Method and apparatus for mobile communication utilizing load balancing

• US 7,328,009 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2003
• Issued: 02/05/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/26/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Hitachi, Ltd.
• Inventors: Morishige, Takehiro, Takeda, Yukiko, Inouchi, Hidenori, Ohnishi, Koh
• Primary Examiner(s): TIEU, BINH KIEN
• Application Number:
  US10/606,259
• Publication Number:
  US 20040063402A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,685 Days
• Field of Search: 455/414.1, 455/420, 455/422.1, 455/424, 455/432.1, 455/433, 455/446, 455/435.1, 455/517, 455/520, 455/560, 455/550.1, 709/201, 709/203, 709/219, 709228-229
• US Class Current: 455/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• 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 method and apparatus are provided for mobile communication utilizing load balancing. When a home agent (HA) consists of one or more servers with each server being assigned a Mobile IPv6 Home-Agents Anycast Address, a nearby router does not store the link-layer addresses with respect to the Anycast addresses of the servers in its neighbor cache. Consequently, load balancing between or among the servers could not be performed. To solve this problem, in one example, an HA is provided that comprises a representative HA and distributed HAs. The representative HA is assigned an Anycast Address. The representative HA includes a collecting device configured to collect HA lists and load information from the distributed HAs. The representative HA dynamically creates a HA list and sends the HA list to a mobile node (MN). The MN registers its current location with an HA from the HA list included in a Home Agent Address Discovery Reply message. The load on the HA can then be shared by the servers constituting the HA.

Claims

1. A server in a first network compliant with a protocol, the server comprising:

a first information processing equipment including a representative function and an interface having an address indicating a group of interfaces;

a second information processing equipment without the representative function, wherein the first information processing equipment further includes a collecting device configured to collect attribute and load information from the second information processing equipment, wherein the second information processing equipment includes a storing device configured to store information corresponding to an address acquired by terminal equipment in a second network compliant with the protocol and to an address assigned to terminal equipment in the first network, wherein the first information processing equipment further includes a listing device configured to generate list information from the attribute and load information collected from the second information processing equipment and a sending device configured to send the list information the terminal equipment when the server receives a message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces.

2. The server of claim 1, wherein the protocol is an IPv6 protocol and the server is a Mobile IPv6 Home Agent.

3. The server of claim 2, wherein the address indicating the group of interfaces is a Mobile IPv6 Home-Agents Anycast Address, the message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces is a Home Agent Address Discovery Request message, and the attribute information collected from the second information processing equipment by the first information processing equipment is Home Agent related information.

4. The server of claim 1, wherein the first information processing equipment further includes:

a storing device configured to store a set of entries including a source address of a message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces and list information sent to the source address; and

a referring device configured to refer to the set of entries when the first information processing equipment receives a message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces, wherein when the source address of the message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces exists in a storage area storing the set of entries, the first information processing equipment is further configured to read the list information from the storage area and to send the list information to a sender of the message.

5. The server of claim 1, wherein the first information processing first equipment further includes:

a retrieving device configured to get address corresponding information from the information processing second equipment;

a storing device configured to store a set of entries including the address corresponding information and the address of the second information processing equipment; and

a referring device configured refer to the set of entries when the information processing first equipment receives a message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces, wherein when the source address of the message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces exists in a storage area storing the set of entries, the information processing first equipment is further configured to read the information for the second information processing equipment from the storage area and to send the information for the second information processing equipment to the sender of the message.

6. The server of claim 1, wherein the server accommodates at least one home network as a mobile communication network, and the first information processing equipment further includes a representative function for the at least one home network.

7. The server of claim 1, wherein the server is configured to accommodate at least one home network as a mobile communication network, wherein each home network is provided with the first information processing equipment and the second information processing second equipment.

8. The server of claim 1, further comprising another first information processing equipment configured like the first information processing equipment, wherein the first information processing equipment is configured to copy information stored in the first information processing equipment to the other first information processing equipment.

9. A method for mobile communication for a server in a first network compliant with a protocol, wherein the server includes a first information processing equipment with a function and a second information processing equipment without the function, wherein the first information processing equipment includes an interface having an address indicating a group of interfaces, the method comprising:

collecting attribute and load information from the second information processing equipment;

storing information corresponding to an address acquired by terminal equipment in a second network compliant with the protocol and to an address assigned to terminal equipment in the first network;

generating list information from the attribute and load information collected from the second information processing equipment;

receiving a message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces; and

sending the list information.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the protocol is an IPv6 protocol and the server apparatus is a Mobile IPv6 Home Agent.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the address indicating the group of interfaces is a Mobile IPv6 Home-Agents Anycast Address, the message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces is a Home Agent Address Discovery Request message, and the attribute information collected from the information processing second equipment by the information processing first equipment is Home Agent related information.

12. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

storing a set of entries including a source address of a message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces and list information sent to the source address; and

referring to the set of entries when the first information processing equipment receives a message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces;

when the source address of the message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces exists in a storage area storing the set of entries, reading the list information from the storage area and sending the list information to a sender of the message.

13. The method of claim 9, further comprising:

getting address corresponding information from the information processing second equipment;

storing a set of entries including the address corresponding information and the address of the second information processing equipment; and

referring to the set of entries when the information processing first equipment receives a message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces;

when the source address of the message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces exists in a storage area storing the set of entries, reading the information for the second information processing equipment from the storage area and sending the information for the second information processing equipment to the sender of the message.

14. A computer-readable medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions for mobile communication for a server in a first network compliant with a protocol, wherein the server includes a first information processing equipment with a function and a second information processing equipment without the function, wherein the first information processing equipment includes an interface having an address indicating a group of interfaces, the one or more sequences of one or more instructions including instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the steps of:

collecting attribute and load information from the second information processing equipment;

storing information corresponding to an address acquired by terminal equipment in a second network compliant with the protocol and to an address assigned to terminal equipment in the first network;

generating list information from the attribute and load information collected from the second information processing equipment;

receiving a message addressed to the address indicating the group of interfaces; and

sending the list information.