Opportunistic Networks (ONs) are assumed to be temporary, localized extensions of the infrastructure network that are created under certain circumstances. According to that vision, ONs are coordinated by the radio access network (RAN) operator which governs the overal system behaviour (e.g. ON related policies), provides the neccessary resources (e.g. dedicated specturm bands) and supports users in decision making (e.g. additional knowledge and context information). ONs comprise both nodes of the infrastructure and infrastructure-less devices. For the management and control of operator-governed ONs the introduction of Cognitive Management Systems (CMSs), localized on the terminal and infrastructure side, is proposed. The cooperation of CMS entities will require existence of well-defined control channels. In order to enable the necessary signalling between the CMS entities, Control Channels for the Cooperation of the Cognitive Management Systems (C4 MS) are proposed.

Peer Reviewed