Efficient Relay Station Placement Strategy for
Broadband Wireless Networks – 4G
Nivedita M, Gunasekaran Raja
Department of Computer Technology
Anna University, MIT Campus
Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
nivemurugan@gmail.com, gunamit@rediffmail.com
Abstract— WiMAX (Worldwide interoperability for Microwave
Access) is the emerging broadband wireless access technology
that allows interoperability and combines the benefits offered by
other wireless networking technologies. This allows WiMAX to
lead the path towards 4G. To meet the growing demand for
throughput, and in order to relay traffic for Subscriber Stations
(SS), Relay station (RS) is introduced by WiMAX networks. The
coverage area of a Base Station (BS) can be extended by RSs. It is
not easy to install many BSs which involve more cost and
infrastructure this type of architecture is suitable for rural areas.
The problem of finding location to place the RS exists in these
broadband WiMAX networks. To solve this problem, an efficient
RS placement strategy is proposed in this work. The RS
placement will increase the throughput of the network. For the
given MS distribution this algorithm will give the efficient results
for the relay location planning. The throughput is to be improved
further by taking into account the frequency reuse concept and
the inter-cell interference caused due to it. The simulation result
depicts the performance of the proposed algorithm.
Keywords- Relay placement, Throughput, Frequency Reuse,
Inter-cell interference
I. INTRODUCTION
IEEE 802.16 is considered as a “last mile” broadband
wireless access to conventional Digital Subscriber Line and
Cable Internet. The spectrum range of the WiMAX networks
is more than 10-20 MHz, and the bandwidth delivered by
these networks is up to 75 Mbps. Though bandwidth
efficiency is given by WiMAX, there exists a challenge to
improve the network throughput. The first challenge is to
eliminate or reduce coverage holes. The high path-loss and
effect of shadowing is caused by obstacles like trees, large
buildings, mountains, lakes etc., there would be some spots
with poor network connectivity known as coverage holes. This
degrades the throughput of the system. Range extension is
another challenge in the WiMAX network. The wireless
connectivity should be given to the Non Line Of Sight
(NLOS) areas, which will not receive the signal from the BS
near to it. Due to rapid growth in the number of cellular
subscribers and the scarcity of frequency spectrum, cellular
systems are facing problem in providing satisfactory Signal to
Noise Ratio (SNR) to the cell edge users. To solve the channel
fading and range extension problems, adding more base
stations would be an easy solution. However, given the high
cost of deploying BSs, it would be too expensive. In such
cases, RSs are a cost- effective alternative. Moreover, an
ISBN: 978-1-4673-1601-9/12/$31.00 ©2012 IEEE
efficient location for the RS is needed to enhance the capacity
of the system [12].
Both the BS and RS placement in multi-hop relay networks
has been dealt earlier [2] [17]. In this work, the Mixed-Integer
Linear Program (MILP) is formulated by considering the
characteristics of the system and allocation of network’s
bandwidth downlink transmission of data. The cooperative
strategies and capacity theorems for relay networks are dealt
by Kramer et al [10]. Shihong Zou et al. proposed the Relay-
Aided Media Access (RAMA) protocol to be used in general
wireless networks [20]. Improved approximation algorithms
have been discussed for relay placement in [7].
RS were introduced to improve the coverage, throughput,
and system capacity [14]. RSs are placed between BS and
Mobile Station (MS). Two types of RSs are defined for the
WiMAX multi hop networks, Transparent Relay Stations
(TRSs) and Non Transparent Relay Stations (NTRS) [13].
TRSs will simply decode and forward the data packets that
they receive to their destinations and they do not have any
control on the channel usage and resource allocation to the
network. TRSs when connected to an MS will appear
transparent to that MS. MS regards that it is being connected
to the BS itself. NTRSs will operate in dedicated frequency
bands [9]. NTRS and BS will operate in different frequency
bands and hence the BS-NTRS and NTRS-MS links have no
contention between them. NTRS can able to control the
channel usage and the resource allocation to the network. For
these reasons, NTRS is more expensive than TRS.
RSs are normally placed at the Line-Of-Sight (LOS) from
the BS, so that the throughput gain can be maximized. MSs
which is located in the cell edge may receive less signal
strength from the nearest BS. Such MSs will get a sufficient
data rate it needs with the help of relay without experiencing
the service outage. If an RS is placed very close to the BS or
near the cell center, then it is not beneficial for MSs which is
present in the cell boundary and it may interfere with the RSs
within the cell. On the other hand, if the RS is placed in the
cell edge it will experience interference with the RSs in the
adjacent cell which will reduce the RSs coverage.
Unlike BSs, RS only covers a smaller region when it
transmits. So, the frequency band can be reused when RS is
used in some parts of the cell. Hence the frequency reuse
pattern has to be considered as a major part in planning the RS
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location in a network. The frequency reusee will enhance the
throughput and it may lead to the co-chaannel interference.
This paper deals with the location planning of the RS by
considering the frequency reuse and the interr-cell interference.
The inter-cell interference will occur such thhat the MS in one
cell can receive the signal from the RS or BS from the
neighboring cell [15]. So, the Inter-Cell Intterference is to be
found out and should be removed in ordeer to increase the
performance of the network.
The reminder of the paper is organizedd as follows: the
related work regarding RS placement is revieewed in section II.
In section III the RS placement algorithm m is proposed to
improve the capacity gain and throughput off the network. The
numerical results are discussed in sectionn IV followed by
conclusion and future work in section V.
II. RELATED WORK
Hsiao-Chen Lu et al. proposed the num mber of TRSs and
NTRSs required and where to deploy them m. Integer Linear
programming model is formulated for RS placement
p problem
[9]. Gauri Joshi and Abhay Karandikar takee into account the
channel fading and inter-cell interference while
