An analytical model for handoff management and routing in CR-ad hoc networks

The paper addresses the Unified Handoff Management (UHM) scheme in Cognitive Radio Mobile Ad hoc Networks (CR-MANETs) with multiple users. In order to model the UHM, three key factors are considered: (1) channel availability and spectrum usage behaviors of the primary users (PUs); (2) the movements and the motility of the secondary users (SUs); and (3) channel heterogeneity and channel quality degradation. The main contribution is the construction of a Markov chain to model the evolution of the network (node position, node speed, channel quality, etc.) and the treatment of combined spectrum handoff and local routing. The comparison results clearly show an improvement in the performance of the UHM in terms of the route maintenance probability and the SU throughput. It is also proved that the channel transmission range and node mobility have significant effect on network performance compared to PU activity.