Delay and Backlog Analysis for 60 GHz Wireless Networks

Abstract: To meet the ever-increasing demands on higher throughput and better network delay performance, 60 GHZ networking is proposed as a promising solution for the next generation of wireless communications. To successfully deploy such networks, its important to understand their performance first. However, due to the unique fading characteristic of the 60 GHz channel, the characterization of the corresponding service process, offered by the channel, using the conventional methodologies may not be tractable. In this work, we provide an alternative approach to derive a closed-form expression that characterizes the cumulative service process of the 60 GHz channel in terms of the moment generating function (MGF) of its instantaneous channel capacity. We then use this expression to derive probabilistic upper bounds on the backlog and delay that are experienced by a flow traversing this network, using results from the MGF-based network calculus. The computed bounds are validated using simulation. We provide numerical results for different networking scenarios and for different traffic and channel parameters and we show that the 60 GHz wireless network is capable of satisfying stringent quality-of-Service (QoS) requirements, in terms of network delay and reliability. With this analysis approach at hand, a larger scale 60 GHz network design and optimization is possible.