1,558 research outputs found
Fundamentals of Inter-cell Overhead Signaling in Heterogeneous Cellular Networks
Heterogeneous base stations (e.g. picocells, microcells, femtocells and
distributed antennas) will become increasingly essential for cellular network
capacity and coverage. Up until now, little basic research has been done on the
fundamentals of managing so much infrastructure -- much of it unplanned --
together with the carefully planned macro-cellular network. Inter-cell
coordination is in principle an effective way of ensuring different
infrastructure components behave in a way that increases, rather than
decreases, the key quality of service (QoS) metrics. The success of such
coordination depends heavily on how the overhead is shared, and the rate and
delay of the overhead sharing. We develop a novel framework to quantify
overhead signaling for inter-cell coordination, which is usually ignored in
traditional 1-tier networks, and assumes even more importance in multi-tier
heterogeneous cellular networks (HCNs). We derive the overhead quality contour
for general K-tier HCNs -- the achievable set of overhead packet rate, size,
delay and outage probability -- in closed-form expressions or computable
integrals under general assumptions on overhead arrivals and different overhead
signaling methods (backhaul and/or wireless). The overhead quality contour is
further simplified for two widely used models of overhead arrivals: Poisson and
deterministic arrival process. This framework can be used in the design and
evaluation of any inter-cell coordination scheme. It also provides design
insights on backhaul and wireless overhead channels to handle specific overhead
signaling requirements.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figure
Separation Framework: An Enabler for Cooperative and D2D Communication for Future 5G Networks
Soaring capacity and coverage demands dictate that future cellular networks
need to soon migrate towards ultra-dense networks. However, network
densification comes with a host of challenges that include compromised energy
efficiency, complex interference management, cumbersome mobility management,
burdensome signaling overheads and higher backhaul costs. Interestingly, most
of the problems, that beleaguer network densification, stem from legacy
networks' one common feature i.e., tight coupling between the control and data
planes regardless of their degree of heterogeneity and cell density.
Consequently, in wake of 5G, control and data planes separation architecture
(SARC) has recently been conceived as a promising paradigm that has potential
to address most of aforementioned challenges. In this article, we review
various proposals that have been presented in literature so far to enable SARC.
More specifically, we analyze how and to what degree various SARC proposals
address the four main challenges in network densification namely: energy
efficiency, system level capacity maximization, interference management and
mobility management. We then focus on two salient features of future cellular
networks that have not yet been adapted in legacy networks at wide scale and
thus remain a hallmark of 5G, i.e., coordinated multipoint (CoMP), and
device-to-device (D2D) communications. After providing necessary background on
CoMP and D2D, we analyze how SARC can particularly act as a major enabler for
CoMP and D2D in context of 5G. This article thus serves as both a tutorial as
well as an up to date survey on SARC, CoMP and D2D. Most importantly, the
article provides an extensive outlook of challenges and opportunities that lie
at the crossroads of these three mutually entangled emerging technologies.Comment: 28 pages, 11 figures, IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials 201
Millimeter Wave Cellular Networks: A MAC Layer Perspective
The millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band is seen as a key enabler of
multi-gigabit wireless access in future cellular networks. In order to overcome
the propagation challenges, mmWave systems use a large number of antenna
elements both at the base station and at the user equipment, which lead to high
directivity gains, fully-directional communications, and possible noise-limited
operations. The fundamental differences between mmWave networks and traditional
ones challenge the classical design constraints, objectives, and available
degrees of freedom. This paper addresses the implications that highly
directional communication has on the design of an efficient medium access
control (MAC) layer. The paper discusses key MAC layer issues, such as
synchronization, random access, handover, channelization, interference
management, scheduling, and association. The paper provides an integrated view
on MAC layer issues for cellular networks, identifies new challenges and
tradeoffs, and provides novel insights and solution approaches.Comment: 21 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables, to appear in IEEE Transactions on
Communication
Matching Theory for Future Wireless Networks: Fundamentals and Applications
The emergence of novel wireless networking paradigms such as small cell and
cognitive radio networks has forever transformed the way in which wireless
systems are operated. In particular, the need for self-organizing solutions to
manage the scarce spectral resources has become a prevalent theme in many
emerging wireless systems. In this paper, the first comprehensive tutorial on
the use of matching theory, a Nobelprize winning framework, for resource
management in wireless networks is developed. To cater for the unique features
of emerging wireless networks, a novel, wireless-oriented classification of
matching theory is proposed. Then, the key solution concepts and algorithmic
implementations of this framework are exposed. Then, the developed concepts are
applied in three important wireless networking areas in order to demonstrate
the usefulness of this analytical tool. Results show how matching theory can
effectively improve the performance of resource allocation in all three
applications discussed
Control-data separation architecture for cellular radio access networks: a survey and outlook
Conventional cellular systems are designed to ensure ubiquitous coverage with an always present wireless channel irrespective of the spatial and temporal demand of service. This approach raises several problems due to the tight coupling between network and data access points, as well as the paradigm shift towards data-oriented services, heterogeneous deployments and network densification. A logical separation between control and data planes is seen as a promising solution that could overcome these issues, by providing data services under the umbrella of a coverage layer. This article presents a holistic survey of existing literature on the control-data separation architecture (CDSA) for cellular radio access networks. As a starting point, we discuss the fundamentals, concepts, and general structure of the CDSA. Then, we point out limitations of the conventional architecture in futuristic deployment scenarios. In addition, we present and critically discuss the work that has been done to investigate potential benefits of the CDSA, as well as its technical challenges and enabling technologies. Finally, an overview of standardisation proposals related to this research vision is provided
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