Cloud radio access networks (C-RAN) in mobile cloud computing systems

Abstract

Cloud computing will have profound impacts on wireless networks. On one hand, the integration of cloud computing into the mobile environment enables mobile cloud computing (MCC) systems; on the other hand, the powerful computing platforms in the cloud for radio access networks lead to a novel concept of cloud radio access networks (C-RAN). In this paper, we study the topology configuration and rate allocation problem in C-RAN with the objective of optimizing the end-to-end performance of MCC users in next generation wireless networks. An intrinsic issue related to such system is that only sub-optimal decisions can be made due to the fact that the channel state information is outdated. We employ a decision-theoretic framework to tackle this issue, and maximize the system throughput with constraints on the response latency experienced by each MCC user. Using simulation results, we show that, with the emergence of MCC and C-RAN technologies, the design and operation of future mobile wireless networks can be significantly affected by cloud computing, and the proposed scheme is capable of achieving substantial performance gains over existing schemes.