Separate codes on type-II hybrid ARQ systems

A hybrid automatic repeat request (ARQ) system (HARQ-II) with parity retransmission for error correction, which combines ARQ and forward error correction is discussed, and the successful application of these codes to HARG-II is illustrated. A method of constructing the codes whereby conventional BCH codes can be changed into separable codes is proposed. A scheme is presented that has the advantages that, the code lengths are always made equal and that even in parity retransmission new information symbols can be sent along with the necessary parity-check symbols. The performance of the proposed schemes on the binary symmetric channel is discussed. The numerical results show that they outperform conventional schemes     

Some new hybrid ARQ techniques for high error rate conditions

Some new hybrid ARQ schemes for error control in communication systems are presented in which redundancy, achieved by retransmission of a code word, is exploited to facilitate correct code-word recovery. In the first two techniques, applicable to cases in which a code word detected in error is retransmitted several times consecutively, an error-correcting code is used in conjunction with a normal ARQ code to enhance performance even at high error rates. These two techniques have been modified to allow application to protocols in which only one copy is sent each time a code word must be transmitted. Theoretical analysis of the protocols shows that these techniques outperform similar ARQ schemes, particularly for high error rates.     

Cross-layered retransmission schemes for TCP-based services

Various retransmission schemes for wireless communication systems have been used to improve performance such as reliability and throughput. Each retransmission scheme is designed to improve the performance according to characteristics of each layer of protocol stacks, such as delay components and error control. Especially, a cross-layered retransmission scheme has been proposed to maximize the spectral efficiency by combining a retransmission scheme and adaptive modulation and coding (AMC). However, the cross-layered retransmission scheme is designed for performance improvement at the wireless access networks. The end-to-end performance is not taken into account for modeling of the cross-layered retransmission schemes. It is difficult to design retransmission schemes for the end-to-end performance improvement. In this paper, we analyze the delay and the throughput at the transport layer for the end-to-end performance when a system uses a cross-layered retransmission scheme and the transmission control protocol as the reliable transmission protocols. We also propose a cross-layered retransmission strategy, AMC combined with automatic repeat request (ARQ) and hybrid ARQ (HARQ), to improve end-to-end throughput. From the evaluation results, it is shown that the proposed cross-layered retransmission strategy is suitable for delay insensitive services that require high throughput.     

New MIMO ARQ protocols and joint detection via sphere decoding

In this paper, we develop some new automatic repeat request (ARQ) protocols for multiple-input multiple-out (MIMO) flat-fading channels which adapt the bit-to-symbol mapping of each ARQ retransmission. We begin by defining a model for distinctly mapped transmissions through flat-fading MIMO channels. We characterize the effect that such a mapping diversity has on an integrated receiver utilizing sphere decoding. Varying the symbol mapping complicates the sphere decoding process, particularly for the enumeration of candidate solutions within the sphere. A technique that enables quick candidate enumeration is presented, utilizing concepts from existing closest point search schemes. The advantage of mapping diversity, in reducing bit error rate and reducing computational complexity, is presented along with simulation examples.     

A comparison of trellis coded and Reed-Solomon coded hybrid-ARQ protocols over slowly fading Rayleigh channels

The performance of trellis coded and Reed-Solomon coded ARQ error control systems over slowly fading Rayleigh channels are compared and contrasted in this paper. First, a two-code CRC-TCM type-I hybrid-ARQ scheme based on separate error correction and error detection codes is compared to a one-code Reed-Solomon protocol in which retransmission requests are generated within the decoding process. The performance of the associated packet combining protocols is also compared. It is shown that for similar levels of complexity, a onecode Reed-Solomon approach offers both better throughput and reliability performance than the TCM schemes in almost all cases.     

Erasure coding for reliable adaptive retransmission in wireless broadcast/multicast systems

In this paper, we present new adaptive automatic repeat request (ARQ) schemes for wireless broadcast/multicast combining erasure coding (EC) and packet retransmission. Traditional approaches rely on retransmitting the lost packets in a point-to-point or point-to-multipoint mode. The main idea behind the presented protocols is to retransmit adaptive combinations of the lost packets using EC, which can help several receivers to recover the lost information with fewer retransmission attempts. We propose two versions of EC-based ARQ protocols, and investigate theoretically the corresponding transmission bandwidths in different contexts. We show through simulation results the efficiency of the proposed protocols with respect to conventional ARQ strategies and new published ARQ works for broadcast/multicast. Finally, a new sliding window NACK feedback policy is presented for the case of a high number of receivers to avoid the feedback implosion problem.     

