Short Channel Hopping Sequence Approach to Rendezvous for Cognitive Networks

Abstract

The rendezvous process allows cognitive users to find an available channel and establish a communication link. The implementation of rendezvous strategies to minimize the time to rendezvous (TTR) is a major challenge in this context. In this paper we present a comprehensive analysis of the benefits of periodic channel hopping sequences in the rendezvous process. We also introduce a novel short-sequence-based (SSB) rendezvous algorithm which works under symmetric and asymmetric channel models. Theoretical analysis and simulations show that the proposed SSB outperforms other recently developed rendezvous protocols in terms of expected TTR and maximum TTR.