异构无线网络垂直切换技术综述

垂直切换是多网融合的基础,是实现异构网络互通、支持不同接入方式无缝衔接的核心技术,目前正在受到业界的重点关注,并成为学术界研究的热点问题。随着无线移动通信技术向接入多元化、网络一体化和应用综合化的方向发展,各种蜂窝移动接入、宽带无线接入和固定接入将共同接入基于IP的统一核心网络,通过网络间的垂直切换,支持用户的移动性和移动过程中业务的连续性。首先给出了垂直切换的定义和基本概念,介绍了垂直切换的分类和基本流程,随后详细论述垂直切换的切换判决和切换执行2个环节。针对切换判决,总结了现有判决算法,重点评述各代表算法工作原理并剖析论其特点和存在的不足。针对切换执行,详述了现有垂直切换执行机制的工作原理和适用场景,并分析其优缺点。最后,对未来垂直切换技术的研究方向进行了展望。     

Performance analysis of a preemptive and priority reservation handoff scheme for integrated service-based wireless mobile networks

We propose an analytical model for integrated real-time and non-real-time services in a wireless mobile network with priority reservation and preemptive priority handoff schemes. We categorize the service calls into four different types, namely, real-time and non-real-time service originating calls, and real-time and non real-time handoff service request calls. Accordingly, the channels in each cell are divided into three parts: one is for real-time service calls only, the second is for non-real-time service calls only, and the last one is for overflow of handoff requests that cannot be served in the first two parts. In the third group, several channels are reserved exclusively for real-time service handoffs so that higher priority can be given to them. In addition, a realtime service handoff request has the right to preempt non-real-time service in the preemptive priority handoff scheme if no free channels are available, while the interrupted non-real-time service call returns to its handoff request queue. The system is modeled using a multidimensional Markov chain and a numerical analysis is presented to estimate blocking probabilities of originating calls, forced termination probability, and average transmission delay. This scheme is also simulated under different call holding time and cell dwell time distributions. It is observed that the simulation results closely match the analytical model. Our scheme significantly reduces the forced termination probability of real-time service calls. The probability of packet loss of non-real-time transmission is shown to be negligibly small, as a non-real-time service handoff request in waiting can be transferred from the queue of the current base station to another one.     

Signal threshold adaptation for vertical handoff in heterogeneous wireless networks

The convergence of heterogeneous wireless access technologies has been envisioned to characterize the next generation wireless networks. In such converged systems, the seamless and efficient handoff between different access technologies (vertical handoff) is essential and remains a challenging problem. The heterogeneous co-existence of access technologies with largely different characteristics results in handoff asymmetry that differs from the traditional intra-network handoff (horizontal handoff) problem. In the case where one network is preferred, the vertical handoff decision should be carefully executed, based on the wireless channel state, network layer characteristics, as well as application requirements. In this paper, we study the performance of vertical handoff using the integration of 3G cellular and wireless local area networks as an example. In particular, we investigate the effect of an application-based signal strength threshold on an adaptive preferred-network lifetime-based handoff strategy, in terms of the signalling load, available bandwidth, and packet delay for an inter-network roaming mobile. We present an analytical framework to evaluate the converged system performance, which is validated by computer simulation. We show how the proposed analytical model can be used to provide design guidelines for the optimization of vertical handoff in the next generation integrated wireless networks. This article is the extended version of a paper presented in IFIP Networking 2005 Ahmed H. Zahran is a Ph.D. candidate at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto. He received both his M.Sc. and B.Sc. in Electrical Engineering from Electronics and Electrical Communication Department in the Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University in 2002 and 2000 respectively, where he was holding teaching and research positions. Since September 2003, he has been working as a research assistant in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto under the supervision of Professor Ben Liang. His research interest is wireless communication and networking with an emphasis on the design and analysis of networking protocols and algorithms. Ben Liang received honors simultaneous B.Sc. (valedictorian) and M.Sc. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Polytechnic University in Brooklyn, New York, in 1997 and the PhD degree in Electrical Engineering with Computer Science minor from Cornell University in Ithaca, New York, in 2001. In the 2001–2002 academic year, he was a visiting lecturer and post-doctoral research associate at Cornell University. He joined the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Toronto as an Assistant Professor in 2002. His current research interests are in the areas of mobile networking and wireless multimedia systems. He is a member of Tau Beta Pi, IEEE, and ACM and serves on the organization and technical program committees of a number of major conferences each year. Aladdin Saleh earned his Ph.D. degree in Electrical Engineering from London University, England. Since March 1998, Dr. Saleh has been working in the Wireless Technology Department of Bell Canada, the largest service provider of wireless, wire-line, and Internet in Canada. He worked as a senior application architect in the wireless data group working on several projects among them the wireless application protocol (WAP) and the location-based services. Later, he led the work on several key projects in the broadband wireless network access planning group including planning of the IEEE 802.16/ Wimax, the IEEE 802.11/ WiFi, and the integration of these technologies with the 3G cellular network including Mobile IP (MIP) deployment. Dr. Saleh also holds the position of Adjunct Full Professor at the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of Waterloo University, Canada since January 2004. He is currently conducting several joint research projects with the University of Waterloo and the University of Toronto on IEEE 802.16-Wimax, MIMO technology, interworking of IEEE 802.11 WLAN and 3G cellular networks, and next generation wireless networks. Prior to joining Bell Canada, Dr. Saleh worked as a faculty member at different universities and was Dean and Chairman of Department for several years. Dr. Saleh is a Fellow of IEE and a Senior Member of IEEE.     

