Optimal power control for Rayleigh-faded multiuser systems with outage constraints

How can we achieve the conflicting goals of reduced transmission power and increased capacity in a wireless network, without attempting to follow the instantaneous state of a fading channel? In this paper, we address this problem by jointly considering power control and multiuser detection (MUD) with outage-probability constraints in a Rayleigh fast-fading environment. The resulting power-control algorithms (PCAs) utilize the statistics of the channel and operate on a much slower timescale than traditional schemes. We propose an optimal iterative solution that is conceptually simple and finds the minimum sum power of all users while meeting their outage targets. Using a derived bound on outage probability, we introduce a mapping from outage to average signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) constraints. This allows us to propose a suboptimal iterative scheme that is a variation of an existing solution to a joint power control and MUD problem involving SIR constraints. We further use a recent result that transforms complex SIR expressions into a compact and decoupled form, to develop a noniterative and computationally inexpensive PCA for large systems of users. Simulation results are presented showing the closeness of the optimal and mapped schemes, speed of convergence, and performance comparisons.     

SCALE: A Low-Complexity Distributed Protocol for Spectrum Balancing in Multiuser DSL Networks

Dynamic spectrum management of digital subscriber lines (DSLs) has the potential to dramatically increase the capacity of the aging last-mile copper access network. This paper takes an important step toward fulfilling this potential through power spectrum balancing. We derive a novel algorithm called SCALE, that provides a significant performance improvement over the existing iterative water-filling (IWF) algorithm in multiuser DSL networks, doing so with comparable low complexity. The algorithm is easily distributed through measurement and limited message passing with the use of a spectrum management center. We outline how overhead can be managed, and show that in the limit of zero message-passing, performance reduces to IWF.     

Outage-based optimal power control for generalized multiuser fading channels

We address the problem of achieving outage probability constraints on the uplink of a code-division multiple-access (CDMA) system employing power control and linear multiuser detection, where we aim to minimize the total expended power. We propose a generalized framework for solving such problems under modest assumptions on the underlying channel fading distribution. Unlike previous work, which dealt with a Rayleigh fast-fading model, we allow each user to have a different fading distribution. We show how this problem can be formed as an optimization over user transmit powers and linear receivers, and, where the problem is feasible, we provide conceptually simple iterative algorithms that find the minimum power solution while achieving outage specifications with equality. We further generalize a mapping from outage probability specifications to average signal-to-interference-ratio constraints that was previously applicable only to Rayleigh-faded channels. This mapping allows us to develop suboptimal, computationally efficient algorithms to solve the original problem. Numerical results are provided that validate the iterative schemes, showing the closeness of the optimal and mapped solutions, even under circumstances where the map does not guarantee that constraints will be achieved.