An Adaptive Multimedia-Oriented Handoff Scheme for IEEE 802.11 WLANs

TL;DR

This paper introduces an adaptive handoff scheme for IEEE 802.11 WLANs that reduces delay and improves QoS for multimedia applications by optimizing scan and AP selection processes.

Contribution

The paper presents a novel, optimized handoff method that minimizes latency and unnecessary handoffs in WLANs, enhancing real-time multimedia communication quality.

Findings

Significant reduction in handoff latency

Decreased number of unnecessary handoffs

Improved QoS for multimedia applications

Abstract

Previous studies have shown that the actual handoff schemes employed in the IEEE 802.11 Wireless LANs (WLANs) do not meet the strict delay constraints placed by many multimedia applications like Voice over IP. Both the active and the passive supported scan modes in the standard handoff procedure have important delay that affects the Quality of Service (QoS) required by the real-time communications over 802.11 networks. In addition, the problem is further compounded by the fact that limited coverage areas of Access Points (APs) occupied in 802.11 infrastructure WLANs create frequent handoffs. We propose a new optimized and fast handoff scheme that decrease both handoff latency and occurrence by performing a seamless prevent scan process and an effective next-AP selection. Through simulations and performance evaluation, we show the effectiveness of the new adaptive handoff that reduces the process latency and adds new context-based parameters. The Results illustrate a QoS delay-respect required by applications and an optimized AP-choice that eliminates handoff events that are not beneficial.