Learning with handoff cost constraint for network selection in heterogeneous wireless networks

In heterogeneous wireless networks, network selection algorithms provide the user with the optimum network access choice. The optimal network is evaluated according to network parameters. Considering that the network parameters are dynamic and unavailable for the user in realistic heterogeneous wireless network environments, most existing network selection algorithms cannot work effectively. Learning‐based algorithms can address the problem of uncertain network parameters, while they commonly need considerable network handoff, resulting in unbearable handoff cost. In order to tackle the uncertainty of network parameters, we formulate the network selection problem as a multi‐armed bandit problem. Moreover, two online learning‐based network selection algorithms with a special consideration on reducing network handoff cost are proposed. By updating in a block manner, both algorithms achieve optimal logarithmic‐order regret and limited network handoff cost. The simulation indicates that the two algorithms can significantly reduce the network handoff cost and improve the transmission performance compared with existing algorithms, simultaneously. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Priority-determined multiclass handoff scheme with guaranteed mobile QoS in wireless multimedia networks

The provision of multiclass services is gaining wide acceptance and will be more ubiquitous in future wireless and mobile systems. The crucial issue is to provide the guaranteed mobile quality of service (QoS) for arriving multiclass calls. In multimedia cellular networks, we should not only minimize the dropping rate of handoff calls, but also control the blocking rate of new calls at an acceptable level. This paper proposes a novel multiclass call-admission-control mechanism that is based on a dynamic reservation pool for handoff requests. In this paper, we propose the concept of servicing multiclass connections based on priority determination through the combined analysis of mobile movement information and the desired QoS requirements of multimedia traffic. A practical framework is provided to determine the occurrence time of handoff-request reservations. In our simulation experiments, three kinds of timers are introduced for controlling the progress of discrete events. Our simulation results show that the individual QoS criteria of multiclass traffic such as the handoff call-dropping probability can be achieved within a targeted objective and the new-call-blocking probability is constrained to be below a given level. The proposed scheme is applicable to channel allocation of multiclass calls over high-speed wireless multimedia networks.     

A seamless handoff scheme for IEEE 802.11 wireless networks

The advance of computer network technologies such as IEEE 802.11 wireless local area network has made it possible for users to connect to Internet almost anywhere. A mobile node (MN) is likely to move between different base stations while running applications. The IETF has defined the Mobile IP (MIP) to allow MNs to maintain their communication uninterrupted while roaming across different IP subnets. However, the mechanisms defined in MIP may cause undesired connection disruptions or packet losses, which will significantly degrade the quality of real‐time applications. It is an important and challenging issue to support seamless handoff management. To achieve seamless handoff, we propose a unified scheme to address application quality degradation. Our main contribution is the concept and implementation of utilising buffering and resending method to eliminate the packet losses while keeping the end‐to‐end delay of real‐time traffic flow in an acceptable value. The NS‐2 simulation results show that our proposed scheme can significantly maintain application quality during layer‐2 and ‐3 handoffs. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance analysis of dynamic spectrum handoff scheme with variable bandwidth demand of secondary users for cognitive radio networks

