Inter-Subnetwork Handover in IEEE 802.11 Legacy Networks Using Secure L2 Masquerading

Inter-subnet handover in existing IEEE 802.11 networks usually incurs latencies which far exceed real-time voice requirements. In this paper we present a mechanism for concealing these delays by installing simple HandOver Mediators (HOMs) on the target subnetworks. Our solution is a vendor-centric approach and permits handset manufacturers to obtain real-time handovers in legacy IEEE 802.11 networks. In this paper we discuss various system configurations and consider the scalability of the proposed mechanism using models and using data collected from various testbed experiments. It is shown that the proposed approach is highly scalable.