Evaluation of a bio-socially inspired secure DSA scheme using testbed-calibrated hybrid simulations

Abstract

The ongoing explosion of embedded wireless capabilities in contemporary systems has made the availability of wireless spectrum insufficient. The proposed solution to this problem is dynamic spectrum access (DSA) technology where wireless devices (secondary users) opportunistically forage for unused spectrum (for example, TV whitespace and 3.5GHz bands) arising when the licensed users are idle. We put forward a novel bio-social protocol for DSA networks in which the secondary users forage for bands with low contention. The SUs estimate utilization using a novel wireless physical layer signature method to provide security against rogue nodes that seek to benefit by injecting spoofed traffic on behalf of other SUs. We report on the system performance of this formally specified model of bio-social behavior, using simulations that are parameterized by hardware testbed measurements. The results show that a more accurate estimation of band contention improves the efficiency of resource utilization. More broadly, the findings point to the importance of biosocial paradigms in the design of distributed leaderless resource sharing schemes for the wireless ecosystem.