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Link Synchronous Mobile IPv4 Handover Algorithms

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Abstract

The performance of the base Mobile IP handover algorithm for moving the Mobile Node’s network layer point of attachment from one subnet to another has been recognized as a potential performance bottleneck for some time. In this paper, we discuss a collection of algorithms that use a link synchronous approach to Mobile IP handover. In the link synchronous approach, information on the progress of switching the link is used to drive handover at the IP level. We present a comprehensive analysis of handover packet drop, and develop analytical models of how the link synchronous algorithms help to mitigate it. We use data from a handover emulator to test the analytical models, and to compare the performance of the different algorithms under a variety of link conditions. Data from implementations on IS-2000 and 802.11b show how the link synchronous algorithms behave on real radio protocols. The results indicate that the link synchronous algorithms can reduce packet loss substantially, with best results possible if the link layer provides information on the move prior to the link switch.

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Abbreviations

bw r :

wireless link bandwidth, in bits per second

bw w :

wired link bandwidth between Foreign Agents, in bits per second

c :

fraction of time the wireless link is blocked due to partial serialization during prehandover signaling

\(f_{success}{\rm (}t{\rm,}\bar \theta _{PN} {\rm)}\) :

probability density function for successful completion of prehandover signaling as a function of T PN and having parameter vector \(\bar \theta _{{\it PN}}\)

LE PN :

link layer prehandover notification event

LE LD :

link layer link down event

LE LU :

link layer link up event

NE MD :

network layer movement detected event

NE RC :

network layer routing changed event

P success :

probability of signaling success

P failure :

probability of signaling failure

S WPo :

total size of Postreg signaling on wired link (Handover Request/Handover Reply)

S RPr :

total size of Prereg prehandover signaling on the wireless link (SolPrFAADvert, PRRtAdvert, and ReqRqst)

S RPo :

size of Solicitation for Foreign Agent Advertisement sent in Post-MIT

T PN :

time between prehandover notification and link down

T L2 :

time between link down and link up

T MD :

time between link up and movement detected

T RC :

time between movement detected and routing changed

T lat :

latency of wireless link for sending Prereg signaling

\(T_{Prereg_{PS}}\) :

time for all Prereg prehandover signaling to traverse the old wireless link prior to link handover

\(T_{Prereg_{RC}}\) :

time for routing change in Prereg, when routing change is initiated prior to link handover

\(T_{oSMIP_{RC}}\) :

time for routing change in oSMIP, when LE LU and NE MD are collapsed into one event

T TE :

tunnel establishment time in reactive Postreg

T IF :

time to send a message from one Foreign Agent to the other

Tin PD :

time during and after link handover when Mobile Node’s incoming packets are dropped

\({\it Tin_{PD}}\) :

expected value (mean) of Tin PD

Tout PD :

time during and after link handover when Mobile Node’s outgoing packets are dropped.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. DoCoMo Communication Laboratories USA, 181 Metro Drive, Suite 300, San Jose, CA, 95110

    James Kempf

  2. Motorola, 1421 West Shure Drive, Arlington Heights, IL, 60004

    Ajoy Singh & Nat Natarajan

  3. DoCoMo Communication Laboratories USA, 181 Metro Drive, San Jose, CA, 95110

    Jonathan Wood

  4. NTT DoCoMo, 3-5 Hikarinooka, Yokosuka, Kanagawa, 239-8536

    Atsushi Takeshita

Authors
  1. James Kempf
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  2. Ajoy Singh
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  3. Jonathan Wood
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  4. Atsushi Takeshita
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  5. Nat Natarajan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to James Kempf.

Additional information

James Kempf is a Research Fellow at DoCoMo USA Laboratories. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ. Previously, James worked at Sun Microsystems for 13 years, and contributed to numerous research projects involving wireless networking, mobile computing, and service discovery. James is a former member of the Internet Architecture Board, and co-chaired the SEND and Seamoby IETF Working Groups. James continues to be an active contributor to Internet standards in the areas of security and mobility for next generation, Internet protocol-based mobile systems.

Ajoy Singh is a Principal Staff Engineer at Motorola GTSS Division where he has led the development of radio network controllers and the various components of core networks for 3GPP-based HSDPA and 3GPP2-based CDMA prototype systems. He holds a Master’s degree from DePaul University, Chicago, IL. Ajoy is the co-developer of several pending patents on cellular radio technology, and has contributed to the standardization of seamless mobility protocols through the Seamoby and Mobile IP IETF Working Groups and through IEEE 802.21.

Jonathan Wood is an independent contractor and has been working with DoCoMo Labs since 2001. He is currently contributing to research on next generation mobility and networking infrastructures. Previously at Sun Microsystems, Jonathan focused on Solaris networking and 4G wireless network research.

Atsushi Takeshita is a Director at the NTT DoCoMo Multimedia Laboratories in Yokoska Research Park, Japan. Prior to that, he was Director of the Autonomous Communication Laboratory in DoCoMo USA Laboratories, and one of the founding members of DoCoMo USA Laboratories. Atsushi joined NTT DoCoMo in 1988 and has since been engaged in the research and development of multimedia information retreival and delivery, the mobile Internet, and mobile terminal architectures. He is a member of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and Information Processing Society of Japan.

Nat Natarajan joined Motorola in 1993, and is a Fellow of the Technical Staff at Motorola. He received his Ph.D. from Ohio State University in Columbus, OH. Prior to working at Motorola, Nat served as a research staff member for over 12 years with IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, Yorktown Heights, NY, working primarily on packet switched data, voice and integrated networks as well as wireless data and satellite networks, and he has been a major contributor to the IEEE 802.11 standard approved in 1997. Nat is a Motorola Distinguished Innovator, holding 30 patents, and is a Senior Member of IEEE. Nat’s current technical interests are Beyond 3G/4G mobile networking systems based on IP technologies.

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Kempf, J., Singh, A., Wood, J. et al. Link Synchronous Mobile IPv4 Handover Algorithms. Wireless Netw 12, 321–344 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11276-005-5277-8

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