MI3M: A framework for media independent multicast mobility management

Abstract

The evergrowing explosion in data generation and consumption is of paramount relevance for network operators. Operators strongly rely on techniques which enable efficient and scalable high-bandwidth data distribution, while coping with stricter user expectations in increasingly demanding scenarios, such as mobility in heterogeneous accesses. Primarily designed for efficient transport, IP multicast will be crucial for the successful deployment of video services such as Personal Broadcasting, but faces several technical limitations in such mobile scenarios.This work proposes a novel architecture enabling media-independent multicast mobility management of both multi-interface sources and receivers, while assuring efficient multicast data transport. The architecture provides localized mobility management through PMIPv6 protocol, and is supported by IEEE 802.21 for handover optimization. A full implementation was deployed in a physical testbed, enabling its evaluation in two main scenarios: receiver and source mobility. Its evaluation from the network and video consumer perspective shows that our scheme results in minimal handover impact in mobile multicast environments, for both consumers and producers.