Packet-Level Performance Statistics in a Wireless Network Using Amplify-and-Forward Cooperative Diversity

This paper presents a mathematical model which represents packet-level performance in a wireless network using amplify-and-forward cooperative diversity. This model takes into account a bursty traffic arrival pattern at the source node as well as an error recovery mechanism based on a general automatic repeat request (ARQ) protocol. We derive not only the expectation but also the distribution of packet delivery delay. Using the model, we quantify throughput/delay improvement for increasing SNR and/or cooperative nodes. For an additional cooperative node, we quantify the amount of SNR that can be reduced (i. e., SNR saving) without degrading system performance. As an application of the proposed model, we also demonstrate how to determine the minimum number of cooperative nodes to satisfy a certain level of quality of service (QoS) requirements.