Performance of Hybrid ARQ Schemes with ML Code Combining over a Block-Fading Rayleigh Channel

This paper considers two well-known selective-repeat retransmission schemes, namely, hybrid type-I ARQ and hybrid type-II ARQ, using convolutional coding, in conjunction with maximum-likelihood code combining. Our theoretical analysis, based upon the concept of generalized weight distribution, shows that the use of code combining yields a significant throughput at very high channel error rates not only in constant AWGN channels but also in fading channels. To demonstrate this, we consider a widely-used block-fading Rayleigh channel model, in which the channel is assumed to be constant during each block of data and the fading is assumed to be independent from block to block. A key parameter in designing retransmission protocols for delay-limited applications in such channels is the minimum number of retransmissions, needed to achieve error-free decoding at almost all channel conditions (low outage probability). This number can be reduced significantly when code combining is employed.     

Design of MAC-defined aggregated ARQ schemes for IEEE 802.11n networks

Based on the IEEE 802.11n standard, frame aggregation is considered one of the major factors to improve system performance of wireless local area networks (WLANs) from the medium access control (MAC) perspective. In order to fulfill the requirements of high throughput performance, feasible design of automatic repeat request (ARQ) mechanisms becomes important for providing reliable data transmission. In this paper, two MAC-defined ARQ schemes are proposed to consider the effect of frame aggregation for the enhancement of network throughput. An aggregated selective repeat ARQ (ASR-ARQ) algorithm is proposed, which incorporates the conventional selective repeat ARQ scheme with the consideration of frame aggregation. On the other hand, the aggregated hybrid ARQ (AH-ARQ) protocol is proposed to further enhance throughput performance by adopting the Reed-Solomon block code as the forward error correction (FEC) scheme. Novel analytical models based on the signal flow graph are established in order to realize the retransmission behaviors of both schemes. Simulations are conducted to validate and compare the proposed ARQ mechanisms with existing schemes based on service time distribution. Numerical results show that the proposed AH-ARQ protocol outperforms the other retransmission schemes owing to its effective utilization of FEC mechanism.     

The MIMO ARQ Channel: Diversity–Multiplexing–Delay Tradeoff

In this paper, the fundamental performance tradeoff of the delay-limited multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) automatic retransmission request (ARQ) channel is explored. In particular, we extend the diversity-multiplexing tradeoff investigated by Zheng and Tse in standard delay-limited MIMO channels with coherent detection to the ARQ scenario. We establish the three-dimensional tradeoff between reliability (i.e., diversity), throughput (i.e., multiplexing gain), and delay (i.e., maximum number of retransmissions). This tradeoff quantifies the ARQ diversity gain obtained by leveraging the retransmission delay to enhance the reliability for a given multiplexing gain. Interestingly, ARQ diversity appears even in long-term static channels where all the retransmissions take place in the same channel state. Furthermore, by relaxing the input power constraint allowing variable power levels in different retransmissions, we show that power control can be used to dramatically increase the diversity advantage. Our analysis reveals some important insights on the benefits of ARQ in slow-fading MIMO channels. In particular, we show that 1) allowing for a sufficiently large retransmission delay results in an almost flat diversity-multiplexing tradeoff, and hence, renders operating at high multiplexing gain more advantageous; 2) MIMO ARQ channels quickly approach the ergodic limit when power control is employed. Finally, we complement our information-theoretic analysis with an incremental redundancy lattice space-time (IR-LAST) coding scheme which is shown, through a random coding argument, to achieve the optimal tradeoff(s). An integral component of the optimal IR-LAST coding scheme is a list decoder, based on the minimum mean-square error (MMSE) lattice decoding principle, for joint error detection and correction. Throughout the paper, our theoretical claims are validated by numerical results     

