A comparison between SIP and network layer mobility management protocols in IP-based wireless networks

We address two important components of mobility management: location management and handoff management. Location management including update and paging enables the network to discover the current attachment point of the mobile user for call delivery. Furthermore, we divide the process of location management into two phases. The first phase deals with location update or registration so that the MN periodically notifies the network of its new access point, allowing the network to authenticate the user and revise the user´s current location. The second phase performs packet delivery. Here the network is queried for the user´s location and the packets are forwarded to the current position of the MN. Handoff management enables the network to maintain a user´s connection as the mobile terminal continues to move and change its access points or base stations to the network. Moreover, we bring a number of factors in designing an efficient mobility management protocol, influencing handoff performance. They include handoff control, packet loss and duplication, radio behavior, signaling overhead, path efficiency, passive connectivity and paging.