The implications of zero scanning time on MIPv6 handover delays by using Media Independent Information Server (MIIS)

Handover efficiency in wireless packet switched networks is very crucial in providing QoS guarantees to real time applications. Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) is a prevalent choice for mobility management in future generations networks. Although MIPv6 benefited from the design knowledge of its predecessor i.e. MIPv4 and is more efficient, it still suffers from high handover delays. The main reason for MIPv6 being slow is its dependence on information discovery procedures, which are required to be carried out during the critical phase of handover execution. Thus MIPv6 handover delays can be simply reduced to tolerable limits if the discovery procedures are replaced by proactive procedures performed before the handover execution phase. A simple method of equipping the MN with proactive information is the use of an Media Independent Information Server (MIIS). In this article we investigate the effects of an improved version of our proposed scanning scheme ”An intelligent Scan mechanism for 802.11 Networks” on MIPS handover delays. We used the Media Independent Information Server (MIIS) of the Media Independent Handover (MIH) standard to relay channel configuration information of the future access point to the MN to reduce layer-2 handover scanning latency to zero and investigate its effect on MIPv6 handover delays. We compare handover delays achieved using intelligent scanning strategies with handover delays achieved with 802.11 standard scanning, using simulations. Our results show that using intelligent scanning strategies called Intel-ScanNone and Intel-ScanOne results in 89% and 82% improvement of handover delays respectively.