Hybrid Beamforming in 5G mmWave Networks: a Full-stack Perspective

TL;DR

This paper investigates the interactions between hybrid beamforming, MU-MIMO, and network layers in 5G mmWave networks, highlighting how full-stack modeling can optimize throughput while considering complexity and trade-offs.

Contribution

It extends full-stack simulation models to include MU-MIMO and HBF, revealing their impact on network performance and the importance of cross-layer analysis.

Findings

Throughput can be increased using SDMA in 5G networks.

Trade-offs and complexity are critical for full-stack HBF implementation.

Cross-layer interactions significantly influence physical layer performance.

Abstract

This paper studies the cross-layer challenges and performance of Hybrid Beamforming (HBF) and Multi-User Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MU-MIMO) in 5G millimeter wave (mmWave) cellular networks with full-stack TCP/IP traffic and MAC scheduling. While previous research on HBF and MU-MIMO has focused on link-level analysis of full-buffer transmissions, this work reveals the interplay between HBF techniques and the higher layers of the protocol stack. To this aim, prior work on full stack simulation of mmWave cellular network has been extended by including the modeling of MU-MIMO and HBF. Our results reveal novel relations between the networking layers and the HBF MU-MIMO performance in the physical layer. Particularly, throughput can be increased in 5G networks by means of Spatial Division Multiple Access (SDMA). However, in order to achieve such benefits it is necessary to take into account certain trade-offs and the implementation complexity of a full-stack HBF solution.