Embracing wireless interference: analog network coding
27 Aug 2007-Vol. 37, Iss: 4, pp 397-408
TL;DR: This paper adopts the opposite approach; it encourages strategically picked senders to interfere, and achieves significantly higher throughput than both traditional wireless routing and prior work on wireless network coding.
Abstract: Traditionally, interference is considered harmful. Wireless networks strive to avoid scheduling multiple transmissions at the same time in order to prevent interference. This paper adopts the opposite approach; it encourages strategically picked senders to interfere. Instead of forwarding packets, routers forward the interfering signals. The destination leverages network-level information to cancel the interference and recover the signal destined to it. The result is analog network coding because it mixes signals not bits.So, what if wireless routers forward signals instead of packets? Theoretically, such an approach doubles the capacity of the canonical 2-way relay network. Surprisingly, it is also practical. We implement our design using software radios and show that it achieves significantly higher throughput than both traditional wireless routing and prior work on wireless network coding.
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TL;DR: The results show that using COPE at the forwarding layer, without modifying routing and higher layers, increases network throughput, and the gains vary from a few percent to several folds depending on the traffic pattern, congestion level, and transport protocol.
Abstract: This paper proposes COPE, a new architecture for wireless mesh networks. In addition to forwarding packets, routers mix (i.e., code) packets from different sources to increase the information content of each transmission. We show that intelligently mixing packets increases network throughput. Our design is rooted in the theory of network coding. Prior work on network coding is mainly theoretical and focuses on multicast traffic. This paper aims to bridge theory with practice; it addresses the common case of unicast traffic, dynamic and potentially bursty flows, and practical issues facing the integration of network coding in the current network stack. We evaluate our design on a 20-node wireless network, and discuss the results of the first testbed deployment of wireless network coding. The results show that using COPE at the forwarding layer, without modifying routing and higher layers, increases network throughput. The gains vary from a few percent to several folds depending on the traffic pattern, congestion level, and transport protocol.
2,190 citations
Cites methods from "Embracing wireless interference: an..."
...The technique has also been recently extended to the physical layer [27]–[ 30 ]....
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20 Sep 2010
TL;DR: In this paper, a single channel full-duplex wireless transceiver is proposed, which uses a combination of RF and baseband techniques to achieve FD with minimal effect on link reliability.
Abstract: This paper discusses the design of a single channel full-duplex wireless transceiver. The design uses a combination of RF and baseband techniques to achieve full-duplexing with minimal effect on link reliability. Experiments on real nodes show the full-duplex prototype achieves median performance that is within 8% of an ideal full-duplexing system. This paper presents Antenna Cancellation, a novel technique for self-interference cancellation. In conjunction with existing RF interference cancellation and digital baseband interference cancellation, antenna cancellation achieves the amount of self-interference cancellation required for full-duplex operation. The paper also discusses potential MAC and network gains with full-duplexing. It suggests ways in which a full-duplex system can solve some important problems with existing wireless systems including hidden terminals, loss of throughput due to congestion, and large end-to-end delays.
1,623 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed a new strategy, compute-and-forward, that exploits interference to obtain significantly higher rates between users in a network by decoding linear functions of transmitted messages according to their observed channel coefficients rather than ignoring the interference as noise.
Abstract: Interference is usually viewed as an obstacle to communication in wireless networks. This paper proposes a new strategy, compute-and-forward, that exploits interference to obtain significantly higher rates between users in a network. The key idea is that relays should decode linear functions of transmitted messages according to their observed channel coefficients rather than ignoring the interference as noise. After decoding these linear equations, the relays simply send them towards the destinations, which given enough equations, can recover their desired messages. The underlying codes are based on nested lattices whose algebraic structure ensures that integer combinations of codewords can be decoded reliably. Encoders map messages from a finite field to a lattice and decoders recover equations of lattice points which are then mapped back to equations over the finite field. This scheme is applicable even if the transmitters lack channel state information.
1,159 citations
TL;DR: An exact characterization of the capacity of a network with nodes connected by deterministic channels is obtained, a natural generalization of the celebrated max-flow min-cut theorem for wired networks.
