Link Identifier Prefix for Wireless Handoff Signaling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wireless communication systems experience unnecessary signaling and overhead during handoffs due to the lack of direct L3 handoff determination from L2 beacons and the need for preset prefix entries in access router tables, especially when mobile nodes move between access points and access routers within the same subnet.
Innovation Solution
The method involves dynamically constructing an access router table using a link identifier prefix received from access routers, allowing mobile nodes to insert this prefix into L2 beacons for dynamic handoff information acquisition, and enabling access points and access routers to establish tunneling without preconfigured entries, thereby reducing unnecessary signaling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If preset prefix entries are maintained in access router tables to support handoff, then handoff support is enabled, but device complexity and overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the prefix information from pre-configured access router tables and relocates it to L2 beacon frames. Mobile nodes now acquire prefix information directly from beacons broadcast by access points, eliminating the need for complex pre-configured tables at access routers while maintaining handoff support capability
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables mobile nodes to self-configure their care-of addresses by extracting prefix information directly from L2 beacons without requiring pre-configured tables at access routers. This self-service approach reduces the complexity and overhead of maintaining preset prefix entries in access router tables
2Adaptability or versatility
If conventional handoff procedures are used without link identifier prefix, then compatibility is maintained, but unnecessary signaling and overhead occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary action by inserting the link identifier prefix into L2 beacon frames in advance. When mobile nodes perform handoff, they can directly extract the prefix from the beacon and construct their care-of address immediately, eliminating the need for additional signaling exchanges and reducing handoff overhead while maintaining compatibility with existing FMIPv6 procedures
3Productivity
If link identifier prefix is inserted into L2 beacons, then handoff efficiency is improved, but message structure complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the L2 beacon frame multi-functional by adding the link identifier prefix field to it. The beacon now serves both its traditional purpose of providing network information to mobile nodes and the additional function of providing prefix information for care-of address construction, thereby improving handoff efficiency without requiring separate signaling messages or increasing overall system complexity
Data Source
AI summary
A method and apparatus for supporting a fast mobility Internet Protocol (IP) with a link identifier prefix (LinkID prefix) in a wireless communication system are provided. According to a method for performing a handoff from a first access router to a second access router, a Layer 2 (L2) beacon containing a link identifier prefix is sent to a mobile node in the second access router. The first access router establishes a tunneling with the second router, as the mobile node sends a Fast Binding Update (FBU) message including a care-of address (CoA) which the mobile node dynamically constructs using the link identifier prefix, to the first access router.