Energy-Efficient BBU Allocation for Green C-RAN

Cloud radio access network (C-RAN) separates the baseband processing from the radio transmissions in the base station. The baseband processing is done at the baseband unit (BBU), centrally for a huge number of remote radio head (RRH). The BBU pool works virtually and significantly to reduce power consumption in the cellular networks. Efficient coordination among these BBUs can improve network performance in terms of resource utilization and power consumption. In this letter, we propose a BBU and RRH association scheme based on graph partitioning and rejoining to minimize the power consumption due to communication overhead. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm improves power consumption up to 20% and reduces handover overhead up to 30% compared with the traditional approach.

I. Introduction

Cloud Radio Access Network (C-RAN) presents a novel architecture and major paradigm shift in the design of future wireless systems, where various network functionalities (both access and core networks) can be realized in the cloud [1]. Due to enhanced cost-efficiency, flexibility, and utilization, C-RAN is considered as one of the most promising solutions to meet the huge capacity demand in 5G wireless networks. Energy efficient C-RAN operation alleviates the operational expenditure of cellular radio network which is dominated by 70% energy bill [1].