w dealing with
RS placement problem [8]. The coverage raadius of the cell in
terms of the probability of correct decodding at a point is
defined. The optimal RS position achieves maximum
m coverage
radius, both for single cell and multi-cell scenarios
s is found
out. Dejun Yang et al. studied the relay station placement
problem, which discussed about deploying a minimum number
of RSs to satisfy all data rate requests from Subscriber
S stations
via cooperative communications [6].
Zakhia Abichar et al. presented an opptimization model
which finds the number of RSs and locationns of these RSs to
serve a large number of customers. The problem of relay
station placement is formulated into a MILP.. Ahmed E. Kamal
et al. showed how this model can do the RS planning in a
network where the obstacles like mountainns, trees would be
present in real life scenarios [19]. Bin Lin et
e al. describes the
problem of capacity enhancement by optimizzing RS placement
along with bandwidth allocation in wirreless cooperative
networks [5]. R. Balakrishnan et al. proposeed that the mobile
relays have the potential to provide performaance improvements
under high speed user mobility and heavyy load conditions.
Improved handover mechanism for mobile relays r is proposed
[3]. Yang Yu et al. proposed a planning moodel for multi-hop
relay networks [16]. This model determ mines the optimal
locations of BSs and RSs, given a set of caandidate sites, user
demand and cost information.
Yang Yu et al. proposed a clustering appproach to solve a
network planning problem for WiMAX rellay networks [18].
Bin Lin et al. proposed a dual-relay Mobille Multihop Relay
architecture, where the communication is relayed via two
available RSs cooperatively. The advvantage of this
architecture is its ability to achieve high thhroughput for the
systems, better fault tolerance, robustness, and power saving
[4]. Yang Yu et al. proposed two formulattions for planning
location of both BS and RS. Lei Xiao et al. presents
p a study of
283
the benefits that the mobile rellays can provide to the wireless
network [11]. Bin Lin et al. prroposed RS placement and relay
time allocation in WiMAX networks so that the uneven
distributed traffic demand of each SS is met in the cell as
well as will increase the system
s capacity. Abdulkareem
Adinoyi and H.Yanikomeroglu investigated the distributed
decode-and-forward fixed coooperative relays in a two-hop
wireless network, to remove thhe multiple antennas on wireless
terminals so that the burden cann be minimized [1].
The previous works regardding RS are mostly related to
coverage extension and throuughput enhancement. There are
only few works related to capacity
c maximization. In this
paper, we have discussed abbout the RS placement which
maximizes the networks capaacity and will serve all the SS
needs with the necessary data rates.
r
III. PROPPOSED WORK
The base station coverage has been extended by placing
relay node in a WiMAX netw work as shown in Fig. 1. Even
with multihop relay, each user will achieve one radio resource.
The BS forms two directional beams
b to communicate with the
two relay. The radio resourcee is shared in this transmission
using relays. The f1 and f2 aree the paired radio resources used
in the architecture. RSs andd MSs links share the radio
resources. Each end-user em mploys a single pair of radio
resources on average.
Figure 1. Extendding BS Coverage
The fixed infrastructure ussage model is proposed where
fixed relay stations are deployeed to extend the coverage of the
network and to enhance the throughput.
t A BS is generally
located at the center of the ceell and the BS coverage area is
represented by α. RSs are usuaally deployed at the boundary of
the BS coverage area. The coverage area of the RS is
represented by β and it extendss the BS coverage area.
Some MSs may be located out
o of the transmission (α) of the
BS. So, the MSs has to com mmunicate the BS through an
intermediate RS. The BS cell is divided (consisting of both α
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and β) into a set of small areas as shown in Fig. 2. Let S edge. The inter-cell interference has to be evaluated and
denote the set of all coordinates in the extended BS cell and R rectified in order to increase the network’s performance. In
denote the set of all candidate coordinates for RS placement Fig. 4 the mobile station in one cell is receiving signal from
inthe cell. The optimal location of RS is chosen from any of RSs in both the cells. The inter-cell interference occurs in that
these R coordinate positions. MS.
Let Crelay be the capacity achieved while using RS between Input: Nrs, Nms, Nbs
BS and MS and Cdirect denotes the direct transmission from BS Output : Rsmax
to MS without the intermediate RS. Then the capacity gain is Begin
calculated using the equation (1). Max = Grs[1];
Gain Calculation in RS list,
for k=1 to n do
Capacity gain = ( Crelay - Cdirect ) / Cdirect (1)
Grsi = (Crelay – Cdirect) / Cdirect
Sort Grs;
n=sizeof(rs[0])
loop:
for i = 0 to n do
Position of BS for j=i+1 to rscount do
α n1=sizeof(rs[i])
Possible positions for k=0 to n1 do
of RS if(rs[0][i]==rs[j][k]) then
remove (rs[j][k])
end
β end
end
end
Figure 2. Coverage of BS and RS remove rs[0];
If (resources > threshold) then
A. Relay Station Placement Algorithm goto end;
else goto loop;
The input to the relay station placement algorithm is the end.
number of BS, RS and MS. Every location in the cell is the
possible candidate locations for the RS deployment. The BS
cell is divided into many annular sectors. The main objective Figure 3. Relay Station Placement Algorithm
is that the RS which is to be deployed must give the
transmission with high capacity gain when compared to the The users especially at the cell edge will suffer low signal
direct transmission from BS to MS. strength and low throughput. If the fractional frequency reuse
concept is used the spectral efficiency for the user at the cell
The initial candidate position for the RS is generated in the
center will be maximized. It also improves the signal strength
BS coverage area. It is recorded in the RS list. Each RS
and throughput of the users located at the cell edge.
maintains its MS list that it is likely to be served by them. The
total gain provided by all the RSs is calculated. Choose the RS
that provide highest gain to the network. Then remove the
MSs served by the chosen RS from other RS’s serving MS
list. This helps to avoid the interference in the MS by many
RSs. The algorithm proceeds until the resources exceed the
certain threshold. - BS

