Symmetric path selection in IEEE 802.16 multi-hop relay networks with error prone links

Recently, the IEEE 802.16j task group has focused on the development of a novel network architecture with the aid of relaying technique for range extension, coverage extension and throughput enhancement. Our prior research, to select an optimal path in the IEEE 802.16 multi-hop relay (MR) network, proposes a novel metric, called ERRI, which indicates the effectiveness of radio resource of a link used to transmit data. Under the consideration of error-prone links due to unreliable channel conditions, the paper, on the basis of our previous work, models an error-prone MR network as a finite-state Markov chain, and then develops a new path cost function for symmetric path selection. Simulation results show that the relay path selection scheme with modified ERRI considerations significantly achieves throughput gains in the error-prone IEEE 802.16 MR network.