On the Design of Mobility Management Scheme for 802.16-based Network Environment

Abstract- In this paper, we investigate the characteristics of IEEE 802.16 and conclude that it is better to equip BS and SS with Layer 3 functionality such that an 802.16 network acts as the backbone network of different subnets to enhance 802.16-based network deployment. Moreover, in order to support mobility in an 802.16 network environment, a novel concept called middle-domain mobility management for 802.16 is proposed in the paper. The 802.16 middle-domain is neither macro- nor micro-domain, but something in between them. By introducing the middle-domain in 802.16, an efficient mobility management scheme that can accommodate different micro-mobility protocols in an 802.16 network environment can be provided. Mobility management and handoff schemes as well as the associated cache structure for 802.16 middle-domain are presented in the paper