As a prevailing concept in 5G, virtualization provides efficient coordination among multiple radio access technologies (RATs) and enables multiple service providers (SPs) to share different RATs’ infrastructure. This paper proposes a generic framework for virtualizing heterogeneous wireless network with different RATs. A novel “VMAC” (virtualized medium access control) concept is introduced to converge different RAT protocols and perform inter-RAT resource allocation. To suit the proposed framework, a virtualization based resource allocation scheme is devised. We formulate the problem as a mixed combinatorial optimization, which jointly considers network access and rate allocation. First, to solve the network access problem, “adaptability ratio” is developed to model the fact that different RATs possess different adaptability to different services. And a Grey Relational Analysis (GRA) method is adopted to calculate the adaptability ratio. Second, services are modeled as players, bargaining for RAT resources in a Nash bargaining game. And a closed-form Nash bargaining solution (NBS) is derived. Combining adaptability ratio with NBS, a novel resource allocation algorithm is devised. Through simulation, the superiority and feasibility of the proposed algorithm are validated.
Resource Allocation in a Generalized Framework for Virtualized Heterogeneous Wireless Network