Home agent acting as a proxy for a Mobile Node

• US 8,553,689 B2
• Filed: 04/03/2012
• Issued: 10/08/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 09/19/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sun Patent Trust
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Bachmann, Jens, Weniger, Kilian
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Moutaouakil, Mounir
• Application Number:
  US13/438,730
• Publication Number:
  US 20120188944A1
• Time in Patent Office: 553 Days
• Field of Search: 370389-400
• US Class Current: 370/389
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 60/005 Multiple registrations, e.g. multihoming
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• 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

In node management in a packet-switched network, a first node acts as a proxy for a second node. Both nodes have network-layer addresses at the network layer and link-layer addresses at the link layer. The first node receives a request to receive and forward packets addressed to the second node'"'"'s network-layer address. The same network-layer address is associated with the first and the second node, and the first and the second node have distinct link-layer addresses. The first node advertises to nodes attached to the packet-switched network the first node'"'"'s link-layer address as a destination address for the second node'"'"'s network-layer address; the second node does not advertise. The first node receives in response to advertising, packets destined to the second node'"'"'s network-layer address having the first node'"'"'s link-layer address and forwards packets addressed to the second node'"'"'s network-layer address to the second node using its link-layer address.

Claims

1. A home agent on a home link, the home agent being a router configured to control forwarding of packets destined to a mobile node, wherein the mobile node is attached to the home link, and at least one router other than the home agent is on the home link, the home agent comprising:

a receiver configured to intercept packets destined to the mobile node'"'"'s home address, wherein the receiver is further configured to receive from the mobile node a request to receive and forward the packets addressed to the mobile node'"'"'s home address, the request including a mobile node'"'"'s link-layer address;

an advertising unit, including a processor, configured to advertise on the home link, on behalf of the mobile node, the home agent'"'"'s link-layer address as a destination address for the mobile node'"'"'s home address, wherein the mobile node stops an operation of advertising, to the at least one router on the home link, the mobile node'"'"'s link-layer address,

wherein the receiver is further configured to receive from the at least one router, in response to advertising of the home agent'"'"'s link-layer address, the packets destined to the mobile node'"'"'s home address having the home agent'"'"'s link-layer address, and wherein the home agent further comprises;

a forwarding unit configured to forward all packets, addressed to the mobile node'"'"'s home address, to the mobile node using the mobile node'"'"'s link-layer address.

2. The home agent according to claim 1, wherein the home agent is further configured to map the mobile node'"'"'s home address to the mobile node'"'"'s link layer address.

3. The home agent according to claim 1, wherein the home agent is further configured to send additional packets to the mobile node'"'"'s care-of address according to whether the additional packets match filter parameters.

4. The home agent according to claim 1, wherein the advertising unit is configured to advertise proxy Neighbor Advertisements of the Neighbor Discovery protocol according to Mobile IPv6.

5. The home agent according to claim 1, wherein the home agent is configured to utilize Mobile IPv6.