Instant Handoffs for Wireless Infrastructure Meshed Networks

Abstract

Infrastructure meshed networks provide access to wireless clients that do not participate in traffic forwarding. This paper proposes minimalist instant handoff for wireless access networks (MIHAN), allowing for seamless movement of nodes in coverage areas, while maintaining connectivity. The approach of MIHAN is that all client frames, send in radio range of an access node, are received and forwarded to a central gateway. The node removes duplicate packets and tracks the network attachment of wireless clients. MIHAN relies on standard medium access control and a TCP/IP protocol stack. It is transparent to and does not require any special support, in the clients. Only limited configuration changes are necessary in the access nodes; all routing and tracking is handled by the gateway. Advantages include instant handoffs, no changes to access points and protocols and the simplicity of the solution. The paper introduces the scheme, provides details on various implementation options and gives simulation results that show the operation. Proof of concept implementation and some test results are presented.