STATISTICS FOR OPTIMIZING DISTRIBUTED MOBILITY ANCHORING FOR WIRELESS NETWORKS

• US 20140023039A1
• Filed: 07/15/2013
• Published: 01/23/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/20/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Moses, Danny, Venkatachalam, Muthaiah
• Granted Patent: US 9,247,490 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/024 Co-operative use of antennas of several sites, e.g. in co-ordinated multipoint or co-operative multiple-input multiple-output [MIMO] systems
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0016 Hand-off preparation specially adapted for end-to-end data sessions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/34 Reselection control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/20 based on geographic position or location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/10 using broadcasted information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/17 Selecting a data network PoA [Point of Attachment]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service
• 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 8/02 Processing of mobility data, e.g. registration information at HLR [Home Location Register] or VLR [Visitor Location Register]; Transfer of mobility data, e.g. between HLR, VLR or external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/085 involving hierarchical organized mobility servers, e.g. hierarchical mobile IP [HMIP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Briefly, in accordance with one or more embodiments a mobility anchor point may operate in a distributed mobility anchor network. The mobility anchor point comprises a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured by instructions in the memory to receive a request from a mobile node to connect with a base station, store one or more connection statistics regarding the connect request in a cache, send the one or more connection statistics to a mobility manager, and receive a message from the mobility manager indicating an identity of an assigned mobility anchor assigned to the mobile node.

Claims

1. A mobility anchor point to operate in a distributed mobility anchor network, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured by instructions in the memory to;

receive a request from a mobile node to connect with a base station;

store one or more connection statistics regarding the connect request in a cache;

send the one or more connection statistics to a mobility manager; and

receive a message from the mobility manager indicating an identity of an assigned mobility anchor assigned to the mobile node.

2. A mobility anchor point as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to send the one or more connection statistics to the mobility manager upon receiving the connect request from the mobile node.

3. A mobility anchor point as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to collect the one or more connection statistics for one or more mobile nodes in the cache, and to send the one or more connection statistics to the mobility manager upon request.

4. A mobility anchor point as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more connection statistics stored in the cache includes identifiers of mobile nodes that were indicated by the mobility manager as being served by the mobility anchor point.

5. A mobility anchor point as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to receive a message from the mobility manager to delete obsolete connection statistics from the cache.

6. A mobility anchor point as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more connection statistics include time-of-day of the connect request, an identifier of the mobile node, an identifier of the base station, or an identifier of the mobility anchor point, or combinations thereof.

7. A mobility anchor point as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more connection statistics include a connect event, a disconnect event, a handoff event, traffic volume, or combinations thereof.

8. A mobility anchor point as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to establish a tunnel to the assigned mobility anchor if the message from the mobility manager indicates that another mobility anchor point is assigned as the mobility anchor point for the mobile node.

9. A mobility anchor point as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to allocate an Internet protocol (IP) address to the mobile node if the message from the mobility manager indicates that the mobility anchor point is the assigned mobility anchor point for the mobile node.

10. A mobility anchor point as claimed in claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to receive an Internet protocol (IP) address for the mobile node from an assigned mobility anchor point if the message from the mobility manager indicates that another mobility anchor point is the assigned mobility anchor point for the mobile node.

11. A mobility manager to operate in a distributed mobility anchor network, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory coupled to the processor, wherein the processor is configured by instructions in the memory to;

receive one or more connection statistics for one or more mobile nodes from a base station on the network;

determine an assigned mobility anchor point for the mobile node based at least in part on the one or more connection statistics, wherein the assigned mobility anchor point is selected from a group of distributed mobility anchor points for the network; and

send a message to a serving mobility anchor point indicating an identity of the assigned mobility anchor point.

12. A mobility manager as claimed in claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to receive the one or more connection statistics upon a connect event.

13. A mobility manager as claimed in claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to request the one or more connection statistics stored in a cache on the base station and its collocated access router.

14. A mobility manager as claimed in claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to poll the serving mobility anchor point for additional connection statistics if the mobility manager receives a message from the serving mobility anchor point indicating that additional connection statistics exist.

15. A mobility manager as claimed in claim 11, wherein the one or more connection statistics stored in the cache includes identifiers of mobile nodes that were indicated by the mobility manager as being served by the serving mobility anchor point.

16. A mobility manager as claimed in claim 11, wherein the one or more connection statistics include time-of-day of the connect request, an identifier of the mobile node, an identifier of the base station, or an identifier of the serving mobility anchor point, or combinations thereof.

17. A mobility manager as claimed in claim 11, wherein the one or more connection statistics include a connect event, a disconnect event, a handoff event, traffic volume, or combinations thereof.

18. A mobility manager as claimed in claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to send a message to the serving mobility anchor point to delete obsolete connection statistics from a cache of connection statistics at the base station.

19. A mobility manager as claimed in claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to indicate to the serving mobility anchor point that the serving mobility anchor point has permission to assign an Internet protocol (IP) address to the mobile node if the message sent to the serving mobility anchor point indicates that the serving mobility anchor point is the assigned mobility anchor point assigned to the mobile node.

20. A mobility manager as claimed in claim 11, wherein the processor is configured to send an acknowledgment message to the serving mobility anchor point acknowledging a handoff of the mobile node to a new base station from another base station.

21. A method to implement a handoff in a distributed mobility anchor network, comprising:

receiving a handoff request at a serving mobility anchor point from a mobile node to handoff from a prior base station, wherein the handoff request includes an identity of an assigned mobility anchor point assigned to the mobile node;

sending one or more connection statistics regarding the handoff request to a mobility manager; and

sending a handoff response to the mobile node upon receiving an acknowledgment from the mobility manager.

22. A method as claimed in claim 21, further comprising:

if the serving mobility anchor point is the assigned mobility anchor point assigned to the mobile node, sending a request to a prior mobility anchor point associated with the prior base station to tear down a tunnel between the serving mobility anchor point and the prior mobility anchor point.

23. A method as claimed in claim 21, further comprising:

if the serving mobility anchor point is the assigned mobility anchor point assigned to the mobile node, sending a tunnel update request to a prior mobility anchor point associated with the prior base station to establish a tunnel between the serving mobility anchor point and the prior mobility anchor point.

24. A method as claimed in claim 21, further comprising:

if another mobility anchor point is the assigned mobility anchor point assigned to the mobile node that is not a prior mobility anchor point associated with the prior base station, sending a request to the prior mobility anchor point to tear down a tunnel between the prior mobility anchor point and the other mobility anchor point.