An Experimental Analysis of the Mobile IPv6 Handover Latency Components

Abstract

This paper examines the handover process of Mobile IPv6 in a real wireless testbed, based on IEEE 802.11b and extracts information on the actions taken by network entities during the movement of a mobile node. This work focuses on the decomposition and analysis of all the initiated events and exchanged signals and measures, in a real-life scenario, the delays associated with them. Particular attention is given to the period leading to the L3 registration part of the handover, since this has been identified by many as the "choking point" of the whole process. Experimental results help in understanding the effect of Duplicate Address Detection, Router Advertisement Intervals and Wireless Beacon Intervals on the handover delay.