| Support for host mobility is traditionally implemented in the link or network layer. In comparison, the transport layer has access to end-to-end information not available at lower layers. Coupled with inverse multiplexing techniques and error classification algorithms, such information can be used to achieve a significant improvement in data throughput to mobile hosts. This research centers on the design of a transport layer host mobility architecture. The main components of this architecture are a link layer manager, to mediate access to the communication infrastructure; a multiplexing transport protocol framework that allows the construction of multiplexing transport protocols suited to different classes of traffic; and finally, a location service that tracks the current address of the mobile host. We validate the design of our architecture through implementation of a suite of link-layer aware, multiplexing transport protocols, and use simulation to investigate aspects of congestion control and loss discrimination. |
