Foreign agent address assignment for mobile IP path optimization

• US 7,924,789 B1
• Filed: 04/05/2007
• Issued: 04/12/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 04/05/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile Innovations LLC (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: Sprint Communications Company LP (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Breau, Jeremy R., Rogers, Frederick C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, IV; William
• Assistant Examiner(s): MAGLO, EMMANUEL K
• Application Number:
  US11/697,139
• Time in Patent Office: 1,468 Days
• Field of Search: 370/329, 370/328, 370/331, 370/338, 370/349, 455/433, 455/414.1, 455/450, 709/227, 709/245
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/34 Modification of an existing route
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/082 for traffic bypassing of mobility servers, e.g. location registers, home PLMNs or home agents
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]

Abstract

A method, system, and computer-readable media are provided for creating an optimized communication path between mobile devices. The method includes receiving a request to transmit data to a destination mobile device, and identifying a destination IP address of a destination mobile device within the request. The method further includes determining if the destination IP address is located within a routing table, and bypassing a reverse tunneling procedure if the destination IP address is located within the routing table. Additionally, the method includes transmitting the data directly to destination foreign agent of the destination mobile device.

Claims

1. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of providing an optimized communication path between mobile devices, the method comprising:

dividing a pool of home IP addresses into separate IP address pools;

assigning the IP address pools to foreign agents, wherein one IP address pool is assigned to one foreign agent and each foreign agent has a different IP address pool;

receiving a registration request from a mobile device, wherein the registration request is received via a foreign agent of the mobile device;

identifying one of the IP address pools that is assigned to the foreign agent of the mobile device;

assigning an IP address from the identified IP address pool to the mobile device; and

providing a routing logic to each of the foreign agents, wherein the routing logic indicates where to route data based on the IP address assigned to the mobile device, wherein the routing logic enables a foreign agent to transmit data from another mobile device directly to the foreign agent of the mobile device.

2. The media according to claim 1, wherein the identified IP address pool is based on an IP address of the foreign agent that is included within the registration request.

3. The media according to claim 1, wherein the IP address pools are assigned to foreign agents located in the same geographic location.

4. The media according to claim 1, wherein a home agent of the mobile device executes the method of claim 1.

5. The media according to claim 3, wherein the foreign agents are in the same geographic location if they are within a predetermined distance from each other.

6. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of providing an optimized communication path between mobile devices, the method comprising:

storing a routing table, wherein the routing table includes,

(1) destination IP addresses that are received at a foreign agent from a home agent,

(2) routing logic that associates the destination IP addresses with foreign agents that also receive destination IP addresses from the home agent, wherein an association between a particular destination IP address and a particular foreign agent indicates that a particular data packet addressed to the particular destination IP address is to be routed to the particular foreign agent;

receiving, at the foreign agent, a data packet from a source mobile device, wherein the data packet is addressed to a destination IP address;

determining whether the destination IP address is in the routing table; and

when the destination IP address is in the routing table, using the routing logic to route the data packet directly to a destination foreign agent, wherein the destination foreign agent is associated with the destination IP address.

7. The media according to claim 6, wherein the routing logic is received from a home agent.

8. The media according to claim 6, further comprising when the destination IP address is not in the routing table, routing the data packet to a home agent of the source mobile device.

9. The media according to claim 6, wherein the destination IP address is the address of a destination mobile device.

10. The media according to claim 9, further comprising receiving an Internet Control Messaging Protocol message from the destination foreign agent when the destination mobile device moves out of a service area of the destination foreign agent.

11. The media according to claim 10, wherein a reverse tunneling procedure is initiated when the Internet Control Messaging Protocol message is received in order to continue a communication session with the destination mobile device.

12. One or more non-transitory computer-readable media having computer-useable instructions embodied thereon for performing a method of providing an optimized communication path between mobile devices, the method comprising:

receiving, at a foreign agent, a request from a source mobile device to transmit a data packet to a destination mobile device;

identifying a destination IP address of the destination mobile device within the request;

determining if the destination IP address is located within a routing table, wherein the routing table includes IP addresses that are provided to the foreign agent by a home agent of the destination mobile device;

when the destination IP address is located within the routing table, identifying, at the foreign agent, a destination foreign agent that is associated with the destination IP address, wherein the destination foreign agent is the destination foreign agent of the destination mobile device;

transmitting the data packet directly from the foreign agent to the destination foreign agent of the destination mobile device.

13. The media according to claim 12, wherein the data packet is transmitted directly from the foreign agent to the destination foreign agent without transmitting the data packet to a home agent.

14. The media according to claim 12, wherein the foreign agent and the destination foreign agent are located in the same geographic location.

15. The media according to claim 12, wherein the routing table includes routing logic based on pools of IP addresses assigned by a home agent of the source mobile device and the home agent of the destination mobile device.

16. The media according to claim 12, further comprising receiving an Internet Control Messaging Protocol message from the destination foreign agent when the destination mobile device moves out of a service area of the destination foreign agent.

17. The media according to claim 16, further comprising initiating a reverse tunneling procedure when the Internet Control Messaging Protocol message is received in order to continue a communication session with the destination mobile device.

18. The media according to claim 16, further comprising transmitting the data directly to the destination mobile device when the Internet Control Messaging Protocol message is received and the mobile device moves to the service area of the source foreign agent.