Network-controlled cross-layer fast handover for MIPv6 over IEEE 802.16m networks

초록

In next-generation mobile networks, handover is one of the key components since the handover performance may greatly impact on the end-user experience. IEEE 802.16m advanced air interface, which competes with LTE-Advanced as a candidate for IMT-Advanced (4G), is designed with strict requirements on the handover latency to support high mobility as well as high bandwidth. The high mobility support requires an efficient IP mobility management protocol incorporated with IEEE 802.16m to be able to handle frequent handovers. Thus, the performance improvement of the IP layer handover by incorporating with IEEE 802.16m is crucial to meet the latency requirement on handover. In this paper, we propose an efficient network-controlled cross-layer fast handover scheme for mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) over IEEE 802.16m networks. The proposed scheme significantly reduces the handover latency and improves the performance of the IP layer handover by incorporating with IEEE 802.16m. Detailed performance analysis in terms of the important performance metrics, such as the handover latency, the signaling cost, and the packet delivery cost, confirms that the proposed scheme can provide a better end-user experience over IEEE 802.16m networks.