Performance of H.263 video transmission over wireless channelsusing hybrid ARQ

This paper proposes a hybrid ARQ error control scheme based on the concatenation of a Reed-Solomon (RS) code and a rate compatible punctured convolutional (RCPC) code for low-bit-rate video transmission over wireless channels. The concatenated hybrid ARQ scheme we propose combines the advantages of both type-I and type-II hybrid ARQ schemes. Certain error correction capability is provided in each (re)transmitted packet, and the information can be recovered from each transmission or retransmission alone if the errors are within the error correction capability (similar to type-I hybrid ARQ). The retransmitted packet contains redundancy bits which, when combined with the previous transmission, result in a more powerful RS/convolutional concatenated code to recover information if error correction fails for the individual transmissions (similar to type-II hybrid ARQ). Bit-error rate (BER) or signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of a radio channel changes over time due to mobile movement and fading. The channel quality at any instant depends on the previous channel conditions. For the accurate analysis of the performance of the hybrid ARQ scheme, we use a multistate Markov chain (MSMC) to model the radio channel at the data packet level. We propose a method to partition the range of the received SNR into a set of states for constructing the model so that the difference between the error rate of the real radio channel and that of the MSMC model is minimized. Based on the model, we analyze the performance of the concatenated hybrid ARQ scheme. The results give valuable insight into the effects of the error protection capability in each packet, the mobile speed, and the number of retransmissions. Finally, the transmission of H.263 coded video over a wireless channel with error protection provided by the concatenated hybrid ARQ scheme is studied by means of simulations     

An efficient network coded ARQ for multisource multidestination relay networks over mixed flat fading channels

This paper proposes a new reliable automatic repeat request (ARQ) transmission protocol for wireless multisource multidestination relay networks over mixed fading channels. Conventional application of ARQ protocols to retransmit lost or erroneous packets in relay networks can cause considerable delay latency with a significant increase in the number of retransmissions when networks consist of multiple sources and multiple destinations. To address this issue, a new ARQ protocol based on network coding (NC) is proposed where the relay detects packets from different transmission sources, then uses NC to combine and forward lost packets to their destinations. An efficient means for the retransmission of all lost packets is proposed through two packet-combination algorithms for retransmissions at the relay and sources. The paper derives mathematical formulation of transmission bandwidth for this new NC-based ARQ protocol and compares analytical and simulation results with some other ARQ protocols over both mixed Rayleigh and Rician flat fading channel. The mixed fading model permits investigation of two typical fading scenarios where the relay is located in the neighbourhood of either the sources or the destinations. The transmission bandwidth results show that the proposed NC-based ARQ protocol demonstrates superior performance over other existing ARQ schemes.     

Hybrid Error Control Using Retransmission and Generalized Burst-Trapping Codes

On most real channels hybrid error control schemes are expected to provide a throughput higher than that of automatic repeatrequest (ARQ) systems and a reliability better than forward error correction (FEC) systems. On compound channels, channels with a mixture of random and burst errors, generalized burst-trapping (GBT) codes seem to be quite effective for FEC. In this paper, a hybrid scheme with Go BackNARQ as the retransmission component and GBT code as the FEC component, is described. Its performance is analyzed in terms of throughput efficiency and undetected error probability and is compared with that of a forward-acting GBT code. Numerical calculations of the parameters are presented to illustrate the performance.     

Markov error structure for throughput analysis of adaptive modulation systems combined with ARQ over correlated fading channels

We introduce an analytical method that uses a finite-state Markov chain (FSMC) as an error model, for estimating the performance of adaptive modulation systems (AMSs) combined with automatic repeat request (ARQ) schemes in correlated slow fading channels. For the throughput performance evaluation of wireless packet networks, conventionally, we have assumed independent block fading, which may also be suitable to represent fast fading channels. However, in slow fading channels, error rates of consecutive packets are highly correlated and we cannot simply assume independent error structure in performance evaluations. We propose a multistate Markov error structure for AMS in correlated fading channels, which is also described by a finite-state Markov chain (FSMC) and we also present throughput-estimation methods for AMS combined with ARQ, using the proposed Markov error structure.     

On reducing the rate of retransmission in time-varying channels

For data communications in time-varying channels such as wireless channels, the dynamic channel fluctuations often cause high frame-error rates. When the link layer detects that a frame is in error, conventionally, the frame is dropped and retransmission of the frame is requested. Based on the fact that the erroneous frames still contain useful information, several schemes have been proposed, such as packet combining and incremental redundancy, which retain and utilize the erroneous frames to improve retransmission performance. In this paper, we address two questions: 1) how much information is still useful in the erroneous frame; and 2) how to design a retransmission scheme to make efficient use of such information. We model this scenario (retransmission with an erroneous frame available at the receiver) as communication with side information at the receiver, and for a class of time-varying channels, the compound block interference channels, we derive with information-theoretic arguments the minimum information rate sufficient for retransmission to recover the erroneous frame. Motivated by the theoretical results, we propose an embedded channel coding/modulation structure together with a rate-adaptive retransmission scheme. Performance results indicate significant improvements over existing retransmission schemes in both additive white Gaussian noise and quasi-static Rayleigh fading channels.     

