Network architectures for packet classification in wireless mobile network

In IEEE 802.16e, one of mechanisms for service differentiation over the air interface relies on packet classification in the mobile subscriber station (MSS) and the access point (AP). Classification involves matching multiple packet header fields against a possibly large set of classifier rules identifying the different service classes. In the Internet router, two important classification properties are fast lookup time and low memory consumption. In a wireless mobile network, there are frequent dynamic updates of classifier rules whenever MSS move among cells. Fast handoffs demand fast update time. Frequent updates between MSS and AP degrade the efficiency of network resources and classification performance. The paper considers distributed and centralized network architectures for classification, and analyzes the signaling loads for updating classifier rules during handoffs and their classification performance. We show that the distributed architecture has a better classification performance but generates more signaling load. The paper concludes that, for fast handoffs, a tradeoff between classification performance and the efficiency of network resources is needed.