An 802.11k Compliant Framework for Cooperative Handoff in Wireless Networks

<p>Abstract</p> <p>In IEEE 802.11-based wireless networks, the stations (STAs) are associated with the available access points (APs) and communicate through them. In traditional handoff schemes, the STAs get information about the active APs in their neighborhood by scanning the ava...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Korakis Thanasis, Athanasiou George, Tassiulas Leandros
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: SpringerOpen 2009-01-01
Series:EURASIP Journal on Wireless Communications and Networking
Online Access:http://jwcn.eurasipjournals.com/content/2009/350643
Description
Summary:<p>Abstract</p> <p>In IEEE 802.11-based wireless networks, the stations (STAs) are associated with the available access points (APs) and communicate through them. In traditional handoff schemes, the STAs get information about the active APs in their neighborhood by scanning the available channels and listening to transmitted beacons. This paper proposes an 802.11k compliant framework for cooperative handoff where the STAs are informed about the active APs by exchanging information with neighboring STAs. Besides, the APs share useful information that can be used by the STAs in a handoff process. In this way, we minimize the delay of the scanning procedure. We evaluate the performance of our mechanisms through OPNET simulations. We demonstrate that our scheme reduces the scanning delay up to 92%. Consequently, our system is more capable in meeting the needs of QoS-sensitive applications.</p>
ISSN:1687-1472
1687-1499