Efficient paging and multicast schemes for Mobile Virtual Private Networks

The issue of providing a mobile virtual private network (MVPN) service by a cellular network is addressed in this study. The main focus of this study is on two aspects of MVPN handling: a multicast transmission, and location management of the MVPN members. Virtual private networks (VPNs) already exist in wired networks. The growing number of mobile users increases the demand for mobile services. It is expected that future wireless networks will have to provide wireless internet services, and in particular, to support MVPNs. In order to maintain an MVPN service offering, the system must support an efficient information delivery to the MVPN members. In order to achieve this goal, the physical locations of the MVPN members must be known to the system. In this study, we present methods to efficiently route and transmit information to the MVPN members, without affecting the quality of the personal service provided to each and every MVPN member. It is shown that the wireless MVPN bandwidth requirement is significantly less than the equivalent bandwidth required by a wired VPN. The offered bandwidth utilization is significantly better than the efficiency of IP‐based multicast transmission in the Internet, and the proposed IP‐based multicast transmission in cellular networks. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.