Session aware network controlled interface selection for multihomed hosts

This paper proposes network-controlled architecture to enable multihomed devices-devices that have multiple network interfaces independently connected to different networks - to effectively use all the available interfaces. The salient features of our approach are that it is session aware, i.e. the choice of network interface is based on the network state and session characteristics. Furthermore, it does so without exposing a user's location and preferences to the correspondent nodes thereby preserving user privacy. Network control using a middle-box as opposed to an end-to-end mechanism ensures fast response, optimal network use, minimal changes to end hosts and support for legacy applications and provides a detailed instantiation in the context of a SIP based call model. This paper also discusses deployment issues and details of our implementation.