Methods and apparatus for supporting mobile IP proxy registration in a system implementing mulitple VLANs

• US 7,447,188 B1
• Filed: 06/22/2004
• Issued: 11/04/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 06/22/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Leung, Kent, Dommety, Gopal, Siddiqi, Waseem
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen; Duc
• Assistant Examiner(s): CAI, WAYNE HUU
• Application Number:
  US10/874,679
• Time in Patent Office: 1,596 Days
• Field of Search: 370/392, 370/342, 709/227, 709/238, 709/220, 713/171
• US Class Current: 370/342
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/4679 Arrangements for the registration or de-registration of VLAN attribute values, e.g. VLAN identifiers, port VLAN membership
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/00 Communication routing or communication path finding
• 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 80/045 involving different protocol versions, e.g. MIPv4 and MIPv6
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/182 Network node acting on behalf of an other network entity, e.g. proxy

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for implementing proxy Mobile IP in a system implementing multiple VLANs are disclosed. Specifically, a network device such as an Access Point or Foreign Agent supports multiple VLANs on a plurality of interfaces. In addition, the network device implements proxy Mobile IP on at least one interface. The network device ascertains a subnet map of a node, where the subnet map corresponds to a VLAN. It then identifies a Home Agent associated with the subnet map or VLAN via which to register the node. The network device then composes a registration request on behalf of the node, where the registration request identifies the node (e.g., IP address) and includes a Home Agent address associated with the Home Agent. The registration request also directly or indirectly indicates the interface corresponding to the VLAN via which data packets are to be routed. The registration request is then sent on behalf of the node. A registration reply that indicates success or failure of the proxy registration performed on behalf of the node is then received. Upon successful proxy registration, data packets may be transmitted on the VLAN interface of the network device.

Claims

1. In a network device supporting Mobile Internet Protocol (Mobile IP), the network device having a plurality of interfaces supporting a plurality of virtual local area network(s) (VLAN or VLANs), a method of performing proxy registration on behalf of a node, the method comprising:

ascertaining a subnet map of the node, the subnet map corresponding to one of the plurality of VLANs;

identifying a Home Agent associated with the subnet map or the VLAN via which to register the node;

composing a registration request on behalf of the node, the registration request identifying the node and including a Home Agent address associated with the Home Agent, the registration request indicating one of the plurality of interfaces corresponding to the one of the plurality of VLANs via which data packets are to be routed;

sending the registration request on behalf of the node; and

receiving a registration reply that indicates success or failure of the proxy registration performed on behalf of the node, wherein the node does not support Mobile IP.

2. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein when the registration reply indicates success of the registration of the node, packets can be sent on the one of the plurality of interfaces associated with the one of the plurality of VLANs.

3. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the registration request includes at least one of an address associated with the one of the plurality of interfaces via which data packets are to be routed or a VLAN identifier identifying the one of the plurality of VLANs via which data packets are to be routed.

4. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein the one of the plurality of interfaces corresponding to the one of the plurality of VLANs via which data packets are to be routed does not support Mobile IP, and wherein the registration request is sent via another one of the plurality of interfaces that supports Mobile IP.

5. The method as recited in claim 1, wherein at least one of the plurality of interfaces do not support Mobile IP.

6. In a network device supporting Mobile Internet Protocol (Mobile IP), the network device having a plurality of interfaces supporting a plurality of virtual local area network(s) (VLAN or VLANs), a method of performing proxy registration on behalf of a node, the method comprising:

ascertaining a subnet map of the node;

identifying a VLAN associated with the subnet map such that one of the plurality of interfaces supporting the VLAN is identified;

identifying a Home Agent associated with the subnet map or the VLAN via which to register the node;

composing a registration request on behalf of the node, the registration request identifying the node and including a Home Agent address associated with the Home Agent, the registration request indicating the one of the plurality of interfaces supporting the VLAN via which data packets are to be routed;

sending the registration request on behalf of the node; and

receiving a registration reply indicating success or failure of the proxy registration performed on behalf of the node, wherein the node does not support Mobile IP.

7. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein when the registration reply indicates success of the registration of the node, packets can be sent on the one of the plurality of interfaces associated with the one of the plurality of VLANs.

8. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the registration request includes at least one of an address associated with the one of the plurality of interfaces via which data packets are to be routed and a VLAN identifier identifying the one of the plurality of VLANs via which data packets are to be routed.

9. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

forwarding a packet to the node on one of the plurality of interfaces associated with the VLAN or receiving a packet from the node on the one of the plurality of interfaces associated with the VLAN.

10. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the registration request includes a care-of address field identifying an Internet Protocol address (IP address) associated with one of the plurality of interfaces associated with the VLAN.

