346 research outputs found
Holistic Small Cell Traffic Balancing across Licensed and Unlicensed Bands
Due to the dramatic growth in mobile data traffic on one hand and the
scarcity of the licensed spectrum on the other hand, mobile operators are
considering the use of unlicensed bands (especially those in 5 GHz) as
complementary spectrum for providing higher system capacity and better user
experience. This approach is currently being standardized by 3GPP under the
name of LTE Licensed-Assisted Access (LTE-LAA). In this paper, we take a
holistic approach for LTE-LAA small cell traffic balancing by jointly
optimizing the use of the licensed and unlicensed bands. We pose this traffic
balancing as an optimization problem that seeks proportional fair coexistence
of WiFi, small cell and macro cell users by adapting the transmission
probability of the LTE-LAA small cell in the licensed and unlicensed bands. The
motivation for this formulation is for the LTE-LAA small cell to switch between
or aggregate licensed and unlicensed bands depending on the
interference/traffic level and the number of active users in each band. We
derive a closed form solution for this optimization problem and additionally
propose a transmission mechanism for the operation of the LTE-LAA small cell on
both bands. Through numerical and simulation results, we show that our proposed
traffic balancing scheme, besides enabling better LTE-WiFi coexistence and
efficient utilization of the radio resources relative to the existing traffic
balancing scheme, also provides a better tradeoff between maximizing the total
network throughput and achieving fairness among all network flows compared to
alternative approaches.Comment: Accepted for publication at MSWiM 201
A Multi-Game Framework for Harmonized LTE-U and WiFi Coexistence over Unlicensed Bands
The introduction of LTE over unlicensed bands (LTE-U) will enable LTE base
stations (BSs) to boost their capacity and offload their traffic by exploiting
the underused unlicensed bands. However, to reap the benefits of LTE-U, it is
necessary to address various new challenges associated with LTE-U and WiFi
coexistence. In particular, new resource management techniques must be
developed to optimize the usage of the network resources while handling the
interdependence between WiFi and LTE users and ensuring that WiFi users are not
jeopardized. To this end, in this paper, a new game theoretic tool, dubbed as
\emph{multi-game} framework is proposed as a promising approach for modeling
resource allocation problems in LTE-U. In such a framework, multiple,
co-existing and coupled games across heterogeneous channels can be formulated
to capture the specific characteristics of LTE-U. Such games can be of
different properties and types but their outcomes are largely interdependent.
After introducing the basics of the multi-game framework, two classes of
algorithms are outlined to achieve the new solution concepts of multi-games.
Simulation results are then conducted to show how such a multi-game can
effectively capture the specific properties of LTE-U and make of it a
"friendly" neighbor to WiFi.Comment: Accepted for publication at IEEE Wireless Communications Magazine,
Special Issue on LTE in Unlicensed Spectru
Distributed algorithms for optimized resource management of LTE in unlicensed spectrum and UAV-enabled wireless networks
Next-generation wireless cellular networks are morphing into a massive Internet
of Things (IoT) environment that integrates a heterogeneous mix of wireless-enabled
devices such as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and connected vehicles.
This unprecedented transformation will not only drive an exponential growth in
wireless traffic, but it will also lead to the emergence of new wireless service
applications that substantially differ from conventional multimedia services. To
realize the fifth generation (5G) mobile networks vision, a new wireless radio
technology paradigm shift is required in order to meet the quality of service
requirements of these new emerging use cases. In this respect, one of the major
components of 5G is self-organized networks. In essence, future cellular networks
will have to rely on an autonomous and self-organized behavior in order to manage
the large scale of wireless-enabled devices. Such an autonomous capability can be
realized by integrating fundamental notions of artificial intelligence (AI) across
various network devices.
In this regard, the main objective of this thesis is to propose novel self-organizing
and AI-inspired algorithms for optimizing the available radio resources
in next-generation wireless cellular networks. First, heterogeneous networks that
encompass licensed and unlicensed spectrum are studied. In this context, a deep
reinforcement learning (RL) framework based on long short-term memory cells is
introduced. The proposed scheme aims at proactively allocating the licensed assisted
access LTE (LTE-LAA) radio resources over the unlicensed spectrum while
ensuring an efficient coexistence with WiFi. The proposed deep learning algorithm
is shown to reach a mixed-strategy Nash equilibrium, when it converges.
