Distributed Frequency Assignment Using Hierarchical Cooperative Multi-Agent System

Abstract

Recent demand for wireless communication continues to grow rapidly as a result of the increasing number of users, the emergence of new user requirements, and the trend to new access technologies. At the same time, the electromagnetic spectrum or frequencies allocated for this purpose are still limited. This makes solving the frequency assignment problem more and more critical. In this paper, a new approach is proposed using self-organizing multi-agent systems to solve distributed dynamic channel-assignment; it concerns distribution among agents which task is to assign personal station to frequencies with respect to well known constraints. Agents only know their variables and the constraints affecting them, and have to negotiate to find a collective solution. The approach is based on a macro-level management taking the form of a hierarchical group of distributed agents in the network and handling all RANs (Regional Radio Access Network) in a localized region regardless of the operating band. The approach defines cooperative self-organization as the process leading the collective to the solution: agents can change the organization by their own decision to improve the state of the system. Our approach has been tested on PHEADEPHIA benchmarks of frequency assignment Problem. The results obtained are equivalent to those of current existing methods with the benefits that our approach shows more efficiency in terms of flexibility and autonomy.