Performance analysis of selective cooperation in amplify-and-forward relay networks over identical Nakagami-m channels

Abstract

In cooperative communications, multiple relays between a source and a destination can increase the diversity gain. Because all the nodes must use orthogonal channels, multiple-relay cooperation becomes spectrally inefficient. Therefore, a bestrelay selection scheme was recently proposed. In this paper, we analyzed the performance of this scheme for a system with the relays operating in amplify-and-forward mode over identical Nakagami-m channels using an exact source-relay-destination signal-to-noise ratio (SNR).We derived accurate closed-form expressions for various system parameters including the probability density function of end-to-end SNR, the average output SNR, the bit error probability, and the channel capacity. The analytical results were verified through Monte Carlo simulations.