Mobile IPv6 Fast Handovers for 3G CDMA Networks
RFC 5271

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Network Working Group                                          H. Yokota
Request for Comments: 5271                                      KDDI Lab
Category: Informational                                       G. Dommety
                                                     Cisco Systems, Inc.
                                                               June 2008

            Mobile IPv6 Fast Handovers for 3G CDMA Networks

Status of This Memo

   This memo provides information for the Internet community.  It does
   not specify an Internet standard of any kind.  Distribution of this
   memo is unlimited.

Abstract

   Mobile IPv6 is designed to maintain its connectivity while moving
   from one network to another.  It is adopted in 3G CDMA networks as a
   way to maintain connectivity when the mobile node (MN) moves between
   access routers.  However, this handover procedure requires not only
   movement detection by the MN, but also the acquisition of a new
   Care-of Address and Mobile IPv6 registration with the new care-of
   address before the traffic can be sent or received in the target
   network.  During this period, packets destined for the mobile node
   may be lost, which may not be acceptable for a real-time application
   such as Voice over IP (VoIP) or video telephony.  This document
   specifies fast handover methods in the 3G CDMA networks in order to
   reduce latency and packet loss during handover.

Yokota & Dommety             Informational                      [Page 1]
RFC 5271                 3G CDMA Fast Handover                 June 2008

Table of Contents

   1. Introduction ....................................................2
   2. Requirements Notation ...........................................3
   3. Terminology .....................................................3
   4. Network Reference Model for Mobile IPv6 over 3G CDMA Networks ...4
   5. Fast Handover Procedures ........................................6
      5.1. Predictive Fast Handover ...................................7
      5.2. Reactive Fast Handover ....................................12
      5.3. Considerations on the Link Indications ....................15
   6. Message Format .................................................15
      6.1. Handover Assist Information Option ........................15
      6.2. Mobile Node Identifier Option .............................16
      6.3. New Flag Extension to FBU Message .........................17
      6.4. New Flag Extension to PrRtAdv Message .....................17
   7. Security Considerations ........................................18
   8. IANA Considerations ............................................18
   9. Acknowledgements ...............................................19
   10. References ....................................................19
      10.1. Normative References .....................................19
      10.2. Informative References ...................................19

1.  Introduction

   Mobile IPv6 [2] allows mobile nodes (MNs) to maintain persistent IP
   connectivity while the MN moves around in the IPv6 network.  It is
   adopted in 3G CDMA networks for handling host-based mobility
   management [12].  During handover, however, the mobile node (MN)
   needs to switch the radio link to obtain a new Care-of Address (CoA)
   and to re-register with the home agent (HA), which may cause a
   communication disruption.  This is not desirable for real-time
   applications such as VoIP and video telephony.  To reduce this
   disruption time or latency, a fast handover protocol for Mobile IPv6
   [3] is proposed.  RFC 4260 [7] further describes how this Mobile IPv6
   Fast Handover could be implemented on link layers conforming to the
   IEEE 802.11 suite of specifications.  However, 3G CDMA and IEEE
   802.11 networks are substantially different in the radio access, the
   representations of the network nodes or parameters, and the network
   attachment procedures; for example, the beacon scanning or New Access
   Router (NAR) discovery based on [Access Point Identifier, Access
   Router-info (AP-ID, AR-info)] tuples specified in RFC 4260 can not be
   directly applied to 3G CDMA networks.  This document therefore
   specifies how Mobile IPv6 fast handovers can be applied in the 3G
   CDMA networks.

Yokota & Dommety             Informational                      [Page 2]
RFC 5271                 3G CDMA Fast Handover                 June 2008

2.  Requirements Notation

   The key words "MUST", "MUST NOT", "REQUIRED", "SHALL", "SHALL NOT",
   "SHOULD", "SHOULD NOT", "RECOMMENDED", "MAY", and "OPTIONAL" in this
   document are to be interpreted as described in [1].

3.  Terminology

   This document refers to [3] for Mobile IPv6 fast handover
   terminology.  Terms that first appear in this document are defined
   below:

   Access Network Identifier (ANID): An identifier that is used by the
      Packet Data Serving Node (PDSN) to determine whether the MN is