A Host-based Fast Mobility Scheme (HFMS) in 802.16j Mobile RS Mode

Abstract

As technologies for the high quality multimedia application and 4G WiMAX network prevail, one can easily be under services everywhere through WiMAX wireless network. However, the service disruption time (SDT) caused by handover procedure leads to an unacceptable quality of service (QoS) for mobile users, especially in IEEE 802.16j mobile relay station (MRS) mode. Therefore, we proposed a host-based fast mobility scheme (HFMS) in IEEE 802.16j MRS mode to reduce the SDT and solve the packet loss problem during handover via the cooperation between the MRS's link-layer and mobile station's (MS's) IP layer. In the proposed scheme, the MRS's link-layer will notify the MS's IP layer to perform IP layer handover procedure when the MRS performs link-layer handover. The parallel handover reduces the SDT efficiently. On the other hand, the proposed buffering mechanism can avoid packet loss. As a result, the seamless mobility and satisfactory QoE can be achieved for mobile users in IEEE 802.16j MRS mode.