Salvatore Talarico

The Complexity–Rate Tradeoff of Centralized Radio Access Networks

In a centralized radio access network (RAN), the signals from multiple radio access points (RAPs) are centrally processed in a data center. A centralized RAN enables advanced interference coordination strategies while leveraging the elastic provisioning of data processing resources. It is particularly well suited for dense deployments, such as within a large building where the RAPs are connected via fiber and where many cells are underutilized. This paper considers the computational requirements of a centralized RAN with the goal of illuminating the benefits of pooling computational resources. A new analytical framework is proposed for quantifying the computational load associated with the centralized processing of uplink signals in the presence of block Rayleigh fading, a distance-dependent path loss, and fractional power control. Several new performance metrics are defined, including the computational outage probability, the outage complexity, the computational gain, the computational diversity, and the complexity-rate tradeoff. The validity of the analytical framework is confirmed by numerically comparing it with a simulator compliant with the 3GPP LTE standard. Using the developed metrics, it is shown that centralizing computing resources provides a higher net throughput per computational resource as compared with local processing.

A Direct Approach to Computing Spatially Averaged Outage Probability

This letter describes a direct method for computing the spatially averaged outage probability of a network with interferers located according to a point process and signals subject to fading. Unlike most common approaches, it does not require transforms such as a Laplace transform. Examples show how to directly obtain the outage probability in the presence of Rayleigh fading in networks whose interferers are drawn from binomial and Poisson point processes defined over arbitrary regions. We furthermore show that, by extending the arbitrary region to the entire plane, the result for Poisson point processes converges to the same expression found by Baccelli et al.

Distributed Estimation of a Parametric Field: Algorithms and Performance Analysis

This paper presents a distributed estimator for a deterministic parametric physical field sensed by a homogeneous sensor network and develops a new transformed expression for the Cramer-Rao lower bound (CRLB) on the variance of distributed estimates. Stochastic models used in this paper assume additive noise in both the observation and transmission channels. Two cases of data transmission are considered. The first case assumes a linear analog modulation of raw observations prior to their transmission to a fusion center. In the second case, each sensor quantizes its observation to M levels, and the quantized data are communicated to a fusion center. In both cases, parallel additive white Gaussian channels are assumed. The paper develops an iterative expectation-maximization (EM) algorithm to estimate unknown parameters of a parametric field, and its linearized version is adopted for numerical analysis. The performance of the developed numerical solution is compared to the performance of a simple iterative approach based on Newtons approximation. Numerical examples are provided for the case of a field modeled as a Gaussian bell. However, the distributed estimator and the derived CRLB are general and can be applied to any parametric field. The dependence of the mean-square error (MSE) on the number of quantization levels, the number of sensors in the network and the SNR of the observation and transmission channels are analyzed. The variance of the estimates is compared to the derived CRLB.

An accurate and efficient analysis of a MBSFN network

A new accurate analysis is presented for an OFDM-based multicast-broadcast single-frequency network (MBSFN). The topology of the network is modeled by a constrained random spatial model involving a fixed number of base stations placed over a finite area with a minimum separation. The analysis is driven by a new closed-form expression for the conditional outage probability at each location of the network, where the conditioning is with respect to the network realization. The analysis accounts for the diversity combining of signals transmitted by different base stations of a given MBSFN area, and also accounts for the interference caused by the base stations of other MBSFN areas. The analysis features a flexible channel model, accounting for path loss, Nakagami fading, and correlated shadowing. The analysis is used to investigate the influence of the minimum base-station separation and provides insight regarding the optimal size of the MBSFN areas. In order to highlight the percentage of the network that will fail to successfully receive the broadcast, the area below an outage threshold (ABOT) is here used and defined as the fraction of the network that provides an outage probability (averaged over the fading) that meets a threshold.

Performance Comparisons of Geographic Routing Protocols in Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Geographic routing protocols greatly reduce the requirements of topology storage and provide flexibility in the accommodation of the dynamic behavior of mobile ad hoc networks. This paper presents performance evaluations and comparisons of two geographic routing protocols and the popular AODV protocol. The tradeoffs among the average path reliabilities, average conditional delays, average conditional numbers of hops, and area spectral efficiencies and the effects of various parameters are illustrated for finite ad hoc networks with randomly placed mobiles. This paper uses a dual method of closed-form analysis and simple simulation that is applicable to most routing protocols and provides a much more realistic performance evaluation than has previously been possible. Some features included in the new analysis are shadowing, exclusion and guard zones, distance-dependent fading, and interference correlation.

