Client-Based Network-Assisted Mobile IPv6

With the growing number of mobile nodes and projections that this number will far exceed that of stationary nodes, mobility management becomes an important aspect of the next generation networks. Mobile operators are therefore looking to deploy a functional and optimized protocol that allows management of mobility while offering additional functionalities, such as simultaneous multi-access and flow mobility (important for FixedMobile Convergence (FMC) for instance). Two major protocols exist that offer mobility management for Internet Protocol (IP) networks, Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) and Proxy Mobile IPv6 (PMIPv6). However, both protocols have shortcomings that hinder their deployment on a massive scale. We therefore propose a new protocol, based on the current MIPv6 specifications, that addresses these shortcomings. It can be seen as a hybrid protocol offering simultaneously client and network mobility managements, which can be labeled “client-based network-assisted”. We compare it to the existing two protocols and show that it doesn’t suffer from their drawbacks.