A Fast Handoff Mechanism for IEEE 802.11 and IAPP Networks

Handoff is a critical issue in IEEE 802.11-based wireless networks. In this paper we propose a fast and seamless handoff solution for IEEE 802.11 wireless LAN with IAPP. It is based on a concept of neighbor graph, which describes the nearby access points (APs) that a mobile host (MH) may find. Then we further derive selective scanning with unicast in power-save mode, pre-registration of IAPP, and frame forwarding-and-buffering mechanisms. Selective scanning allows a MH to only try potential handoff targets. Pre-registration allows early transfer of a MH's security context from its old AP to new AP. The forwarding-and-buffering mechanism is to solve the packet loss problem during handoff. Our performance evaluation shows that the proposed solution can result in 90% reduction in the handoff latency from standard handoff procedure