Throughput and Delay Analysis for Real-Time Applications in Ad-Hoc Cognitive Networks

We consider a simple ad-hoc cognitive scenario with two data up-links, one licensed to use the spectral resource (primary) and the other unlicensed (secondary or cognitive). It is assumed that the cognitive link accesses the channel only when the channel is sensed idle. An ON-OFF channel model is used for the primary link, where traffic statistical characteristics are taken into account. A closed-form expression for the signal-to noise-plus interference (SINR) statistics of the cognitive nodes is derived that can be used for estimating the network performance. Moreover, a M/G/1 queueing model is exploited for deriving a simple expression for the average packet delay. Finally, a MAC strategy based on a channel-and-queue aware scheduling is introduced.