Anderson Chen

Effects of Location Awareness on Concurrent Transmissions for Cognitive Ad Hoc Networks Overlaying Infrastructure-Based Systems

Through wide-band spectrum sensing, cognitive radio (CR) can identify the opportunity of reusing the frequency spectrum of other wireless systems. However, wide-band spectrum sensing requires energy consumption processes. In this paper, we aim to relieve the burden of spectrum scanning in a CR system by means of location awareness. We investigate to what extent a CR system with location awareness capability can establish a scanning-free region where a peer-to-peer connection of the secondary CR users can coexist with an infrastructure-based connection of the primary user. We compute the concurrent transmission probability of a peer-to-peer connection and an infrastructure-based connection in a system based on the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) medium access control (MAC) protocol. It has been shown that the frequency band of the legacy system can be reused up to 45% by the overlaying cognitive ad hoc network if certain location techniques help CR users locate primary and other secondary users. In summary, a CR system equipped with location awareness techniques can dramatically reduce the need of spectrum sensing thanks to the capability of identifying the concurrent transmission region in a hybrid infrastructure-based and ad hoc overlaying systems. Hence, from another aspect, the issue of wide-band spectrum sensing in CR systems is resolved fundamentally.

Optimal Relay Location in Multi-Hop Cellular Systems

Relay stations (RSs) are usually used to enhance the signal strength for the users close to the cell boundary. However, transmission through a relay station needs two transmission phases, i.e., one is from the base station to the relay station and the other is from relay station to mobile stations. Thus, relay may also decrease system capacity if two-phase transmission time is considered. As a result, whether or not data are transmitted by one-hop or two-hop transmission should be determined based on both signal strength and throughput. In this paper, we investigate the optimal relay location aiming to maximize system capacity. We consider two relay selection rules for determining whether a two-hop transmission is necessary: signal strength-oriented and throughput-oriented. We find that the signal strength-oriented two-hop transmission may yield even lower system capacity than the one-hop transmission. Based on the throughput-oriented rule, we find that the throughput in the two-hop transmission can be higher than that in the one-hop transmission at some locations. We also identify the optimal relay location that can achieve the highest system capacity.

A Cognitive MAC Protocol for QoS Provisioning in Overlaying Ad Hoc Networks

Cognitive Radio (CR) can effectively reuse the same frequency of the existing legacy systems with the help of the adaptivity provided by the software defined radio technique and the intelligence learned by sensing the huge spectrum in the surrounding environment. One fundamental issue for a CR network is how CR users establish an overlaying ad hoc link on licensed and unlicensed bands. On licensed band, the CR user has to detect the presence of the primary user and vacate accordingly to avoid the interference. On the unlicensed band, the medium access shall support the quality of service (QoS) as well as improving the efficiency and fairness for the spectrum usage. In this paper, by moderately reshaping the legacy carrier sense multiple access (CSMA) medium access control (MAC) protocol, we propose a cognitive and distributive MAC protocol to establish a CR ad hoc network with QoS provisioning, high efficiency and fairness. Through the simulations by NS-2, the proposed cognitive MAC protocol can improve throughput by 50% compared to the legacy carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) MAC protocol, while keeping the dropping rate less than 2% for delay-sensitive applications.

A Cross-Layer Investigation for the Throughput Performance of CSMA/CA-Based WLANs With Directional Antennas and Capture Effect

In this paper, we develop a physical/medium-access-control (PHY/MAC) cross-layer analytical model to investigate the throughput performance of the wireless local-area network (WLAN) in a lossy wireless environment. From the PHY-layer perspective, the developed model incorporates the effects of capture and directional antennas, while from the MAC-layer perspective, our approach takes into account the carrier-sense multiple access with collision-avoidance (CSMA/CA) MAC protocol and the effect of the backoff process in the IEEE 802.11 WLAN. We derive explicit analytical expressions for the frame outage and capture probabilities of a directional antenna system in the presence of shadowing and Rayleigh fading. Applying this analysis, we can model the interaction between the PHY and MAC layers more accurately for the infrastructure-based WLAN. The numerical results show that our analytical model can approach that attained by simulations. The proposed cross-layer analytical model not only provides insights into the PHY layer impacts on the throughput of the CSMA/CA MAC protocol but also indicates to how directional antennas can improve the CSMA/CA-based WLAN in terms of antenna beamwidth and the number of radio transceivers.

On the throughput performance of CSMA-based wireless local area network with directional antennas and capture effect: a cross-layer analytical approach

In this paper we develop a cross-layer analytical approach from both the physical layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer to evaluate the performance of the IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network (WLAN). From the physical layer, this analytical approach incorporates the effects of both capture and directional antenna, while from the MAC layer, our model takes account of the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) protocol. Through a cross-layer modeling technique, this analytical framework can provide valuable insights of the physical layer impact on the throughput performance of the CSMA/CA MAC protocol. These insights can be helpful in developing a MAC protocol to fully take advantage of directional antennas for enhancing the performance of the WLAN.

