A Hybrid CCC design based MAC protocol with PU Protection in Cognitive Radio Network

In presented research paper, a hybrid Common Control Channel (CCC) design based MAC protocol with PU protection is proposed and implemented. Traditionally, IEEE 802.11 works in DCF mode with dedicated Out-band CCC design. With the advantages like global coverage, 24*7 availability and ease of implementation, the Out-band dedicated CCC design suffers with interferences, intruder attacks and channel saturation. On the other hand, the In-band design suited more to the framework of Cognitive Radio (CR) technology. The In-band approach needs switching to use data channels as temporary control channels. The presented work utilizes the advantages of both In-band and Out-band by using a hybrid CCC design approach. The reported work also focuses on primary user (PU) receiver protection from the hazardous transmission encountered due to presence of nearby CR traffic. A power controlling algorithm is developed and implemented for PU receiver protection. The performance of the scenario gets improved with the hybrid CCC design. The power control algorithm at CR end ensures the PU receiver protection along with less energy requirement for network operation.