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When heavy-tailed and light-tailed flows compete: The response time tail under generalized max-weight scheduling
Date Issued
01-04-2016
Author(s)
Abstract
This paper focuses on the design and analysis of scheduling policies for multi-class queues, such as those found in wireless networks and high-speed switches. In this context, we study the response-time tail under generalized max-weight policies in settings where the traffic flows are highly asymmetric. Specifically, we consider a setting where a bursty flow, modeled using heavy-tailed statistics, competes with a more benign, light-tailed flow. In this setting, we prove that classical max-weight scheduling, which is known to be throughput optimal, results in the light-tailed flow having heavy-tailed response times. However, we show that via a careful design of inter-queue scheduling policy (from the class of generalized max-weight policies) and intra-queue scheduling policies, it is possible to maintain throughput optimality, and guarantee light-tailed delays for the light-tailed flow, without affecting the response-time tail for the heavy-tailed flow.
Volume
24