A fast handoff scheme for MPLS-based Mobile IPv6 Network

In MPLS-based mobile IPv6 network, the label switched path reestablishment severely impacts the handoff performance of mobile host. Through introducing crossover router, the label switched path reestablishment delay can be reduced effectively, and the handoff performance is improved. In the paper, a novel crossover router location algorithm using bind update message is provided. Based on the crossover router, a new scheme of label switched path reestablishment realizing fast handoff is proposed. A new IPv6 extension header named label distribution protocol extension header is defined. Using the label distribution protocol extension header, the label switched path reestablishment information can be carried by bind update message, and a new label switched path reestablishment will be finished simultaneously with the forwarding of bind update message. As a result, the label switched path reestablishment delay and signaling traffic are both reduced. To demonstrate the performance of the proposed scheme, a theoretical analysis and a performance simulation are provided. The theoretical analysis shows that with the increase of label switched path length, the performance improvement of proposed scheme will be bigger and bigger. The simulation result proves that, using the proposed scheme, the influence of handoff on packet transmission is reduced obviously. The performance analysis demonstrates that the proposed scheme improves network performance, and the optimization is realized.