Improving Third-Party Relaying for LTE-A: A Realistic Simulation Approach

In this article we propose solutions to diverse conflicts that result from the deployment of the (still immature) relay node (RN) technology in LTE-A networks. These conflicts and their possible solutions have been observed by implementing standard-compliant relay functionalities on the Vienna simulator. As an original experimental approach, we model realistic RN operation, taking into account that transmitters are not active all the time due to half-duplex RN operation. We have rearranged existing elements in the simulator in a manner that emulates RN behavior, rather than implementing a standalone brand-new component for the simulator. We also study analytically some of the issues observed in the interaction between the network and the RNs, to draw conclusions beyond simulation observation. The main observations of this paper are that: $i$) Additional time-varying interference management steps are needed, because the LTE-A standard employs a fixed time division between eNB-RN and RN-UE transmissions (typical relay capacity or throughput research models balance them optimally, which is unrealistic nowadays); $ii$) There is a trade-off between the time-division constraints of relaying and multi-user diversity; the stricter the constraints on relay scheduling are, the less flexibility schedulers have to exploit channel variation; and $iii$) Thee standard contains a variety of parameters for relaying configuration, but not all cases of interest are covered.Comment: 17 one-column pages, 9 figures, accepted for publication in IEEE ICC 2014 MW

A survey of self organisation in future cellular networks

This article surveys the literature over the period of the last decade on the emerging field of self organisation as applied to wireless cellular communication networks. Self organisation has been extensively studied and applied in adhoc networks, wireless sensor networks and autonomic computer networks; however in the context of wireless cellular networks, this is the first attempt to put in perspective the various efforts in form of a tutorial/survey. We provide a comprehensive survey of the existing literature, projects and standards in self organising cellular networks. Additionally, we also aim to present a clear understanding of this active research area, identifying a clear taxonomy and guidelines for design of self organising mechanisms. We compare strength and weakness of existing solutions and highlight the key research areas for further development. This paper serves as a guide and a starting point for anyone willing to delve into research on self organisation in wireless cellular communication networks

Resource Allocation for Network-Integrated Device-to-Device Communications Using Smart Relays

With increasing number of autonomous heterogeneous devices in future mobile networks, an efficient resource allocation scheme is required to maximize network throughput and achieve higher spectral efficiency. In this paper, performance of network-integrated device-to-device (D2D) communication is investigated where D2D traffic is carried through relay nodes. An optimization problem is formulated for allocating radio resources to maximize end-to-end rate as well as conversing QoS requirements for cellular and D2D user equipment under total power constraint. Numerical results show that there is a distance threshold beyond which relay-assisted D2D communication significantly improves network performance when compared to direct communication between D2D peers

LTE-Advanced radio access enhancements: A survey

Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE-Advanced) is the next step in LTE evolution and allows operators to improve network performance and service capabilities through smooth deployment of new techniques and technologies. LTE-Advanced uses some new features on top of the existing LTE standards to provide better user experience and higher throughputs. Some of the most significant features introduced in LTE-Advanced are carrier aggregation, enhancements in heterogeneous networks, coordinated multipoint transmission and reception, enhanced multiple input multiple output usage and deployment of relay nodes in the radio network. Mentioned features are mainly aimed to enhance the radio access part of the cellular networks. This survey article presents an overview of the key radio access features and functionalities of the LTE-Advanced radio access network, supported by the simulation results. We also provide a detailed review of the literature together with a very rich list of the references for each of the features. An LTE-Advanced roadmap and the latest updates and trends in LTE markets are also presented

Dynamic Time-domain Duplexing for Self-backhauled Millimeter Wave Cellular Networks

Millimeter wave (mmW) bands between 30 and 300 GHz have attracted considerable attention for next-generation cellular networks due to vast quantities of available spectrum and the possibility of very high-dimensional antenna ar-rays. However, a key issue in these systems is range: mmW signals are extremely vulnerable to shadowing and poor high-frequency propagation. Multi-hop relaying is therefore a natural technology for such systems to improve cell range and cell edge rates without the addition of wired access points. This paper studies the problem of scheduling for a simple infrastructure cellular relay system where communication between wired base stations and User Equipment follow a hierarchical tree structure through fixed relay nodes. Such a systems builds naturally on existing cellular mmW backhaul by adding mmW in the access links. A key feature of the proposed system is that TDD duplexing selections can be made on a link-by-link basis due to directional isolation from other links. We devise an efficient, greedy algorithm for centralized scheduling that maximizes network utility by jointly optimizing the duplexing schedule and resources allocation for dense, relay-enhanced OFDMA/TDD mmW networks. The proposed algorithm can dynamically adapt to loading, channel conditions and traffic demands. Significant throughput gains and improved resource utilization offered by our algorithm over the static, globally-synchronized TDD patterns are demonstrated through simulations based on empirically-derived channel models at 28 GHz.Comment: IEEE Workshop on Next Generation Backhaul/Fronthaul Networks - BackNets 201