Hybrid architecture for resource reservation in IP based mobile networks

User mobility management is one of the important components of mobile multimedia systems. In an IP-based mobility case, a mobile node should be able to seamlessly obtain reserved resources after handover to a new access router. This is essential for both service continuity and quality of service assurance. In this paper, we introduce a hybrid architecture which allows a mobile node to seamlessly obtain reserved resources from its new location (seamless reservation), as well as to quickly release obsolete resources along the old path. In this architecture, reservation on access networks is performed by using path-decoupled approach, while path-coupled approach is used on backbone networks. Moreover, instead of using sender-initiated or receiver-initiated approach, mobile-node-initiated approach is used in this architecture to further improve reservation performance. In our performance analysis, we analyze advance reservation delay and release delay, as well as reservation underutilization.