Simulation results using real data traces show that the proposed scheme can yield
up to 28% and 11% gains over a conventional reactive approach and a proportional
fair coexistence mechanism, respectively. In terms of priority fairness, results
show that an efficient utilization of the unlicensed spectrum is guaranteed when
both technologies, LTE-LAA and WiFi, are given equal weighted priorities for
transmission on the unlicensed spectrum. Furthermore, an optimization formulation
for LTE-LAA holistic traffic balancing across the licensed and the unlicensed
bands is proposed. A closed form solution for the aforementioned optimization
problem is derived. An attractive aspect of the derived solution is that it can be
applied online by each LTE-LAA small base station (SBS), adapting its transmission behavior in each of the bands, and without explicit communication with
WiFi nodes. Simulation results show that the proposed traffic balancing scheme
provides a better tradeoff between maximizing the total network throughput and
achieving fairness among all network
ows compared to alternative approaches
from the literature. Second, UAV-enabled wireless networks are investigated. In
particular, the problems of interference management for cellular-connected UAVs
and the use of UAVs for providing backhaul connectivity to SBSs are studied.
Speci cally, a deep RL framework based on echo state network cells is proposed
for optimizing the trajectories of multiple cellular-connected UAVs while minimizing
the interference level caused on the ground network. The proposed algorithm
is shown to reach a subgame perfect Nash equilibrium upon convergence. Moreover,
an upper and lower bound for the altitude of the UAVs is derived thus
reducing the computational complexity of the proposed algorithm. Simulation
results show that the proposed path planning scheme allows each UAV to achieve
a tradeoff between minimizing energy efficiency, wireless latency, and the interference
level caused on the ground network along its path. Moreover, in the context
of UAV-enabled wireless networks, a UAV-based on-demand aerial backhaul network
is proposed. For this framework, a network formation algorithm, which is
guaranteed to reach a pairwise stable network upon convergence, is presented.
Simulation results show that the proposed scheme achieves substantial performance
gains in terms of both rate and delay reaching, respectively, up to 3.8 and
4-fold increase compared to the formation of direct communication links with the
gateway node. Overall, the results of the different proposed schemes show that
these schemes yield significant improvements in the total network performance
as compared to current existing literature. In essence, the proposed algorithms
can also provide self-organizing solutions for several resource management problems
in the context of new emerging use cases in 5G networks, such as connected
autonomous vehicles and virtual reality headsets
Cognition-inspired 5G cellular networks: a review and the road ahead
Despite the evolution of cellular networks, spectrum scarcity and the lack of intelligent and autonomous capabilities remain a cause for concern. These problems have resulted in low network capacity, high signaling overhead, inefficient data forwarding, and low scalability, which are expected to persist as the stumbling blocks to deploy, support and scale next-generation applications, including smart city and virtual reality. Fifth-generation (5G) cellular networking, along with its salient operational characteristics - including the cognitive and cooperative capabilities, network virtualization, and traffic offload - can address these limitations to cater to future scenarios characterized by highly heterogeneous, ultra-dense, and highly variable environments. Cognitive radio (CR) and cognition cycle (CC) are key enabling technologies for 5G. CR enables nodes to explore and use underutilized licensed channels; while CC has been embedded in CR nodes to learn new knowledge and adapt to network dynamics. CR and CC have brought advantages to a cognition-inspired 5G cellular network, including addressing the spectrum scarcity problem, promoting interoperation among heterogeneous entities, and providing intelligence and autonomous capabilities to support 5G core operations, such as smart beamforming. In this paper, we present the attributes of 5G and existing state of the art focusing on how CR and CC have been adopted in 5G to provide spectral efficiency, energy efficiency, improved quality of service and experience, and cost efficiency. This main contribution of this paper is to complement recent work by focusing on the networking aspect of CR and CC applied to 5G due to the urgent need to investigate, as well as to further enhance, CR and CC as core mechanisms to support 5G. This paper is aspired to establish a foundation and to spark new research interest in this topic. Open research opportunities and platform implementation are also presented to stimulate new research initiatives in this exciting area
Software-defined Networking enabled Resource Management and Security Provisioning in 5G Heterogeneous Networks
Due to the explosive growth of mobile data traffic and the shortage of spectral resources, 5G networks are envisioned to have a densified heterogeneous network (HetNet) architecture, combining multiple radio access technologies (multi-RATs) into a single holistic network. The co-existing of multi-tier architectures bring new challenges, especially on resource management and security provisioning, due to the lack of common interface and consistent policy across HetNets. In this thesis, we aim to address the technical challenges of data traffic management, coordinated spectrum sharing and security provisioning in 5G HetNets through the introduction of a programmable management platform based on Software-defined networking (SDN).
