A genetic algorithm based flow control scheme for LTE-NR dual connectivity networks.

Recently, the Non-Standalone Architecture option 3 standard is proposed to facilitate the deployment of 5th Generation (5G) New Radio (NR) cellular systems. According to this standard, 5G NR base stations can utilize the 4th Generation (4G) Long-Term Evolution (LTE) core network to provide network services. Additionally, the network can be configured to support LTE-NR dual connectivity enhancement, which means that a User Equipment (UE) can connect to a 4G LTE and a 5G NR base station at the same time. In such a dual connectivity network, the 4G LTE base station dispatches downlink traffic flows between the 4G LTE and 5G NR base stations for UEs. As investigated in previous works, traffic flow controls between 4G LTE and 5G NR base stations will affect network performance. In this work, we propose a downlink flow control algorithm based on the concept of Genetic Algorithm, with the objectives of maximizing throughput and fairness of throughput. We verify our designs through simulation programs and experiments on real platforms. The results indicate that the proposed solution effectively achieves the designed objectives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]