Abstract
We study the end-to-end (E2E) performance of multi-relay networks in delay-constrained applications. The results are presented for both decode-and-forward (DF) and AF (A: amplify) relaying schemes. We use some fundamental results on the achievable rates of finite-length codes to analyze the system performance in the cases with short packets. Taking the message decoding delays and different numbers of hops into account, we derive closed-form expressions for the E2E packet transmission delay, the E2E error probability as well as the E2E throughput. Moreover, for different message decoding delays, we determine the appropriate codeword length and the relay power such that the same E2E error probability and packet transmission delay are achieved in the AF- and DF-relay networks. As we show, for different codeword lengths and numbers of hops, the E2E performance of multi-relay networks are affected by the message decoding delay of the nodes considerably.