1,209 research outputs found
Flat Cellular (UMTS) Networks
Traditionally, cellular systems have been built in a hierarchical manner: many specialized cellular access network elements that collectively form a hierarchical cellular system. When 2G and later 3G systems were designed there was a good reason to make system hierarchical: from a cost-perspective it was better to concentrate traffic and to share the cost of processing equipment over a large set of users while keeping the base stations relatively cheap. However, we believe the economic reasons for designing cellular systems in a hierarchical manner have disappeared: in fact, hierarchical architectures hinder future efficient deployments. In this paper, we argue for completely flat cellular wireless systems, which need just one type of specialized network element to provide radio access network (RAN) functionality, supplemented by standard IP-based network elements to form a cellular network. While the reason for building a cellular system in a hierarchical fashion has disappeared, there are other good reasons to make the system architecture flat: (1) as wireless transmission techniques evolve into hybrid ARQ systems, there is less need for a hierarchical cellular system to support spatial diversity; (2) we foresee that future cellular networks are part of the Internet, while hierarchical systems typically use interfaces between network elements that are specific to cellular standards or proprietary. At best such systems use IP as a transport medium, not as a core component; (3) a flat cellular system can be self scaling while a hierarchical system has inherent scaling issues; (4) moving all access technologies to the edge of the network enables ease of converging access technologies into a common packet core; and (5) using an IP common core makes the cellular network part of the Internet
Cooperative Multi-Cell Networks: Impact of Limited-Capacity Backhaul and Inter-Users Links
Cooperative technology is expected to have a great impact on the performance
of cellular or, more generally, infrastructure networks. Both multicell
processing (cooperation among base stations) and relaying (cooperation at the
user level) are currently being investigated. In this presentation, recent
results regarding the performance of multicell processing and user cooperation
under the assumption of limited-capacity interbase station and inter-user
links, respectively, are reviewed. The survey focuses on related results
derived for non-fading uplink and downlink channels of simple cellular system
models. The analytical treatment, facilitated by these simple setups, enhances
the insight into the limitations imposed by limited-capacity constraints on the
gains achievable by cooperative techniques
Performance Evaluation of Multiterminal Backhaul Compression for Cloud Radio Access Networks
In cloud radio access networks (C-RANs), the baseband processing of the
available macro- or pico/femto-base stations (BSs) is migrated to control
units, each of which manages a subset of BS antennas. The centralized
information processing at the control units enables effective interference
management. The main roadblock to the implementation of C-RANs hinges on the
effective integration of the radio units, i.e., the BSs, with the backhaul
network. This work first reviews in a unified way recent results on the
application of advanced multiterminal, as opposed to standard point-to-point,
backhaul compression techniques. The gains provided by multiterminal backhaul
compression are then confirmed via extensive simulations based on standard
cellular models. As an example, it is observed that multiterminal compression
strategies provide performance gains of more than 60% for both the uplink and
the downlink in terms of the cell-edge throughput.Comment: A shorter version of the paper has been submitted to CISS 201
Open vs Closed Access Femtocells in the Uplink
Femtocells are assuming an increasingly important role in the coverage and
capacity of cellular networks. In contrast to existing cellular systems,
femtocells are end-user deployed and controlled, randomly located, and rely on
third party backhaul (e.g. DSL or cable modem). Femtocells can be configured to
be either open access or closed access. Open access allows an arbitrary nearby
cellular user to use the femtocell, whereas closed access restricts the use of
the femtocell to users explicitly approved by the owner. Seemingly, the network
operator would prefer an open access deployment since this provides an
inexpensive way to expand their network capabilities, whereas the femtocell
owner would prefer closed access, in order to keep the femtocell's capacity and
backhaul to himself. We show mathematically and through simulations that the
reality is more complicated for both parties, and that the best approach
depends heavily on whether the multiple access scheme is orthogonal (TDMA or
OFDMA, per subband) or non-orthogonal (CDMA). In a TDMA/OFDMA network,
closed-access is typically preferable at high user densities, whereas in CDMA,
open access can provide gains of more than 200% for the home user by reducing
the near-far problem experienced by the femtocell. The results of this paper
suggest that the interests of the femtocell owner and the network operator are
more compatible than typically believed, and that CDMA femtocells should be
configured for open access whereas OFDMA or TDMA femtocells should adapt to the
cellular user density.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables, submitted to IEEE Trans. on Wireless
Communication
Expanding cellular coverage via cell-edge deployment in heterogeneous networks: spectral efficiency and backhaul power consumption perspectives
Heterogeneous small-cell networks (HetNets) are considered to be a standard part of future mobile networks where operator/consumer deployed small-cells, such as femtocells, relays, and distributed antennas (DAs), complement the existing macrocell infrastructure. This article proposes the need-oriented deployment of smallcells and device-to-device (D2D) communication around the edge of the macrocell such that the small-cell base stations (SBSs) and D2D communication serve the cell-edge mobile users, thereby expanding the network coverage and capacity. In this context, we present competitive network configurations, namely, femto-on-edge, DA-onedge, relay-on-edge, and D2D-communication on- edge, where femto base stations, DA elements, relay base stations, and D2D communication, respectively, are deployed around the edge of the macrocell. The proposed deployments ensure performance gains in the network in terms of spectral efficiency and power consumption by facilitating the cell-edge mobile users with small-cells and D2D communication. In order to calibrate the impact of power consumption on system performance and network topology, this article discusses the detailed breakdown of the end-to-end power consumption, which includes backhaul, access, and aggregation network power consumptions. Several comparative simulation results quantify the improvements in spectral efficiency and power consumption of the D2D-communication-onedge configuration to establish a greener network over the other competitive configurations
Uplink CoMP under a Constrained Backhaul and Imperfect Channel Knowledge
Coordinated Multi-Point (CoMP) is known to be a key technology for next
generation mobile communications systems, as it allows to overcome the burden
of inter-cell interference. Especially in the uplink, it is likely that
interference exploitation schemes will be used in the near future, as they can
be used with legacy terminals and require no or little changes in
standardization. Major drawbacks, however, are the extent of additional
backhaul infrastructure needed, and the sensitivity to imperfect channel
knowledge. This paper jointly addresses both issues in a new framework
incorporating a multitude of proposed theoretical uplink CoMP concepts, which
are then put into perspective with practical CoMP algorithms. This
comprehensive analysis provides new insight into the potential usage of uplink
CoMP in next generation wireless communications systems.Comment: Submitted to IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications in February
201
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