Seamless Connectivity Scheme for Heterogeneous Wireless Networks
Iyad Alkhayat, Anup Kumar and Adel Elmaghraby
MINDS Lab, Department of Computer Engineering and Computer Science, University of Louisville
Abstract
The demand for the wireless internet requiring broadband is
expected to increase in a dramatic way due to the popularity of
tri player applications including voice, video, and data
transmission. The existing wireless technologies UMTS, WiFi,
WiMax, may not satisfy the customer requirements, for many
reasons including availability, coverage, cost and most
importantly mobility. Each technologies has it is own limitations.
We present a seamless connectivity scheme for a mobile user,
by aggregating different wireless technologies, to make the
network transparent for executing applications on the mobile
devices and satisfy wide range of services including voice, data,
multimedia, and web browsing.
Introduction
Most Mobile Stations are now equipped with multiple radio
interfaces for wireless access to the internet. The popularity of
wireless communication systems can be seen almost
everywhere in the form of cellular networks, WLANs and
WPANs. Existing technologies offer wireless connection with
different limitations from the user prospective. For example
WLAN, which is based on WiFi 802.11, may satisfy the user
requirement in terms of cost, and provide roaming between
adjacent access points (AP’s). But WiFi is limited in range and
cannot support high speed mobility. A multi-mode MS with
multiple air interfaces and different data rates will be able to
access cellular base stations, WLAN or WMAN APs. Some
existing protocols try to solve the mobility issues using Mobile IP,
Cellular IP, even though they are not sufficient for frequently
mobile user. WMAN which is based on WiMax 802.16e, offers
better coverage with lower speed than WLAN. On the other
hand UMTS based on the GSM system offers a wider coverage
area, limited mobility, and higher cost.
{Mialkh01, ak, adel}@louisville.edu
Objectives Network Model Simulation
In this Model different wireless services will be accessible In this simulation, three scenarios are executed to show the
To develop a seamless connectivity approach that offers high
(GSM/UMTS, Wimax/802.16e, WiFi/802.11), those services share the impact of local handoff. Opnet Simulator was used to perform
level of services responding to the application demands. By
same physical spaces. Different points of attachment will be available this study. The three scenarios represent i. MS not in motion, ii.
aggregating these different wireless technologies, the proposed
like different Base Stations / Access Points which will provide different
approach makes the network transparent for the executing MS with low speed mobility and iii. MS with high speed
paths to the internet core network through the ISP. Generally each
applications on the mobile devices and satisfy wide range of mobility.
wireless service has a default gateway to connect from end to end.
services Voice, Data, and multimedia.
This gateway will be delivering the traffic in two directions to the ISP.
When a mobile device moves, the point of attachment may change.
In that case only the gateway address will be affected and, it will be
Connections Architecture updated at the ISP table, when local roaming is carried out. During
local roaming the mobile agent at a device will use an alternate path
The architecture supports Wireless WANs (GSM/cellular during the change of the point of attachment. Vertical roaming or the
systems), Wireless MANs (IEEE 802.16) WiMax, and Wireless process of changing the service from one technology to another will
LANs (WiFI) (IEEE 802.11a/b/e/g/n). These technologies are be transparent because the interaction is only between the agent at
connected to the internet with their respect gateways. The mobile user and the agent manager at the ISP.
mobile device is assumed to be equipped with WiFi interface
and at least one or more of the others technologies. Mobile ISP and different wireless technologies Interaction.
users equipped with multiple interfaces has the mobile agent.
Internet Service Provider (ISP) maintains the agent manager at
the ISP side. Each wireless interfaces at the mobile device
creates a dynamic wireless link to the appropriate network
gateway, which in turn leads to the Internet Service Provider.
Since each wireless interface adapter gets an IP address from
the appropriate gateway, these addresses maybe updated if the
mobile device changes the point of the connection of the
correspondent service while the device is motion. These
addresses of the wireless adapters will be used to deliver the
traffic from the mobile device to the ISP and vice versa.
Model architecture
The roaming within same technology is referred as local handoff .the local
hand off will be handled by existing protocol for each individual technology.
In other words each technology will handle the local handoff, for example
WiFi could use the modified version of cellular IP, UMTS could use Mobile
IP for macro mobility and cellular IP for micro mobility, and WiMax could
use WGRA global roaming alliance. As mentioned earlier, the vertical
handoff will be handled by the agent at the mobile user and the agent
manager at the ISP to provide seamless connectivity.
Vertical handoff and the local handoff or vertical handoff.
Conclusion
WiFi provides mobile users with very good throughput which may fit
At the ISP the agent manager assigns a Master IP address to
most of the mobile user demands. But the problem arises during the
represent the mobile device at this address. This will be used in
roaming from one AP to another. Also the WiFi coverage will not be
the internet communication, while the wireless addresses from
consistent in all the coverage area, were the signals may affected by the
each of the offered services will be used to deliver the data from
noise and the physical obstruction due to the mobility of a user. Previous
/ to ISP. The Agent manager will maintain a table that contains
scenarios show that average throughput not be affected considerably, but it
the wireless IP addresses and correlate it with the Mac
affect dramatically during the roaming which some applications will be
addresses of the wireless interfaces, and link it to the device
affect it functionality. Our design allows the agent at the mobile device to
address or the Master IP. At the mobile device the Wireless
choose another wireless technology based on the application demands,
Agent will have full control over all the available wireless
speed of the mobile user, and the link cost.
interfaces and will be in charge to activate and hold each
wireless interface. This activation will provide the best
affordable services instantly.