Handoff architecture in next-generation wireless systems

One of the most critical aspects in mobility management is handoff. Handoff is a complex process involving location identification, performance evaluation of available networks at that location, decision to switch to a different network and actions to effect the switching. During the process of handoff, the communication channel between the mobile host and a corresponding host may be broken, and this leads to loss of data. The communication channel is established after the handoff is completed. Hence, there is no communication at least for the duration of handoff, referred to as handoff latency. This paper identifies these problems and performs analyses on the handoff. Then, a simplified system architecture that contains fewer network nodes was proposed. This new architecture consists of mobile IP extensions and a new handoff protocol. We have shown that this new protocol allows to minimize handoff latency and reduce packet loss.