An integrated soft handoff approach to IP fast reroute in wireless mobile networks

This paper presents an integrated approach to IP fast reroute (IPFRR) of both unicast and multicast paths in wireless mobile networks. A distinct feature of the proposed approach is that, instead of modifying existing routing protocols, it employs a soft handoff technique, i.e., temporarily installs pre-computed Loop Free Alternative Paths (LFAPs) until the co-existing routing protocol converges to new routes. The proposed approach builds on our previously proposed IPFRR technology and uses the concept of pre-computed LFAPs not only for local but also for remote link failures within a certain neighborhood to achieve full alternative path coverage for a single link failure. This paper's contributions include: i) bandwidth efficient fast failure detection by integrating two novel mechanisms, namely probing and link quality prediction, ii) a novel method for calculating LFAPs, iii) a framework for switching seamlessly between LFAPs and OSPF paths, iv) a multicast fast reroute mechanism, and v) implementation in eXtensible Open Router Platform (XORP). We also present a generic framework for handling multiple simultaneous failures in the integrated IPFRR. The performance evaluation has been performed in both indoor and outdoor environments with real 802.11 radio links. The results confirm that our IPFRR technology consistently provides significant convergence time improvement during a single link failure event.