PhD Thesis defense: Analytical characterization of in-band and out-band D2D communications for network access

9 Jun
2017

Christian Vitale, PhD Student, IMDEA Networks Institute and University Carlos III of Madrid

PhD Defense

Cooperative short-range communication schemes provide powerful tools to solve interference and resource shortage problems in wireless access networks. With such schemes, a mobile node with excellent cellular connectivity can momentarily accept to relay traffic for its neighbors experiencing poor radio conditions and use Device-to-Device.
(D2D) communications to accomplish the task. This thesis provides a novel and comprehensive analytical framework that allows evaluating the effects of D2D communications in access networks in terms of spectrum and energy efficiency. The analysis covers the cases in which D2D communications use the same bandwidth of legacy cellular users (in-band D2D) or a different one (out-band D2D) and leverages on the characterization of underlying queueing systems and protocols to capture the complex intertwining of short-range and legacy WiFi and cellular communications.

The analysis also unveils how D2D affects the use and scope of other optimization techniques used for, e.g., interference coordination and fairness in resource distribution. Indeed, characterizing the performance of D2D-enabled wireless access networks plays an essential role in the optimization of system operation and, as a consequence, permits to assess the general applicability of D2D solutions. With such characterization, we were able to design several mechanisms that improve system capabilities. Specifically, we propose bandwidth resource management techniques for controlling interference when cellular users and D2D pairs share the same spectrum, we design advanced and energy-aware access selection mechanisms, we show how to adopt D2D communications in conjunction with interference coordination schemes to achieve high and fair throughputs, and we discuss on end-to-end fairness—beyond the use of access network resources—when D2D communications is adopted in C-RAN. The results reported in this thesis show that identifying performance bottlenecks is key to properly control network operation, and, interestingly, bottlenecks may not be represented just by wireless resources when end-to-end fairness is of concern.

About Christian Vitale

I am currently employed as PhD Student by IMDEA Networks Institute while being a PhD Candidate at the Telematics Engineering Department at Universidad Carlos III. The expected graduation date is May 2017. My PhD dissertation, which title is “Analytical characterization of inband and outband D2D communications for network access”, is mainly focused on:

  • Analytical modeling of wireless network communication technologies, as 4G/5G or IEEE 802.11;
  • Design of mechanisms improving wireless network efficiency, as Device-to-Device communications or Inter-Cell Interference Coordination;
  • Greening access network operations.

I published about 10 articles in international conferences, INFOCOM 2017 among them, which impact on the research community is testified by 2 different awards (Best Paper Award at IEEE OnlineGreencomm and Honorable Mention at COMSNETS). I have been TPC chair of EdgeCom’17 and reviewer for major journals and conferences such as IEEE Transaction on Green Communications and Networking, IEEE Transaction on Communications, JSAC, INFOCOM, ITC, WoWMoM, since 2014. I was mostly involved in the research activity and in the management of the European Project FP7-CROWD.

I received 2 two M.SC. degrees, the first one in Telecommunications Engineering with a specialization into Telecommunication Networks from the University of Pisa (2012), the second one in Telematic Engineering from Universidad Carlos III (2013). During my studies, I also had the possibility of passing internship periods in top university and industrial research departments. In 2016 I passed 6 months in Telecom ParisTech, France, under the supervision of Professor Dr. Thomas Bonald and Dr. James Roberts. In 2011, instead, I passed 6 months in NEC Europe, Germany.

Personal site

The thesis defense will be conducted in English

PhD Thesis Advisor: Dr. Vincenzo Mancuso, IMDEA Networks Institute
University: University Carlos III of Madrid, Spain
Doctoral Program: Telematics Engineering

 


More info


  • Location: Aula de Grados Padre Soler, Sala 5.1.A01, Edificio Padre Soler "Auditorio", UC3M, Avda. Universidad, 30, 28911 Leganés – Madrid

  • Time: 13:30 pm
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