The "drive-thru" architecture: WLAN-based Internet access on the road

We present an architecture and discuss performance enhancement strategies for WLAN-based Internet access for moving vehicles. Measurements, on-going research activities, and the development of first prototypes have shown that WLAN-based Internet access for moving vehicles is feasible and can be an interesting and cost-effective alternative to GSM/3G-based approaches. We present an approach that is based on the concept of "nearlynets", explicitly considering the intermittent nature of connectivity that may be limited to short periods of time. Based on measurements and simulations, we have developed an architecture enabling useful Internet connectivity when driving through isolated hot spots. This architecture supports mobility in such networks, relying on application-layer mobility mechanisms. We also discuss transport and application protocol performance enhancements as well as various operational issues such as detection of network access and address assignment.

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