both rate scheduling and connection access control (CAC). We pose a joint rate scheduling and CAC optimization problem, and find that direct solution is computationally intractable. We formulate the dual problem, and use this to propose a near-optimal algorithm that iteratively finds optimal shadow prices for power and rates. We then further reduce computational complexity by proposing a heuristic search algorithm that decomposes the subcarrier allocation and rate scheduling problems. The heuristic has a computational complexity linear in the number of users, and is shown by simulation to produce near-optimal results.