Review on Radio Resource Allocation Optimization in LTE/LTE-Advanced using Game Theory

Recently, there has been a growing trend toward ap-plying game theory (GT) to various engineering fields in order to solve optimization problems with different competing entities/con-tributors/players. Researches in the fourth generation (4G) wireless network field also exploited this advanced theory to overcome long term evolution (LTE) challenges such as resource allocation, which is one of the most important research topics. In fact, an efficient de-sign of resource allocation schemes is the key to higher performance. However, the standard does not specify the optimization approach to execute the radio resource management and therefore it was left open for studies. This paper presents a survey of the existing game theory based solution for 4G-LTE radio resource allocation problem and its optimization

Opportunistic Spectrum Utilization by Cognitive Radio Networks: Challenges and Solutions

Cognitive Radio Network (CRN) is an emerging paradigm that makes use of Dynamic Spectrum Access (DSA) to communicate opportunistically, in the un-licensed Industrial, Scientific and Medical bands or frequency bands otherwise licensed to incumbent users such as TV broadcast. Interest in the development of CRNs is because of severe under-utilization of spectrum bands by the incumbent Primary Users (PUs) that have the license to use them coupled with an ever-increasing demand for unlicensed spectrum for a variety of new mobile and wireless applications. The essence of Cognitive Radio (CR) operation is the cooperative and opportunistic utilization of licensed spectrum bands by the Secondary Users (SUs) that collectively form the CRN without causing any interference to PUs\u27 communications. CRN operation is characterized by factors such as network-wide quiet periods for cooperative spectrum sensing, opportunistic/dynamic spectrum access and non-deterministic operation of PUs. These factors can have a devastating impact on the overall throughput and can significantly increase the control overheads. Therefore, to support the same level of QoS as traditional wireless access technologies, very closer interaction is required between layers of the protocol stack. Opportunistic spectrum utilization without causing interference to the PUs is only possible if the SUs periodically sense the spectrum for the presence of PUs\u27 signal. To minimize the effects of hardware capabilities, terrain features and PUs\u27 transmission ranges, DSA is undertaken in a collaborative manner where SUs periodically carry out spectrum sensing in their respective geographical locations. Collaborative spectrum sensing has numerous security loopholes and can be favorable to malicious nodes in the network that may exploit vulnerabilities associated with DSA such as launching a spectrum sensing data falsification (SSDF) attack. Some CRN standards such as the IEEE 802.22 wireless regional area network employ a two-stage quiet period mechanism based on a mandatory Fast Sensing and an optional Fine Sensing stage for DSA. This arrangement is meant to strike a balance between the conflicting goals of proper protection of incumbent PUs\u27 signals and optimum QoS for SUs so that only as much time is spent for spectrum sensing as needed. Malicious nodes in the CRN however, can take advantage of the two-stage spectrum sensing mechanism to launch smart denial of service (DoS) jamming attacks on CRNs during the fast sensing stage. Coexistence protocols enable collocated CRNs to contend for and share the available spectrum. However, most coexistence protocols do not take into consideration the fact that channels of the available spectrum can be heterogeneous in the sense that they can vary in their characteristics and quality such as SNR or bandwidth. Without any mechanism to enforce fairness in accessing varying quality channels, ensuring coexistence with minimal contention and efficient spectrum utilization for CRNs is likely to become a very difficult task. The cooperative and opportunistic nature of communication has many challenges associated with CRNs\u27 operation. In view of the challenges described above, this dissertation presents solutions including cross-layer approaches, reputation system, optimization and game theoretic approaches to handle (1) degradation in TCP\u27s throughput resulting from packet losses and disruptions in spectrum availability due non-deterministic use of spectrum by the PUs (2) presence of malicious SUs in the CRN that may launch various attacks on CRNs\u27 including SSDF and jamming and (3) sharing of heterogeneous spectrum resources among collocated CRNs without a centralized mechanism to enforce cooperation among otherwise non-cooperative CRN

A game theory based strategy for reducing energy consumption in cognitive WSN

Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are one of the most important users of wireless communication technologies in the coming years and some challenges in this area must be addressed for their complete development. Energy consumption and spectrum availability are two of the most severe constraints of WSNs due to their intrinsic nature. The introduction of cognitive capabilities into these networks has arisen to face the issue of spectrum scarcity but could be used to face energy challenges too due to their new range of communication possibilities. In this paper a new strategy based on game theory for cognitive WSNs is discussed. The presented strategy improves energy consumption by taking advantage of the new change-communication-channel capability. Based on game theory, the strategy decides when to change the transmission channel depending on the behavior of the rest of the network nodes. The strategy presented is lightweight but still has higher energy saving rates as compared to noncognitive networks and even to other strategies based on scheduled spectrum sensing. Simulations are presented for several scenarios that demonstrate energy saving rates of around 65% as compared to WSNs without cognitive techniques

Game Theory for Multi-Access Edge Computing:Survey, Use Cases, and Future Trends

Game theory (GT) has been used with significant success to formulate, and either design or optimize, the operation of many representative communications and networking scenarios. The games in these scenarios involve, as usual, diverse players with conflicting goals. This paper primarily surveys the literature that has applied theoretical games to wireless networks, emphasizing use cases of upcoming multiaccess edge computing (MEC). MEC is relatively new and offers cloud services at the network periphery, aiming to reduce service latency backhaul load, and enhance relevant operational aspects such as quality of experience or security. Our presentation of GT is focused on the major challenges imposed by MEC services over the wireless resources. The survey is divided into classical and evolutionary games. Then, our discussion proceeds to more specific aspects which have a considerable impact on the game's usefulness, namely, rational versus evolving strategies, cooperation among players, available game information, the way the game is played (single turn, repeated), the game's model evaluation, and how the model results can be applied for both optimizing resource-constrained resources and balancing diverse tradeoffs in real edge networking scenarios. Finally, we reflect on lessons learned, highlighting future trends and research directions for applying theoretical model games in upcoming MEC services, considering both network design issues and usage scenarios

Game Theory and Femtocell Communications: Making Network Deployment Feasible

9781466600928Femtocell is currently the most promising technology for supporting the increasing demand of data traffic in wireless networks. Femtocells provide an opportunity for enabling innovative mobile applications and services in home and office environments. Femtocell Communications and Technologies: Business Opportunities and Deployment Challenges is an extensive and thoroughly revised version of a collection of review and research based chapters on femtocell technology. This work focuses on mobility and security in femtocell, cognitive femtocell, and standardization and deployment scenarios. Several crucial topics addressed in this book are interference mitigation techniques, network integration option, cognitive optimization, and economic incentives to install femtocells that may have a larger impact on their ultimate success. The book is optimized for use by graduate researchers who are familiar with the fundamentals of wireless communication and cellular concepts