Sub-channel shared resource allocation for multi-user distributed MIMO-OFDM systems

Well-controlled resource allocation is crucial for promoting the performance of multiple input multiple output orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (MIMO-OFDM) systems. Recent studies have focused primarily on traditional centralized systems or distributed antenna systems (DASs), and usually assumed that one sub-carrier or sub-channel is exclusively occupied by one user. To promote system performance, we propose a sub-channel shared resource allocation algorithm for multi-user distributed MIMO-OFDM systems. Each sub-channel can be shared by multiple users in the algorithm, which is different from previous algorithms. The algorithm assumes that each user communicates with only two best ports in the system. On each sub-carrier, it allocates a sub-channel in descending order, which means one sub-channel that can minimize signal to leakage plus noise ratio (SLNR) loss is deleted until the number of remaining sub-channels is equal to that of receiving antennas. If there are still sub-channels after all users are processed, these sub-channels will be allocated to users who can maximize the SLNR gain. Simulations show that compared to other algorithms, our proposed algorithm has better capacity performance and enables the system to provide service to more users under the same capacity constraints.