A flexible overlay architecture for mobile IPv6 multicast

The Internet has evolved from a wired infrastructure to a hybrid of wired and wireless domains. As network access is now provided with much of the last mile being a wireless mobile environment, delivering rich multimedia to users is now a necessity. However, despite the advent of new technology and standards such as Mobile Internet protocol version 6 (MIPv6), there is still an important dilemma over the choice of systems that either achieve high levels of performance or offer easier deployment. The very deployment of IPv6 is delayed for this reason; network providers continue to use legacy systems. The goal of this paper then is to offer insight into this issue by examining the case of data streaming to MIPv6 users through the use of multicast. By specifically considering the debate over network and application layer multicast, we examine a spectrum of possible alternatives and evaluate the potential of enhancing the functionality of access routers. The result is an overlay architecture that can bring the desired balance between deployment complexity and performance.