On Combinatorial Handoff Strategies for Spectrum Mobility in Ad Hoc Networks: A Comparative Review

Abstract

Technological advancements have made communication on-the-go seamless. Spectrum mobility is a networking concept that involves access technologies that allow highly mobile nodes to communicate with each other. Ad-hoc networks are formed between mobile nodes where fixed infrastructure is not used. Due to the lack of such fixed access points for connectivity, the nodes involved make use of the best network available to transmit data. Due to heterogeneous networks' involvement, the mobile nodes may face trouble finding the most optimal network for transmission. Existing technologies allow the nodes to select available networks, but the selection process is not optimized, leading to frequent switching. This leads to packet loss, low data rates, high delay, etc. Many researchers have proposed optimal strategies for performing handoff in wireless networks. This paper reviews combinatorial strategies that make use of multiple techniques to perform a handoff.