IEEE 802.21

The IEEE 802.21 refers to Media Independent Handoff (MIH) and is an IEEE standard published in 2008. The standard supports algorithms enabling seamless handover between wired and wireless networks of the same type as well as handover between different wired and wireless network types also called Media independent handover (MIH) or vertical handover. Vertical handover was first introduced by Mark Stemn and Randy Katz at U C Berkeley. The standard provides information to allow handing over to and from wired 802.3 network to wireless 802.11, 802.15, 802.16, 3GPP and 3GPP2 networks through different handover mechanisms. The IEEE 802.21 refers to Media Independent Handoff (MIH) and is an IEEE standard published in 2008. The standard supports algorithms enabling seamless handover between wired and wireless networks of the same type as well as handover between different wired and wireless network types also called Media independent handover (MIH) or vertical handover. Vertical handover was first introduced by Mark Stemn and Randy Katz at U C Berkeley. The standard provides information to allow handing over to and from wired 802.3 network to wireless 802.11, 802.15, 802.16, 3GPP and 3GPP2 networks through different handover mechanisms. The IEEE 802.21 working group started work in March 2004. More than 30 companies have joined the working group. The group produced a first draft of the standard including the protocol definition in May 2005. The standard was published January 2009. Cellular networks and 802.11 networks employ handover mechanisms for handover within the same network type (aka horizontal handover). Mobile IP provides handover mechanisms for handover across subnets of different types of networks, but can be slow in the process. Current 802 standards do not support handover between different types of networks. They also do not provide triggers or other services to accelerate mobile IP based handovers. Moreover, existing 802 standards provide mechanisms for detecting and selecting network access points, but do not allow for detection and selection of network access points in a way that is independent of the network type. Implementation is still in progress. Current technologies such as 802.11 that accomplish handover use software to accomplish handovers and suggest that software will also be the way that handover will be implemented by 802.21. The use of software as a means to implement 802.21 should not cause large increases in the cost of networking devices. An open source software implementation is provided by ODTONE.