A joint IEEE802.21 and cross layer model

Abstract

In the near future devices will be required to roam across heterogeneous networks with seamless ease. These devices have to contend with problems of heterogeneity inherent in the different link access technologies. Mobility management protocols that are traditionally not equipped to handoff between dissimilar networks will have to take decisions necessary for service continuity. Recent efforts by the IEEE802.21 group have culminated in a draft standard introducing Media Independent Handover Services. The standard provides a framework that abstracts link-specific characteristics from higher layered mobility protocols. This will enable various mobility protocols to handoff uniformly and seamlessly across heterogeneous networks. A Media Independent Handover Function (MIHF) is designed to translate different network interface messages to generic events that can accessed by the higher-layered mobility protocols. However the message load on the MIHF can reduce the response time of event notification and command delivery to and from the mobility protocols. A more time-sensitive solution is presented by introducing a Cross Layer Manager (XLM) into the protocol stack. The results show that better performance is achieved to reduce the number of unserviced events and commands. This shows a critical improvement that would make the XLM model feasible for Next-Generation mobility management.