Optimization of WLAN associations considering handover costs

In wireless local area network (WLAN) hotspots the coverage areas of access points (APs) often overlap considerably. Current state of the art optimization models find the optimal AP for each user station by balancing the load across the network. Recent studies have shown that in typical commercial WLAN hotspots the median connection duration is short. In such dynamic network settings the mentioned optimization models might cause many handovers between APs to accommodate for user arrivals or mobility. We introduce a new mixed integer linear optimization problem that allows to optimize handovers but takes into account the costs of handovers such as signaling and communication interruption. Using our model and extensive numeric simulations we show that disregarding the handover costs leads to low performance. Based on this insight we design a new optimization scheme that uses estimates of future station arrivals and mobility patterns. We show that our scheme outperforms current optimization mechanisms and is robust against estimation errors.