Support of disparate addressing plans and dynamic HA address allocation in mobile IP

• US 9,131,367 B2
• Filed: 10/07/2013
• Issued: 09/08/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 04/08/2002
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: O'Neill, Alan
• Primary Examiner(s): CHOUDHRY, SAMINA F
• Application Number:
  US14/047,116
• Publication Number:
  US 20140036871A1
• Time in Patent Office: 701 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2503 Translation of Internet protocol [IP] addresses
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/065 involving selection of the user mobility server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/085 involving hierarchical organized mobility servers, e.g. hierarchical mobile IP [HMIP]
• 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]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/16 Gateway arrangements

Abstract

Methods and apparatus for enhancing Mobile IP signaling and to support use of disparate addressing plans and dynamic Home Agent allocation in Mobile IP Regional Tunneling are described. The enhanced methods of signaling use an intermediate node, e.g., a Gateway Foreign Agent, straddling different addressing domains, when the signaling controls a process between the intermediate node and an upstream node. The specific intermediate node, its interfaces and upstream addresses can be dynamically selected. The Enhanced MIP signaling includes dynamic allocation of: a regional node at a Foreign Agent, the upstream address of a regional node by the regional node, a Home Agent for a regional node prior to dynamic allocation of the regional node. A method is supported to indicate to a Mobile Node that a dynamically allocated regional node has become invalid triggering enhanced MIP signaling dynamically allocating a new regional node and upstream interface address.

Claims

1. A method of supporting disparate addressing plans in a wireless communication system, comprising:

receiving, at a downstream node configured to communicate in a first addressing domain, a registration request message from a mobile node visiting the first addressing domain, wherein the registration request message includes an upstream node address of an upstream node in a second addressing domain and an intermediate node downstream address indicator different from an intermediate node downstream address of an intermediate node;

dynamically allocating, at the downstream node, the intermediate node downstream address of the intermediate node to the mobile node in response to receiving the registration request message, wherein the intermediate node has an upstream interface that is reachable from the upstream node;

sending, from the downstream node, a first message including a first header and a first message body, the first header including the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address as the destination address of the first message, the first message body including at least one instruction and the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address, wherein the at least one instruction is configured to control the upstream node to interact with the intermediate node;

receiving, at the downstream node, a fourth message in response to the upstream node receiving a second message generated by the intermediate node based on the first message and the upstream node replying with a third message, the fourth message including a fourth message body that includes the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address and a dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address used by the upstream node in invoking the at least one instruction, wherein the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address is in the second addressing domain; and

forwarding the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address and the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address to the mobile node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the registration request message including the intermediate node downstream address indicator further comprises receiving a blank field, or receiving a default intermediate node downstream address that acts as a common identifier for the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising advertising the default intermediate node downstream address to the mobile node.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address is not reachable from the upstream node.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising dynamically allocating, at the downstream node, the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address is dynamically allocated by the intermediate node from a selected interface that is reachable from the upstream node.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address is requested from an external policy server.

8. The method of claim 1, further comprising dynamically selecting the intermediate node based on at least one of information about a type of communications process corresponding to the at least one instruction, information about the mobile node, information about a location of the mobile node, and information about a type and location of the upstream node.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one instruction is an instruction to invoke a tunnel between the upstream node and the intermediate node.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the downstream node is a Mobile IP (MIP) foreign agent, the upstream node is a MIP home agent, and the intermediate node is a Gateway Foreign Agent, wherein the at least one instruction is an instruction used to control construction of a MIP tunnel between the MIP Home Agent and the Gateway Foreign Agent, wherein the registration request message comprises a MIP registration request, and wherein the third message comprises a registration reply message.

11. A non-transitory machine readable medium embodying machine executable instructions for supporting disparate addressing plans in a wireless communication system, comprising:

at least one instruction for receiving, at a downstream node configured to communicate in a first addressing domain, a registration request message from a mobile node visiting the first addressing domain, wherein the registration request message includes an upstream node address of an upstream node in a second addressing domain and an intermediate node downstream address indicator different from an intermediate node downstream address of an intermediate node;

at least one instruction for dynamically allocating the intermediate node downstream address of the intermediate node to the mobile node in response to receiving the registration request message, wherein the intermediate node has an upstream interface that is reachable from the upstream node;

at least one instruction for sending, from the downstream node, a first message including a first header and a first message body, the first header including the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address as the destination address of the first message, the first message body including at least one instruction and the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address, wherein the at least one instruction included in the first message body is configured to control the upstream node to interact with the intermediate node;

at least one instruction for receiving a fourth message in response to the upstream node receiving a second message generated by the intermediate node based on the first message and the upstream node replying with a third message, the fourth message including a fourth message body that includes the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address and a dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address used by the upstream node in invoking the at least one instruction included in the first message body, wherein the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address is in the second addressing domain; and

at least one instruction for forwarding the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address and the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address to the mobile node.

