User-Centric Joint Access-Backhaul Design for Full-Duplex Self-Backhauled Wireless Networks

Full-duplex self-backhauling is promising to provide cost-effective and flexible backhaul connectivity for ultra-dense wireless networks, but also poses a great challenge to resource management between the access and backhaul links. In this paper, we propose a user-centric joint access-backhaul transmission framework for full-duplex self-backhauled wireless networks. In the access link, user-centric clustering is adopted so that each user is cooperatively served by multiple small base stations (SBSs). In the backhaul link, user-centric multicast transmission is proposed so that each user's message is treated as a common message and multicast to its serving SBS cluster. We first formulate an optimization problem to maximize the network weighted sum rate through joint access-backhaul beamforming and SBS clustering when global channel state information (CSI) is available. This problem is efficiently solved via the successive lower-bound maximization approach with a novel approximate objective function and the iterative link removal technique. We then extend the study to the stochastic joint access-backhaul beamforming optimization with partial CSI. Simulation results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms for both full CSI and partial CSI scenarios. They also show that the transmission design with partial CSI can greatly reduce the CSI overhead with little performance degradation.Comment: to appear in IEEE Trans. on Communication

Heterogeneous Services Provisioning in Small Cell Networks with Cache and Mobile Edge Computing

In the area of full duplex (FD)-enabled small cell networks, limited works have been done on consideration of cache and mobile edge communication (MEC). In this paper, a virtual FD-enabled small cell network with cache and MEC is investigated for two heterogeneous services, high-data-rate service and computation-sensitive service. In our proposed scheme, content caching and FD communication are closely combined to offer high-data-rate services without the cost of backhaul resource. Computing offloading is conducted to guarantee the delay requirement of users. Then we formulate a virtual resource allocation problem, in which user association, power control, caching and computing offloading policies and resource allocation are jointly considered. Since the original problem is a mixed combinatorial problem, necessary variables relaxation and reformulation are conducted to transfer the original problem to a convex problem. Furthermore, alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) algorithm is adopted to obtain the optimal solution. Finally, extensive simulations are conducted with different system configurations to verify the effectiveness of the proposed scheme

Distributed Virtual Resource Allocation in Small Cell Networks with Full Duplex Self-backhauls and Virtualization

Wireless network virtualization has attracted great attentions from both academia and industry. Another emerging technology for next generation wireless networks is in-band full duplex (FD) communications. Due to its promising performance, FD communication has been considered as an effective way to achieve self-backhauls for small cells. In this paper, we introduce wireless virtualization into small cell networks, and propose a virtualized small cell network architecture with FD self-backhauls. We formulate the virtual resource allocation problem in virtualized small cell networks with FD self-backhauls as an optimization problem. Since the formulated problem is a mixed combinatorial and non-convex optimization problem, its computational complexity is high. Moreover, the centralized scheme may suffer from signaling overhead, outdated dynamics information, and scalability issues. To solve it efficiently, we divide the original problem into two subproblems. For the first subproblem, we transfer it to a convex optimization problem, and then solve it by an efficient alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM)-based distributed algorithm. The second subproblem is a convex problem, which can be solved by each infrastructure provider. Extensive simulations are conducted with different system configurations to show the effectiveness of the proposed scheme

Ultra-Dense 5G Small Cell Deployment for Fiber and Wireless Backhaul-Aware Infrastructures

In this paper, we study the cell planning problem for a two-tier cellular network containing two types of base stations (BSs)-- i.e. with fiber backhaul, referred to as wired BSs (W-BSs), and BSs with wireless backhaul, referred to as unwired-BSs (U-BSs). In-band full-duplex wireless communications is used to connect U-BSs and W-BSs. We propose an algorithm to determine the minimum number of W-BSs and U-BSs to satisfy given cell and capacity coverage constraints. Furthermore, we apply our proposed non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm II (NSGA-II) to solve both cell planning and joint cell and backhaul planning problem to minimize the cost of planning, while maximizing the coverage simultaneously. Additionally, the considered cell planning program is developed into an optimization by including the problem of minimizing the cost of fiber backhaul deployment. In order to analyze the performance of the proposed algorithm, we study three different deployment scenarios based on different spatial distributions of users and coverage areas. The results show the superiority of our proposed NSGA-II algorithm for both cell planning and joint cell and backhaul planning to other well-known optimization algorithms. The results also reveal that there is a trade-off between cell deployment costs and SINR/rate coverage, and W-BSs are placed in congested areas to consume less resources for wireless backhauls. Similarly, a trade-off between cell and fiber deployment costs and SINR/rate coverage is observed in planning. We show that for realistic scenarios desirable solutions can be selected from the Pareto front of the introduced multi-objective problem based on given cellular operator policies

