Media Independent Handover (MIH) is a standard developed by the IEEE 802.21 working group. The primary objective of MIH is to facilitate the seamless handover of mobile devices between different types of networks, ensuring uninterrupted service. It addresses challenges related to mobility and heterogeneity in wireless networks, as users often move between various network types (e.g., from Wi-Fi to cellular or vice versa).
Key aspects of MIH include:
Media Independence: As the name suggests, MIH provides a framework that is agnostic to the underlying network media, allowing devices to handover between disparate network types, such as between Wi-Fi, cellular (3G, 4G), and WiMAX.
Three Functional Services:
- Media Independent Event Service (MIES): Notifies the system about events such as changes in link quality.
- Media Independent Command Service (MICS): Allows upper layers to issue commands, like initiating a handover.
- Media Independent Information Service (MIIS): Provides information about neighboring networks, which can assist in making handover decisions.
Optimized Handover Decision: MIH offers mechanisms for proactive and intelligent handover decision-making. With knowledge about neighboring networks, a device can decide when and where to handover, reducing latency and potential service interruption.
Interoperability: MIH functions as a bridge between different network standards, ensuring that devices can communicate effectively across varying network infrastructures.
Cross-Layer Design: MIH works across multiple layers of the network stack, allowing it to consider factors from both the physical and network layers when making handover decisions.
In conclusion, Media Independent Handover provides a unified framework for enabling seamless transitions between different network types. With the increasing number of heterogeneous wireless networks and the need for continuous connectivity, MIH plays a critical role in ensuring a consistent and reliable user experience.