Energy-efficient mobile data transport via online multi-network packet scheduling

We explore a novel online packet scheduling model related to energy-efficiency in mobile data transport. This model incorporates multiple networks with non-persistent connectivities where we only know which networks are available in the current timestep. When a packet arrives, it specifies a deadline and, for each network, a value it is worth if sent over that network. Our goal is to maximize the total value of packets we send by their deadlines. To encourage energy-efficiency, our model requires that packets have larger values for more energy-efficient networks. We demonstrate low-constant-competitive algorithms for this problem and several restrictions. We also provide lower bounds which closely match our competitive ratios and, under some restrictions, are tight. Lastly, we investigate the improvements in performance possible by adding a layer of packet/WiFi prediction to our model. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.