Joint Downlink Cell Association and Bandwidth Allocation for Wireless Backhauling in Two-Tier HetNets with Large-Scale Antenna Arrays

The problem of joint downlink cell association (CA) and wireless backhaul bandwidth allocation (WBBA) in two-tier cellular heterogeneous networks (HetNets) is considered. Large-scale antenna array is implemented at the macro base station (BS), while the small cells within the macro cell range are single-antenna BSs and they rely on over-the-air links to the macro BS for backhauling. A sum logarithmic user rate maximization problem is investigated considering wireless backhauling constraints. A duplex and spectrum sharing scheme based on co-channel reverse time-division duplex (TDD) and dynamic soft frequency reuse (SFR) is proposed for interference management in two-tier HetNets with large-scale antenna arrays at the macro BS and wireless backhauling for small cells. Two in-band WBBA scenarios, namely, unified bandwidth allocation and per-small-cell bandwidth allocation scenarios, are investigated for joint CA-WBBA in the HetNet. A two-level hierarchical decomposition method for relaxed optimization is employed to solve the mixed-integer nonlinear program (MINLP). Solutions based on the General Algorithm Modeling System (GAMS) optimization solver and fast heuristics are also proposed for cell association in the per-small-cell WBBA scenario. It is shown that when all small cells have to use in-band wireless backhaul, the system load has more impact on both the sum log-rate and per-user rate performance than the number of small cells deployed within the macro cell range. The proposed joint CA-WBBA algorithms have an optimal load approximately equal to the size of the large-scale antenna array at the macro BS. The cell range expansion (CRE) strategy, which is an efficient cell association scheme for HetNets with perfect backhauling, is shown to be inefficient when in-band wireless backhauling for small cells comes into play.Comment: IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications, to appea

Analysis of Massive MIMO-Enabled Downlink Wireless Backhauling for Full-Duplex Small Cells

Using tools from stochastic geometry, we develop a framework to model the downlink rate coverage probability of a user in a given small cell network (SCN) with massive MIMO-enabled wireless backhauls. The considered SCN is composed of a mixture of small cells that are configured in either in-band or out-of-band backhaul modes with a certain probability. The performance of the user in the considered hierarchical network is limited by several sources of interference such as the backhaul interference, small cell base station (SBS)-to-SBS interference and the SI. Moreover, due to the channel hardening effect in massive MIMO, the backhaul links experience long term channel effects only, whereas the access links experience both the long term and short term channel effects. Consequently, the developed framework is flexible to characterize different sources of interference while capturing the heterogeneity of the access and backhaul channels. In specific scenarios, the framework enables deriving closed-form coverage probability expressions. Under perfect backhaul coverage, the simplified expressions are utilized to optimize the proportion of in-band and out-of-band small cells in the SCN in closed-form. Finally, few remedial solutions are proposed that can potentially mitigate the backhaul interference and in turn improve the performance of in-band FD wireless backhauling. Numerical results investigate the scenarios in which in-band wireless backhauling is useful and demonstrate that maintaining a correct proportion of in-band and out-of-band FD small cells is crucial in wireless backhauled SCNs.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, IEEE Transactions on Communication

