QoS-Aware distributed resource management for a WCDMA uplink

In this paper, a hybrid resource management system for the uplink in Universal Mobile Telecommunications System wideband code-division multiple access (WCDMA) with components in the Node-B and user equipment (UE) has been proposed. A rate scheduler in the client focuses on average packet delays as a means of abstracting application-specific requirements from the rest of the resource management scheme. It controls uplink transmission through variable spreading gain to optimize resource usage while meeting target delays. Service change requests from the distributed rate schedulers are collectively processed through interservice and intraservice priority queuing in a manner that is shown to exhibit fairness in allocation of resources when cumulative load exceeds system capacity. The performance of the proposed algorithm is explored through discrete-event simulations for three classes of traffic, namely voice, video, and data, over the WCDMA uplink in the presence of short-term Rayleigh fading, automatic repeat request, forward error correction, target transmission delays to meet the respective quality of service, and frame error rate targets in a "multicell" environment. The authors analyze two alternatives for distributed resource management with the UE or Node-B in control of rate scheduling and observe the fairness in resource allocation of both systems. Priority of speech, video, and data traffic is respected and reflected in 95th percentile transmission delays for heavily loaded systems.