Packet Scheduling

Abstract

Online packet scheduling with deadlines is one of the fundamental models in buffer management. Recently, the author together with Chrobak, Jez, and Sgall (SODA 2019) designed an optimal ϕ-competitive algorithm for this problem, where ϕ ≈1.618 is the golden ratio. In this column, we sketch ideas that led us to the development of this algorithm and outline the concepts in its analysis. We also highlight open questions in packet scheduling.