Full-Duplex Relaying in an Infrastructure-Based Wireless Network

Recent progress on self-interference cancellation technology in a full-duplex system makes self-interference no longer an obstacle that restricts the system from capacity gain. In this paper, assuming both relays and access point (AP) are capable of working in full- duplex mode, we focus on to what extent a wireless relaying network can benefit from full-duplex technology. We first evaluate a conventional full-duplex relaying scheme for IEEE 802.11 networks, where each source picks its optimum relay. Then we propose a novel relaying strategy, where the downlink and uplink traffic can share a common relay/link simultaneously. Using this strategy, we design a hybrid scheduling algorithm that opportunistically switches between direct link, half-duplex and full-duplex relaying. Simulation results shows our hybrid scheme can provide up to 80% more throughput than a traditional half-duplex relaying scheme. These results can be extended to cellular networks.