Mobile IP Protocol Research Articles

Investigation on Handoff Performance of Mobility Support Protocols

Handoff is an important research topic of mobility support protocols. It has great effects on the performance and quality-of-service of mobile networks. Based on appropriate network model and handoff model, the handoff performance of various mobility support protocols is deeply studied and compared through theoretical analysis and numerical simulation. The comparisons are made between mobile IP and micro-mobility protocol, and between different micro-mobility protocols. The results show that wireless network parameters and route update algorithms of mobility support protocols affect the handoff performance. The handoff performance when applying micro-mobility protocols is better than when only using Mobile IP. In all micro-mobility protocols, the route update

IP mobility issues for a mobile tele-robotic system—NEPWAK

The network-centric applied research team (N-CART) is continuing its work on an ambitious project known as the network-enabled powered wheelchair adaptor kit (NEPWAK). It introduces techniques for modifying and using powered wheelchairs as mobile platforms enabling communication and remote control. The wheelchair is equipped with a laptop computer, a CCD camera and a wireless network interface card (NIC) for 802.11b Internet access. The laptop acts as a server allowing network clients to gain access through a custom control interface on the chair. The remote controlling client receives a video and audio feed from the chair and sends control signals for maneuvering. While traveling, the chair is able to change its network association from one access point (AP) to another within the same subnet-the process is known as handoff. However, there is no inter-network handoff mechanism presently available in IP networks. This restricts the mobility of the wheelchair to within the coverage area of the subnet APs. This paper shows that the Internet engineering task force’s (IETF) network layer mobility protocol—Mobile IP suffers from large handoff latencies that can hinder communication between the client and the wheelchair during handoff. Mobile IP alone is not a sufficient solution for a mobile telebotic system such as NEPWAK. An interesting solution to the handoff latency problem comes from the Fast-handover protocol described in Section 4.4 with simulation results in Section 6.2.

Implementation of wireless network environments supporting inter access point protocol and dual packet filtering

With advances in wireless technologies, future internetworks will include large numbers of mobile hosts roaming across wireless cells. The goal of this paper is to provide a wireless network communication environment, in which mobile hosts can roam among various access points (wireless cells) and across different subnets. For this purpose, we develop methods to implement and integrate the communication mechanisms of Mobile IP and Inter Access Point Protocol (IAPP). For efficient transmission, we also devise a dual packet filtering technique to filter out unnecessary packet transmission, thereby reducing traffic on wireless networks. Such filtering is especially important because of the limited bandwidth of wireless links. Our work can serve as the reference once IAPP has been approved as standard.

A new method to support UMTS/WLAN vertical handover using SCTP

This article proposes a new method to facilitate seamless vertical handover between wide area cellular data networks such as UMTS and WLANs using the stream control transmission protocol (SCTP). The multihoming capability and dynamic address configuration extension of SCTP are applied in UMTS/WLAN overlay architecture to decrease handover delay and improve throughput performance. Unlike techniques based on mobile IP or session initiation protocol, the SCTP-based vertical handover scheme does not require the addition of components such as home/foreign agents or a SIP server to existing networks. Therefore, the proposed scheme provides a network-independent solution preferred by service providers. Performance evaluations are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed scheme.

Building the blocks of protocol design and analysis

With the emergence of new application-specific sensor and Ad-hoc networks, increasingly complex and custom protocols will be designed and deployed. We propose a framework to systematically design and evaluate networking protocols based on a 'building block' approach. In this approach, each protocol is broken down into a set of parameterized modules called "building blocks", each having its own specific functionality. The properties of these building blocks and their interaction define the overall behavior of the protocol. In this paper, we aim to identify the major research challenges and questions in the building block approach. By addressing some of those questions, we point out potential directions to analyze and understand the behavior of networking protocols systematically. We discuss two case studies on utilizing the building block approach for analyzing Ad-hoc routing protocols and IP mobility protocols in a systematic manner.

