Mobile virtual network system and method

• US 6,970,459 B1
• Filed: 12/02/2000
• Issued: 11/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 05/13/1999
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Intermec IP Corporation (Honeywell International Inc.)
• Inventors: Meier, Robert C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham, Chi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Boakye, Alexander O.
• Application Number:
  US09/729,676
• Time in Patent Office: 1,823 Days
• Field of Search: 370/329, 370/389, 370/352, 370/320, 370/331, 370/392, 370/401, 370/420, 370/460, 370/473, 370/466, 709/239, 709/217, 704/228
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4641 Virtual LANs, VLANs, e.g. virtual private networks [VPN] LAN interconnection over a bridge based backbone H04L12/462; encapsulation techniques H04L12/4633; routing of packets H04L45/00; packet switches H04L49/00; virtual private networks for security H04L63/0272
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4691 GVRP [GARP VLAN registration protocol]

Abstract

A communication system in which multiple protocols and proxy services are executed by an access point. In one embodiment of the invention, GVRP and GMRP registrations are combined in a single packet when a wireless device roams to a different VLAN. In addition, outbound GVRP and GMRP multicast messages are handled by an access point (also referred to as a GVRP and GMRP “gateway”) such that the wireless device is not burdened with the associated computational overhead. In a further embodiment, a wireless device may dynamically switch between a VLAN-aware state and a VLAN-unaware state depending on the nature of a detected access point. For example, if a relevant access point supports GVRP, the wireless device may operate as a VLAN terminal. If a wireless device is not attached to an access point with a matching VLAN ID, the wireless device sends and receives VLAN tagged frames. If a wireless device configured with a VLAN ID is attached to an access point with a matching VLAN ID, or if the wireless device is attached to a non-VLAN access point, then the wireless device may send and receive raw/untagged frames. In addition to the gateways described below, the ability of a wireless device to detect when it can send untagged frames is considered novel. In another embodiment of the invention, a special ID that is different than the native VLAN ID for a switch port is used for VLAN-unaware devices. This allows such devices that do not issue tagged frames to belong to a single VLAN ID.

Claims

1. A communication network system capable of providing communication via an internetwork, the communication network system comprising

(a) a tunnel server which provides for a tunneling service via an internetwork, and has a global address for identifying a first end point of a tunnel provided by the tunneling service;

(b) a mobile wireless system for communicating via a wireless link, and having a mobile virtual tunneling protocol client which has access to the global address for the first end point so as to enable communication with the tunnel server, the mobile wireless system being capable of being transported to a location remote from the first end point; and

(c) a tunnel agent subsystem for communication via the wireless link with the mobile virtual tunneling protocol client of the mobile wireless system and for communication via an internetwork with the mobile virtual tunneling protocol server for establishing a mobile virtual tunneling protocol tunnel between the mobile virtual tunneling protocol client of the mobile wireless system located at a second end point remote from the first end point and the mobile virtual tunneling protocol server at the first end point, the tunnel agent subsystem assigning to the mobile wireless system a local end point identification for identifying the second end point of the mobile virtual tunneling protocol tunnel.

2. A communication network system according to claim 1, with the mobile wireless system having provision for authenticating a mobile virtual tunneling protocol registration between the mobile virtual tunneling protocol client of the mobile wireless system and a tunnel agent subsystem with which the mobile wireless system has wireless communication, prior to opening of the mobile virtual tunneling protocol tunnel for communication.

3. A communication network system according to claim 1, with the mobile wireless system being capable of communicating via its wireless link and via an internetwork with the first end point utilizing a mobile virtual tunneling protocol at the data link layer, the mobile virtual tunneling protocol being transparent to protocols above the data link layer.

4. A communication network system according to claim 1, with the mobile wireless system being capable of communicating via its wireless link and via an internetwork with the first end point utilizing a mobile virtual tunneling protocol, while the mobile wireless system runs an arbitrary network-layer protocol and roams seamlessly across network boundaries.

5. A communication network system according to claim 1, with the tunnel server comprising a layer two tunneling protocol (L2TP) network server with a point-to-point port serving as the first end point of the mobile virtual tunneling protocol tunnel.

