A path optimization signalling protocol for inter-switch handoff in wireless ATM networks

In this paper, we study the connection rerouting problem due to inter-switch handoffs. The design objective is to guarantee the bandwidth and delay of a connection during its connection lifetime. We propose to use path extension for each inter-switch handoff, and invoke path optimization whenever one of the potential handoff paths exceed the delay constraint. During path extension, the selection of the extended path is modeled as a bandwidth-delay-constrained path problem. The path optimization signalling protocol ensures that ATM cell sequencing is maintained on the uplink and downlink by buffering cells at the anchor switch and the crossover switch, respectively. q 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.