A MIH and SDN based framework for optimizing vertical handover performance

Next generation mobile network is characterized by ubiquitous access. It is therefore challenging to address the convergence of heterogeneous network and performance of handover. In this paper, a novel vertical handover framework is proposed for optimizing mobile handover signaling. This framework is based on the cooperation of Media Independent Handover (MIH) and Software-Defined Networking (SDN), featuring seamless vertical handover and agile network path reconfiguration. Moreover, an optimized network selection algorithm, called Dynamic-VIKOR (D-VIKOR), is proposed to further enhance handover performance. Compared with the original VIKOR, D-VIKOR can significantly reduce the computational load through frequently evaluating dynamic attributes, but not the static attributes. Finally, the simulation results highlight the reduction of handover delay and execution time due to applying the cooperated handover framework.