Abstract: In a wireless network with a single source and a single destination and an arbitrary number of relay nodes, what is the maximum rate of information flow achievable? We make progress on this long standing problem through a two-step approach. First, we propose a deterministic channel model which captures the key wireless properties of signal strength, broadcast and superposition. We obtain an exact characterization of the capacity of a network with nodes connected by such deterministic channels. This result is a natural generalization of the celebrated max-flow min-cut theorem for wired networks. Second, we use the insights obtained from the deterministic analysis to design a new quantize-map-and-forward scheme for Gaussian networks. In this scheme, each relay quantizes the received signal at the noise level and maps it to a random Gaussian codeword for forwarding, and the final destination decodes the source's message based on the received signal. We show that, in contrast to existing schemes, this scheme can achieve the cut-set upper bound to within a gap which is independent of the channel parameters. In the case of the relay channel with a single relay as well as the two-relay Gaussian diamond network, the gap is 1 bit/s/Hz. Moreover, the scheme is universal in the sense that the relays need no knowledge of the values of the channel parameters to (approximately) achieve the rate supportable by the network. We also present extensions of the results to multicast networks, half-duplex networks, and ergodic networks.
1,034 citations
11 Aug 2006
TL;DR: The results show that COPE largely increases network throughput, and the gains vary from a few percent to several folds depending on the traffic pattern, congestion level, and transport protocol.
Abstract: This paper proposes COPE, a new architecture for wireless mesh networks. In addition to forwarding packets, routers mix (i.e., code) packets from different sources to increase the information content of each transmission. We show that intelligently mixing packets increases network throughput. Our design is rooted in the theory of network coding. Prior work on network coding is mainly theoretical and focuses on multicast traffic. This paper aims to bridge theory with practice; it addresses the common case of unicast traffic, dynamic and potentially bursty flows, and practical issues facing the integration of network coding in the current network stack. We evaluate our design on a 20-node wireless network, and discuss the results of the first testbed deployment of wireless network coding. The results show that COPE largely increases network throughput. The gains vary from a few percent to several folds depending on the traffic pattern, congestion level, and transport protocol.
890 citations
Cites methods from "Embracing wireless interference: an..."
...The technique has also been recently extended to the physical layer [27]–[30]....
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References
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TL;DR: Using distributed antennas, this work develops and analyzes low-complexity cooperative diversity protocols that combat fading induced by multipath propagation in wireless networks and develops performance characterizations in terms of outage events and associated outage probabilities, which measure robustness of the transmissions to fading.
Abstract: We develop and analyze low-complexity cooperative diversity protocols that combat fading induced by multipath propagation in wireless networks. The underlying techniques exploit space diversity available through cooperating terminals' relaying signals for one another. We outline several strategies employed by the cooperating radios, including fixed relaying schemes such as amplify-and-forward and decode-and-forward, selection relaying schemes that adapt based upon channel measurements between the cooperating terminals, and incremental relaying schemes that adapt based upon limited feedback from the destination terminal. We develop performance characterizations in terms of outage events and associated outage probabilities, which measure robustness of the transmissions to fading, focusing on the high signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime. Except for fixed decode-and-forward, all of our cooperative diversity protocols are efficient in the sense that they achieve full diversity (i.e., second-order diversity in the case of two terminals), and, moreover, are close to optimum (within 1.5 dB) in certain regimes. Thus, using distributed antennas, we can provide the powerful benefits of space diversity without need for physical arrays, though at a loss of spectral efficiency due to half-duplex operation and possibly at the cost of additional receive hardware. Applicable to any wireless setting, including cellular or ad hoc networks-wherever space constraints preclude the use of physical arrays-the performance characterizations reveal that large power or energy savings result from the use of these protocols.
12,761 citations
"Embracing wireless interference: an..." refers background or methods in this paper
...This fear of interference is inherited from singlechannel design and may not be the best approach for a wireless network [19, 25, 30, 32]....
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...Co-operative diversity [19], analog forwarding [25] and MIMO systems [32] allow multiple concurrent transmissions using spacetime coding techniques [32]....
