Optimal replication algorithms for hierarchical mobility management in PCS networks

In the context of heterogeneous networks and diverse communication devices, real person-to-person communication can be achieved with a universal personal identification (UPI) that uniquely identifies an individual and is independent of the access networks and communication devices. Hierarchical mobility management techniques (MMTs) have been proposed to support UPI. Traditional replication methods for improving the performance of such MMTs are threshold-based. We present optimal replication algorithms that minimize the network messaging cost based on network structure, communication link cost, and user calling and mobility statistics. We develop our algorithms for both unicast and multicast replica update strategies. The performance of these replication algorithms is studied via large scale network simulations and compared to results obtained from the threshold-based method.