The RS location which provides high capacity gain is - RS

selected using the proposed algorithm shown in Fig. 3. The
Frequency reuse factor is considered as one of the constraint
along with inter-cell interference. If the frequency resource is
reused then the throughput of the network will increase. The
frequency reuse factor should be considered high in case of
relay assisted cellular transmission. If the frequency reuse
factor increases, then the cell size automatically increases. The
frequency reuse in the network may cause the Inter-cell
Interference in the network. The frequency reuse factor should
be kept less at the cell center and higher than that at the cell
- MS
Figure 4. Representation of Inter-cell Interference
IV. NUMERICAL RESULTS
The Simulation is done by using Network Simulator-3, a
discrete event simulator. Simulation time is discretely moved
from one event to other event. Simulation programs are C++
executables or python scripts. We have implemented using
C++ program.

284 ICRTIT-2012
The time delay between the transmission and reception of
packets is calculated. The userid is used to identify the source
and the destination nodes and the sequence number is used for
the verification of the order of the packets transmitted. Then
the delay is calculated by taking the difference between the
transmitting time and the receiving time.
Two types of trace files are generated namely pcap files and
xml files.The pcap file generated during the program
execution is given as input to the wireshark to capture the
packets transmitted. It gives the information regarding the
source, destination, time of transmission and protocol used for
in the paper. The capacity gain is calculated both for direct
transmission between BS and MS and by using RS between
them. The capacity gain is high when we use RS in the
network as shown in Fig. 5. The throughput of the network is
calculated for different distance between BS and MS with and
without RS. The throughput of the network is increased due to
RS as shown in Fig. 6.
4.5
4

Throughput[mbps]
transfer. The trace details are generated by the wireshark. The 3.5
simulation parameters are listed in table I. 3
2.5
TABLE I 2
SIMULATION PARAMETERS
1.5
Parameter Value 1
No. of Base Stations 2 0.5
No. of Relay Stations 6 0
No. of Mobile Stations 10 0 200 400 600
No. of interfering cells 2
Cell Radius 1 km Distance between BS and MS[m]
Throughput of the cell without RS
System bandwidth 20 MHz
Center Frequency 5000 MHz Throughput of the cell with RS

While executing the cc files, the xml files are generated.

The xml files are given to NetAnim to visualize the node
positions and the packet transmission. NetAnim is used to
animate simulations based on wireless-links. We can able to
know the packet statistics, node position with node trajectory,
path in which the node moves. Thus the node’s functionality is
identified in the WiMAX network.
28
24
Capacity Gain[%]
Figure 6. Comparative analysis of the cell throughput in a WiMAX
network
V. CONCLUSION AND FUTURE WORK
In this paper, the RS placement strategy in the WiMAX
network is studied which improves the network performance.
By adding relays to the WiMAX network, there will be
improvement in the achievable data rate per user. An efficient
heuristic algorithm is proposed to determine the locations of
relay station deployment, with a given MS distribution. The
relay station greatly extends the coverage area of the network.

20 The delay in transmission is calculated. The capacity gain of

the network is calculated and the best RS location is chosen
16 based on that. The throughput of the network is found out for
12 different RS locations in the network. The frequency reuse
factor is considered further and by taking the inter-cell
8 interference ratio into constraint the maximum throughput
4 yielding RS location has to be found out.
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