Method, apparatus, and medium for migration across link technologies

• US 20030185233A1
• Filed: 03/29/2002
• Published: 10/02/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 03/29/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Original Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
• Inventors: Ji, Lusheng, Agre, Jonathan Russell
• Granted Patent: US 7,492,787 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/466
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/5692 Selection among different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services for addressing or naming
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/10 of different types
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0019 adapted for mobile IP [MIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/14 Reselecting a network or an air interface
• 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]

Abstract

A method of migrating across link technologies on an IP-based subnet while maintaining on-going communication comprises selecting a link, and notifying interested hosts of the address of the selected link. A mobile computing devices migrates across link technologies on a subnet while maintaining on-going communication and comprises a link migration module selecting a link, and notifying interested hosts of the address of the selected link, and a dynamic MAC to IP binding module binding a MAC address to an IP address based upon the selected link. A computer-readable medium storing a program which when executed by a computer causes the computer to execute the functions of migrating across link technologies on a subnet while maintaining on-going communication, comprising selecting a link, and notifying interested hosts of the address of the selected link. The migration is executed within the mobile computing device and does not entail modification to the other components of the network.

Claims

1. A method of migrating across link technologies connected to a device on an IP-based subnet while maintaining on-going communication, comprising:

selecting a link;

migrating the on-going communication to the selected link; and

notifying interested hosts of the address of the selected link.

2. The method as in claim 1, further comprising:

migrating the link from a first MAC address to a second MAC address.

3. The method as in claim 1, wherein the on-going communication comprises a first IP address in communication with a first MAC address in communication with first link technology, said method further comprising switching from the first MAC address to a second MAC address.

4. The method as in claim 3, wherein the on-going communication further comprises a transport connection, and said switching being initiated and completed before a timeout mechanism in the transport connection is triggered.

5. The method as in claim 1, wherein the on-going communication comprises an application, a socket, a NLDR, a device driver, a network interface card, and a network, the application being in communication with the socket, the socket being in communication with the NLDR, the NLDR having an IP address, the NLDR being in communication with the device driver, the device driver having a MAC address, the device driver being in communication with the network interface card, the network interface card being in communication with the network, said method dynamically binding the MAC address to the IP address.

6. The method as in claim 5, further comprising switching from the MAC address to another MAC address by dynamically binding the other MAC address to the IP address.

7. The method as in claim 6, further comprising:

storing an address of a foreign host computer in a memory of a local host computer in response to receiving or sending a message from (or to) a foreign host computer;

so that the local host computer can notify the foreign host computer when the local host computer has a new MAC to IP address mapping.

8. The method as in claim 3, wherein the switching is in response to a received message.

9. The method as in claim 3, wherein the switching is in response to quality of the link.

10. The method as in claim 3, wherein the interested hosts are notified of the switching by a message.

25. The method as in claim 1, wherein the subnet is a subnetwork of the Internet.

28. The method as in claim 1, wherein the migrating comprises dynamically binding a MAC address to an IP address of the selected link.

29. The method as in claim 1, wherein the device is a mobile computing device and the selecting, the migrating, and the notifying are executed by the mobile computing device.

30. The method as in claim 1, wherein the device is a client-side computer and the selecting, the migrating, and the notifying are executed by the client-side computer.

34. The method as in claim 1, wherein the device is a host computer and the selecting, the migrating, and the notifying are executed by the host computer.

11. A mobile computing device migrating across link technologies connected to the device on an IP-based subnet while maintaining on-going communication, comprising:

a link migration module selecting a link and notifying interested hosts of the address of the selected link; and

a dynamic MAC to IP binding module dynamically binding an IP address to a MAC address based upon the selected link.

12. The mobile computing device of claim 11, the link migration module further comprising a link sensing module determining quality of a link, the link migration module selecting the link based upon the quality of the link.

13. The mobile computing device of claim 11, wherein the link includes a MAC address, and the link migration module transmits the MAC address to interested hosts through an ARP message.

14. The mobile computing device of claim 11, the link migration module further comprising an interested host cache storing addresses of foreign hosts.

26. The mobile computing device as in claim 11, wherein the subnet is a subnetwork of the Internet.

15. A computer-readable medium storing a program which when executed by a computer causes the computer to execute the functions of migrating across link technologies connected to a device on an IP-based subnet while maintaining on-going communication, comprising:

selecting a link;

migrating the on-going communication to the selected link; and

notifying interested hosts of the address of the selected link.

16. The medium as in claim 15, further comprising:

migrating the link from a first MAC address to a second MAC address.

17. The medium as in claim 15, wherein the on-going communication comprises a first IP address in communication with a first MAC address in communication with first link technology, said method further comprising switching from the first MAC address to a second MAC address.

18. The medium as in claim 17, wherein the on-going communication further comprises a transport connection, and said switching being initiated and completed before a timeout mechanism in the transport connection is triggered.

19. The medium as in claim 15, wherein the on-going communication comprises an application, a socket, a NLDR, a device driver, a network interface card, and a network, the application being in communication with the socket, the socket being in communication with the NLDR, the NLDR having an IP address, the NLDR being in communication with the device driver, the device driver having a MAC address, the device driver being in communication with the network interface card, the network interface card being in communication with the network, said method dynamically binding the MAC address to the IP address.

20. The medium as in claim 19, further comprising switching from the MAC address to another MAC address by dynamically binding the other MAC address to the IP address.

21. The medium as in claim 20, further comprising:

storing an address of a foreign host computer in a memory of a local host computer in response to receiving or sending a message from (or to) a foreign host computer;

so that the local host computer can notify the foreign host computer when the local host computer has a new MAC to IP address mapping.

22. The medium as in claim 17, wherein the switching is in response to a received message.

23. The medium as in claim 17, wherein the switching is in response to quality of the link.

24. The medium as in claim 17, wherein the interested hosts are notified of the switching by a message.

27. The medium as in claim 15, wherein the subnet is a subnetwork of the Internet.

31. The medium as in claim 15, wherein the migrating comprises dynamically binding a MAC address to an IP address of the selected link.

32. The medium as in claim 15, wherein the device is a client-side computer and the selecting, the migrating, and the notifying are executed by the client-side computer.

33. The medium as in claim 15, wherein the device is a mobile computing device and the selecting, the migrating, and the notifying are executed by the mobile computing device.

35. The medium as in claim 15, wherein the device is a host computer and the selecting, the migrating, and the notifying are executed by the host computer.