Anchor-Based Method for Inter-Domain Mobility Management in Software-Defined Networking

Abstract

Recently, there has been an explosive growth in wireless devices capable of connecting to the Internet and utilizing various services anytime, anywhere, often while on the move. In the realm of the Internet, such devices are called mobile nodes. When these devices are in motion or traverse different domains while communicating, effective mobility management becomes essential to ensure the continuity of their services. Software-defined networking (SDN), a new paradigm in networking, offers numerous possibilities for addressing the challenges of mobility management. By decoupling the control and data planes, SDN enables greater flexibility and adaptability, making them a powerful framework for solving mobility-related issues. However, communication can still be momentarily disrupted due to frequent changes in IP addresses, a drop in radio signals, or configuration issues associated with gateways. Therefore, this paper introduces Routage Inter-domains in SDN (RI-SDN), a novel anchor-based routing method designed for inter-domain mobility in SDN architectures. The method identifies a suitable anchor domain, a critical intermediary domain that contributes to reducing delays during data transfer because it is the closest domain (i.e., node) to the destination. Once the anchor domain is identified, the best routing path is determined as the route with the smallest metric, incorporating elements such as bandwidth, flow operations, and the number of domain hops. Simulation results demonstrate significant improvements in data transfer delay and handover latency compared to existing methods. By leveraging SDN’s potential, RI-SDN presents a robust and innovative solution for real-world scenarios requiring reliable mobility management.