Multicast Communications in Multi-Hop Cognitive Radio Networks

We study a multicast communication problem in a multi-hop ad hoc network where each node is equipped with a cognitive radio (CR). The goal is to minimize the required network-wide resource to support a set of multicast sessions, with a given bit rate requirement for each multicast session. The unique characteristics and complexity associated with CR distinguish this problem from existing multicast problems for ad hoc networks. In this paper, we formulate this problem via a cross-layer approach by taking consideration of scheduling and routing jointly. Although the problem formulation is in the form of a mixed-integer linear program, we develop a polynomial-time algorithm that offers highly competitive solutions. By comparing the solution values with a lower bound, we show that the proposed algorithm can provide a solution that is close to the optimum.