AirSync: Enabling Distributed Multiuser MIMO with Full Spatial Multiplexing

The enormous success of advanced wireless devices is pushing the demand for higher wireless data rates. Denser spectrum reuse through the deployment of more access points per square mile has the potential to successfully meet the increasing demand for more bandwidth. In theory, the best approach to density increase is via distributed multiuser MIMO, where several access points are connected to a central server and operate as a large distributed multi-antenna access point, ensuring that all transmitted signal power serves the purpose of data transmission, rather than creating "interference." In practice, while enterprise networks offer a natural setup in which distributed MIMO might be possible, there are serious implementation difficulties, the primary one being the need to eliminate phase and timing offsets between the jointly coordinated access points. In this paper we propose AirSync, a novel scheme which provides not only time but also phase synchronization, thus enabling distributed MIMO with full spatial multiplexing gains. AirSync locks the phase of all access points using a common reference broadcasted over the air in conjunction with a Kalman filter which closely tracks the phase drift. We have implemented AirSync as a digital circuit in the FPGA of the WARP radio platform. Our experimental testbed, comprised of two access points and two clients, shows that AirSync is able to achieve phase synchronization within a few degrees, and allows the system to nearly achieve the theoretical optimal multiplexing gain. We also discuss MAC and higher layer aspects of a practical deployment. To the best of our knowledge, AirSync offers the first ever realization of the full multiuser MIMO gain, namely the ability to increase the number of wireless clients linearly with the number of jointly coordinated access points, without reducing the per client rate.Comment: Submitted to Transactions on Networkin

Spatial Frequency Scheduling for Uplink SC-FDMA based Linearly Precoded LTE Multiuser MIMO Systems

This paper investigates the performance of the uplink single carrier (SC) frequency division multiple access (FDMA) based linearly precoded multiuser multiple input multiple output (MIMO) systems with frequency domain packet scheduling. A mathematical expression of the received signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) for the studied systems is derived and a utility function based spatial frequency packet scheduling algorithms is investigated. The schedulers are shown to be able to exploit the available multiuser diversity in time, frequency and spatial domains

Relay Technologies in IEEE 802.16j Mobile Multi-hop Relay (MMR) Networks

IEEE 802.16 standard is created to compete with cable access networks. In the beginning end users are immobile and have a line of sight with base station, now it moved to mobile non line of sight (NLOS) with the new standard IEEE 802.16e and IEEE 802.16j. The new IEEE 802.16j standard which is an amendment to IEEE 802.16e is mobile multi hop relay (MMR) specification for wireless networks. This paper discusses relay modes, relay transmission schemes and relay pairing schemes of IEEE 802.16j. Relay technologies such as transparent relay modes, non transparent relay mode, relay pairing schemes such as centralized relay pairing schemes, distributed relay pairing scheme, characterises of relay based networks such as throughput enhancement, capacity increase, cost reduction , relay techniques such as time domain frequency domain relay techniques and relay placement are also discussed in this paper. The paper also discusses about integration of IEEE 802.16j with IEEE 802.11. Keywords: IEEE 802.16j, Relay pairing schemes, relay techniques, Relay modes, WIMAX, NCTUns, et