12. A downstream node for supporting disparate addressing plans in a wireless communication system, comprising:

means for receiving, at the downstream node configured to communicate in a first addressing domain, a registration request message from a mobile node visiting the first addressing domain, wherein the registration request message includes an upstream node address of an upstream node in a second addressing domain and an intermediate node downstream address indicator different from an intermediate node downstream address of an intermediate node;

means for dynamically allocating the intermediate node downstream address of the intermediate node to the mobile node in response to receiving the registration request message, wherein the intermediate node has an upstream interface that is reachable from the upstream node;

means for sending, from the downstream node, a first message including a first header and a first message body, the first header including the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address as the destination address of the first message, the first message body including at least one instruction and the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address, wherein the at least one instruction is configured to control the upstream node to interact with the intermediate node;

means for receiving a fourth message in response to the upstream node receiving a second message generated by the intermediate node based on the first message and the upstream node replying with a third message, the fourth message including a fourth message body that includes the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address and a dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address used by the upstream node in invoking the at least one instruction, wherein the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address is in the second addressing domain; and

means for forwarding the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address and the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address to the mobile node.

13. A downstream node for supporting disparate addressing plans in a wireless communication system, comprising:

a receiver configured to receive, at the downstream node configured to communicate in a first addressing domain, a registration request message from a mobile node visiting the first addressing domain, wherein the registration request message includes an upstream node address of an upstream node in a second addressing domain and an intermediate node downstream address indicator different from an intermediate node downstream address of an intermediate node;

a processor configured to dynamically allocate the intermediate node downstream address of the intermediate node to the mobile node in response to receiving the registration request message, wherein the intermediate node has an upstream interface that is reachable from the upstream node;

a transmitter configured to send, from the downstream node, a first message including a first header and a first message body, the first header including the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address as the destination address of the first message, the first message body including at least one instruction and the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address, wherein the at least one instruction is configured to control the upstream node to interact with the intermediate node;

wherein the receiver is further configured to receive, at the downstream node, a fourth message in response to the upstream node receiving a second message generated by the intermediate node based on the first message and the upstream node replying with a third message, the fourth message including a fourth message body that includes the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address and a dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address used by the upstream node in invoking the at least one instruction, wherein the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address is in the second addressing domain; and

wherein the transmitter is further configured to forward the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address and the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address to the mobile node.

14. The downstream node of claim 13, wherein the intermediate node downstream address indicator comprises a blank field, or a default intermediate node downstream address that acts as a common identifier for the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address.

15. The downstream node of claim 14, wherein the transmitter is further configured to advertise the default intermediate node downstream address to the mobile node.

16. The downstream node of claim 13, wherein the dynamically allocated intermediate node downstream address is not reachable from the upstream node.

17. The downstream node of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to dynamically allocate the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address.

18. The downstream node of claim 13, wherein the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address is dynamically allocated by the intermediate node from a selected interface that is reachable from the upstream node.

19. The downstream node of claim 13, wherein the dynamically allocated intermediate node upstream address is requested from an external policy server.

20. The downstream node of claim 13, wherein the processor is further configured to dynamically select the intermediate node based on at least one of information about a type of communications process corresponding to the at least one instruction, information about the mobile node, information about a location of the mobile node, and information about a type and location of the upstream node.

21. The downstream node of claim 13, wherein the at least one instruction comprises an instruction to invoke a tunnel between the upstream node and the intermediate node.

22. The downstream node of claim 13, wherein the downstream node is a Mobile IP (MIP) foreign agent, the upstream node is a MIP home agent, and the intermediate node is a Gateway Foreign Agent, wherein the at least one instruction is an instruction used to control construction of a MIP tunnel between the MIP Home Agent and the Gateway Foreign Agent, wherein the registration request message comprises a MIP registration request, and wherein the third message comprises a registration reply message.