Virtual home agent service using software-replicated home agents
First Claim
1. A method of providing home agent services, comprising the steps of:
- providing a computing platform for receiving a plurality of packets from a first network;
implementing a plurality of home agents in software in said computing platform;
directing said packets within said computing platform to the home agent associated with said packets;
processing said packets in said plurality of home agents; and
forwarding said packets from said computing platform onto a second network for transmission to the destinations for said packets.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Multiple home agents for a home agent service provider network are implemented in a single computing platform in software as multiple virtual home agents. Each home agent is assigned or dedicated to a single virtual private network. Any number of home agents can be realized in the computing platform by multiple instantiations of a home agent program or code, and by providing unique IP addresses for each instantiation. Each home agent runs independently, and is independently configured and managed by the subscriber of the virtual private network service, freeing the service provider of having to manage and supervise low level processing tasks and customization features that the subscribers may want. In a representative embodiment, the computing platform comprises a router having a general purpose-computing platform.
46 Citations
13 Claims
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1. A method of providing home agent services, comprising the steps of:
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providing a computing platform for receiving a plurality of packets from a first network;
implementing a plurality of home agents in software in said computing platform;
directing said packets within said computing platform to the home agent associated with said packets;
processing said packets in said plurality of home agents; and
forwarding said packets from said computing platform onto a second network for transmission to the destinations for said packets. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A routing chassis processing packets for a plurality of mobile communications devices, comprising:
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an interface to a first network;
two or more software-replicated home agents; and
a means for demultiplexing a plurality of packets arriving from said first network at said first network interface and for forwarding said packets to said plurality of home agents in accordance with addresses contained in said packets. - View Dependent Claims (7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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13. A method of handing a registration request from a mobile communications device, comprising the steps of:
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providing a master home agent in a communications chassis, said master home agent comprising a plurality of software-replicated home agents;
receiving a registration request from said mobile communications device at said communications chassis and forwarding said registration request to one of a plurality of software-replicated home agents in said communications chassis in accordance with an address in said registration request;
generating a registration request authentication message in said one of said plurality of software replicated home agents;
transmitting said registration request authentication message from said communications chassis to an accounting, authentication, and authorization (AAA) server;
receiving a reply to said registration authentication message from said AAA server at said one of said plurality of software-replicated home agents; and
forwarding a reply to said registration request message from said communications chassis to said mobile communications device.
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Specification