Exact capacity analysis of multi-relay multiuser cooperative networks based on two-step selection

This paper advocates the capacity analysis of an amplify-and-forward cooperative communication system model in multi-relay multiuser networks. A two-step selection scheme is adopted, and both relay and user selection are based on the outdated channel state information. Exact expression of channel capacity for independent, but not necessarily identically distributed, Rayleigh fading channels is derived. Finally, simulations are carried out to verify the correctness of theoretical analysis and illustrate the effect of parameters on the performance. Results show that although the performance of our scheme is inferior to the optimal joint selection scheme, it is still a practical scheme because its complexity is much lower than that of the optimal scheme. Copyright (c) 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.