An Empirical Analysis of Handoff Performance for SIP,Mobile IP,and SCTP Protocols

Over the last decade, we have witnessed a growing interest in the design and deployment of various network architectures and protocols aimed at supporting mobile users as they move across different types of networks. One of the goals of these emerging network solutions is to provide uninterrupted, seamless connectivity to mobile users giving them the ability to access information anywhere, anytime. Handoff management, an important component of mobility management, is crucial in enabling such seamless mobility across heterogeneous network infrastructures. In this work, we investigate the handoff performance of three of the most widely used mobility protocols namely, Mobile IP, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP). Our empirical handoff tests were executed on an actual heterogeneous network testbed consisting of wired, wireless local area, and cellular networks using performance metrics such as handoff delay and handoff signaling time. Our empirical results reveal that Mobile IP yields the highest handoff delay among the three mobility protocols. In addition, we also found that SIP and SCTP yield 33 and 55% lower handoff delays respectively compared to Mobile IP.