An efficient distributed channel allocation algorithm based on dynamic channel boundaries

In a mobile computing environment, efficient allocation of wireless communication channels has a consequential impact on the performance of the system. This paper presents a distributed channel allocation algorithm based on the concept of dynamic channel boundaries. Under this scheme, each mobile service station (MSS) is assigned a contiguous range of channels which is not overlapping with the channel ranges of its neighbors. Boundaries between channel ranges of adjacent MSSs are dynamically adjustable but only through voluntary withdrawals. High efficiency is accomplished by the incorporation of two important features, namely early boundary expansion and need-based boundary redrawing. This algorithm imposes a low message volume on the fixed network. It has short response times to connection requests and achieves high channel utilization under both even and uneven load distributions. Channel utilization can be further improved by allowing a MSS to borrow channels from its neighbors. Results from simulation experiments indicate that this algorithm performs better than other distributed channel allocation algorithms.