Joint optimization of throwbox deployment and storage allocation in Mobile Social Networks

In Mobile Social Networks (MSNs), data caching techniques are widely applied to enhance the performance of data delivery by using storage devices called throwboxes. A throwbox is usually placed at a particular place and acts as a stationary relay. When putting throwboxes into a network, the deployment and storage allocation of throwboxes are two fundamental problems. Although throwbox deployment has been studied, optimal storage allocation is often ignored in these approaches. In this paper, we investigate the two problems jointly. Contact strength between a user and a particular place is evaluated with the aid of the contact history of users. Moreover, a joint optimization model is established to calculate the optimal throwbox deployment and storage allocation. Simulation results show that the proposed scheme performs well in decreasing data loss incurred by storage saturation and improving the efficiency of data delivery.