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Abstract
Traditional ultra-dense wireless networks are
recommended as a complement for cellular networks and are deployed in partial areas, such
as hotspot and indoor scenarios. Based on the
massive multiple-input multi-output antennas
and the millimeter wave communication technologies, the 5G ultra-dense cellular network is
proposed to deploy in overall cellular scenarios.
Moreover, a distribution network architecture is
presented for 5G ultra-dense cellular networks.
Furthermore, the backhaul network capacity and
the backhaul energy efficiency of ultra-dense
cellular networks are investigated to answer an
important question, that is, how much densification can be deployed for 5G ultra-dense cellular networks. Simulation results reveal that there
exist densification limits for 5G ultra-dense cellular networks with backhaul network capacity and
backhaul energy efficiency constraints.
Introduction
72
Architecture of
5G Ultra-Dense Cellular Networks
With the development of massive MIMO antenna and millimeter-wave communication technologies in 5G mobile communication systems, a
large number of small cells will be deployed to
form 5G ultra-dense cellular networks. Therefore, the first challenge is how to design the
architecture of 5G ultra-dense cellular networks.
In this section, the distributed architecture of
ultra-dense cellular networks with single and
multiple gateways is proposed for further evaluation in the following sections.
Conventional
Cellular Network Architecture
The conventional cellular network architecture is
a type of tree network architecture, where every
macrocell BS is controlled by the BS managers in
the core network, and all backhaul traffic is forwarded to the core network by the given gateway.
In order to support microcell deployment (e.g.,
femtocell, picocell, and hotspot deployment), a
hybrid architecture is presented for conventional cellular networks with microcell deployment.
In this hybrid network architecture, the microcell network is also configured as a type of tree
network architecture, where every microcell BS
is controlled by microcell BS managers in the
core network, and the backhaul traffic of microcell BSs is forwarded to the core network by the
broadband Internet or fiber links. The coverage
of microcells is overlapped with the coverage of
macrocells. Compared to macrocell BSs, microcell BSs can provide high-speed wireless transmission in indoor and hotspot scenarios. Both
the macrocell BS and microcell BS can independently transmit user data and management
data to associated users. Users can hand over
in macrocells and microcells according to their
requirements. Moreover, the handover process is
controlled by macrocell and microcell managers
in the core network. In this network architecture,
the microcell network is complementary to the
conventional macrocell network to satisfy high-
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M
i
w llim
av et
e er
-
Gateway
M
i
wllim
av e
e ter
In 5G ultra-dense cellular
scenarios, to solve the
mobile user frequent
handover problem in
small cells, the macrocell BS is configured
only to transmit the
management data for
controlling the user handover in small cells and
the small cell BS takes
charge of the user data
transmission. Therefore,
the small cell network
is not a complement for
the macrocell network.
FTTC
To core
network
To core
network
Macrocell BS
FTTC link
Millimeter-wave link
(b)
(a)
Small cell BS
UE
UE traffic
Figure 1. Distributed ultra-dense cellular networks with a single gateway: a) the deployment scenario
with a single gateway; b) the logical architecture with a single gateway.
Mi
wlalime
ve ter
-
Gateway
Millimeterwave
FTTC
FTTC To core
network
To core
network
Macrocell BS
Gateway
(a)
FTTC link
Millimeter-wave link
(b)
Small cell BS
Gateway
UE
UE traffic
Figure 2. Distribution ultra-dense cellular network with multiple gateways: a) the deployment scenario
with multiple gateways; b) the logical architecture with multiple gateways.
speed wireless transmission in partial regions
(e.g., indoor and hotspot scenarios).
Distribution Architecture of
Ultra-Dense Cellular Networks
Motivated by the massive MIMO antenna and
millimeter-wave communication technologies,
the densification deployment of small cells is
emerging in 5G cellular networks. However,
it is difficult to forward the backhaul traffic of
every small cell BS by broadband Internet or
fiber links considering the cost and geographic
deployment challenges in urban environments.
