Joint power and channel allocation scheme for IEEE 802.11af based smart grid communication network

Abstract

To reap the full potentials of Smart grid (SG), a reliable, resourceful, efficient and cost-effective communication network is inevitable. The crucial need to transmit a significant amount of smart grid application data in an efficient spectral manner makes cognitive radio (CR) technology most suitable for SG environment. Identically, TV white space (TVWS) is the most expectant candidate for CR based smart grid communication network (CRSGCN). In this paper, we are investigating the problem of joint power and channel allocation (JPCA), which is among the most important and widely explored area in cognitive radio domain. We first model a typical scenario in a neighborhood area network (NAN) communication using IEEE 802.11af via open loop regulatory framework for TVWS. A mathematical model is formulated to jointly address power and channel allocation considering practical constraints for two real-world scenarios of fairness-based and priority-based allocation. Next, an efficient power allocation (PA) scheme is presented, meeting quality-of-service (QoS) requirements, followed by channel allocation (CA) scheme based on cuckoo search algorithm (CSA). The performance of the proposed solutions is analyzed using exhaustive simulations to optimize power consumption, fairness and user rewards. The presented results in the form of graph and numerical comparisons indicate the effectiveness of our allocation algorithm to achieve the desired objectives.