A load balancing system for autonomous connection management in heterogeneous wireless networks

In modern heterogeneous wireless networks (HWN), multi-mode devices perform autonomous connection management (ACM) to select the best connections. This selection process causes the challenge of providing global objectives such as load balancing, which have a significant impact on utilization of network resources. In this paper, the proposed connection management system considers the load balancing in HWNs through the trade-off between the individual connection quality and global network objectives. First, a centralized entity calculates the load state of the HWNs by predicting stochastic connection interests of the mobile hosts, then the calculated state is used by ACM system of mobile hosts to improve the network global objectives as well as their own connection quality. The system performance is studied through simulation and modeling in various scenarios. The overall system throughput, load distribution in the network, fairness in access to resources and user satisfaction are evaluated. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed system. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.