Throughput analysis for two ARQ schemes using combined transitionmatrix

The authors investigate throughput efficiencies for two basic automatic-repeat-request (ARQ) strategies, go-back-N and selective repeat disciplines, assuming that forward and backward channels have Markov error characteristics and they are mutually independent. For the two ARQ schemes, simple analytical formulas for the throughput efficiency are obtained. Particularly, in the case of the go-back-N scheme the authors show that the result of throughput analysis can be extended to a general form that includes results presented by C.H.C. Leung et al. (1988)     

A Comparison of Block and Convolutional Codes in ARQ Error Control Schemes

ARQ methods of error control can considerably improve the reliablity of data transmission in such areas as satellite communications, computer networks, etc. A number of ARQ schemes using both block and convolutional codes have appeared in the literature. In this paper, the following problem is addressed. Given two different implementations of an ARQ scheme, one using a block code and the other using a convolutional code, such that the bit error probability of both implementations does not exceed some specific value, which implementation has the higher throughput and under what conditions will it be attained? The comparison is made for three basic retransmission schemes using both hybrid and pure ARQ: stop-and-wait, go-back-N, and selective repeat. Numerical estimates of the throughput were obtained using approximate theoretical expressions for BCH codes and simulation results for sequential decoding of rate 1/2 convolutional codes. Parameters optimizing the performance of both block and convolutional codes for different channel conditions and round trip delays were found and were used to obtain these numerical estimates. Comparison of the quantitative results indicates a trend toward preferring convolutional codes as delay and/or block length increases. A binary symmetric channel with noiseless feedback was assumed. Possible implications for the Gaussian channel are also discussed.     

A coded ARQ scheme with the generalized Viterbi algorithm

A coded automatic repeat request (ARQ) scheme based on a generalized Viterbi decoding algorithm is proposed. The scheme utilizes the error propagation, which is commonly observed in reduced-complexity decoding, as a means of error detection. It is shown that a small undetectable error probability is obtained with a small retransmission probability for a discrete memoryless channel, contrary to the conventional convolutionally coded ARQ schemes with Viterbi decoding where a compromise between the retransmission probability and the undetectable error probability must be reached     

Adaptive source rate control for real‐time wireless video transmission

Hybrid ARQ schemes can yield much better throughput and reliability than static FEC schemes for the transmission of data over time-varying wireless channels. However these schemes result in extra delay. They adapt to the varying channel conditions by retransmitting erroneous packets, this causes variable effective data rates for current PCS networks because the channel bandwidth is constant. Hybrid ARQ schemes are currently being proposed as the error control schemes for real-time video transmission. An important issue is how to ensure low delay while taking advantage of the high throughput and reliability that these schemes provide for. In this paper we propose an adaptive source rate control (ASRC) scheme which can work together with the hybrid ARQ error control schemes to achieve efficient transmission of real-time video with low delay and high reliability. The ASRC scheme adjusts the source rate based on the channel conditions, the transport buffer occupancy and the delay constraints. It achieves good video quality by dynamically changing both the number of the forced update (intracoded) macroblocks and the quantization scale used in a frame. The number of the forced update macroblocks used in a frame is first adjusted according to the allocated source rate. This reduces the fluctuation of the quantization scale with the change in the channel conditions during encoding so that the uniformity of the video quality is improved. The simulation results show that the proposed ASRC scheme performs very well for both slow fading and fast fading channels. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Hybrid ARQ schemes for point-to-multipoint communication overnonstationary broadcast channels

Hybrid automatic-repeat-request (ARQ) error control schemes make use of both error detection and error correction in order to achieve high throughput and low undetected error probabilities on two way channels. Two hybrid ARQ schemes, termed hybrid go-back-N (HGB- N) and hybrid selective-repeat (HSR), are proposed for point-to-multipoint communications over broadcast channels. Both schemes incorporate a concatenated code for error correction and error detection. The performance study of the hybrid schemes is based on a two-state Markov model of a burst noise channel. An analytic solution is derived for the throughput efficiency of the HSR scheme, while approximations and computer simulation are used to evaluate the throughput efficiency of the HGB-N scheme. It is shown that the schemes perform considerably better than the corresponding pure ARQ schemes in which a block code is used for error detection only, especially in environments with a large number of receivers and large channel roundtrip delays, such as satellite broadcast links