Multicast-Based Mobility: A Novel Architecture for Efficient Micromobility

Handover performance is very important when evaluating IP mobility protocols. If not performed efficiently, handover delays, jitters, and packet loss directly impact application performance. We propose a new architecture for providing efficient handover, while being able to coexist with other protocols. We propose a paradigm for multicast-based micromobility (M&M), where a visiting mobile is assigned a multicast address to use while moving within a domain. The multicast address is obtained using algorithmic mapping, and handover is achieved using multicast join/prune mechanisms. This paper outlines a framework for the design and evaluation of micromobility protocols. We define a suite of protocols (called candidate access router set) to enable multiple-access routers to receive traffic for the mobile node. By changing the number of such routers, timing, and buffering parameters, the protocol may be fine-tuned for specific technologies (e.g., 802.11) and handover scenarios. Extensive NS-2 simulations are used to compare M&M with other micromobility schemes-cellular Internet protocol (CIP) and handoff-aware wireless access Internet infrastructure (HAWAII). For proactive handover scenarios, our results show that M&M and CIP show lower handover delay and packet reordering than HAWAII. M&M, however, handles multiple border routers in a domain, where CIP fails. Also, for scenarios of reactive handover and coverage gaps M&M clearly outperforms CIP and HAWAII.

A multilayered mobility management scheme for auto-configured wireless IP networks

The convergence of wireless and IP has led to the need for IP to handle mobility. The Mobile IP protocol was developed to facilitate IP mobility. However, it has a number of shortcomings for dynamically auto-configured networks. Mobility protocols like Mobile IP with Location Registers (MIP-LR) and Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) have been developed to address some of its shortcomings. Micromobility protocols like Cellular IP have been developed to address other shortcomings of Mobile IP. We present a new integrated mobility management scheme that advantageously combines the strengths of SIP and MIP-LR with the benefits of a micromobility management protocol similar to Cellular IP. A prototype implementation of our scheme is explained, and lessons learned in the prototyping process are presented.

A new scheme for reducing link and signaling costs in mobile ip

IP mobility support is provided by the basic Mobile IP protocol. The main drawback of the protocol is that the packets must be routed along the paths longer than the optimal one. This is known as the triangle routing problem. Recently, the route optimization protocol was proposed to solve the triangle routing problem, which allows packets to be routed along an optimal path from a correspondent node to a mobile node. However, the route optimization protocol may cause high signaling and processing costs. In this paper, a new scheme for reducing costs in route optimization is introduced to solve the above problems. Link and signaling cost functions are introduced to capture the trade off between the network resources consumed by the routing, signaling, and processing load incurred by the route optimization. In this new scheme, route optimization is performed only when it minimizes the total cost function, which provides the optimal result from the point of view of link and signaling costs. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme provides the best performance.

Real-time payments for mobile IP

The mobile IP protocol has evolved from providing mobility support for portable computers to support for wireless handheld devices with high mobility patterns. A new category of micromobility protocols has been proposed to deal with the increased signaling loads that will be generated with large populations of such devices on a network. We argue that the authentication schemes presently employed in these networks do not scale well for large numbers of nodes, and that the lack of accounting procedures prevents the mass deployment of these networks. We envisage that future access networks will be operated by independent service providers, who will charge users for access to services in the fixed network but may not have long-term contractual relationships with them. These access networks may also employ a variety of micromobility protocols for fast handover support. We present a scheme based on hash chains, which allows for fast authentication of datagrams for secure updating of router entries within the access network, and real-time accounting of network usage by mobile nodes. Such a system will alleviate problems of fraud in mobile networks and eliminate the need for interoperator billing agreements.

