Hierarchical mobile network binding scheme for route optimization in NEMO

Recently, there has been a great deal of research on network mobility management that can support the movement of a mobile network consisting of several mobile nodes. The IETF NEMO working group proposed a basic support protocol, which defines methodology for supporting network mobility by using bi-directional tunneling between the home agent and the mobile router. This protocol, however, suffers from the 'pinball routing problem,' and most of the research attempts to solve this problem still have limitations in the efficiency of intra-domain communication. Moreover, these methods require additional binding procedures in case of the root mobile router handover. In this paper, we propose new route optimization methodology that can remedy these limitations by using asymmetric tunneling and a hierarchical local binding mechanism, which can provide faster signaling and data transmission. It can also be easily extended to support micro-mobility without the need for additional extensions. The performance is evaluated by simulation which can show the efficiency of the approach, compared with several previous route optimization methods.