MANAGING IP SERVICES OVER A PACS-PACKET-NETWORK

We have developed a system and network architecture to provide IP serv ices in PACS. IP datagrams are delivered to PACS users through the PAC S packet-mode data service, achieving more efficient usage of wireless resources and supporting multimedia applications such as MBone audio and video. The architecture presented in this article augments the PAC S voice network with IP routers and backbone links, called the PACS Pa cket Network (PPN), and is connected to the global Internet via gatewa ys. Compared to the CDPD network, which employs its own net work-layer mobility protocol and thus supports roaming within the CDPD network o nly, we have incorporated Mobile IP [1] into the PACS handoff mechanis m to further achieve global IP mobility. We have also developed native PACS multicast and a group management scheme to efficiently handle dy namic IP multicast and MBone connectivity. These features seamlessly i ntegrate PACS into the global Internet and provide standard-conforming IP services with global mobility.