Layering mobile and virtual private networks using dynamic IP address management

• US 7,685,317 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2002
• Issued: 03/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Iyer, Prakash N.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dollinger; Tonia L
• Assistant Examiner(s): BILGRAMI, ASGHAR H
• Application Number:
  US10/262,436
• Publication Number:
  US 20040073642A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,731 Days
• Field of Search: 709/248, 455/435.1, 455/433
• US Class Current: 709/248
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5084 Providing for device mobility network addressing or numbering for mobility support in wireless networks H04W8/26; mobile IP H04W80/04
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0209 Architectural arrangements, e.g. perimeter networks or demilitarized zones
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0272 Virtual private networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/20 for managing network security; network security policies in general filtering policies H04L63/0227
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/10 between location register and external networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/005 Data network PoA devices
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/182 Network node acting on behalf of an other network entity, e.g. proxy

Abstract

The present invention allows a mobile node to seamlessly move across IP (Internet Protocol) subnets. In one embodiment, the invention includes registering a mobile device with a home agent (HA) through a proxy server, receiving a home internet protocol (IP) address assignment from the HA, assigning the home IP address to the mobile device as an inner IP address, mapping the inner IP address to a physical point-of-attachment of the mobile device, and assigning an outer IP address. The embodiment further includes tunneling packets for the mobile device to the proxy server using the inner and outer IP address, and delivering packets from the proxy server to the mobile device at the point-of-attachment.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

registering a mobile device with a home agent (HA);

once the registering has occurred, receiving at the mobile device a home internet protocol (IP) address assignment from the HA;

assigning the home IP address to the mobile device as an inner IP address;

mapping the inner IP address to a physical point-of-attachment of the mobile device;

assigning an outer IP address directly to the mobile device from the HA;

tunneling of packets between the mobile device and the HA using the inner and outer IP address; and

delivering packets to the mobile device at the point-of-attachment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein registering a mobile device comprises registering a mobile device with a HA through a proxy server for a virtual private network (VPN), wherein the inner IP address serves as a VPN inner IP address, and wherein tunneling packets comprises tunneling packets to the proxy server from within the VPN.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein mapping the inner IP address comprises mapping the inner IP address at the proxy server.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising moving the mobile device from the VPN to the physical point-of-attachment before registering with the HA.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the physical point-of-attachment comprises a mobile IP wireless subnet.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein registering with the HA comprises registering the physical point-of-attachment.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein registering comprises registering through a mobile IP services driver and a mobility client.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein assigning the home IP address comprises the mobility client assigning the home IP address to a VPN client.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein registering the mobile device comprises registering the mobile device with the HA through a Mobile IP (MIP) proxy situated in a demilitarized zone (DMZ).

10. The method of claim 1, wherein assigning the home IP address comprises assigning the home IP address to a VPN client.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising negotiating a VPN tunnel with the home IP address as the inner IP address and a static IP address as the outer IP address.

12. The method of claim 1, further comprising registering the mobile device with the HA from a second physical point-of-attachment and mapping the inner IP address to the second physical point-of-attachment of the mobile device.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising maintaining the inner IP address for the second physical point-of-attachment as the same as for the first physical point-of-attachment.

14. A machine-readable medium having stored thereon data representing instructions which, when executed by a machine, cause the machine to perform operations comprising:

registering a mobile device with a home agent (HA);

once the registering has occurred, receiving at the mobile device a home internet protocol (IP) address assignment from the HA;

assigning the home IP address to the mobile device as an inner IP address;

mapping the inner IP address to a physical point-of-attachment of the mobile device;

assigning an outer IP address directly to the mobile device from the HA;

tunneling of packets between the mobile device and the HA using the inner and outer IP address; and

delivering packets to the mobile device at the point-of-attachment.

15. The medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions for registering a mobile device comprise instructions which, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform further operations comprising registering a mobile device with a HA through a proxy server for a virtual private network (VPN), wherein the inner IP address serves as a VPN inner IP address, and wherein the instructions for tunneling packets comprise instructions which, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform further operations comprising tunneling packets to the proxy server from within the VPN.

16. The medium of claim 15, wherein the instructions for registering with the HA comprise instructions which, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform further operations comprising registering the physical point-of-attachment.

17. The medium of claim 16, wherein the instructions for assigning the borne IP address comprise instructions which, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform further operations comprising the mobility client assigning the home IP address to a VPN client.

18. The medium of claim 16, further comprising instructions which, when executed by the machine, cause the machine to perform further operations comprising negotiating a VPN tunnel with the home IP address as the inner IP address and a static IP address as the outer IP address.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a mobility client to register a mobile device with a home agent (HA), to receive a home internet protocol (IP) address assignment from the HA, to assign the home IP address as an inner IP address, to map the inner IP address to a physical point-of-attachment of the mobile device, and to assign an outer IP address directly to the mobile device from the HA; and

a virtual private network (VPN) client to tunnel packets for the mobile device using the inner and outer IP address, and to deliver packets from the proxy server to the mobile device at the point-of-attachment.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the mobility client registers through a proxy server for a virtual private network (VPN), wherein the inner IP address serves as a VPN inner IP address, and wherein the VPN tunnels packets to the proxy server from within the VPN.

21. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the mobility client registers with the HA by registering the physical point-of-attachment.

22. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the VPN client further negotiates a VPN tunnel with the home IP address as the inner IP address and a static IP address as the outer IP address.

23. An apparatus comprising:

means for registering a mobile device with a home agent (HA) through a proxy server;

means for once the registering has occurred, receiving at the mobile device a home internet protocol (IP) address assignment from the HA;

means for assigning the home IP address to the mobile device as an inner IP address;

means for mapping the inner IP address to a physical point-of-attachment of the mobile device;

means for assigning an outer IP address directly to the mobile device from the HA;

means for tunneling of packets between the mobile device and the HA to the proxy server using the inner and outer IP address; and

means for delivering packets from the proxy server to the mobile device at the point-of-attachment.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the means for registering comprises means for registering through a mobile IP services driver and a mobility client.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the proxy server comprises a Mobile IP (MIP) proxy situated in a de-militarized zone (DMZ), and wherein the means for registering comprises registering the mobile device with the HA through the MIP Proxy.