An Analytical Model for Handoff Overhead Analysis in Internet-Based Infrastructure Wireless Mesh Networks

Wireless mesh networks (WMNs) have recently emerged to be a cost-effective solution to support large-scale wireless Internet access. In this paper, the handoff support in Internet-based infrastructure mesh networks is investigated. Current handoff schemes concentrate on the link-layer handoff support and have not considered the Internet-domain handoff due to the mobility from mesh networks. This paper focuses on the handoff overhead analysis. A new analytical model is proposed to evaluate the signaling overhead percentage during handoffs in infrastructure mesh networks. The proposed model considers overhead from both the link layer and network layer. The designed analytical model is validated by simulation results. Conclusions from this study can provide great insights in designing new cost-effective handoff schemes in WMNs.