Dynamic and integrated approach for proxy-Mobile-IPv6 (PMIPv6) based IP Flow Mobility and offloading

Data traffic in Mobile networks is increasing exponentially since last few years and is projected to increase multifold before the end of this decade. Evolution in heterogeneous wireless networks and network based mobility protocols has enabled the usage of simultaneous traffic flows on all available wireless accesses. Standardization of IP Flow Mobility (IFOM) from 3GPP Release 10 provides possibility to seamlessly transfer individual flows from one access to another. Optimization of cellular resources, using a low-cost interface, traffic load balancing etc. are some of the factors due to which flow transfer can happen. However, an integrated mechanism to identify whether a traffic flow has to be moved to a different interface considering user preferences, network conditions, mobility, policy aspects, network protocols supported and terminal capabilities is not available. This paper proposes an dynamic and integrated mechanism that assesses the interface used for each traffic flow and determines the need for flow transfer to offer the best Quality of Experience for the user while using cellular network resources in an optimal manner. We propose the architecture showing the various components and their interactions to realize our proposed mechanism of flow transfer/offload based on the above-mentioned criteria. A simulation framework that is being used to validate our approach and demonstrate its benefits/improvements under various practical scenarios is also presented.