Cognitive radio (CR) has attracted considerable attention as a promising technology for solving the current inefficient use of spectrum. In CR networks, available sub-channels are dynamically assigned to secondary users (SUs). However, when a primary user accesses a primary channel consisting of multiple sub-channels, data transmissions of the SUs already using the sub-channels may be terminated. In this paper, we analyze the performance of dynamic spectrum handoff scheme with channel bonding, in which the number of sub-channels used by an SU are variable. We model the multichannel CR network as a multiserver priority queueing system without waiting facility, deriving the blocking probability, the forced termination probability and the throughput for SUs. In terms of the way of forced termination, we consider two policies; one is that SUs using the largest number of sub-channels are forced to terminate their transmissions, and the other is that SUs using the smallest number of sub-channels are chosen for termination. The analysis is also validated by simulation. Numerical examples show that in both forced-termination policies, the throughput of SUs that are forced to terminate their transmissions degrades as the offered load to the system increases.     

无线ATM通信网中一种新的快速越区切换方案

本文根据地无线ATM通信网中快速越区切换问题的研究,提出了一种新的基于虚道路（VP）的快速越区切换方案,并通过建立简化的呼叫模型对该方案的切换性能进行了理论分析和比较,其结果表明,该方案的各项性能均比虚拟连接树（VCT）方案和永久虚连接（PVC）方案优越。     

A new handoff management system for heterogeneous wireless access networks

In heterogeneous wireless access networks, each mobile terminal may frequently need to change its base station (BS); this change is called a ‘handoff’. BSs have static parameters, which are related to their radio access technologies (RATs); however, they also contain dynamic parameters such as load and signal quality. Therefore, the problem of handoff decision includes two subproblems of RAT selection and BS selection. In this paper, first a ‘heterogeneous handoff management system’ for gathering all different required parameters is proposed. Second, a RAT Selection algorithm based on analytic hierarchy process and a BS Selection algorithm based on data envelopment analysis are designed. Finally, by means of ‘weight restriction’ technique, we develop a method for studying the impact of RAT Selection parameters on the performance of the network. Simulation results indicate that RAT Selection parameters have significant impact on the bandwidth utilization, energy consumption and the whole satisfaction of the users in heterogeneous wireless access networks.Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reducing signaling traffic in wireless ATM networks through handoff scheme improvement

We propose a new handoff call management scheme which reduces signaling traffic in wireless ATM networks and improves the efficiency of the virtual channel. Chaining followed by a make‐break algorithm is a suitable handoff scheme for various situations. In the chaining part of the scheme, a chain routing algorithm is studied and compared with the hop‐limiting scheme. When the algorithm is implemented in our scheme, it improves the performance of the existing scheme in call drop rates so as to reduce the signaling traffic in wireless ATM networks. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seamless session mobility scheme in heterogeneous wireless networks

The next generation wireless communication system will likely be heterogeneous networks, as various technologies can be integrated on heterogeneous networks. A mobile multiple‐mode device can easily access the Internet through different wireless interfaces. The mobile multiple‐mode device thus could switch to different access points to maintain the robustness of the connection when it can acquire more resources from other heterogeneous wireless networks. The mobile multiple‐mode device therefore needs to face the handover problem in such environment. This work introduces Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)‐based cross‐layer scheme to support seamless handover scheme over heterogeneous networks. The proposed scheme consists of a battery lifetime‐based handover policy and cross‐layer fast handover scheme, called the SIP‐based mobile stream control transmission protocol (SmSCTP). This work describes the major idea of the proposed scheme and infrastructure. The proposed scheme has been implemented in Linux system. The simulation and numerical results demonstrate that the proposed SmSCTP scheme yields better signaling cost, hand‐off delay time, packet loss and delay jitter than SIP and mSCTP protocols. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Performance analysis of IP mobility with multiple care-of addresses in heterogeneous wireless networks

This paper aims to suggest a host-based localized mobility management scheme which provides similar user experiences and seamless mobility of real time communications. The proposed scheme supports multiple care-of addresses and fast handover mechanism with a single unitary virtual interface among heterogeneous radio access technologies without network changes. We verify that the proposed scheme has significant vertical handover performance gains to support real time communication traffics through the experiment over the real network experimental environment consists of WiFi and 3GPP2 networks.     