11. The method as recited in claim 10, wherein the registration request includes a VLAN tag indicating that the care-of address field includes the IP address associated with the VLAN, thereby enabling the VLAN to be identified from a mapping between one or more VLANs and one or more network prefixes or IP addresses.

12. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

identifying a Foreign Agent associated with the VLAN via which to register the node; and

sending the registration request to the Foreign Agent.

13. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein Mobile IP is supported by all of the plurality of interfaces.

14. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein Mobile IP is supported by one of the plurality of interfaces.

15. The method as recited in claim 14, wherein the one of the plurality of interfaces is the native VLAN.

16. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the registration request identifies one of the plurality of VLANs or one of the interfaces of the network device associated with the one of the plurality of VLANs.

17. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the one of the plurality of VLANs is identified by a VLAN tag.

18. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the one of the plurality of VLANs is identified in a VLAN extension to the registration request.

19. The method as recited in claim 16, wherein the one of the plurality of interfaces of the network device is identified by an IP address.

20. The method as recited in claim 19, wherein the IP address is identified in a care-of address field of the registration request.

21. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the network device is an Access Point.

22. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

receiving an agent advertisement from at least one of the Home Agent or a Foreign Agent associated with the subnet map or the VLAN, the agent advertisement including a VLAN tag identifying one of the VLANs; and

associating at least one of the Home Agent or the Foreign Agent with the one of the VLANs.

23. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

receiving an agent advertisement from at least one of the Home Agent or a Foreign Agent associated with the subnet map or the VLAN, the agent advertisement identifying a subnet mask and an IP address;

wherein the subnet mask is used to identify the subnet map of the node.

24. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

receiving an agent advertisement from at least one of a Foreign Agent or the Home Agent on one of the plurality of VLANs;

wherein sending the registration request and receiving the registration reply are performed on the one of the plurality of VLANs.

25. The method as recited in claim 24, wherein the registration request and the registration reply do not identify the one of the plurality of VLANs.

26. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

receiving an agent advertisement from at least one of a Foreign Agent or the Home Agent on one of the plurality of interfaces of the network device that is not associated with the VLAN, the agent advertisement identifying the VLAN.

27. The method as recited on claim 26, wherein the agent advertisement is received on a native VLAN of the network device.

28. The method as recited in claim 26, further comprising:

sending the registration request on one of the interfaces associated with the VLAN identified in the agent advertisement; and

receiving the registration reply on the one of the interfaces associated with the VLAN identified in the agent advertisement.

29. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

sending the registration request on one of the plurality of interfaces of the network device that is not associated with the VLAN.

30. The method as recited in claim 29, wherein the one of the plurality of interfaces supports Mobile IP and the interface via which data packets are to be routed to the node does not support Mobile IP.

31. The method as recited in claim 29, wherein the registration request identifies the VLAN.

32. The method as recited in claim 31, wherein the VLAN is identified in an extension to the registration request.

33. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

receiving the registration reply on one of the plurality of interfaces of the network device that is not associated with the VLAN.

34. The method as recited in claim 33, wherein the interface via which data packets are to be routed to the node does not support Mobile IP.

35. The method as recited in claim 33, wherein the registration reply identifies the VLAN.

36. The method as recited in claim 35, wherein the VLAN is identified in an extension to the registration reply.

37. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

receiving the registration reply on one of the interfaces associated with the VLAN.

38. The method as recited in claim 37, wherein the registration reply does not identify the VLAN.

39. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

obtaining a mapping between one or more VLANs and one or more network prefixes.

40. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

obtaining a mapping between a VLAN and at least one of a Home Agent or a Foreign Agent.

41. The method as recited in claim 40, wherein the mapping is obtained for a plurality of VLANs, each of the plurality of VLANs being associated with at least one of one or more Home Agents or one or more Foreign Agents.

42. The method as recited in claim 41, wherein the mapping is stored at the network device.

43. The method as recited in claim 41, wherein the mapping is obtained from a server.

44. The method as recited in claim 43, wherein the server is a Authentication, Authorization, and Accounting server (AAA server).

45. The method as recited in claim 41, wherein the mapping is obtained from a graphical user interface.

46. The method as recited in claim 40, wherein the mapping is obtained from an agent advertisement received from the Home Agent or the Foreign Agent.

47. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein identifying a Home Agent associated with the VLAN via which to register the node comprises:

searching a list of a plurality of VLANs, each of the plurality of VLANs being associated with at least one of one or more Home Agents.

48. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

sending a message, the message associating each of the plurality of VLANs with one or more of the plurality of interfaces of the network device.

