Smart proxying: An optimal strategy for improving battery life of mobile devices

Improving energy efficiency of mobile devices is one of the main challenges to extend the battery life. The Wireless Network Interface Card (WNIC) or 3G is usually considered as primary source of energy consumption. To reduce the energy consumption, different proxying schemes have been proposed in literature mostly focusing on increasing WNIC idle periods through traffic shaping, reducing number of bits transmitted/received through compression techniques and putting WNIC or even the mobile device itself into sleep mode whenever possible. This paper presents the possible smart proxying schemes for mobile devices and particularly focuses on the Network Connectivity Proxy (NCP) which impersonates the mobile devices during their sleep periods and maintains their network presence. Till now the proxying schemes have only been considered for static networks without taking into account the mobility of mobile devices. This paper proposes possible proxy architectural designs in order to support host´s mobility. Further, challenges and issues with each architectural design and possible solutions to tackle with those challenges have also been addressed.