Seamless vertical handoff using modified weed optimization algorithm for heterogeneous wireless networks

In the global scenario, a variety of wireless access networks are available. Different types of applications such as real time, nonreal time, and high bandwidth availability are used for heterogeneous wireless networks. Therefore, it is necessary for a service provider to make an appropriate connection support. For better performance, connections are to be exchanged among the different networks using seamless vertical handoff (VHO). The proposed algorithm shows the effect of optimization technique, which involves handoff decision process using vertical handoff triggering and selection of the network. The handoff triggering is initiated by using the received signal strength (RSS). In traditional method, handoff triggering is initiated by using RSS only. This method, modified weed optimization (M-WO) algorithm, reduces the unnecessary handoff by considering both RSS and velocity of the mobile node in handoff triggering. The parameters such as battery lifetime, handoff call dropping rate, load, dynamic weights adaptation and so on are to be considered individually or combined to make an effective network selection process. This paper highlights a novel effect ofM-WOalgorithm for decision making during the VHO. Our effort is to essentially optimize the system load, so that it reduces the handoff call dropping rate and the battery power consumption of the mobile node (MN). Weight of each QoS metrics is adjusted along with the networks changing conditions to trace the M-WO. Therefore, the novel VHO decision-making algorithm is superior to the existing SSF and OPTG methods. The simulation results show that the performance ofM-WOalgorithm is far better than SSF andOPTGmethods in terms of load, handoff call dropping rate and battery lifetime of MN.     

A novel scheme for mobility management in heterogeneous wireless networks

In this paper, we present a mobility management scheme for real-time multimedia sessions over heterogeneous wireless networks. Most approaches in the current literature use Mobile IP (MIP) or Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) to maintain real-time sessions during mobility. In this paper, we analyze MIP and SIP in terms of the mobility rate, packet loss and packet overheads in the user plane and propose a mechanism by which the network can choose the optimum protocol for mobility management. We perform the analysis for constant bit rate (CBR) as well as for variable bit rate (VBR) traffic. We show that for CBR traffic, the proposed mechanism leads to 12–35% improvement in the system capacity, while for VBR traffic, capacity improvements ranging from about 35–50% can be obtained. Our proposed approach and the analysis are applicable to handovers between different IP domains both in homogeneous as well as in heterogeneous wireless networks.     

A handover-aware seamless video streaming scheme in heterogeneous wireless networks

With the development of wireless technologies, video streaming services over heterogeneous wireless networks have become more popular in recent years. Video streaming schemes for heterogeneous networks should consider vertical handover in which the link capacity is varied significantly, because the quality experienced for a video streaming service is affected by the network status. When a vertical handover occurs, an abrupt bandwidth change and substantial handover latency lead to bursty packet loss and discontinuity of the video playback. In this paper, we propose a handover-aware video streaming scheme to provide seamless video streaming services over heterogeneous wireless networks. The proposed scheme adjusts its sending rate and the quality level of the transmitted video streams according to the significant bandwidth variation that occurs in a vertical handover. To expedite the response to the bandwidth variation due to a handover, our scheme uses an explicit notification message that informs the streaming server of a client's handover occurrence. In order to evaluate the performance, we use a simulation environment for a vertical handover between wireless local area networks and cellular networks. Through the simulation results, we prove that our scheme improves the experienced quality of video streaming in vertical handovers.     