A seamless mobile VPN data solution for CDMA2000,* UMTS, and WLAN users

Mobile virtual private networks (MVPNs) can provide remote users with easy, secure high-speed access to their enterprise network resources. There is a tremendous market opportunity for operators who can meet the needs of these users. Third-generation (3G) systems, such as code division multiple access (CDMA) (3G-1X and 1xEV-DO) or universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), and IEEE 802.11b wireless local area network (WLAN) systems have complementary strengths. For end users, integrating these systems provides ubiquitous high-speed data coverage, continuous selection of the highest possible data rates, and seamlessly maintained user VPN sessions when moving between air interface technologies. For operators, they enable integrated billing and offload 3G network capacity for higher revenue voice subscribers. This paper shows how Lucent Technologies uses IETF mobile IP (MIP), IP security (IPSec), and multiple tunneling protocol standards to offer a comprehensive transport layer solution across 3G and WLAN air interface technologies. Shared requirements for accounting, authentication, security, and confidentiality in 3G and WLAN core data networks are also addressed.

Efficient micro-mobility using intra-domain multicast-based mechanisms (M&M)

One very important metric in evaluation of IP mobility protocols is handover performance. Handover occurs when a mobile node changes its network point-of-attachment. If not performed efficiently, handover delays, jitters and packet loss directly impact applications and services. With the Internet growth and heterogeneity, it becomes crucial to design efficient handover protocols that are scalable, robust and incrementally deployable. Mobile IP (MIP) has been shown to exhibit poor handover performance during micro-mobility. We propose a new architecture for providing efficient and smooth handover, while being able to coexist and inter-operate with other technologies. Specifically, we propose an intra-domain multicast-based mobility architecture, where a visiting mobile is assigned a multicast address to use while moving within a domain. Efficient handover is achieved using standard multicast join/prune mechanisms.Two approaches are proposed and contrasted. The first introduces the concept of proxy-based mobility, while the other uses algorithmic mapping to obtain the multicast address of visiting mobiles. We show that the algorithmic mapping approach has several advantages over the proxy approach, and provide mechanisms to support it.Simulations used to evaluate our scheme and compare it to other micro-mobility schemes - CIP and HAWAII. The proactive handover results show that both M&M and CIP show low handoff delay and packet reordering depth as compared to HAWAII. The reason for M&M's comparable performance with CIP is that both use bi-cast in proactive handover. M&M, however, handles multiple border routers in a domain, where CIP fails. Also using a proactive path setup mechanism, we show that M&M clearly outperforms CIP in case of reactive handover.

Mobility management for VoIP service: Mobile IP vs. SIP

Wireless Internet access has gained significant attention as wireless/mobile communications and networking become widespread. The voice over IP service is likely to play a key role in the convergence of IP-based Internet and mobile cellular networks. We explore different mobility management schemes from the perspective of VoIP services, with a focus on Mobile IP and session initiation protocol. After illustrating the signaling message flows in these two protocols for diverse cases of mobility management, we propose a shadow registration concept to reduce the interdomain handoff (macro-mobility) delay in the VoIP service in mobile environments. We also analytically compute and compare the delay and disruption time for exchanging signaling messages associated with the Mobile IP and SIP-based solutions.

A seamless handoff approach of Mobile IP protocol for mobile wireless data networks

With recent advances in wireless communication technology, mobile computing is an increasingly important area of research. Enabling mobility in IP networks is a significant issue for making use of many portable devices appearing on the Internet. The IP mobility support being standardized in the IETF utilizes tunneling of IP packets from a home agent to a foreign agent to make the mobility transparent to the higher layer. We propose an approach to optimize the routing path and avoid the triangular routing problem in IP mobility, which is an extension of the Mobile IP architecture. We propose an efficient handoff scheme in which a routing table, called the mobile routing table (MRT), is designed in each edge router such as home agent, foreign agent and general router. A packet retransmission scheme is also proposed to reduce the packet loss during handoff. We analyze and compare both the standard Mobile IP and the proposed seamless handoff approach. Finally, the simulation results are presented.