To address the spectrum shortage problem in cellular networks, cellular data traffic is efficiently offloaded to the Wi-Fi network, and the quality of service of user applications is guaranteed with the proposed delay tolerance based partial data offloading algorithm. A two-layered information collection is also applied to best load balancing decision-making. Numerical results show that the proposed schemes exploit an SDN controller\u27s global view of the HetNets and take optimized resource allocation decisions. To support growing vehicle-generated data traffic in 5G-vehicle ad hoc networks (VANET), SDN-enabled adaptive vehicle clustering algorithm is proposed based on the real-time road traffic condition collected from HetNet infrastructure. Traffic offloading is achieved within each cluster and dynamic beamformed transmission is also applied to improve trunk link communication quality.
To further achieve a coordinated spectrum sharing across HetNets, an SDN enabled orchestrated spectrum sharing scheme that integrates participating HetNets into an amalgamated network through a common configuration interface and real-time information exchange is proposed. In order to effectively protect incumbent users, a real-time 3D interference map is developed to guide the spectrum access based on the SDN global view. MATLAB simulations confirm that average interference at incumbents is reduced as well as the average number of denied access.
Moreover, to tackle the contradiction between more stringent latency requirement of 5G and the potential delay induced by frequent authentications in 5G small cells and HetNets, an SDN-enabled fast authentication scheme is proposed in this thesis to simplify authentication handover, through sharing of user-dependent secure context information (SCI) among related access points. The proposed SCI is a weighted combination of user-specific attributes, which provides unique fingerprint of the specific device without additional hardware and computation cost. Numerical results show that the proposed non-cryptographic authentication scheme achieves comparable security with traditional cryptographic algorithms, while reduces authentication complexity and latency especially when network load is high
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
Business scenarios, technical challenges and system requirements - D2.1
Deliverable D2.1 del projecte Europeu OneFIT (ICT-2009-257385)Preprin
Cellular and Wi-Fi technologies evolution: from complementarity to competition
This PhD thesis has the characteristic to span over a long time because while working on it, I was working as a research engineer at CTTC with highly demanding development duties. This has delayed the deposit more than I would have liked. On the other hand, this has given me the privilege of witnessing and studying how wireless technologies have been evolving over a decade from 4G to 5G and beyond.
When I started my PhD thesis, IEEE and 3GPP were defining the two main wireless technologies at the time, Wi-Fi and LTE, for covering two substantially complementary market targets. Wi-Fi was designed to operate mostly indoor, in unlicensed spectrum, and was aimed to be a simple and cheap technology. Its primary technology for coexistence was based on the assumption that the spectrum on which it was operating was for free, and so it was designed with interference avoidance through the famous CSMA/CA protocol. On the other hand, 3GPP was designing technologies for licensed spectrum, a costly kind of spectrum. As a result, LTE was designed to take the best advantage of it while providing the best QoE in mainly outdoor scenarios.
The PhD thesis starts in this context and evolves with these two technologies. In the first chapters, the thesis studies radio resource management solutions for standalone operation of Wi-Fi in unlicensed and LTE in licensed spectrum. We anticipated the now fundamental machine learning trend by working on machine learning-based radio resource management solutions to improve LTE and Wi-Fi operation in their respective spectrum. We pay particular attention to small cell deployments aimed at improving the spectrum efficiency in licensed spectrum, reproducing small range scenarios typical of Wi-Fi settings.
IEEE and 3GPP followed evolving the technologies over the years: Wi-Fi has grown into a much more complex and sophisticated technology, incorporating the key features of cellular technologies, like HARQ, OFDMA, MU-MIMO, MAC scheduling and spatial reuse. On the other hand, since Release 13, cellular networks have also been designed for unlicensed spectrum. As a result, the two last chapters of this thesis focus on coexistence scenarios, in which LTE needs to be designed to coexist with Wi-Fi fairly, and NR, the radio access for 5G, with Wi-Fi in 5 GHz and WiGig in 60 GHz. Unlike LTE, which was adapted to operate in unlicensed spectrum, NR-U is natively designed with this feature, including its capability to operate in unlicensed in a complete standalone fashion, a fundamental new milestone for cellular. In this context, our focus of analysis changes. We consider that these two technological families are no longer targeting complementarity but are now competing, and we claim that this will be the trend for the years to come.
