Cognitive Radio Networks

Swadhin Mishra

Network Evolution

Network Evolution
Software-define radio (SDR): a collection

of
hardware and software technologies
that
enable
reconfigurable
system
architectures for wireless networks and
user terminals.
Cognitive radio (CR) a radio that is
aware of and can sense its environment,
learn from its environment, and adjust its
operation according to some objective
SDR is the building block of CR
function

Wireless Network Challenges

Mobility is inherent with untethered
Resources are constrained
Spectrum scarcity bandwidth & delay

issues
Environment changes
Mobility different surroundings (indoor,

urban, rural)
Varying physical properties
Wireless communication path changes over

time

Wireless Network Challenges

Spectrum scarcity bandwidth & delay

issues

License for a large region, usually

country-wide
Large chunk of licensed spectrum
(expensive licenses)
Barriers to new ideas
Prohibited spectrum access by unlicensed
users
ISM bands are unlicensed
WLAN bands at 2.4 GHz, 5 GHz
Temporary short range licenses

Cognitive Radio
Cognitive radio is a wireless

communication system which is aware of the

environment and its changes and can adapt
its transmission parameters accordingly.
Cognitive Capability: The ability to sense the

unused spectrum at a specific time and

location (spectrum hole)
Reconfigurability: The ability to receive and
transmit at different frequency band enables
An intelligent wireless communication system that is
the cognitive radio to reconfigure its
aware of its environment and uses the methodology of
parameters and select
the best
band.
understanding-by-building
to learn
from the
environment and Adapt to statistical variations in the
input stimuli, with two primary objectives in mind: (1)
highly reliable communication whenever and wherever
needed; (2) efficient utilization of the radio spectrum.

Spectrum hole

Cognitive Radio Platforms

Flexible in RF carrier frequency (~0 - 6 GHz)
Flexible in bandwidth (several 10s MHz)
Flexible in waveform
A/D and D/A driven
Generated/processed by programmable DSP

and/or FPGAs

Observes:

Traffic characteristics measured at network

layer
Error rate & characteristics (MAC layer,
network layer, transport layer)
Receive characteristics (Physical layer, MAC
layer)

Cognitive Radio Platforms

Influences:
Physical layer

Frequency & bandwidth

Transmit power
Beam width & direction
Data rate, code, & chipping rate

MAC protocol

FEC strength
Retransmit scheme
MTU size
Encryption & parameters

Network layer
Routing protocol
Addressing plan(s)
ACLs

Cognitive radio network

Primary network
Primary users:
Primary users have the license to operate in certain spectrum
bands
Primary base station:
Controls the access of primary users to spectrum

Secondary network
Secondary users:
Secondary users have no licensed bands assigned to them.
Secondary base-station:
A fixed infrastructure component with cognitive radio capabilities
and provides single hop connection to secondary users.
Spectrum broker :
Scheduling server shares the spectrum resources between

different cognitive radio networks.

Cognitive radio network

Licensed user/ high

priority user :
Primary User (PU)
Unlicensed user /
cognitive user :
Secondary User (SU)
Idle
frequency
/
channel
band
:Spectrum
hole,
white spectrum,

CRN Architecture

CRN Architecture

Functionalities of a CRN
Spectrum sensing: Cognitive radio user has

the ability to sense the unused spectrum at any

time and location.
Spectrum management: Based on the
availability of the spectrum and other policies,
CR user allocates the best available spectrum
band.
Spectrum mobility: CR user shall vacate the
spectrum in the presence of any primary user
and move to next best available spectrum band
Spectrum sharing: CR network has to provide
a fair and optimal spectrum allocation method
among multiple CR users.

Challenges
Interference avoidance
QOS awareness
Seamless communication

Requires a cross layer design

Spectrum Sharing in Cognitive

radio networks
Spectrum sensing: The secondary user can

only allocate a spectrum if its not used by an

unlicensed user.

Spectrum allocation: Allocation of a channel

not only depends on spectrum availability but

also depends on internal and external policies.

Spectrum access: Since there are multiple

secondary users trying to access the spectrum,

their access should be coordinated to avoid
colliding in overlapping portions of the spectrum

Spectrum Sharing in Cognitive

radio networks
Transmitter-receiver handshake: After
deciding a portion of the spectrum, the
receiver of this communication should also
be indicated.
Spectrum mobility

If the specific portion

of the spectrum is needed by a licensed
user, the communication needs be
continued in another vacant portion.

THANK YOU

References
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