Multiple gateway environment for tracking mobile hosts in mobile IP networks

Abstract

The existing micro mobility protocols, such as cellular IP, HAWAII and hierarchical IP consider that all the base stations within a network are connected to Internet via a gateway. The problem with single gateway network is that in the event of failure of the gateway, packet delivery to the mobile hosts in entire network gets affected. This paper proposes a distance based micro mobility protocol (DB MMP) for locating mobile hosts in IP networks. We incorporate the concept of paging for the idle mobile hosts which, otherwise, put unnecessary burden on the network by sending the signaling messages to the home network after every change in their point of attachment. We assume that each base station is aware of the identification numbers (ID) of its neighboring base stations, and it periodically transmits these IDs in the form of beacon signals, in its coverage area. The proposed scheme completely eliminates the ping pong effect and ensures that in the event of the gateway failure, the mobile hosts attached with only one base station are affected.