To enable the research in these multi-RAT scenarios, another fundamental result of this PhD thesis, besides the scientific contributions, is the release of high fidelity models for LTE and NR and their coexistence with Wi-Fi and WiGig to the ns-3 open-source community. ns-3 is a popular open-source network simulator, with the characteristic to be multi-RAT and so naturally allows the evaluation of coexistence scenarios between different technologies. These models, for which I led the development, are by academic citations, the most used open-source simulation models for LTE and NR and havereceived fundings from industry (Ubiquisys, WFA, SpiderCloud, Interdigital, Facebook) and federal agencies (NIST, LLNL) over the years.Aquesta tesi doctoral té la caracterÃstica d’allargar-se durant un llarg perÃode de temps ja que mentre treballava en ella, treballava com a enginyera investigadora a CTTC amb tasques de desenvolupament molt exigents. Això ha endarrerit el dipositar-la més del que m’hagués agradat. D’altra banda, això m’ha donat el privilegi de ser testimoni i estudiar com han evolucionat les tecnologies sense fils durant més d’una dècada des del 4G fins al 5G i més enllà . Quan vaig començar la tesi doctoral, IEEE i 3GPP estaven definint les dues tecnologies sense fils principals en aquell moment, Wi-Fi i LTE, que cobreixen dos objectius de mercat substancialment complementaris. Wi-Fi va ser dissenyat per funcionar principalment en interiors, en espectre sense llicència, i pretenia ser una tecnologia senzilla i barata. La seva tecnologia primà ria per a la convivència es basava en el supòsit que l’espectre en el que estava operant era de franc, i, per tant, es va dissenyar simplement evitant interferències a través del famós protocol CSMA/CA. D’altra banda, 3GPP estava dissenyant tecnologies per a espectres amb llicència, un tipus d’espectre costós. Com a resultat, LTE està dissenyat per treure’n el mà xim profit alhora que proporciona el millor QoE en escenaris principalment a l’aire lliure. La tesi doctoral comença amb aquest context i evoluciona amb aquestes dues tecnologies. En els primers capÃtols, estudiem solucions de gestió de recursos de radio per a operacions en espectre de Wi-Fi sense llicència i LTE amb llicència. Hem anticipat l’actual tendència fonamental d’aprenentatge automà tic treballant solucions de gestió de recursos de radio basades en l’aprenentatge automà tic per millorar l’LTE i Wi-Fi en el seu espectre respectiu. Prestem especial atenció als desplegaments de cèl·lules petites destinades a millorar la eficiència d’espectre llicenciat, reproduint escenaris de petit abast tÃpics de la configuració Wi-Fi. IEEE i 3GPP van seguir evolucionant les tecnologies al llarg dels anys: El Wi-Fi s’ha convertit en una tecnologia molt més complexa i sofisticada, incorporant les caracterÃstiques clau de les tecnologies cel·lulars, com ara HARQ i la reutilització espacial. D’altra banda, des de la versió 13, també s’han dissenyat xarxes cel·lulars per a espectre sense llicència. Com a resultat, els dos darrers capÃtols d’aquesta tesi es centren en aquests escenaris de convivència, on s’ha de dissenyar LTE per conviure amb la Wi-Fi de manera justa, i NR, l’accés a la radio per a 5G amb Wi-Fi a 5 GHz i WiGig a 60 GHz. A diferència de LTE, que es va adaptar per funcionar en espectre sense llicència, NR-U està dissenyat de forma nativa amb aquesta caracterÃstica, inclosa la seva capacitat per operar sense llicència de forma autònoma completa, una nova fita fonamental per al mòbil. En aquest context, el nostre focus d’anà lisi canvia. Considerem que aquestes dues famÃlies de tecnologia ja no estan orientades cap a la complementarietat, sinó que ara competeixen, i afirmem que aquesta serà el tendència per als propers anys. Per permetre la investigació en aquests escenaris multi-RAT, un altre resultat fonamental d’aquesta tesi doctoral, a més de les aportacions cientÃfiques, és l’alliberament de models d’alta fidelitat per a LTE i NR i la seva coexistència amb Wi-Fi a la comunitat de codi obert ns-3. ns-3 és un popular simulador de xarxa de codi obert, amb la caracterÃstica de ser multi-RAT i, per tant, permet l’avaluació de manera natural d’escenaris de convivència entre diferents tecnologies. Aquests models, pels quals he liderat el desenvolupament, són per cites acadèmiques, els models de simulació de codi obert més utilitzats per a LTE i NR i que han rebut finançament de la indústria (Ubiquisys, WFA, SpiderCloud, Interdigital, Facebook) i agències federals (NIST, LLNL) al llarg dels anys.Esta tesis doctoral tiene la caracterÃstica de extenderse durante mucho tiempo porque mientras trabajaba en ella, trabajaba como ingeniera de investigación en CTTC con tareas de desarrollo muy exigentes. Esto ha retrasado el depósito más de lo que me hubiera gustado. Por otro lado,
gracias a ello, he tenido el privilegio de presenciar y estudiar como las tecnologÃas inalámbricas
han evolucionado durante una década, de 4G a 5G y más allá.
