[Paper Review] Throughput Enhancement by Concurrent Transmission in WPAN with Multiple Antennas

Muhammad Bilal, Moonsoo Kang|arXiv (Cornell University)|Dec 31, 2017

Wireless Networks and Protocols4 references4 citations

TL;DR

This paper proposes a scheduling scheme for concurrent transmission in 60 GHz WPANs using multiple directional antennas to enhance network throughput. By identifying non-interfering transmission pairs and routing traffic through optimal multi-hop paths, the scheme increases data rates and balances load, achieving significant throughput gains across varying path loss conditions.

ABSTRACT

To achieve high rate of Multi-Giga-bits-per-second for multimedia applications at personal area level, 60 GHz communication technologies are most potential candidates. Due to some special characteristics of 60 GHz band of frequencies and use of multiple directional antennas,the network level and user level throughput can be increased tremendously by identifying and scheduling the non interfering transmission requests for concurrent transmissions. Instead of direct communication between source and destination, by traversing the traffic flow on optimum path (consists of light weight multiple-relying-hops), can further increase the throughput and balances the load condition across the network. In this paper we present a scheduling scheme for concurrent transmission of non interfering transmission requests on instantaneous optimum path. Performance of scheme is investigated for different path loss exponents.

Motivation & Objective

• Address the need for multi-gigabit-per-second throughput in personal area networks for multimedia applications.
• Overcome limitations of traditional single-link transmission in 60 GHz WPANs with high path loss and directional beamforming.
• Improve network-level and user-level throughput through intelligent scheduling of non-interfering concurrent transmissions.
• Balance network load by utilizing lightweight multi-hop relaying paths instead of direct source-destination links.
• Evaluate the performance of the proposed scheme under varying path loss exponent conditions.

Proposed method

• Utilizes multiple directional antennas at 60 GHz to enable spatial reuse and reduce interference.
• Identifies non-interfering transmission pairs based on beam alignment and interference constraints.
• Employs an instantaneous optimum path selection algorithm that includes multiple low-overhead relay hops.
• Applies a scheduling mechanism that allows concurrent transmission of non-interfering flows on the selected paths.
• Models path loss using variable path loss exponents to simulate real-world propagation effects.
• Integrates routing and scheduling decisions to optimize throughput while maintaining load balance.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 How can concurrent transmission be scheduled effectively in a 60 GHz WPAN with multiple directional antennas?
• RQ2 What is the impact of path loss exponent on the performance of concurrent transmission scheduling?
• RQ3 Can multi-hop relaying improve throughput and load balancing compared to direct transmission?
• RQ4 How does the selection of an optimal path with multiple relays affect overall system throughput?
• RQ5 What is the trade-off between spatial reuse and interference in concurrent transmissions under varying propagation conditions?

Key findings

• The proposed scheme significantly increases network throughput by enabling concurrent transmission of non-interfering flows.
• Throughput gains are observed across all tested path loss exponent values, with higher gains in low-loss environments.
• Multi-hop routing via lightweight relays improves load balancing and extends the effective coverage of the network.
• The scheme maintains high spectral efficiency by minimizing interference through careful beam and path selection.
• Performance evaluation confirms that the combination of concurrent transmission and optimal path selection outperforms conventional single-hop approaches.
• The method demonstrates robustness under varying propagation conditions, especially in environments with moderate to high path loss.