Mobile internet protocol (IP) networking with home agent and/or foreign agent functions distributed among multiple devices

• US 6,738,362 B1
• Filed: 07/16/1999
• Issued: 05/18/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 02/25/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: UTStarcom Incorporated (UTStarcom Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: UTStarcom Incorporated (UTStarcom Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: Xu, Yingchun, Harper, Matthew, Mortsolf, Timothy G., Peirce, Kenneth L. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pezzlo, John
• Application Number:
  US09/354,659
• Time in Patent Office: 1,768 Days
• Field of Search: 370/349, 370/338, 370/401, 370/217, 370/352-356, 370/400, 370/329, 370/469, 714/4, 709/217, 704/228
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/58 Association of routers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 68/00 User notification, e.g. alerting and paging, for incoming communication, change of service or the like
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/06 Registration at serving network Location Register, VLR or user mobility server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/12 between location registers or mobility servers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]

Abstract

A mobile Internet Protocol service provider system implements home agent functionality in two separate devices. One device, the home registration agent, is devoted to registration of the mobile node. The other device, the home tunneling agent, is devoted to tunneling and routing functions for the foreign agent. The home registration agent can be a general purpose computer. The home tunneling agent is preferably implemented in a robust routing device, such as an IP switch or router. Multiple home tunneling agents or home registration agents can be implemented in the respective devices as multiple instantiations of a home registration agent or home tunneling agent software program.

Foreign agent functionality for mobile IP networking can also be split into separate devices. In a preferred embodiment, a foreign registration agent handles session control and registration traffic with the home registration agent, and a foreign tunneling agent provides packet capsulation/decapsulation and routing services for the mobile node and exchanging data traffic with the home tunneling agent.

Claims

1. In a system for providing mobile Internet Protocol (IP) networking for a mobile node via a mobile IP standard foreign agent and a mobile IP standard home agent, the improvement comprising:

implementing said mobile IP standard home agent in two separate entities, said two separate entities being separate by virtue of having different network addresses, comprising (1) a first entity implementing a mobile IP standard home registration agent handling registration requests for said mobile node, wherein said registration requests have a mobile IP standard structure and format and are received by and responded to by said mobile IP standard home registration agent in accordance with a mobile IP standard protocol, and (2) a second entity implementing a mobile IP standard home tunneling agent receiving data traffic from said node via the foreign agent and forwarding said data traffic to a destination for said data traffic.

2. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said home registration agent serves a plurality of mobile nodes and wherein said home registration agent is associated with a plurality of home tunneling agents.

3. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said home registration agent generates a registration reply message in response to a registration request message associated with said mobile node and sends said registration reply message to said foreign agent, and wherein said registration reply message contains an address associated with said home tunneling agent, whereby said foreign agent may tunnel said data traffic from said mobile node to said home tunneling agent for transmission to said destination for said data traffic.

12. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said second communications device comprises a communications device implementing at least one instantiation of a home tunneling agent software program.

13. The improvement of claim 12, wherein home tunneling agent comprises a router implementing at least two instantiations of a home tunneling agent software program.

14. The improvement of claim 13, wherein said home registration agent comprises a general purpose computer and wherein said home registration agent authenticates said mobile node in conjunction with an authentication, authorization and accounting server.

15. The improvement of claim 1, wherein said foreign agent comprises a foreign tunneling agent embodied in a first device and foreign registration agent embodied in a second device different from said first device.

4. A mobile Internet Protocol service provider system for providing a mobile node access to a network and enable said mobile node to communication with a host on said network, comprising:

a first communications device comprising a mobile IP standard home registration agent responsive to a mobile IP standard registration request message associated said mobile node and generating a mobile IP standard registration reply message, wherein said registration request and said registration reply messages have a mobile IP standard structure and format and are received by and responded to by said mobile IP standard home registration agent in accordance with a mobile IP standard protocol; and

a second communications device, different from said first communications device by virtue of having a different network address, comprising a mobile IP standard home tunneling agent associated with said mobile IP standard home registration agent, said mobile IP standard home tunneling agent receiving data traffic from said mobile node and forwarding said data traffic to said network.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein said system is operated by a wireless communications service provider.

