Caching in Mobile Environments: A New Analysis and the Mobile-Cache System

In the near future, we will be surrounded by ubiquitous wireless networks and so information dissemination for mobile users is a key issue. Hybrid push-pull constitutes a very effective and scalable solution. Our contribution is twofold. First we provide a new analysis that takes into account the user mobility. We argue that in a highly mobile setting, analysis and optimization goals discussed in past papers become irrelevant, since the most important aspect of the system is not delay, but rather the ability to answer as many queries as possible. As we show, the optimal pull-push bandwidth ratio depends on the mobility patterns of the users. Second, we use our findings to build Mobile-Cache, a system that can efficiently answer multiple queries over a wireless environment.