ABSTRACT
The SCTP protocol was initially introduced by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) as a transport layer protocol for the SS7 signalling network. Since then, SCTP has attracted increased attention as a de-facto member of the TCP/IP suite. Complementing some of the deficiencies of both Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP), the SCTP protocol offers advanced, more secure connection set-ups, data handling through multiple logical streams, as well as fully and partially reliable delivery. Arguably, the most appealing feature of SCTP is its support of multihoming for hosts with multiple network interfaces. In this introductory chapter, we will provide a classification and review of the research work that, in the decade since its introduction, has focused on the many facets of SCTP multihoming.