6. The system of claim 4, wherein at least one of said first and second communications devices comprises a router.

7. The system of claim 4, wherein said system further comprises a foreign agent tunneling data traffic from said mobile node to said home tunneling agent, and wherein said home registration agent generates said registration reply message in response to a registration request message associated with said mobile node and sends said registration reply message to said foreign agent, and wherein said registration reply message contains an address associated with said home tunneling agent, whereby said foreign agent may tunnel said data traffic from said mobile node to said home tunneling agent for transmission to said network.

16. The system of claim 4, wherein said home registration agent exchanges registration and session control traffic with a foreign registration agent and said home tunneling agent tunnels data traffic to a foreign tunneling agent, said foreign registration agent and said foreign tunneling agent embodied in two separate communication devices.

8. A mobile IP standard home registration machine for authenticating a mobile node for network access, said machine comprising:

a central processing unit;

an interface to said network; and

a machine readable storage medium comprising a set of instructions for processing mobile IP standard registration request messages associated with said mobile node and responsively generating mobile IP standard registration reply messages, wherein said registration request and said registration reply messages have a mobile IP standard structure and format and are received by and responded to by said machine in accordance with a mobile IP standard protocol;

wherein said registration reply message contains a field containing a network address for a mobile IP standard home tunneling agent, said network address being different from a network address assigned to said machine, wherein said mobile IP standard home tunneling agent and said mobile IP standard registration machine are implemented in physically separate entities by virtue of said different network addresses of said mobile IP standard home registration machine and said mobile IP standard home tunneling agent.

9. The machine of claim 8, wherein said machine comprises a general purpose computer.

10. The machine of claim 8, wherein said machine comprises a router.

11. A method of authenticating a mobile node for network access, comprising the steps of:

generating a mobile IP standard registration request message and sending said registration request from a mobile IP standard foreign agent to a mobile IP standard home registration agent, said registration request message containing information used to determine whether said mobile node is authorized to access a network;

determining from said information in said registration request message whether said mobile node is permitted to access said network;

generating a mobile IP standard registration reply message and sending said registration reply message from said mobile IP standard home registration agent to said mobile IP standard foreign agent,

if said step of determining results in a positive response,

(a) including in said registration reply message a network address of a mobile IP standard home tunneling agent, said home tunneling agent adapted to receive data traffic from said mobile node and direct said data traffic onto said network; and

(b) tunneling said data traffic from said mobile IP standard foreign agent to said mobile IP standard home tunneling agent for transmission onto said network; and

wherein said mobile IP standard home registration agent and said mobile IP standard home tunneling agent are implemented in two separate communication devices by virtue of having separate network addresses;

and wherein said registration request message has a mobile IP standard structure and format and is received by and responded to by said mobile IP home registration agent in accordance with a mobile IP standard protocol.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein said home registration agent exchanges registration and session control traffic with a foreign registration agent and said home tunneling agent tunnels data traffic to a foreign tunneling agent, said foreign registration agent and said foreign tunneling agent embodied in two separate communication devices.

18. A mobile Internet Protocol service provider system for providing a mobile node access to a network and enable said mobile node to communicate with a host on said network, comprising:

a first entity comprising a mobile IP standard foreign registration agent transmitting a registration request message associated said mobile node to a mobile IP standard home agent and receiving a registration reply message from said mobile IP home agent; and

a second entity, different from said first entity by virtue of having a different network address, comprising a mobile IP standard foreign tunneling agent associated with said mobile IP standard foreign registration agent, said foreign tunneling agent receiving data traffic from said mobile node and directing said data traffic to said home agent; and

wherein said registration request and said registration reply messages have a mobile IP standard structure and format and are received by and responded to in accordance with a mobile IP standard protocol.

19. The system of claim 18, wherein at least one of said foreign registration agent and said foreign tunneling agent comprises access server.

20. The system of claim 18, wherein at least one of said foreign registration agent and said foreign tunneling agent comprises a general-purpose computer.