A Flow-Based and Operator-Centric Dynamic Mobility Management Scheme for Proxy Mobile IPv6

Abstract

The continuous increase of mobile data traffic volume creates new challenges for telecommunication network operators. As a possible solution, many traffic offloading techniques have been proposed. In parallel, there is a trend to handle all the access techniques under the umbrella of IP, including non-3GPP networks (e.g., Wi-Fi), mainly with the help of IPv6. In this paper we provide a new architectural proposal in Evolved Packet Core (EPC) described as flow-based and operator-centric dynamic mobility management with Proxy Mobile IPv6 (PMIPv6). This new approach is supported by current EPC entities including Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF), Access Network Discovery and Selection Function (ANDSF), and Local Mobility Anchor (LMA) and by defining a novel communication scheme between them. The proposal was evaluated in a virtual testbed environment, and measurements based simulations were carried out where the solution showed significant benefits by enhancing operator flexibility, increasing user experience, and decreasing signaling overhead due to its highly dynamic operation and optimized flow-level behavior.