Handover Latency of Predictive FMIPv6 in IEEE 802.11 WLANs: A Cross Layer Perspective

Experiments show that FMIPv6 may suffer long handover latency even in the predictive mode in the real IEEE 802.11 based WLANs. To figure out the latency reason and identify potential enhancement of FMIPv6, we analyze the handover latency of the predictive FMIPv6 from a cross layer perspective using data collected in a real IEEE 802.11 test-bed. We find that the key issues affecting the handover latency of the predictive FMIPv6 in IEEE 802.11 WLANs are the lack of assistance from the network entities, the ambiguous link layer triggering time and the inefficient interaction between the link layer and the network layer. And FMIPv6 can provide fast handover with no interruptions on the upper layer applications in IEEE 802.11 WLANs through some enhancements, which can resolve the above three issues.