6. A communication network system according to claim 1, with the tunnel agent subsystem being operative to establish a mobile virtual tunneling protocol tunnel for a mobile wireless system which supports a non internet protocol (non-IP).

7. A communication network system according to claim 1, with the mobile wireless system having wide area and local area connectivity so that the mobile wireless system can roam between a wireless link to a remote local area network which is coupled to the first end point via an internetwork, and a wide area wireless link to a wide area network without losing its logical connection to the first end point.

8. A communication network system according to claim 1, with the mobile wireless system having wide area connectivity utilizing a wireless wide area link that is maintained for a period of time after a wireless local area link becomes available, to facilitate rapid roaming of the mobile wireless system.

9. A communication network system according to claim 1, wherein the tunnel agent subsystem serves to concatenate a point-to-point protocol (PPP) tunnel, and a layer two tunneling protocol (L2TP) tunnel.

10. A communication network system according to claim 1, wherein a data link tunnel from a mobile wireless system is concatenated with an Internet Protocol (IP) tunnel to form the mobile virtual tunneling protocol tunnel.

11. A communication network system according to claim 1, wherein the global address identifying the first end point of the mobile virtual tunneling protocol tunnel is a phone number.

12. A communication network system according to claim 1, wherein the global address identifying the first end point of the mobile virtual tunneling protocol tunnel is an IEEE 802 address.

13. A communication network system according to claim 1, wherein the global address identifying the first end point of the mobile virtual tunneling protocol tunnel is an ATM address.

14. A communication network system according to claim 1, wherein the global address identifying the first end point of the mobile virtual tunneling protocol tunnel is an Internet Protocol (IP) address.

15. A communication network system according to claim 1, which supports both enterprise and global roaming of the mobile wireless system.

16. A communication network system according to claim 1, which supports rapid roaming of the mobile wireless system.

17. A communication network system according to claim 1, wherein the tunnel agent subsystem supports a multiplex of multiple connections.

18. A communication network system according to claim 1, which utilizes a mobile virtual network tunneling protocol which is transparent to protocols above the data link layer.

19. A communication network system capable of providing communication via an internetwork, the communication network system comprising

(a) a mobile virtual tunneling protocol server which provides for a tunneling service via an internetwork, and has a global address for identifying a first end point of a tunnel provided by the tunneling service;

(b) a mobile wireless system for communicating via a wireless link, and having a mobile virtual tunneling protocol client which has access to the global address for the first end point so as to enable communication with the mobile virtual tunneling protocol server, the mobile wireless system being capable of being transported to a location separated from the first end point by an internetwork; and

(c) said mobile wireless system being operable when in wireless communication with a remote network separated from the mobile virtual tunneling protocol server by an internetwork to obtain assignment of a local end point identification from the remote network for identifying a second end point for a mobile virtual tunneling protocol tunnel, such that the mobile virtual tunneling protocol client of the mobile wireless system can establish via a wireless link to the remote network, a mobile virtual tunneling protocol tunnel for communication with the mobile virtual tunneling protocol server.

20. A communication network system according to claim 1, wherein communication from the tunnel agent subsystem to the tunnel server enters the tunnel server via a point-to-point port.

21. A communication network system according to claim 19, wherein communication from second end point to the first end point enters the mobile virtual tunneling protocol server via a point-to-point port.

22. A communication network system capable of providing communication via an internetwork, the communication network system comprising

(a) a home network having a mobile virtual private network tunneling protocol server which provides for a tunneling service via an internetwork;

(b) a mobile wireless system for communicating via a wireless link, and having a mobile virtual private network tunneling protocol client which provides for a tunneling service via an internetwork; and

(c) a mobile virtual private network tunneling protocol foreign agent subsystem for communication via an internetwork with the mobile virtual private network tunneling protocol server and for communication via the wireless link with the mobile virtual private network tunneling protocol client of the mobile wireless mobile system to establish a mobile virtual private network tunneling protocol tunnel between the mobile virtual private network tunneling protocol client of the mobile wireless system and the mobile virtual private network tunneling protocol server of the home network, so as to enable communication between the mobile wireless system and the home network via the wireless link and via an internetwork when the mobile wireless system is at a location remote from the home network;

(d) wherein communication from the mobile virtual private network tunneling protocol foreign agent subsystem to the home network enters the home network via a point-to-point port.