Partially-Distributed Resource Allocation in Small-Cell Networks

We propose a four-stage hierarchical resource allocation scheme for the downlink of a large-scale small-cell network in the context of orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA). Since interference limits the capabilities of such networks, resource allocation and interference management are crucial. However, obtaining the globally optimum resource allocation is exponentially complex and mathematically intractable. Here, we develop a partially decentralized algorithm to obtain an effective solution. The three major advantages of our work are: 1) as opposed to a fixed resource allocation, we consider load demand at each access point (AP) when allocating spectrum; 2) to prevent overloaded APs, our scheme is dynamic in the sense that as the users move from one AP to the other, so do the allocated resources, if necessary, and such considerations generally result in huge computational complexity, which brings us to the third advantage: 3) we tackle complexity by introducing a hierarchical scheme comprising four phases: user association, load estimation, interference management via graph coloring, and scheduling. We provide mathematical analysis for the first three steps modeling the user and AP locations as Poisson point processes. Finally, we provide results of numerical simulations to illustrate the efficacy of our scheme.Comment: Accepted on May 15, 2014 for publication in the IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communication

Radio Resource Allocation for Device-to-Device Underlay Communication Using Hypergraph Theory

Device-to-Device (D2D) communication has been recognized as a promising technique to offload the traffic for the evolved Node B (eNB). However, the D2D transmission as an underlay causes severe interference to both the cellular and other D2D links, which imposes a great technical challenge to radio resource allocation. Conventional graph based resource allocation methods typically consider the interference between two user equipments (UEs), but they cannot model the interference from multiple UEs to completely characterize the interference. In this paper, we study channel allocation using hypergraph theory to coordinate the interference between D2D pairs and cellular UEs, where an arbitrary number of D2D pairs are allowed to share the uplink channels with the cellular UEs. Hypergraph coloring is used to model the cumulative interference from multiple D2D pairs, and thus, eliminate the mutual interference. Simulation results show that the system capacity is significantly improved using the proposed hypergraph method in comparison to the conventional graph based one.Comment: 27 pages,10 figure

Approximations of the aggregated interference statistics for outage analysis in massive MTC

This paper presents several analytic closed-form approximations of the aggregated interference statistics within the framework of uplink massive machine-type-communications (mMTC), taking into account the random activity of the sensors. Given its discrete nature and the large number of devices involved, a continuous approximation based on the Gram–Charlier series expansion of a truncated Gaussian kernel is proposed. We use this approximation to derive an analytic closed-form expression for the outage probability, corresponding to the event of the signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio being below a detection threshold. This metric is useful since it can be used for evaluating the performance of mMTC systems. We analyze, as an illustrative application of the previous approximation, a scenario with several multi-antenna collector nodes, each equipped with a set of predefined spatial beams. We consider two setups, namely single- and multiple-resource, in reference to the number of resources that are allocated to each beam. A graph-based approach that minimizes the average outage probability, and that is based on the statistics approximation, is used as allocation strategy. Finally, we describe an access protocol where the resource identifiers are broadcast (distributed) through the beams. Numerical simulations prove the accuracy of the approximations and the benefits of the allocation strategy.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Simplicial Homology for Future Cellular Networks

Simplicial homology is a tool that provides a mathematical way to compute the connectivity and the coverage of a cellular network without any node location information. In this article, we use simplicial homology in order to not only compute the topology of a cellular network, but also to discover the clusters of nodes still with no location information. We propose three algorithms for the management of future cellular networks. The first one is a frequency auto-planning algorithm for the self-configuration of future cellular networks. It aims at minimizing the number of planned frequencies while maximizing the usage of each one. Then, our energy conservation algorithm falls into the self-optimization feature of future cellular networks. It optimizes the energy consumption of the cellular network during off-peak hours while taking into account both coverage and user traffic. Finally, we present and discuss the performance of a disaster recovery algorithm using determinantal point processes to patch coverage holes