Internet Connectivity for Ad Hoc Mobile Networks

The growing deployment rate of wireless LANs indicates that wireless networking is rapidly becoming a prevalent form of communication. As users become more accustomed to the use of mobile devices, they increasingly want the additional benefit of roaming. The Mobile IP protocol has been developed as a solution for allowing users to roam outside of their home networks while still retaining network connectivity. The problem with this solution, however, is that the deployment of foreign agents is expensive because their coverage areas are limited due to fading and interference. To reduce the number of foreign agents needed while still maintaining the same coverage, ad hoc network functionality can cooperate with Mobile IP such that multihop routes between mobile nodes and foreign agents can be utilized. In this work, we present a method for enabling the cooperation of Mobile IP and the Ad hoc On-Demand Distance Vector (AODV) routing protocol, such that mobile nodes that are not within direct transmission range of a foreign agent can still obtain Internet connectivity. In addition, we describe how duplicate address detection can be used in these networks to obtain a unique co-located care-of address when a foreign agent is not available.

Active network supports for mobile IP

The basic mobile IP protocol is difficult to implement on the traditional IP network and not flexible and efficient under certain conditions. For example, firewalls or boundary routers may drop packets sent by mobile nodes for security reasons. Traditional networking devices such as routers cannot dynamically load and unload extended services to achieve different qualities of services. In this paper, a new scheme of using the active network to support the mobile IP is presented. The Softnet, a prototype of active networks based on mobile agents, is introduced. The active network is characterized by the programmability of its intermediate nodes and therefore presents dynamic and flexible behaviors. Special services can be dynamically deployed onto the active nodes in the Softnet. This property is definitely required in implementing the mobile IP protocols. The Softnet supports not only the basic mobile IP protocol but also other extended mobile IP protocols. Virtual networks for mobile IP services are dynamically formed by mobile agents in the Softnet to provide different qualities of services.

ACM SIGCOMM computer communication review

At some point in the future, how far out we do not exactly know, wireless access to the Internet will outstrip all other forms of access bringing the freedom of mobility to the way we access the we...

Application‐centric analysis of IP‐based mobility management techniques

AbstractThis paper considers three applications—VoIP, mobile Web access and mobile server‐based data transfers—and evaluates the applicability of various IP‐based mobility management mechanisms. We first survey the features and characteristics of various IP mobility protocols, such as MIPv4, MIPv6, MIP‐RO, SIP, CIP, HAWAII, MIP‐RR and IDMP, and then evaluate their utility on an application‐specific basis. The diversity in the mobility‐related requirements ensures that no single mobility solution is universally applicable. We recommend a hierarchical mobility architecture. The framework uses our Dynamic Mobility Agent (DMA) architecture for managing intra‐domain mobility and multiple application‐based binding protocols for supporting inter‐domain mobility. Thus, we recommend SIP as the global binding protocol for VoIP applications and MIPv4/MIPv6 as the global binding mechanism for the mobile server scenario. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Lessons from a full-scale multihop wireless ad hoc network testbed

This article describes our experiences building a multihop wireless ad hoc network of eight nodes driving around a 700 m by 300 m site. Each node runs the dynamic source routing protocol and interfaces seamlessly with existing Internet infrastructure and the Mobile IP protocol. We present quantitative results from data collected during runs of our testbed under a composite workload including voice, bulk data, and real-time data. Based on careful analysis of our data, we highlight radio propagation issues that network protocols will need to address in the future.

A scalable mobile host protocol for the internet

This paper describes a new Mobile IP protocol supporting wide area network. This protocol named Scalable Mobile IP lSMIPr allows any mobile host to move inside a large-scale area while being transparently connected to the Internet using its permanent IP address. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Modeling mobile IP in mobile UNITY

With recent advances in wireless communication technology, mobile computing is an increasingly important area of research. A mobile system is one where independently executing components may migrate through some space during the course of the computation, and where the pattern of connectivity among the components changes as they move in and out of proximity. Mobile UNITY is a notation and proof logic for specifying and reasoning about mobile systems. In this article it is argued that Mobile UNITY contributes to the modular development of system specifications because of the declarative fashion in which coordination among components is specified. The packet-fowarding mechanism at the core of the Mobile IP protocol for routing to mobile hosts is taken as an example. A Mobile UNITY model of packet forwarding and the mobile system in which it must operate is developed. Proofs of correctness properties, including important real-time properties, are outlined, and the role of formal verification in the development of protocols such as Mobile IP is discussed.