Technical Challenges in Mobile Wireless Internetworking

1
Technical Challenges in Mobile Wireless
Inter-networking

• Rajeev Koodli
• Nokia Research Center
• Mountain View, CA USA
• Rajeev.Koodli_at_Nokia.com

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Outline

• Motivation
• Challenges
• Work in Progress
• Conclusions

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Motivation

• Untethered, Ubiquitous network access
• Multitude of services

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Global Internet
W-CDMA
WLAN
handover
IP Backbone
Cable
EDGE
roaming
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How do we get there ?

• Access independent network connectivity and
  services
• Sufficient address space
• Handle user and device mobility
• Support for security

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Access Independence

• Cellular, Wireless LAN, DSL, Cable,..
• Single notion of authenticated network access
  after link establishment
• AAA effort in IETF
• Receive data sent to the home network in the
  presence of user roaming
• Mobile IP effort in IETF

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Addressing Devices

• Billion (or more) devices accessing the network
• Each needs a unique address
• Current Internet Protocol version 4 has
  limitations
• address allocation scheme inefficient
• address management schemes do not scale well
• Easy-to-use and Easy-to-manage solution is needed
• Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) offers this
  plug-and-play support

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Device Mobility

• Majority of the devices accessing the network
  will be wireless and mobile
• Mobility while involved in active communication
  brings the dimension of handling handovers
• support for real-time applications requires Fast
  Handovers
• Smooth Handovers dampen the effect of packet loss
  
• Network context (e.g., QoS, security keys)
  transfer is also crucial
• Micro-mobility management addresses localizing
  control signaling to the visited domain

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Security

• Support for authentication and authorization
  necessary when a user changes access network
• Authentication is also necessary when routing
  tables need to be updated to forward data to the
  mobile node in a visited network
• Encryption of payload may be necessary for
  certain applictions
• IPSec, Authentication Header (AH)

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Work in Progress (in IETF)

• Mobile IPv6
• AAA, AAA-Mobile IP
• Fast Handovers for IPv6
• Regional Registrations

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Summary and Conclusions

• Future Internet is largely wireless and mobile
• IPv6 needed for billions of wireless devices
• Address auto-configuration suitable for the
  mobile Internet
• Mobile IPv6 is far better and more efficient
• Security is a key component for success
• AAA has a big role to play for wide area wireless
  rollout
• Nokia Research Center developing fast, smooth,
  seamless handovers for mobile IPv6