Efficient MIH/SDN-Based Vertical Handover for 5G HetNets
Khitem Ben Ali, Faouzi Zarai · 2023
Ultra-densification is one of the 5G and beyond (B5G) networks solutions to increase data rate and network capacity. The perception of this technology is based on the construction of a large number of small cells in a specific area which may include different Radio Access Technologies (RATs) such as LTE-advanced, C-IoT (Cellular Internet of Thing), Narrowband-IoT (NB-IoT) and 5G WiFi in a unified wireless heterogeneous system based on an IP core network infrastructure. The deployment of small cells generates a good connection following the provision of shorter distance between cell access point and the mobile node which in turn serve to reduce the signal attenuation and noise. The downside of the densification on B5G is that poses challenges for the mobility management, including frequent unnecessary and ping-pong handovers, with additional problems related to increased delay, energy efficiency and total failure of the handover process. This paper proposes an integrated B5G networks architecture using the Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Media (MIH) paradigms and provides an optimized vertical handover process reached by an efficient network selection algorithm. Simulation results validate the efficiency of our proposal.