Seamless handover in SDN-Based Future Avionics Networks with Network Coding and LISP Mobility Protocol

There have been increasing interests in applying Software Defined Networking (SDN) to aeronautical communications primarily for air traffic management purposes. Due to the high speed of aircraft and the use of multiple radio technologies during different flight phases and across different areas, packet losses on air-ground links and vertical handover (HO) between these different radio technologies are envisaged. This paper proposes the incorporation of Network Coding (NC) and Locator ID Separation Protocol (LISP) in an SDN-based aeronautical communications architecture consisting of both satellite and terrestrial-based radio access network technologies. Moreover, this research jointly exploits the use of Random Linear Network Coding (RLNC) and LISP to both increase reliability and reduce the in-order delivery delay during the HO. An analysis is provided to determine the number of generation size to minimise the delay. Also, an experimental implementation of the LISP protocol and RLNC over the SDN-based architecture was proposed to show the benefit of combining LISP, RLNC with SDN for better performance during the HO in the multi-link heterogeneous environment.