Enhanced Media Independent Network Selection for Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

Abstract

ABSTRACTTechnological advances in heterogeneous wireless networks require the optimized solution for network selection problem considering user, network, and service context. To solve this, IEEE 802.21 standard was developed to support accurate vertical handover mechanism by describing media independent handover Function (MIHF) as a unified interface between link layer and upper layers in multiple radio interface mobile terminal. MIH framework supports the network discovery process and handover triggering events based on the link layer intelligence. However, mobility, service, and user context need to be incorporated to improve the efficiency of MIH-based network selection strategy. MIH framework is extended by integrating its services with proposed multicriteria network selection scheme to obtain enhanced MIH (EMIH) framework. Thus, EMIH-based network selection scheme is formulated to facilitate seamless connectivity with guaranteed quality of service (QoS) and minimal handover rate. In this paper, network evaluation is carried out through multiplicative utility function, residual residence time estimation, and adaptive threshold to minimize the unnecessary handovers for high-velocity users. EMIH framework provides complete information about the link layer and application layer to provide optimal network selection to maximize the end user satisfaction. NS2.29 simulation is conducted to verify the performance of the proposed scheme in terms of packet loss, handover latency, and average throughput in comparison with constant threshold and simple MIH approaches.