Buffer Aided Relaying Improves Both Throughput and End-to-End Delay

Abstract

Buffer aided relaying has recently attracted a lot of attention due to the improvement in the system throughput. However, a side effect usually deemed is that buffering at relay nodes results in the increase in packet delays. In this paper, we study the effect of buffering relays on the end-to-end delay of users' data, from the time they arrive at source until delivery to the destination. We use simple discussions to provide an insight on the overall waiting time of the packets in the system. By studying the Bernoulli distributed channel conditions, and using intuitive generalizations, we conclude that the use of buffers at relays improves not only throughput, but ironically the end-to-end delay as well. Computer simulations in the settings of practical systems confirm the above results.