Moreover, the small cell BS usually cannot
directly transmit wireless backhaul traffic to a
given gateway since small cell BSs adopting millimeter-wave technology restrict the wireless
transmission distance. In this case, the wireless
backhaul traffic has to be relayed to the given
gateway by multihop links. As a consequence, a
distributed network architecture is a reasonable
solution for 5G ultra-dense cellular networks.
In 5G ultra-dense cellular scenarios, to solve
the mobile user frequent handover problem in
small cells, the macrocell BS is configured only
to transmit the management data to control the
user handover in small cells, and the small cell
BS takes charge of the user data transmission.
Therefore, the small cell network is not a complement for the macrocell network. 5G ultra-
74
Network types
Network architecture
Centralized architecture
Distributed architecture
Densification deployment
target
Macrocells [4]
Small cells
Small cells
Densification deployment
reason
Overlap [7]
No overlap
No overlap
Functions of macrocell
and microcell
Same [7]
Microcells/small cells
deployment
Backhaul method
Number of backhaul
gateways in a macrocell
One
One
Multiple
Merit
Demerit
Table 1. Comparison between conventional cellular networks and 5G ultra-dense cellular networks.
traffic and geography scenarios. In Fig. 2, the
backhaul traffic of a small cell BS is relayed to
the adjacent small cell BS by millimeter-wave
links. Different from the single gateway configuration, the backhaul traffic of small cells will
be distributed into multiple gateways in the
macrocell. The backhaul traffic aggregated at
the specified small cell BS, that is, the gateway,
is finally forwarded into the core network by
FTTC links. Detailed scenario and logical figures are illustrated in Figs. 2a and 2b.
Based on the comparison results shown in
Table 1, the detailed differences between conventional cellular networks and 5G ultra-dense
cellular networks with single/multiple gateways are explained as follows: the architecture
of conventional cellular networks is a centralized network architecture, and some microcells
are densely deployed in partial areas (e.g.,
urban areas) to satisfy crowded communication requirements. When 5G small cell BSs are
equipped with massive MIMO antennas and millimeter-wave communication technologies, the
coverage of a small cell is obviously reduced. To
realize seamless coverage, 5G cellular networks
must be densely deployed by a large number of
small cells. In this case, 5G ultra-dense cellular
networks can provide high bit rates in all cellular coverage regions. Moreover, the architecture
of ultra-dense cellular networks is distributed,
considering cost and geographic deployment
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Parameters
Values
Radius of macrocell
1 km
Parameter a
7.85
Parameter b
71.5 W
Normalized BS backhaul
transmission power PNorm
1W
1 Gb/s
5 years
76
larger than a given threshold. This result provides a guideline for designing the densification
of 5G ultra-dense cellular networks.
13
12
r = 100 m
r = 150 m
11
r = 200 m
10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
10 40 70 100 130 160 190 220 250 280 310 340 370 400
Number of small cell BSs
(a)
12
r = 100 m
r = 150 m
r = 200 m
10
8
6
4
2
0
5 7 9 11 13 15 17 19 21 23 25 27 29
Average number of simultaneous transmissions
(b)
Figure 3. Backhaul network capacity of ultra-dense cellular networks: a)
the backhaul network capacity vs. the number of small cell BSs; b) the
backhaul network capacity vs. the average number of simultaneous transmissions.
in Fig. 4b: the backhaul energy efficiency first
increases with the increase of the average small
cell BS throughput; then the backhaul energy
efficiency decreases with the increase of the average small cell BS throughput after the backhaul
energy efficiency achieves the maximum threshold; in the end, the backhaul energy efficiency of
ultra-dense cellular networks achieves a stationary saturation value when the average small cell
BS throughput is larger than 0.35, 0.45, and 0.5
Gb/s, which correspond to small cell radii 200,
150, and 100 m.
Future Challenges
As discussed in the above sections, the emergence of ultra-dense cellular networks is motived
by massive MIMO antenna and millimeter-wave
communication technologies. Moreover, the distribution network architecture is a reasonable
solution for 5G ultra-dense cellular networks.
From the results in Table 1, it is obvious that the
ultra-dense cellular network would bring great
changes in future 5G cellular networks. Therefore, the ultra-dense cellular network is one of
the most important challenges for future 5G cellular networks. Some potential challenges are
presented here.
