Enhanced handoff algorithm for the co-existence of mobile IPV4 and IPV6 networks

Abstract

As wireless technology has improved, the demand for constant internet connectivity increased. With the invention of Mobile IP, users are still more interested to have connection to the internet while moving from one network to another. During the mobility, the mobile host moves from one network to another, undergoes the handoff process, and registers with the new network. Due to the scarcity of IPv4 addresses and other limitations, new Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) has evolved. In the real world, planning is being done to deploy IPv6 along with the IPv4 network. The IPv6 node should understand IPv4 addressing and its features while communicating with it. When considering mobility in both IPv4 and IPv6 networks together, it is a bit complicated where either the mobile host or any other entity in the network should understand both IPv4 and IPv6 networks. In this thesis, research was centralized in the scenario where both internet protocol versions IPv4 and IPv6 are active and mobility is introduced between them. The research deals with the handoff process and registration of the mobile node with the agent in the new network. The author proposed a new handoff algorithm with the basic security involved in the process which can be used as model before planning to introduce mobility between IPv4 and IPv6 protocols. The significance of the algorithm is to reduce the handoff latency by enhancing the functionality of the Tunnel End Point (TEP); this in turn reduces the tunneling of the data twice. The research, analysis is done on the complete handoff process by varying different parameters involved in the process. An analytical model is proposed to support the algorithm. The effects of the parameters are studied. The results of the proposed analytical model were studied in comparison with the traditional schemes.