Discovering an address of a name server

• US 20020145993A1
• Filed: 03/20/2002
• Published: 10/10/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 04/06/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Chowdhury, Kuntal, Wenzel, Peter W.
• Granted Patent: US 7,447,182 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/45 Network directories; Name-to-address mapping
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0892 by using authentication-authorization-accounting [AAA] servers or protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/005 Data network PoA devices

Abstract

A mobile communications network includes a packet service node capable of establishing a session with a mobile station. A network address (e.g., an Internet Protocol or IP address) of a domain name system (DNS) server is communicated to the mobile station using one of several types of messages. A first type of message includes an Internet Protocol Control Protocol (IPCP) message. A second type of message includes a Mobile Internet Protocol Registration Reply Message. The packet service node receives the network address of the DNS server from an authentication server, such as a RADIUS (Remote Authentication Dial In User System Service) server or a Mobile IP Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) server.

Claims

1. A method for use in a mobile communications network, comprising:

establishing a session between a mobile station and a packet service node in the mobile communications network;

receiving, at the mobile station, a network address of a name server from the packet service node; and

the mobile station accessing the name server using the network address to look up an address of a network element based on a static symbol of the network element.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the session between the mobile station and the packet service node comprises establishing the session between a wireless mobile station and the packet service node through a radio network.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the network address of the DNS server is performed using an Internet Protocol Control Protocol (IPCP) message.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein receiving the network address of the DNS server comprises receiving the network address of a primary DNS server,

the method further comprising receiving, at the mobile station, a network address of a secondary DNS server.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the network address of the DNS server is performed using a Mobile Internet Protocol Registration Reply message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the session between the mobile station and the packet service node comprises establishing the session between the mobile station and a code-division multiple access (CDMA) packet data serving node (PDSN).

7. An article comprising at least one storage medium containing instructions that when executed cause a system in a mobile communications network to:

receive, from a mobile station, a first request to establish a packet data session;

send a second request to an authentication server for the mobile station;

receive a network address of a domain name system (DNS) server from the authentication server; and

communicate the network address of the DNS server to the mobile station.

8. The article of claim 7, wherein the instructions when executed cause the system to exchange Internet Protocol Control Protocol (IPCP) messages with the mobile station to communicate the network address of the DNS server.

9. The article of claim 7, wherein the instructions when executed cause the system to send a Mobile Internet Protocol Registration Reply message containing the network address of the DNS server to the mobile station.

10. The article of claim 7, wherein the instructions when executed cause the system to receive the network address of the DNS server from a Remote Authentication Dial In User Service (RADIUS) server.

11. The article of claim 7, wherein the instructions when executed cause the system to receive the network address of the DNS server from a Mobile Internet Protocol Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) server.

12. The article of claim 7, wherein the instructions when executed cause the system to:

receive the network address of the DNS server that is a primary DNS server;

further receive a network address of a secondary DNS server; and

further to send the network address of the secondary DNS server to the mobile station.

13. The article of claim 7, wherein the instructions when executed cause the system to perform a local determination of the network address of the DNS server if receiving the network address from the authentication server is unsuccessful.

14. The article of claim 7, wherein the instructions when executed cause the system to:

receive, at the system from the mobile station, a request to look up a network address of a network element based on an alphanumeric name of the network element; and

forward the request to the DNS server.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller is adapted to generate an Internet Protocol Control Protocol (IPCP) message containing the network address to send to the mobile station.

17. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller is adapted to send the network address of the DNS server in a Mobile Internet Protocol Registration Reply message.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller is adapted to receive the network address of the DNS server from an Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting (AAA) server.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller is adapted to receive the network address of the DNS server during an authentication phase of a Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) session establishment.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller is adapted to receive the network address of the DNS server during a Mobile Internet Protocol registration phase.

21. The system of claim 15, wherein the controller is adapted to receive the network address of the DNS server from a home agent for the mobile station.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the controller is adapted to receive the network address in a Mobile Internet Protocol Registration Reply message.

15. A system for use in a mobile communications network, comprising:

an interface layer to establish a packet data session with a mobile station; and

a controller adapted to receive a network address of a domain name system (DNS) server and to send the network address of the DNS server to the mobile station.