A hybrid handover scheme for integrated networks

When wireless networks are connected to wired networks, mobile users can gain access to the resources stored on the wired networks. Handovers originally used in wireless networks must be extended if the wired network is connection-oriented, such as ATM and frame relay. In the new environment, if a mobile device is moving out of its current cell, radio signals and connections must be switched accordingly. To have seamless handover, the related operations must be performed with low latency and minimal loss of packets. In this paper, we propose a hybrid scheme for seamless handover in the new environment, which can greatly reduce handover delay and improve performance. The performance of this scheme is analyzed and simulated, which shows it is superior to other methods. q 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.