Cuando comencé mi tesis doctoral, IEEE y 3GPP estaban definiendo las dos principales
tecnologÃas inalámbricas en ese momento, Wi-Fi y LTE, cumpliendo dos objetivos de mercado
sustancialmente complementarios. Wi-Fi fue diseñado para funcionar principalmente en
interiores, en un espectro sin licencia, y estaba destinado a ser una tecnologÃa simple y barata.
Su tecnologÃa primaria para la convivencia se basaba en el supuesto en que el espectro en
el que estaba operando era gratis, y asà fue diseñado simplemente evitando interferencias a
través del famoso protocolo CSMA/CA. Por otro lado, 3GPP estaba diseñando tecnologÃas
para espectro con licencia, un tipo de espectro costoso. Como resultado, LTE está diseñado
para aprovechar el espectro al máximo proporcionando al mismo tiempo el mejor QoE en
escenarios principalmente al aire libre.
La tesis doctoral parte de este contexto y evoluciona con estas dos tecnologÃas. En los
primeros capÃtulos, estudiamos las soluciones de gestión de recursos de radio para operación
en espectro Wi-Fi sin licencia y LTE con licencia. Anticipamos la tendencia ahora fundamental
de aprendizaje automático trabajando en soluciones de gestión de recursos de radio para
mejorar LTE y funcionamiento deWi-Fi en su respectivo espectro. Prestamos especial atención
a las implementaciones de células pequeñas destinadas a mejorar la eficiencia de espectro
licenciado, reproduciendo los tÃpicos escenarios de rango pequeño de la configuración Wi-Fi.
IEEE y 3GPP siguieron evolucionando las tecnologÃas a lo largo de los años: Wi-Fi
se ha convertido en una tecnologÃa mucho más compleja y sofisticada, incorporando las
caracterÃsticas clave de las tecnologÃas celulares, como HARQ, OFDMA, MU-MIMO, MAC
scheduling y la reutilización espacial. Por otro lado, desde la Release 13, también se han
diseñado redes celulares para espectro sin licencia. Como resultado, los dos últimos capÃtulos
de esta tesis se centran en estos escenarios de convivencia, donde LTE debe diseñarse para
coexistir con Wi-Fi de manera justa, y NR, el acceso por radio para 5G con Wi-Fi en 5 GHz
y WiGig en 60 GHz. A diferencia de LTE, que se adaptó para operar en espectro sin licencia,
NR-U está diseñado de forma nativa con esta función, incluyendo su capacidad para operar
sin licencia de forma completamente independiente, un nuevo hito fundamental para los
celulares. En este contexto, cambia nuestro enfoque de análisis. Consideramos que estas dos
familias tecnológicas ya no tienen como objetivo la complementariedad, sino que ahora están
compitiendo, y afirmamos que esta será la tendencia para los próximos años.
Para permitir la investigación en estos escenarios de múltiples RAT, otro resultado fundamental
de esta tesis doctoral, además de los aportes cientÃficos, es el lanzamiento de modelos de alta
fidelidad para LTE y NR y su coexistencia con Wi-Fi y WiGig a la comunidad de código
abierto de ns-3. ns-3 es un simulador popular de red de código abierto, con la caracterÃstica
de ser multi-RAT y asÃ, naturalmente, permite la evaluación de escenarios de convivencia
entre diferentes tecnologÃas. Estos modelos, para los cuales lideré el desarrollo, son por citas
académicas, los modelos de simulación de código abierto más utilizados para LTE y NR y
han recibido fondos de la industria (Ubiquisys, WFA, SpiderCloud, Interdigital, Facebook) y
agencias federales (NIST, LLNL) a lo largo de los años.Postprint (published version
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