Analysis of context transfer in seamless IP mobility

Abstract

As mobile devices roam between wireless cells, performing handovers, mobility is managed by protocols like Mobile IP and micro-mobility protocols. However, these protocols do not manage how to transfer context from cell to cell as the devices move. Context transfer mechanisms aim for performance improvements in the process of handover, so that the applications running on mobile nodes can operate with minimal disruption, thus allowing seamless mobility. In this paper we propose mechanisms that enable context transfer between access routers offering internet connectivity for mobile nodes; we use an actual implementation to test the performance of context transfer for different services and analyze the benefits that can be obtained using these mechanisms. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2005.