Apparatus and method for obtaining IP address of terminal using multiple frequency allocations in broadband wireless communication system

• US 8,400,972 B2
• Filed: 03/21/2008
• Issued: 03/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.
• Inventors: Kim, Nam-Gi, Cho, Jae-Hee, Lim, Hyoung-Kyu, Cho, Min-Hee
• Primary Examiner(s): Renner, Brandon
• Assistant Examiner(s): Taha, Shaq
• Application Number:
  US12/053,025
• Publication Number:
  US 20080232298A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,824 Days
• Field of Search: 370/329
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/622 Layer-2 addresses, e.g. medium access control [MAC] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 2101/677 Multiple interfaces, e.g. multihomed nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/5014 using dynamic host configuration protocol [DHCP] or bootstrap protocol [BOOTP]
• 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 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/162 at the data link layer
• 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 72/0453 Resources in frequency domain, e.g. a carrier in FDMA
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/02 Data link layer protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]

Abstract

An Internet Protocol (IP) address acquisition in a broadband wireless communication system is disclosed. A terminal includes a driver for loading one of a plurality Media Access Control (MAC) addresses for a multi-Frequency Allocation (FA) connection when the terminal is initialized; an interface for registering the loaded MAC address to use in an upper layer of a MAC layer; and a manager for acquiring an IP address using the registered MAC address when a network entry for at least one FA is complete.

Claims

1. A terminal in a wireless communication system, comprising:

a driver for loading one of a plurality of Media Access Control (MAC) addresses of the terminal for a multi-Frequency Allocation (FA) connection when the terminal is initialized, wherein the multi-FA connection comprises a single Internet Protocol (IP) connection through a plurality of FAs by using a plurality of MAC paths and a plurality of Physical (PHY) paths;

an interface for registering the loaded MAC address to use in an upper layer of a MAC layer;

a manager for acquiring a single IP address for the plurality of MAC addresses of the terminal using the registered MAC address when a network entry for at least one FA is complete;

a controller for distributing packets generated using the IP address to a plurality of FAs;

a plurality of processors for receiving a classified packet and performing a MAC layer processing on the packet for a corresponding FA; and

a plurality of communicators for converting a bit stream provided from the processors to a signal, up-converting the signal to a band of the corresponding FA, and transmitting the signal;

wherein the packets are transmitted and received through the multi-FA connection using the single IP address and the plurality of MAC addresses of the terminal.

2. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the one MAC address is preset as a default MAC address.

3. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the interface performs an interfacing operation according to a Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS).

4. The terminal of claim 1, wherein the manager acquires the IP address according to one of a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and a mobile IP protocol.

5. The terminal of claim 1, further comprising:

a plurality of authentication modules for performing a user authentication and an encryption for a corresponding at least one FA in the network entry.

6. The terminal of claim 5, wherein the authentication modules perform authentication according to an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP).

7. A communication method of a terminal in a wireless communication system, the method comprising:

loading one of a plurality of Media Access Control (MAC) addresses of the terminal for a multi-Frequency Allocation (FA) connection when the terminal is initialized, wherein the multi-FA connection comprises a single Internet Protocol (IP) connection through a plurality of FAs by using a plurality of MAC paths and a plurality of Physical (PHY) paths;

registering the loaded MAC address to use the MAC address in an upper layer of a MAC layer;

acquiring a single IP address for the plurality of MAC addresses of the terminal using the registered MAC address when a network entry for at least one FA is complete;

distributing packets generated using single IP address to a plurality of FAs;

performing MAC layer processing on the classified packets using a first MAC address of the plurality of MAC addresses; and

performing MAC layer processing on the classified packets using a second MAC address of the plurality of MAC addresses;

converting a bit stream provided from processors to a signal;

up-converting the signal to a band of the corresponding at least one FA;

and transmitting the signal;

wherein packets are transmitted and received through the multi-FA connection using the single IP address and the plurality of MAC addresses of the terminal.

8. The communication method of claim 7, wherein the one MAC address is preset as a default MAC address.

9. The communication method of claim 7, wherein the registering of the MAC address to be used in the upper layer is one of interfacing operations according to a Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS).

10. The communication method of claim 7, wherein the IP address is acquired according to one of a Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) and a mobile IP protocol.

11. The communication method of claim 7, further comprising:

performing a user authentication and an encryption for a corresponding at least one FA in the network entry.

12. The communication method of claim 11, wherein the authentication is performed according to an Extensible Authentication Protocol (EAP).

13. An apparatus for communicating in a wireless communication system, the apparatus comprising:

means for loading one of a plurality of Media Access Control (MAC) addresses for a multi-Frequency Allocation (FA) connection, wherein the multi-FA connection comprises a single Internet Protocol (IP) connection through a plurality of FAs by using a plurality of MAC paths and a plurality of Physical (PHY) paths;

means for registering the loaded MAC address in an upper layer of a MAC layer;

means for acquiring a single IP address for the plurality of MAC addresses using the registered MAC address when a network entry is complete;

means for distributing packets generated using the single IP address to a plurality of FAs;

means for receiving a classified packet and performing MAC layer processing on the classified packet using a first MAC address of the plurality of MAC addresses;

means for receiving a classified packet and performing MAC layer processing on the classified packet using a second MAC address of the plurality of MAC addresses; and

means for converting a bit stream provided from processors to a signal, up-converting the signal to a band of the corresponding at least one FA and transmitting the signal;

wherein packets are transmitted and received through the multi-FA connection using the single IP address and the plurality of MAC addresses.