Two-Hop Connectivity to the Roadside in a VANET Under the Random Connection Model

We compute the expected number of cars that have at least one two-hop path to a fixed roadside unit in a one-dimensional vehicular ad hoc network in which other cars can be used as relays to reach a roadside unit when they do not have a reliable direct link. The pairwise channels between cars experience Rayleigh fading in the random connection model, and so exist, with probability function of the mutual distance between the cars, or between the cars and the roadside unit. We derive exact equivalents for this expected number of cars when the car density $\rho$ tends to zero and to infinity, and determine its behaviour using an infinite oscillating power series in $\rho$, which is accurate for all regimes. We also corroborate those findings to a realistic situation, using snapshots of actual traffic data. Finally, a normal approximation is discussed for the probability mass function of the number of cars with a two-hop connection to the origin. The probability mass function appears to be well fitted by a Gaussian approximation with mean equal to the expected number of cars with two hops to the origin.Comment: 21 pages, 7 figure

Research on Wireless Multi-hop Networks: Current State and Challenges

Wireless multi-hop networks, in various forms and under various names, are being increasingly used in military and civilian applications. Studying connectivity and capacity of these networks is an important problem. The scaling behavior of connectivity and capacity when the network becomes sufficiently large is of particular interest. In this position paper, we briefly overview recent development and discuss research challenges and opportunities in the area, with a focus on the network connectivity.Comment: invited position paper to International Conference on Computing, Networking and Communications, Hawaii, USA, 201

Outage Performance of Two-Hop OFDM Systems with Spatially Random Decode-and-Forward Relays

In this paper, we analyze the outage performance of different multicarrier relay selection schemes for two-hop orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) systems in a Poisson field of relays. In particular, special emphasis is placed on decode-and-forward (DF) relay systems, equipped with bulk and per-subcarrier selection schemes, respectively. The exact expressions for outage probability are derived in integrals for general cases. In addition, asymptotic expressions for outage probability in the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) region in the finite circle relay distribution region are determined in closed forms for both relay selection schemes. Also, the outage probabilities for free space in the infinite relay distribution region are derived in closed forms. Meanwhile, a series of important properties related to cooperative systems in random networks are investigated, including diversity, outage probability ratio of two selection schemes and optimization of the number of subcarriers in terms of system throughput. All analysis is numerically verified by simulations. Finally, a framework for analyzing the outage performance of OFDM systems with spatially random relays is constructed, which can be easily modified to analyze other similar cases with different forwarding protocols, location distributions and/or channel conditions

Network Formation Games Among Relay Stations in Next Generation Wireless Networks

The introduction of relay station (RS) nodes is a key feature in next generation wireless networks such as 3GPP's long term evolution advanced (LTE-Advanced), or the forthcoming IEEE 802.16j WiMAX standard. This paper presents, using game theory, a novel approach for the formation of the tree architecture that connects the RSs and their serving base station in the \emph{uplink} of the next generation wireless multi-hop systems. Unlike existing literature which mainly focused on performance analysis, we propose a distributed algorithm for studying the \emph{structure} and \emph{dynamics} of the network. We formulate a network formation game among the RSs whereby each RS aims to maximize a cross-layer utility function that takes into account the benefit from cooperative transmission, in terms of reduced bit error rate, and the costs in terms of the delay due to multi-hop transmission. For forming the tree structure, a distributed myopic algorithm is devised. Using the proposed algorithm, each RS can individually select the path that connects it to the BS through other RSs while optimizing its utility. We show the convergence of the algorithm into a Nash tree network, and we study how the RSs can adapt the network's topology to environmental changes such as mobility or the deployment of new mobile stations. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm presents significant gains in terms of average utility per mobile station which is at least 17.1% better relatively to the case with no RSs and reaches up to 40.3% improvement compared to a nearest neighbor algorithm (for a network with 10 RSs). The results also show that the average number of hops does not exceed 3 even for a network with up to 25 RSs.Comment: IEEE Transactions on Communications, vol. 59, no. 9, pp. 2528-2542, September 201

