An Overview of Vertical Handoff Decision Algorithms in NGWNs and a new Scheme for Providing Optimized Performance in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

Abstract

Because the increasingly development and use of wireless networks and mobile technologies, was implemented the idea that users of mobile terminals must have access in different wireless networks simultaneously. Therefore one of the main interest points of Next Generation Wireless Networks (NGWNs), refers to the ability to support wireless network access equipment to ensure a high rate of services between different wireless networks. To solve these problems it was necessary to have decision algorithms to decide for each user of mobile terminal, which is the best network at some point, for a service or a specific application that the user needs. Therefore to make these things, different algorithms use the vertical handoff technique. Below are presented a series of algorithms based on vertical handoff technique with a classification of the different existing vertical handoff decision strategies, which tries to solve these issues of wireless network selection at a given time for a specific application of an user. Based on our synthesis on vertical handoff decision strategies given below, we build our strategy based on solutions presented below, taking the most interesting aspect of each one.

Keywords

• Vertical Handoff
• Genetic Algorithms
• Fuzzy Logic
• Neural Networks
• AHP