49. The method as recited in claim 6, further comprising:

sending a message, the message being sent on one of the plurality of interfaces and identifying one of the plurality of VLANs, thereby associating the one of the plurality of interfaces of the network device with the one of the plurality of VLANs.

50. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein the one of the plurality of interfaces corresponding to the one of the plurality of VLANs via which data packets are to be routed does not support Mobile IP, and wherein the registration request is sent via another one of the plurality of interfaces that supports Mobile IP.

51. The method as recited in claim 6, wherein at least one of the plurality of interfaces do not support Mobile IP.

52. A method of processing a registration request, comprising:

receiving a registration request from a network device supporting Mobile Internet Protocol (Mobile IP), the registration request identifying a node that does not support Mobile IP and at least one of an interface address identifying an interface of the network device associated with one of a plurality of Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) or a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) identifier identifying one of a plurality of VLANs of the network device;

processing the registration request such that a binding between the node and the interface of a the network device is generated, thereby enabling data packets to be routed to the node via the interface of the network device; and

sending a registration reply to the network device.

53. The method as recited in claim 52, wherein the interface address is provided in a care-of address field of the registration request.

54. The method as recited in claim 52, wherein the registration request includes an extension including the VLAN identifier.

55. The method as recited in claim 52, wherein the network device is a Foreign Agent.

56. The method as recited in claim 52, further comprising:

sending an agent advertisement including a VLAN identifier identifying one of the plurality of VLANs.

57. The method as recited in claim 52, wherein the registration reply identifies one of the plurality of VLANs.

58. The method as recited in claim 52, wherein the registration reply identifies at least one of the one of the plurality of VLANs or an interface address associated with the one of the plurality of VLANs.

59. The method as recited in claim 52, wherein the registration reply is transmitted on one of a plurality of interfaces of that is not associated with the one of the plurality of VLAN.

60. The method as recited in claim 59, wherein the one of the plurality of interfaces supports Mobile IP and the interface via which data packets are to be routed to the node does not support Mobile IP.

61. The method as recited in claim 52, wherein the registration reply is transmitted on one of a plurality of interfaces of the network device, wherein the one of the plurality of interfaces is associated with the one of the plurality of VLANs.

62. The method as recited in claim 61, wherein the registration reply does not identify the one of the plurality of VLANs.

63. A computer-readable medium storing thereon computer-readable instructions for processing a registration request, comprising:

instructions for receiving a registration request from a network device supporting Protocol (Mobile IP), the registration request identifying a node that does not support Mobile IP and at least one of an interface address identifying an interface of the network device that is associated with one of a plurality of Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) or a Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN) identifier identifying one of a plurality of VLANs of the network device;

instructions for processing the registration request such that a binding between the node and the interface of the network device is generated, thereby enabling data packets to be routed to the node via the interface of the network device; and

instructions for sending a registration reply to the network device.

64. An apparatus supporting Mobile Internet Protocol (Mobile IP) and adapted for processing a registration request, comprising:

means for receiving a registration request from a network device supporting Mobile IP, the registration request identifying a node and at least one of an interface address identifying an interface of the network device that is associated with one of a plurality of Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) or a Virtual Local Area Networks (VLAN) identifier identifying one of a plurality of VLANs of the network device, wherein the node does not support Mobile IP;

means for processing the registration request such that a binding between the node and the interface of the network device is generated, thereby enabling data packets to be routed to the node via the interface of the network device; and

means for sending a registration reply to the network device.

65. An apparatus supporting Mobile Internet Protocol (Mobile IP) and adapted for processing a registration request, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory, at least one of the processor or the memory being adapted for;

receiving a registration request from a network device supporting Mobile IP, the registration request identifying a node and at least one of an interface address identifying an interface of the network device that is associated with one of a plurality of Virtual Local Area Networks (VLANs) or a Virtual Local Area Network (VLAN) identifier identifying one of a plurality of VLANs of the network device, wherein the node does not support Mobile IP;

processing the registration request such that a binding between the node and the interface of the network device is generated, thereby enabling data packets to be routed to the node via the interface of the network device; and

sending a registration reply to the network device.

66. The apparatus as recited in claim 65, wherein the registration request includes the interface address of the interface of the network device that is associated with one of the plurality of VLANs, wherein the registration request is received via the interface, wherein the interface supports Mobile IP.

67. The apparatus as recited in claim 66, wherein the registration request does not identify the VLAN.

68. The apparatus as recited in claim 66, wherein at least one of the plurality of interfaces does not support Mobile IP.

69. The apparatus as recited in claim 65, wherein the registration request is not received via the interface, wherein the interface does not support Mobile IP.

70. The apparatus as recited in claim 69, wherein the registration request includes the VLAN identifier identifying one of the plurality of VLANs.