Partial relay selection in underlay cognitive networks with fixed gain relays

In a communication system with multiple cooperative relays, selecting the best relay utilizes the available spectrum more efficiently. However, selective relaying poses a different problem in underlay cognitive networks compared to the traditional cooperative networks due to interference thresholds to the primary users. In most cases, a best relay is the one which provides the maximum end-to-end signal to noise ratio (SNR). This approach needs plenty of instantaneous channel state information (CSI). The CSI burden could be reduced by partial relay selection. In this paper, a partial relay selection scheme is presented and analyzed for an underlay cognitive network with fixed gain relays operating in the vicinity of a primary user. The system model is adopted in a way that each node needs minimal CSI to perform its task. The best relay is chosen on the basis of maximum source to relay link SNR which then forwards the message to the destination. We derive closed form expressions for the received SNR distributions, system outage, probability of bit error and average channel capacity of the system. The derived results are confirmed through simulations. © 2012 IEEE.