Exploring Markov models for the allocation of resources for proactive handover in a mobile environment

Abstract

Proactive handover, in which mobile nodes attempt to determine the best time and place to handover to local networks, has been studied in the context of new architectures such as the Y-Comm Framework. Y-Comm research has yielded techniques to calculate the Time Before Vertical Handover and the Network Dwell Time, for any given network topology. However, by knowing Time Before Vertical Handover and Network Dwell Time for mobile nodes as they move around, it is also possible to improve channel allocation and resource management in network infrastructure such as base-stations, relays, etc. This should greatly enhance overall system efficiency including the physical and medium access control layers of mobile networks, such as LTE. In this paper queuing models based on Markov chains are explored to represent channel allocation in proactive handover scenarios. The results are compared with classical handover queuing models. The results indicate that the proactive model is beneficial over a wide range but it is necessary to explore an operational space in which proactive handover techniques can be used in real networks.