A Utility-based Network Selection Mechanism in Heterogeneous Wireless Networks

In the wireless heterogeneous environment, to access the Internet ubiquitously, most of the devices are equipped with multiple radio interfaces. Through this way, the multi-homed node can attach to multiple access networks through one or more radio interfaces. However, this brings forth also a problem of how to select a proper interface and access network for an ongoing application on a user's device. This paper proposes a utility-based mechanism for selecting a suitable interface and access network. In this mechanism, utility functions are used to represent an application's requirement on network resources and to calculate the network resource status. Other factors, such as the device parameters, user's moving velocity and user's preference are also considered for finally selecting the access network using the multiple criteria decision making method AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process). Simulation results show that the proposed mechanism can better exert the application's performance and user's need.