Cache-Aided Millimeter Wave Ad Hoc Networks With Contention-Based Content Delivery

The narrow-beam operation in millimeter wave (mmWave) networks minimizes the network interference leading to noise-limited networks in contrast with interference-limited ones. The medium access control (MAC) layer throughput and interference management strategies heavily depend on the noise-limited or interference-limited regime. Yet, these regimes are not considered in recent mmWave MAC layer designs, which can potentially have disastrous consequences on the communication performance. In this paper, we investigate the performance of cache-enabled MAC-based mmWave ad hoc networks, where randomly distributed nodes are supported by a cache. The ad hoc nodes are modeled as homogenous Poisson point processes. Specifically, we study the optimal content placement (or caching placement) at desirable mmWave nodes using a network model that accounts for uncertainties both in node locations and blockages. We propose a contention-based multimedia delivery protocol to avoid collisions among the concurrent transmissions. Subsequently, only the node with smallest back-off timer among its contenders is allowed to transmit. We then characterize the average success probability of content delivery. We also characterize the cache hit ratio probability, and transmission probability of this system under essential factors, such as blockages, node density, path loss, and caching parameters.