HAWAII: A Domain-based Approach for Supporting Mobility in Wide-area Wireless Networks

Given the incredible growth of cellular networks in recent years, there is tremendous interest in support for data applications in wide- are wireless networks. Mobile-IP is the current standard for supporting macro-mobility of mobile hosts. However, the picture is not as clear in the case of micro-mobility support where a large number of proposals are competing for standardization. In this paper, we present the design, implementation, and performance evaluation of HAWAII: a domain-based approach for supporting mobility. HAWAII specialized path setup schemes which install host-based forwarding specific routers to support intra-domain micro-mobility and defaults to using Mobile-IP for inter-domain macro-mobility. These path setup schemes deliver excellent performance by reducing mobili related disruption to user applications, and by operating locally, reduce the number of mobility related updates. Also, in HAWAII, mobile hosts retain their network address while moving within the domain. This greatly simplifies Quality of Service support in the backbone as the flow classification remains unchanged. Furthermore, through the elimination of foreign agents and in some cases home agents, and the use of soft-state forwarding entries for the mobile hosts, reliability is enhanced. Thus, HAWAII provides a comprehensive solution for mobility support in wide-area wireless networks by delivering excellent performance, ease of Quality of Service support, and enhanced reliability.