Mobile node handoff methods and apparatus

• US 20030193952A1
• Filed: 05/07/2003
• Published: 10/16/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 02/04/2002
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: OʼNeill, Alan
• Application Number:
  US10/431,222
• Publication Number:
  US 20030193952A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/392
• 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 12/062 Pre-authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/00 Affiliation to network, e.g. registration; Terminating affiliation with the network, e.g. de-registration
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/005 Multiple registrations, e.g. multihoming
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/20 Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]

Abstract

Extending Mobile IP (MIP) to support both local and remote access by using two MIP client stacks in the end node, a roaming Node in the local access network, a standard Home Agent in the remote network is described. Messages between the access node and the mobile node, and between the internal modules of the mobile node are used to control hand-off for each of multiple MIP clients operating in parallel in the mobile node and to enable backwards compatibility with legacy remote access clients.

Claims

1. A method of operating a first node in a communication system to

receive a registration message used to register a binding at said first node, said binding being between a first address and a second address;

said message including information indicating the type of message and a redirection process type associated with said binding, said type of message indicating that said message is either a local access message, a remote access message, or a combined local and remote access message;

said redirection type identifying one of a plurality of redirection processes.

2. The method of claim 1,

wherein said first node is a nRN, the first address is the nRoA,

wherein the registration message is a local access message directed to the first node by an end node,

wherein the second address is a CoA from a nAN, said CoA being suitable for directing packets to said end node, and

said registration message further including a request for allocation of the nRoA.

3. The method of claim 1,

wherein the registration message is directed to the first node by the end node via a nRN, said first node being either a HA or an oRN including a home agent process, the first address is the HoA of the end node and the second address is the nRoA from the nRN with a coupling to said end node.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein said message is a remote access message.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the message is a combined local and remote access message, the method further comprising:

transmitting said message from one of an end node as message and a nAN as message, said message including a request for allocation of a nRoA from the nRN, and

installing a binding in the nRN between the assigned nRoA and the nCoA at a nAN with a coupling to said end node, said received message including said nRoA.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein the message is transmitted to said first node via a nAN as another message;

said another message including a PFAA, an oAN address, an oCoA and a nCoA, the method further comprising;

operating said nAN, in response to receiving said another message, to transmit a second message to the oAN, including the PFAA as an MN-oAN authenticator; and

operating the oAN to use the PFAA to validate the message contents; and

operating the oAN to register a binding in the oAN between the oCoA and nCoA.

7. The method of claim 4 wherein the message, is transmitted to said first node via a nAN;

said message including a PRAA, an oRN address oRoA and a nCoA, the method further comprising;

operating said nAN, in response to receiving said message, to transmit a second message to the oRN including the PRAA as the MN-oRN authenticator, and

operating the oRN to use the PRAA to validate the message contents; and

operating the oRN to register a binding in the oRN between the oRoA and nCoA.

8. The method of claim 5 wherein the message is transmitted to said first node via a nAN as message;

said message including;

a PFAA, an oAN address, oCoA and a nCoA, operating said nAN, in response to receiving said message, to transmit a second message to the oAN including the PFAA as the MN-oAN authenticator, and

operating the oAN to use the PFAA to validate the message contents; and

operating the oAN to register a binding in the oAN between the oRoA and nCoA.

9. The method of claim 5 wherein said message includes a PRAA, an oRN address and oRoA,

operating said nRN, in response to receiving said message, to transmit a second message to the oRN, including the PRAA as a MN-oRN authenticator, said second message including a nRoA allocated by said nRN;

and

operating the oRN to use the PRAA to validate the message contents; and

operating the oRN to register a binding in the oRN between the oRoA and nRoA.

10. The method of claim 4, wherein said first node is the oRN, said method further including

operating said oRN to act as a remote access home agent and the oRoA can be used as a remote access Home address such that the oRoA can be included as HoA, and oRN address can be included as Home Agent Address in message for the end node.

11. The method of claim 3 wherein the first node is the HA, the method further comprising

operating said nRN, in response to receiving said message, to transmit a second message to the oRN;

and

operating said oRN to receive said second message and to context transfer end node profile state from the oRN to the nRN in response to said second message.

12. The method of claim 1,

wherein said message is generated by reception of message at oRN,

wherein the contents of message is the same or different to the contents of message sent by the end node, and

wherein said message includes a request for installation of a binding in the oRN between the CoA, the oRoA, and the HoA at a HA with address HA2, said HA having a coupling to said end node, said received message including said HoA in HoA message field and said HA2 in HA message field, said message including a HoA specific process to be included in a process list associated with said binding.

13. A communications method, comprising:

transmitting an Network Access Identifier containing a region indicator to a MN, said region indicator describing the default region of a network node such as an RN or an AN, said NAI being used by said MN to indicate a change of region for that MN.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the NAI includes a network node part and a region part.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the NAI further includes a domain part.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the NAI network node part includes the region part.

17. The method of claim 16 wherein the NAI includes a preselected character which operates as a region indicator in the

networknodepart so that MNs that need to be aware of the region

indicator can detect the region part, said remaining MNs that are not region

aware interpreting the region indicator as part of the networknodepart

information.