Max-Min Rates in Self-backhauled Millimeter Wave Cellular Networks

This paper considers the following question for viable wide-area millimeter wave cellular networks. What is the maximum extended coverage area of a single fiber site using multi-hop relaying, while achieving a minimum target per user data rate? We formulate an optimization problem to maximize the minimum end-to-end per user data rate, and exploit unique features of millimeter wave deployments to yield a tractable solution. The mesh network is modeled as a $k-$ring urban-canyon type deployment, where $k$ is the number of hops back to the fiber site. The total number of relays per fiber site grows as $k^2$. We consider both integrated access-backhaul (IAB) and orthogonal access-backhaul (OAB) resource allocation strategies, as well as both half and full duplex base stations (BSs). With a few validated simplifications, our results are given as simple closed-form expressions that are easy to evaluate even for large networks. Several design guidelines are provided, including on the choice of routing and scheduling strategy, the maximum allowable self-interference in full duplex relays and role of dual connectivity to reduce load imbalance across BSs. For example, we show that for certain load conditions there is very little gain to IAB (as considered for 5G) as opposed to tunable OAB (using separate spectrum for access and backhaul links); the latter being significantly simpler to implement.Comment: under review, major revision, submitted to IEEE Trans. Wireless Commu

A Survey of Millimeter Wave (mmWave) Communications for 5G: Opportunities and Challenges

With the explosive growth of mobile data demand, the fifth generation (5G) mobile network would exploit the enormous amount of spectrum in the millimeter wave (mmWave) bands to greatly increase communication capacity. There are fundamental differences between mmWave communications and existing other communication systems, in terms of high propagation loss, directivity, and sensitivity to blockage. These characteristics of mmWave communications pose several challenges to fully exploit the potential of mmWave communications, including integrated circuits and system design, interference management, spatial reuse, anti-blockage, and dynamics control. To address these challenges, we carry out a survey of existing solutions and standards, and propose design guidelines in architectures and protocols for mmWave communications. We also discuss the potential applications of mmWave communications in the 5G network, including the small cell access, the cellular access, and the wireless backhaul. Finally, we discuss relevant open research issues including the new physical layer technology, software-defined network architecture, measurements of network state information, efficient control mechanisms, and heterogeneous networking, which should be further investigated to facilitate the deployment of mmWave communication systems in the future 5G networks.Comment: 17 pages, 8 figures, 7 tables, Journal pape

Fronthaul-Aware Group Sparse Precoding and Signal Splitting in SWIPT C-RAN

We investigate the precoding, remote radio head (RRH) selection and signal splitting in the simultaneous wireless information and power transferring (SWIPT) cloud radio access networks \mbox{(C-RANs)}. The objective is to minimize the power consumption of the SWIPT C-RAN. Different from the existing literature, we consider the nonlinear fronthaul power consumption and the multiple antenna RRHs. By switching off the unnecessary RRHs, the group sparsity of the precoding coefficients is introduced, which indicates that the precoding process and the RRH selection are coupled. In order to overcome these issues, a group sparse precoding and signal splitting algorithm is proposed based on the majorization-minimization framework, and the convergence behavior is established. Numerical results are used to verify our proposed studies.Comment: Accepted by IEEE Globecom 201

Wireless Backhaul in 5G and Beyond: Issues, Challenges and Opportunities

With the introduction of new technologies such as Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), High Altitude Platform Station (HAPS), Millimeter Wave (mmWave) frequencies, Massive Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (mMIMO), and beamforming, wireless backhaul is expected to be an integral part of the 5G networks. While this concept is nothing new, it was shortcoming in terms of performance compared to the fiber backhauling. However, with these new technologies, fiber is no longer the foremost technology for backhauling. With the projected densification of networks, wireless backhaul has become mandatory to use. There are still challenges to be tackled if wireless backhaul is to be used efficiently. Resource allocation, deployment, scheduling, power management and energy efficiency are some of these problems. Wireless backhaul also acts as an enabler for new technologies and improves some of the existing ones significantly. To name a few, rural connectivity, satellite communication, and mobile edge computing are some concepts for which wireless backhauling acts as an enabler. Small cell usage with wireless backhaul presents different security challenges. Governing bodies of cellular networks have standardization efforts going on especially for the Integrated Acces-Backhaul (IAB) concept, and this is briefly mentioned. Finally, wireless backhaul is also projected to be an important part of the beyond 5G networks, and newly developed concepts such as cell-free networking, ultra-massive MIMO, and extremely dense network show this trend as well. In this survey, we present the aforementioned issues, challenges, opportunities, and applications of wireless backhaul in 5G, while briefly mentioning concepts related to wireless backhaul beyond 5G alongside with security and standardization issues