Deploying large-scale IEEE802.11 networks using IP paging with link-specific capabilities : a standard compliant approach and its performance analysis

Abstract

IEEE802.11 is a layer two technology that offers limitedmobility support. It suffers from scalability problems caused by the performance of the mechanisms related to the address resolution and the discovery and maintenance of the path information. In this paper, we propose using IP paging with link-specific capabilities to solve this problem. The need of these capabilities is justified showing the limitations of pure-IP solutions when they interact with IEEE802.11 specific functions, mainly the power save mode (PSM). Then, a comprehensive proposal for an IP paging solution that is an extension of the Mobile IPv4 Regional Registration (MIPv4-RR) protocol is presented. Its strengths lie in the fact that there are no interaction problems with PSM, and it is fully compliant with existing IEEE802.11 devices. Finally, in order to show the excellent scalability of our link-specific solution, we carry out an analytical study of its mobility signaling and compare it with the standard MIPv4-RR protocol and IIPP (Integrated IP Paging Protocol), another IP paging solution that does not implement link-specific functions.