Flexible mobile IP foreign agent architecture for enabling converged services

• US 8,811,360 B2
• Filed: 08/25/2011
• Issued: 08/19/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/29/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Ericsson AB (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Original Assignee: Ericsson AB (Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson)
• Inventors: Balay, Rajesh, Pradeep, Venkatesan, Balasubramanian, Chandramouli
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Brian D
• Application Number:
  US13/218,307
• Publication Number:
  US 20110305235A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,090 Days
• Field of Search: 370/338, 370/392, 370/328, 370/331, 370/349, 455/432.1, 455/433, 455/435.1
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2889 Multiservice, e.g. MSAN
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/06 Registration at serving network Location Register, VLR or user mobility server
• 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 and apparatus for flexible Mobile IP foreign agent architecture for enabling converged services are described herein. According to one embodiment of the invention, a packet is received over a circuit bound with a converged services domain of a network element. The converged services domain enables forwarding of wired and wireless traffic to a plurality of destination network elements. Upon determining that the circuit is capable of carrying Mobile Internet Protocol (IP) packets, the packet is processed according to an entry in a Mobile IP forwarding information base upon determining that the packet has a corresponding entry in the Mobile IP forwarding information base, and the packet is processed according to a different entry in an IP forwarding information base upon determining that the packet does not have an entry in the Mobile IP forwarding information base. Other methods and apparatuses are also described.

Claims

1. A computer implemented method of processing a tunneled packet received at a network element, comprising:

receiving the tunneled packet at a converged services domain, wherein the converged services domain is capable of processing wired and wireless service, wherein the converged services domain includes a foreign agent context, a care-of address (CoA) context, and a home address (HoA) virtual private network (VPN) context, wherein the foreign agent context includes a binding of a circuit to a mobile node, wherein the CoA context includes a set of one or more care of addresses that are used as tunnel endpoints, wherein the received tunneled packet is received at one of the set of care-of addresses, and wherein the HoA VPN context provides separation of overlapping home addresses associated with the converged services; and

upon determining that the tunneled packet is destined for a mobile node, de-tunneling the packet, and

forwarding the packet to the mobile node.

2. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein a source of the tunneled packet belongs to a service provider that is providing wired and wireless service, wherein the service provider belongs to a plurality of remote network elements, wherein the converged services domain is associated with at least some of the plurality of remote network elements, and wherein the converged services domain includes forwarding information for the associated remote network elements.

3. The computer implemented method of claim 2, wherein the plurality of remote network elements includes one or more home agents, wherein each of the one or more home agents are associated with the converged services domain.

4. The computer implemented method of claim 3, wherein at least some of the one or more home agents allocate overlapping home addresses, and wherein for each of the home agents allocating overlapping home addresses, provisioning the HoA VPN context to include one or more separate forwarding structures.

5. The computer implemented method of claim 1, wherein the converged services domain is one of a plurality of converged services domains, wherein the converged services domain and at least one other converged services domain belong to a single wholesale service provider, and wherein the tunneled packet is received from one of a first plurality of home agents belonging to a first single service provider associated with the converged services domain or a second plurality of home agents belonging to a second single service provider associated with the other converged services domain, and wherein the HoA VPN context included in the converged services domain is also used in the other converged services domain.

6. A non-transitory machine-readable medium that provides instructions that, when executed by a processor, causes said processor to perform operations for processing a tunneled packet received at a network element, comprising:

receiving the tunneled packet at a converged services domain, wherein the converged services domain is capable of processing wired and wireless service, wherein the converged services domain includes a foreign agent context, a care-of address (CoA) context, and a home address (HoA) virtual private network (VPN) context,

wherein the foreign agent context includes a binding of a circuit to a mobile node,

wherein the CoA context includes a set of one or more care-of-addresses that are used as tunnel endpoints,

wherein the received tunneled packet is received at one of the set of care-of addresses, and

wherein the HoA VPN context provides separation of overlapping home addresses associated with the converged services; and

upon determining that the tunneled packet is destined for a mobile node, de-tunneling the packet, and

forwarding the packet to the mobile node.

7. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 6, wherein a source of the tunneled packet belongs to a service provider that is providing wired and wireless service, wherein the service provider belongs to a plurality of remote network elements, wherein the converged services domain is associated with at least some of the plurality of remote network elements, and wherein the converged services domain includes forwarding information for the associated remote network elements.

8. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 7, wherein the plurality of remote network elements includes one or more home agents, wherein each of the one or more home agents is associated with the converged services domain.

9. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 8, wherein at least some of the one or more home agents allocate overlapping home addresses, and wherein for each of the home agents allocating overlapping home addresses, provisioning the HoA VPN context to include one or more separate forwarding structures.

10. The non-transitory machine-readable medium of claim 6, wherein the converged services domain is one of a plurality of converged services domains, wherein the converged services domain and at least one other converged services domain belong to a single wholesale service provider, and wherein the tunneled packet is received from one of a first plurality of home agents belonging to a first single service provider associated with the converged services domain or a second plurality of home agents belonging to a second single service provider associated with the other converged services domain, and wherein the HoA VPN context included in the converged services domain is also used in the other converged services domain.