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TL;DR: With RKRL, cognitive radio agents may actively manipulate the protocol stack to adapt known etiquettes to better satisfy the user's needs and transforms radio nodes from blind executors of predefined protocols to radio-domain-aware intelligent agents that search out ways to deliver the services the user wants even if that user does not know how to obtain them.
Abstract: Software radios are emerging as platforms for multiband multimode personal communications systems. Radio etiquette is the set of RF bands, air interfaces, protocols, and spatial and temporal patterns that moderate the use of the radio spectrum. Cognitive radio extends the software radio with radio-domain model-based reasoning about such etiquettes. Cognitive radio enhances the flexibility of personal services through a radio knowledge representation language. This language represents knowledge of radio etiquette, devices, software modules, propagation, networks, user needs, and application scenarios in a way that supports automated reasoning about the needs of the user. This empowers software radios to conduct expressive negotiations among peers about the use of radio spectrum across fluents of space, time, and user context. With RKRL, cognitive radio agents may actively manipulate the protocol stack to adapt known etiquettes to better satisfy the user's needs. This transforms radio nodes from blind executors of predefined protocols to radio-domain-aware intelligent agents that search out ways to deliver the services the user wants even if that user does not know how to obtain them. Software radio provides an ideal platform for the realization of cognitive radio.
9,238 citations
"Embracing wireless interference: an..." refers background in this paper
...Additionally, co-operative diversity [20], MIMO antennas [28], and cognitive radio [14] also allow multiple concurrent transmissions....
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TL;DR: This work reveals that it is in general not optimal to regard the information to be multicast as a "fluid" which can simply be routed or replicated, and by employing coding at the nodes, which the work refers to as network coding, bandwidth can in general be saved.
Abstract: We introduce a new class of problems called network information flow which is inspired by computer network applications. Consider a point-to-point communication network on which a number of information sources are to be multicast to certain sets of destinations. We assume that the information sources are mutually independent. The problem is to characterize the admissible coding rate region. This model subsumes all previously studied models along the same line. We study the problem with one information source, and we have obtained a simple characterization of the admissible coding rate region. Our result can be regarded as the max-flow min-cut theorem for network information flow. Contrary to one's intuition, our work reveals that it is in general not optimal to regard the information to be multicast as a "fluid" which can simply be routed or replicated. Rather, by employing coding at the nodes, which we refer to as network coding, bandwidth can in general be saved. This finding may have significant impact on future design of switching systems.
8,533 citations
"Embracing wireless interference: an..." refers background in this paper
...which establishes the benefits of coding in routers and bounds the capacity of such networks [2]....
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Book•
01 Jan 2005TL;DR: In this paper, the authors propose a multiuser communication architecture for point-to-point wireless networks with additive Gaussian noise detection and estimation in the context of MIMO networks.
Abstract: 1. Introduction 2. The wireless channel 3. Point-to-point communication: detection, diversity and channel uncertainty 4. Cellular systems: multiple access and interference management 5. Capacity of wireless channels 6. Multiuser capacity and opportunistic communication 7. MIMO I: spatial multiplexing and channel modeling 8. MIMO II: capacity and multiplexing architectures 9. MIMO III: diversity-multiplexing tradeoff and universal space-time codes 10. MIMO IV: multiuser communication A. Detection and estimation in additive Gaussian noise B. Information theory background.
8,084 citations
Book•
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01 Aug 1998
TL;DR: This self-contained and comprehensive book sets out the basic details of multiuser detection, starting with simple examples and progressing to state-of-the-art applications.
Abstract: From the Publisher:
The development of multiuser detection techniques is one of the most important recent advances in communications technology. This self-contained and comprehensive book sets out the basic details of multiuser detection, starting with simple examples and progressing to state-of-the-art applications. The only prerequisites assumed are undergraduate-level probability, linear algebra, and digital communications. The book contains over 240 exercises and will be a suitable textbook for electrical engineering students. It will also be an ideal self-study guide for practicing engineers, as well as a valuable reference volume for researchers in communications, information theory, and signal processing.
5,048 citations
"Embracing wireless interference: an..." refers background in this paper
...These schemes decode two signals that have interfered without knowing any of the signals in advance [33, 3, 10]....
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