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Layering as optimization decomposition: Questions and answers

Publication ,  Journal Article
Chiang, M; Low, SH; Calderbank, AR; Doyle, JC
Published in: Proceedings - IEEE Military Communications Conference MILCOM
January 1, 2006

Network protocols in layered architectures have historically been obtained on an ad-hoc basis, and much of the recent cross-layer designs are conducted through piecemeal approaches. Network protocols may instead be holistically analyzed and systematically designed as distributed solutions to some global optimization problems in the form of generalized Network Utility Maximization (NUM), providing insight on what they optimize and on the structures of network protocol stacks. In the form of 10 Questions and Answers, this paper presents a short survey of the recent efforts towards a systematic understanding of "layering" as "optimization decomposition". The overall communication network is modeled by a generalized NUM problem, each layer corresponds to a decomposed subproblem, and the interfaces among layers are quantified as functions of the optimization variables coordinating the subproblems. Furthermore, there are many alternative decompositions, each leading to a different layering architecture. Industry adoption of this unifying framework has also started. Here we summarize the current status of horizontal decomposition into distributed computation and vertical decomposition into functional modules such as congestion control, routing, scheduling, random access, power control, and coding. We also discuss under-explored future research directions in this area. More importantly than proposing any particular crosslayer design, this framework is working towards a mathematical foundation of network architectures and the design process of modularization.

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Proceedings - IEEE Military Communications Conference MILCOM

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Publication Date

January 1, 2006
 

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Chiang, M., Low, S. H., Calderbank, A. R., & Doyle, J. C. (2006). Layering as optimization decomposition: Questions and answers. Proceedings - IEEE Military Communications Conference MILCOM. https://doi.org/10.1109/MILCOM.2006.302293
Chiang, M., S. H. Low, A. R. Calderbank, and J. C. Doyle. “Layering as optimization decomposition: Questions and answers.” Proceedings - IEEE Military Communications Conference MILCOM, January 1, 2006. https://doi.org/10.1109/MILCOM.2006.302293.
Chiang M, Low SH, Calderbank AR, Doyle JC. Layering as optimization decomposition: Questions and answers. Proceedings - IEEE Military Communications Conference MILCOM. 2006 Jan 1;
Chiang, M., et al. “Layering as optimization decomposition: Questions and answers.” Proceedings - IEEE Military Communications Conference MILCOM, Jan. 2006. Scopus, doi:10.1109/MILCOM.2006.302293.
Chiang M, Low SH, Calderbank AR, Doyle JC. Layering as optimization decomposition: Questions and answers. Proceedings - IEEE Military Communications Conference MILCOM. 2006 Jan 1;

Published In

Proceedings - IEEE Military Communications Conference MILCOM

DOI

Publication Date

January 1, 2006