Proactive Hybrid Half and Joint D2D Handover Scheme in Multi-access Mobile Edge Computing (MEC)

Abstract

Reducing the pressure in the core network is the major concern for future mobile networks. Device to Device (D2D) communication is one of the innovative techniques in 5G networks that allows direct communication between nearby devices without relying on a base station or core network. However, the D2D technique faces several technical challenges in mobility management since there is no dedicated procedure in the current standards. Moreover, the studies in the literature show several limitations in the design of half and joint handover algorithms especially in the quality of the link, handover triggering time and D2D pairs movement directions. To overcome these challenges, this paper proposes a proactive half and joint handover solution for D2D communication considering the signal quality between D2D pairs in addition to that between them and the base station. Furthermore, proactive handover minimizes the risk of dropped links or service interruptions since it initiates handover procedure before signal degradation occurs during D2D movement. More importantly, the proposed solution employs Multi-access Mobile Edge Computing (MEC) technique which is operated at the edge network to reduce the processing burden on the core network and speed up the handover process. The simulation implementation reveals the vital performance gain especially in improving D2D mode ratio and reducing D2D handover failure rate.

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