A Vertical Handover Management Scheme based on Decision Modelling in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

Abstract

ABSTRACTProviding a continuous connection in heterogeneous wireless networks is a challenging job. Traditional approaches are mainly concerned to specific scenarios. These approaches are also suffering from different problems like ping-pong effect, inappropriate handover triggering, etc. Therefore, to provide a generic connectivity in heterogeneous wireless networks, we proposed a vertical handover decision scheme. The proposed scheme performs handover triggering using simple additive weighting on the data rate of a point of attachment (PoA). The user calculates the data rate required by different applications and then compares it with a predefined threshold. Similarly, the network selection is performed using Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) decision model on different parameters such as delay, jitter, bit error rate, packet loss ratio, communication cost, response time, and network load. The PoA of a network calculates its rank using TOPSIS and sends it to the user. The user then selects the network with the highest rank. The proposed vertical handover decision scheme is compared with grey relational analysis and analytical hierarchy process in the context of handover rate, failed handovers, packet loss ratio, and throughput. The proposed scheme is tested in different mobility scenarios, and it is shown that our scheme provides superior performance over the existing schemes.