Integration of Handover in a Cross-Layer Mechanism for Mobile Multimedia Systems

A cross-layer mechanism for the performance improvement of real-time applications over IEEE 802.16e networks is proposed. The mechanism coordinates i) adaptation capabilities at different layers of the protocol stack, and ii) the handover initiation procedure. It uses information from the physical (PHY) and medium access control (MAC) layers to determine the appropriate burst profile, transmission power level and media encoding rate for a connection, or initialize a handover. The main contribution of this mechanism is the integration of the handover initiation into an existing cross-layer logic mechanism to improve the overall system performance. Extensive simulation results show that the proposed design achieves significantly improved performance in terms of packet loss rate, power consumption, and throughput, as well as an increased system capacity.