The first challenge is the multihop relay opti-
77
0.18
0.18
r = 100 m
r = 150 m
r = 200 m
0.16
0.14
0.12
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
1
0.16
0.14
50
100
150
200
250
300
Number of small cell BSs
(a)
350
400
r = 100 m
r = 150 m
r = 200 m
0.12
0.1
0.08
0.06
0.04
0.02
0
0.025 0.05
0.45
0.5
78
Conclusions
Acknowledgments
The corresponding author of the article is Prof.
Tao Han. The authors would like to acknowledge the support from the International Science
and Technology Cooperation Program of China
(Grant No. 2014DFA11640 and 2015DFG12580),
the National Natural Science Foundation of
China (NSFC) (Grant No. 61271224, 61301128
and 61471180), the NSFC Major International
Joint Research Project (Grant No. 61210002),
the China 863 Project in 5G Wireless Networking (Grant No. 2014AA01A701), the Hubei
Provincial Science and Technology Department
(Grant No. 2013BHE005), the Fundamental
Research Funds for the Central Universities
(Grant No. 2015XJGH011 and 2014QN155),
EU FP7-PEOPLE-IRSES (Contract/Grant No.
247083, 318992, 612652 and 610524), and EU
H2020 ITN 5G Wireless project (Grant No.
641985). This research is also supported by Australian Research Council Discovery projects
DP110100538 and DP120102030.
References
[1] J. Hoydis, S. Ten Brink, and M. Debbah, Massive MIMO
in the UL/DL of Cellular Networks: How Many Antennas
Do We Need? IEEE JSAC, vol. 31, no. 2, Feb. 2013, pp.
16071.
[2] T. S. Rappaport et al., Millimeter Wave Mobile Communications for 5G Cellular: It Will Work! IEEE Access, vol.
1, May 2013, pp. 33549.
[3] C.-X. Wang et al., Cellular Architecture and Key Technologies for 5G Wireless Communication Networks, IEEE
Commun. Mag., vol. 52, no. 2, Feb. 2014, pp. 12230.
[4] S. F. Yunas, M. Valkama and J. Niemela, Spectral and
Energy Efficiency of Ultra-Dense Networks under Different Deployment Strategies, IEEE Commun. Mag., vol.
53, no. 1, Jan. 2015, pp. 90100.
Biographies
Xiaohu Ge [M09, SM11] (xhge@hust.edu.cn) is currently a
full professor with the School of Electronic Information and
Communications at Huazhong University of Science and
Technology (HUST), China, and an adjunct professor with
the Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology at
the University of Technology Sydney (UTS), Australia. He
received his Ph.D. degree in communication and information engineering from HUST in 2003. He serves as an Associate Editor for IEEE Access, the Wireless Communications
and Mobile Computing Journal, and other publications.
S ong T u (u201013039@hust.edu.cn) received his B.E.
degrees from HUST in 2014. Now he is working toward
a Masters degree in the School of Electronic Information
and Communications at HUST. His research interests are in
the area of green communications and distributed wireless
networks.
Guoqiang Mao [S98, M02, SM08] (g.mao@ieee.org) is a
professor of wireless networkingand director of the Center
for Real-Time Information Networks at UTS. He has published more than 100 papers in international conferences
and journals, which have been cited more than 3000 times.
C heng -X iang W ang [S01, M05, SM08] (cheng-xiang.
wang@hw.ac.uk) received his Ph.D. degree from Aalborg
University, Denmark, in 2004. He has been with Heriot-Watt
University since 2005 and became a professor in 2011. His
research interests include wireless channel modeling and
5G wireless communication networks. He has served or is
serving as an Editor or Guest Editor for 11 international
journals, including IEEE Transactions on Vehicular Technology (2011present), IEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications (20072009), and the IEEE Journal on Selected
Areas in Communications. He has published one book and
over 210 papers in journals and conferences.
Tao Han [M13] (hantao@hust.edu.cn) received his Ph.D.
degree in communication and information engineering
from HUST in December 2001. He is currently an associate professor with the School of Electronic Information
and Communications, HUST. His research interests include
wireless communications, multimedia communications, and
computer networks.
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