Adjacent-channel interference in frequency-hopping ad hoc networks

This paper considers ad hoc networks that use the combination of coded continuous-phase frequency-shift keying (CPFSK) and frequency-hopping multiple access. Although CPFSK has a compact spectrum, some of the signal power inevitably splatters into adjacent frequency channels, thereby causing adjacent-channel interference (ACI). The amount of ACI is controlled by setting the fractional in-band power; i.e., the fraction of the signal power that lies within the band of each frequency channel. While this quantity is often selected arbitrarily, a tradeoff is involved in the choice. This paper presents a new analysis of frequency-hopping ad hoc networks that carefully incorporates the effect of ACI. The analysis accounts for the shadowing, Nakagami fading, CPFSK modulation index, code rate, number of frequency channels, fractional in-band power, and spatial distribution of the interfering mobiles. Expressions are presented for both outage probability and transmission capacity. With the objective of maximizing the transmission capacity, the optimal fractional in-band power that should be contained in each frequency channel is identified.

Unicast Barrage Relay Networks: Outage Analysis and Optimization

Barrage relays networks (BRNs) are ad hoc networks built on a rapid cooperative flooding primitive as opposed to the traditional point-to-point link abstraction. Controlled barrage regions (CBRs) can be used to contain this flooding primitive for unicast and multicast, thereby enabling spatial reuse. In this paper, the behavior of individual CBRs is described as a Markov process that models the potential cooperative relay transmissions. The outage probability for a CBR is found in closed form for a given topology, and the probability takes into account fading and co-channel interference (CCI) between adjacent CBRs. Having adopted this accurate analytical framework, this paper proceeds to optimize a BRN by finding the optimal size of each CBR, the number of relays contained within each CBR, the optimal relay locations when they are constrained to lie on a straight line, and the code rate that maximizes the transport capacity.

Multihop Routing in Ad Hoc Networks

This paper presents a dual method of closed-form analysis and lightweight simulation that enables an evaluation of the performance of mobile ad hoc networks that is more realistic, efficient, and accurate than those found in existing publications. Some features accommodated by the new analysis are shadowing, exclusion and guard zones, and distance-dependent fading. Three routing protocols are examined: least-delay, nearest-neighbor, and maximum-progress routing. The tradeoffs among the path reliabilities, average conditional delays, average conditional number of hops, and area spectral efficiencies are examined.

Analysis of multi-cell downlink cooperation with a constrained spatial model

Multi-cell cooperation (MCC) mitigates intercell interference and improves throughput at the cell edge. This paper considers a cooperative downlink, whereby cell-edge mobiles are served by multiple cooperative base stations. The cooperating base stations transmit identical signals over paths with non-identical path losses, and the receiving mobile performs diversity combining. The analysis in this paper is driven by a new expression for the conditional outage probability when signals arriving over different paths are combined in the presence of noise and interference, where the conditioning is with respect to the network topology and shadowing. The channel model accounts for path loss, shadowing, and Nakagami fading, and the Nakagami fading parameters do not need to be identical for all paths. To study performance over a wide class of network topologies, a random spatial model is adopted, and performance is found by statistically characterizing the rates provided on the downlinks. To model realistic networks, the model requires a minimum separation among base stations. Having adopted a realistic model and an accurate analysis, the paper proceeds to determine performance under several resource-allocation policies and provides insight regarding how the cell edge should be defined.

Computationally Aware Sum-Rate Optimal Scheduling for Centralized Radio Access Networks

In a centralized or cloud radio access network, certain portions of the digital baseband processing of a group of several radio access points are processed at a central data center. Centralization improves the flexibility, scalability, and utilization of computational assets. However, the performance depends critically on how the limited data processing resources are allocated to serve the needs of the different wireless devices. As the processing load imposed by each device depends on its allocated transmission rate and channel quality, the rate- allocation aspect of the scheduling should take into account the available computing resources. In this paper, two computationally aware schedulers are proposed that have the objective of maximizing the system sum-rate while satisfying a constraint on the offered computational load. The first scheduler optimally allocates resources and is implemented according to a water-filling algorithm. The second scheduler is suboptimal, but uses a simpler and intuitive complexity-cut-off approach. The performance of both schedulers is evaluated using an LTE- compliant system level simulator. It is found that both schedulers avoid outages that are caused by an overflow of computational load (i.e., computational outages) at the cost of a slight loss of sum-rate.