Minimizing Recurrent Handoff Delays in MIPv6

During the handoff process in mobile IP networks, the mobile node can become unreachable causing any data destined to the node to be lost. As a result, it is important to minimize the delays associated with the handoff process. Move-detection has been shown to be the bottleneck in the delays associated with the handoff process. To minimize move-detection delay, the router advertisement interval should be set as short as possible without exceeding its assigned bandwidth. This approach has been studied in previous work but only in the context of a single handoff. This paper provides an improved mobility analysis that assumes a more realistic model that incorporates the recurrent handoffs likely to occur during eager cell switching. We derive a more realistic expression for the required bandwidth that accounts for the non-zero delay separating consecutive handoffs. We use our analysis to propose a new adaptive mobility paradigm capable of dynamically adjusting the advertisement interval as a function of the recurrent cell switching behavior and the available bandwidth. Our results show as much as 65% reduction in move detection delay over mobility models that consider only a single handoff.