Joint Rate and Power Adaptation for Wireless Local Area Networks in Generalized Nakagami Fading Channels

In this paper, a channel-driven rate and power adaptation (CDRPA) algorithm is proposed for wireless local area networks (WLANs) in generalized Nakagami fading channels. Through the channel information of the first packet, the CDRPA algorithm can lower the complexity of comparing various rates and power levels. In the case of the IEEE 802.11 WLAN, the computation complexity of the CDRPA algorithms is reduced by more than 94% compared with the complete-search link adaptation. A physical and/or medium access control (MAC) cross-layer analytical model is also developed to evaluate the goodput and energy efficiency of the carrier sense multiple access with a collision avoidance MAC protocol in Nakagami fading channels. Our numerical results show that the CDRPA algorithm is not only more energy efficient in the Nakagami fading channel but can also achieve comparable and even higher throughput compared with the complete-search link adaptation approach.

Optimal Radio Resource Partition for Joint Contention- and Connection-Oriented Multichannel Access in OFDMA Systems

The IEEE 802.16e world interoperability for microwave access (WiMax) system plays an important role in the future wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN). Orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA), adopted in the IEEE 802.16 e WiMax system, has many advantages in the physical layer, but also poses many challenges for radio resource allocation. One of interesting radio resource allocation issue in the OFDMA system is to partition the overall radio resource (bandwidth and time duration) into two portions: one for random access and the other for connection-oriented access. In the IEEE 802.16 e WiMax system, a truncated binary backoff algorithm is adopted to resolve the contention in random access, while the time-division OFDMA is used for the connection-oriented access. The main contribution of this paper is to design an analytical approach to determine the optimal amount of reserved radio resource in both time and frequency domains for random access, with the objective of maximizing the overall efficiency of radio resource while satisfying the delay requirements for supporting real-time services. Furthermore, an analytical model for calculating the access latency and the efficiency of the reserved radio resources is developed.

On the Coexistence of Infrastructure-Based and Ad Hoc Connections for a Cognitive Radio System

Cognitive radio (CR) can sense the current spectrum usage of existing networks and make intelligent decisions on the opportunity of reusing the frequency spectrum. One fundamental issue for the CR system is how to rapidly establish a temporary communication link on the spectrum of the exiting users. In this paper, we investigate the feasibility issue of establishing both an infrastructure-based link and an ad hoc link using the same spectrum simultaneously in an overlapped area. We also present a cross-layer performance analysis from both the physical (PHY) layer and medium access control (MAC) layer perspectives. The analytical results show that the probability that both an infrastructure-based connection and an ad hoc link coexist in an overlapping area can be as high as 45%. In addition the normalized total throughput of the both links is more than 145% compared to the pure infrastructure-based link. However, considering the shadowing effects, the transmission reliability varies from 30% ~ 90% depending on the locations of mobile stations

NICE - a decentralized medium access control using neighborhood information classification and estimation for multimedia applications in ad hoc 802.11 wireless LANs

The desired properties of a medium access control (MAC) protocol in mobile ad hoc network (MANET) include: (1) meet quality of service (QoS) requirements for real-time nodes, (2) be decentralized, (3) achieve fairness from viewpoint of throughput or energy consumption, and (4) be immune to the hidden node problem. Though there have been numerous proposed MAC protocols for the IEEE 802.11 WLAN, few of them possess all of the four properties mentioned above. Our protocol can support real-time traffic and satisfy QoS requirements, and can achieve fairness among non-real-time nodes. Also, without using any centralized control, it can be easily deployed in MANET. An analytic model of the protocols throughput has also been developed. We compare the protocols throughput obtained from its analytic model and simulation to validate each other.

Full length article: A cognitive MAC protocol for QoS provisioning in ad hoc networks

In this paper, we consider an ad hoc network overlaying a legacy time-division multiple access (TDMA) system. This kind of ad hoc and infrastructure-based coexisting architecture can have an important application for the future cognitive radio (CR) network. To establish an overlaying ad hoc network in the presence of primary users, the medium access control (MAC) protocol shall achieve high spectrum utilization, avoid interfering the primary user and establish the link quickly. To this end, we propose four enhanced mechanisms for the carrier sense multiple access with collision avoidance (CSMA/CA) MAC protocol: (1) a neighbor list establishment mechanism for recognizing spectrum usage opportunities, (2) a set of contention resolution methods to reduce the collision and delay variance, (3) an invited reservation procedure for meeting the delay requirements of real-time traffic, and (4) a distributed frame synchronization mechanism for coordinating transmission without a centralized controller. Compared to the legacy IEEE 802.11 MAC protocol, the proposed CSMA/CA MAC protocol enhancement can improve the system throughput by 50% through analysis and NS-2 simulations, while keeping the dropping rate lower than 2% for delay-sensitive traffic. Furthermore, the standard deviation of the access delay is reduced by five times. With these QoS enhanced mechanisms, the proposed cognitive CSMA/CA MAC protocol can allow an ad hoc network to coexist with the legacy TDMA system.