A constrained MDP-based vertical handoff decision algorithm for 4G heterogeneous wireless networks

The 4th generation wireless communication systems aim to provide users with the convenience of seamless roaming among heterogeneous wireless access networks. To achieve this goal, the support of vertical handoff is important in mobility management. This paper focuses on the vertical handoff decision algorithm, which determines the criteria under which vertical handoff should be performed. The problem is formulated as a constrained Markov decision process. The objective is to maximize the expected total reward of a connection subject to the expected total access cost constraint. In our model, a benefit function is used to assess the quality of the connection, and a penalty function is used to model the signaling incurred and call dropping. The user’s velocity and location information are also considered when making handoff decisions. The policy iteration and Q-learning algorithms are employed to determine the optimal policy. Structural results on the optimal vertical handoff policy are derived by using the concept of supermodularity. We show that the optimal policy is a threshold policy in bandwidth, delay, and velocity. Numerical results show that our proposed vertical handoff decision algorithm outperforms other decision schemes in a wide range of conditions such as variations on connection duration, user’s velocity, user’s budget, traffic type, signaling cost, and monetary access cost.     

Performance analysis of soft handoff in CDMA cellular networks

The code-division multiple-access (CDMA) scheme has been considered as one possible choice of the future standards for cellular networks because of its various advantages. Since there can be only one carrier frequency being used in CDMA systems, a handoff scheme with diversity, a so-called “soft handoff”, was proposed for higher communication quality and capacity. A mathematical model is developed to analyze the soft handoff process. Markov's concept is applied to describe the system's steady state statistical behavior. System performance such as blocking probability, handoff refused probability, and channel efficiency are also determined. It is concluded that the larger the area the soft handoff region is, the better users in the cellular network will feel     

Group vertical handoff management in heterogeneous networks

Traditional vertical handover schemes postulate that vertical handovers (VHOs) of users come on an individual basis. This enables users to know previously the decision already made by other users, and then the choice will be accordingly made. However, in case of group mobility, almost all VHO decisions of all users, in a given group (e.g., passengers on board a bus or a train equipped with smart phones or laptops), will be made at the same time. This concept is called group vertical handover (GVHO). When all VHO decisions of a large number of users are made at the same time, the system performance may degrade and network congestion may occur. In this paper, we propose two fully decentralized algorithms for network access selection, and that is based on the concept of congestion game to resolve the problem of network congestion in group mobility scenarios. Two learning algorithms, dubbed Sastry Algorithm and Q‐Learning Algorithm, are envisioned. Each one of these algorithms helps mobile users in a group to reach the nash equilibrium in a stochastic environment. The nash equilibrium represents a fair and efficient solution according to which each mobile user is connected to a single network and has no intention to change his decision to improve his throughput. This shall help resolve the problem of network congestion caused by GVHO. Simulation results validate the proposed algorithms and show their efficiency in achieving convergence, even at a slower pace. To achieve fast convergence, we also propose a heuristic method inspired from simulated annealing and incorporated in a hybrid learning algorithm to speed up convergence time and maintain efficient solutions. The simulation results also show the adaptability of our hybrid algorithm with decreasing step size‐simulated annealing (DSS‐SA) for high mobility group scenario. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adaptive vertical handoff algorithm in heterogeneous networks

The integration of cellular network (CN) and wireless local area network (WLAN) is the trend of the next generation mobile communication systems, and nodes will handoff between the two kinds of networks. The received signal strength (RSS) is the dominant factor considered when handoff occurs. In order to improve the handoff efficiency, this study proposes an adaptive decision algorithm for vertical handoff on the basis of fast Fourier transform (FFT). The algorithm makes handoff decision after analyzing the signal strength fluctuation which is caused by slow fading through FFT. Simulations show that the algorithm reduces the number of handoff by 35%, shortens the areas influenced by slow fading, and enables the nodes to make full use of WLAN in communication compared with traditional algorithms.     

Performance analysis of soft handoff in CDMA cellular networks

A unique feature of code division multiple access (CDMA) systems is the use of soft handoff between cells. Soft handoff, in general, increases the system capacity because while the link between a mobile and one base station is poor, it might be better between the same mobile and some other base station. Hence, the user may transmit at a lower power in a soft handoff situation. Teletraffic analysis of soft handoff is complex because one cannot separate transmission issues from traffic issues. Many papers in the literature have independently analyzed the effect of soft capacity and soft handoff on network performance. Some papers have analyzed the effect of soft handoff on soft capacity but there has been no proper teletraffic analysis that includes both soft capacity and soft handoff. This paper proposes a traffic model for a DS-CDMA cellular network that includes both soft capacity and soft handoff. Network performance is then computed in terms of call blocking