Average Rate of Downlink Heterogeneous Cellular Networks over Generalized Fading Channels - A Stochastic Geometry Approach

In this paper, we introduce an analytical framework to compute the average rate of downlink heterogeneous cellular networks. The framework leverages recent application of stochastic geometry to other-cell interference modeling and analysis. The heterogeneous cellular network is modeled as the superposition of many tiers of Base Stations (BSs) having different transmit power, density, path-loss exponent, fading parameters and distribution, and unequal biasing for flexible tier association. A long-term averaged maximum biased-received-power tier association is considered. The positions of the BSs in each tier are modeled as points of an independent Poisson Point Process (PPP). Under these assumptions, we introduce a new analytical methodology to evaluate the average rate, which avoids the computation of the Coverage Probability (Pcov) and needs only the Moment Generating Function (MGF) of the aggregate interference at the probe mobile terminal. The distinguishable characteristic of our analytical methodology consists in providing a tractable and numerically efficient framework that is applicable to general fading distributions, including composite fading channels with small- and mid-scale fluctuations. In addition, our method can efficiently handle correlated Log-Normal shadowing with little increase of the computational complexity. The proposed MGF-based approach needs the computation of either a single or a two-fold numerical integral, thus reducing the complexity of Pcov-based frameworks, which require, for general fading distributions, the computation of a four-fold integral.Comment: Accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions on Communications, to appea

CMD: A Multi-Channel Coordination Scheme for Emergency Message Dissemination in IEEE 1609.4

In the IEEE 1609.4 legacy standard for multi-channel communications in vehicular ad hoc networks(VANETs), the control channel (CCH) is dedicated to broadcast safety messages while the service channels (SCH's) are dedicated to transmit infotainment service content. However, the SCH can be used as an alternative to transmit high priority safety messages in the event that they are invoked during the service channel interval (SCHI). This implies that there is a need to transmit safety messages across multiple available utilized channels to ensure that all vehicles receive the safety message. Transmission across multiple SCH's using the legacy IEEE 1609.4 requires multiple channel switching and therefore introduces further end-to-end delays. Given that safety messaging is a life critical application, it is important that optimal end-to-end delay performance is derived in multi-channel VANET scenarios to ensure reliable safety message dissemination. To tackle this challenge, three primary contributions are in this article: first, a channel coordinator selection approach based on the least average separation distance (LAD) to the vehicles that expect to tune to other SCH's and operates during the control channel interval (CCHI) is proposed. Second, a model to determine the optimal time intervals in which CMD operates during the CCHI is proposed. Third, a contention back-off mechanism for safety message transmission during the SCHI is proposed. Computer simulations and mathematical analysis show that CMD performs better than the legacy IEEE 1609.4 and a selected state-of-the-art multi-channel message dissemination schemes in terms of end-to-end delay and packet reception ratio.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, 7 table

When Does Relay Transmission Give a More Secure Connection in Wireless Ad Hoc Networks?

Relay transmission can enhance coverage and throughput, while it can be vulnerable to eavesdropping attacks due to the additional transmission of the source message at the relay. Thus, whether or not one should use relay transmission for secure communication is an interesting and important problem. In this paper, we consider the transmission of a confidential message from a source to a destination in a decentralized wireless network in the presence of randomly distributed eavesdroppers. The source-destination pair can be potentially assisted by randomly distributed relays. For an arbitrary relay, we derive exact expressions of secure connection probability for both colluding and non-colluding eavesdroppers. We further obtain lower bound expressions on the secure connection probability, which are accurate when the eavesdropper density is small. By utilizing these lower bound expressions, we propose a relay selection strategy to improve the secure connection probability. By analytically comparing the secure connection probability for direct transmission and relay transmission, we address the important problem of whether or not to relay and discuss the condition for relay transmission in terms of the relay density and source-destination distance. These analytical results are accurate in the small eavesdropper density regime.Comment: Accepted for publication in IEEE Transactions On Information Forensics and Securit