MPA WITH MOBILE IP FOREIGN AGENT CARE-OF ADDRESS MODE

[0001] The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. 119 to U.S. patent application Ser. No. 60/766,789 filed on Feb. 11, 2006, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0002] 1. Field of the Invention

[0003] The present application incorporates by reference the entire disclosure of U.S. application Ser. No. 11/307,362 filed Feb. 24 2005, entitled A Framework Of Media-Independent Pre-Authentication. In addition, the present application incorporates by reference the entire disclosures of each of the following U.S. Provisional Patent Applications: 1) Ser. No. 60/625,106, filed on Nov. 5, 2004, entitled Network Discovery Mechanism For Secure Fast Handoff; 2) Ser. No. 60/593,377, filed on Jan. 9, 2005, entitled Network Discovery Mechanisms; 3) Ser. No. 60/670,655, filed on Apr. 13, 2005, entitled Network Discovery Mechanisms; and 4) Ser. No. 60/697,589, filed on Jul. 11, 2005, entitled RDF Schema Update for 802.1 Baseline Document. In addition, the entire disclosure of the following co-pending Utility U.S. patent application is incorporated herein by reference: U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/761,243 entitled Mobility Architecture Using Pre-Authentication, Pre-Configuration and/or Virtual Soft-Handoff filed on Jan. 22, 2004.

[0004] 2. Background Discussion

[0005] Networks and Internet Protocol:

[0006] There are many types of computer networks, with the Internet having the most notoriety. The Internet is a worldwide network of computer networks. Today, the Internet is a public and self-sustaining network that is available to many millions of users. The Internet uses a set of communication protocols called TCP/IP (i.e., Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) to connect hosts. The Internet has a communications infrastructure known as the Internet backbone. Access to the Internet backbone is largely controlled by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) that resell access to corporations and individuals.

[0007] With respect to IP (Internet Protocol), this is a protocol by which data can be sent from one device (e.g., a phone, a PDA [Personal Digital Assistant], a computer, etc.) to another device on a network. There are a variety of versions of IP today, including, e.g., IPv4, IPv6, etc. Each host device on the network has at least one IP address that is its own unique identifier. IP is a connectionless protocol. The connection between end points during a communication is not continuous. When a user sends or receives data or messages, the data or messages are divided into components known as packets. Every packet is treated as an independent unit of data.

[0008] In order to standardize the transmission between points over the Internet or the like networks, an OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model was established. The OSI model separates the communications processes between two points in a network into seven stacked layers, with each layer adding its own set of functions. Each device handles a message so that there is a downward flow through each layer at a sending end point and an upward flow through the layers at a receiving end point. The programming and/or hardware that provides the seven layers of function is typically a combination of device operating systems, application software, TCP/IP and/or other transport and network protocols, and other software and hardware.

[0009] Typically, the top four layers are used when a message passes from or to a user and the bottom three layers are used when a message passes through a device (e.g., an IP host device). An IP host is any device on the network that is capable of transmitting and receiving IP packets, such as a server, a router or a workstation. Messages destined for some other host are not passed up to the upper layers but are forwarded to the other host. The layers of the OSI model are listed below. Layer 7 (i.e., the application layer) is a layer at which, e.g., communication partners are identified, quality of service is identified, user authentication and privacy are considered, constraints on data syntax are identified, etc. Layer 6 (i.e., the presentation layer) is a layer that, e.g., converts incoming and outgoing data from one presentation format to another, etc. Layer 5 (i.e., the session layer) is a layer that, e.g., sets up, coordinates, and terminates conversations, exchanges and dialogs between the applications, etc. Layer-4 (i.e., the transport layer) is a layer that, e.g., manages end-to-end control and error-checking, etc, Layer-3 (i.e., the network layer) is a layer that, e.g., handles routing and forwarding, etc. Layer-2 (i.e., the data-link layer) is a layer that, e.g., provides synchronization for the physical level, does bit-stuffing and furnishes transmission protocol knowledge and management, etc. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) sub-divides the data-link layer into two further sub-layers, the MAC (Media Access Control) layer that controls the data transfer to and from the physical layer and the LLC (Logical Link Control) layer that interfaces with the network layer and interprets commands and performs error recovery. Layer 1 (i.e., the physical layer) is a layer that, e.g., conveys the bit stream through the network at the physical level. The IEEE sub-divides the physical layer into the PLCP (Physical Layer Convergence Procedure) sub-layer and the PMD (Physical Medium Dependent) sub-layer

[0010] Wireless Networks

[0011] Wireless networks can incorporate a variety of types of mobile devices, such as, e.g., cellular and wireless telephones, PCs (personal computers), laptop computers, wearable computers, cordless phones, pagers, headsets, printers, PDAs, etc. For example, mobile devices may include digital systems to secure fast wireless transmissions of voice and/or data. Typical mobile devices include some or all of the following components: a transceiver (i.e., a transmitter and a receiver, including, e.g., a single chip transceiver with an integrated transmitter, receiver and, if desired, other functions); an antenna; a processor; one or more audio transducers (for example, a speaker or a microphone as in devices for audio communications), electromagnetic data storage (such as, e.g., ROM, RAM, digital data storage, etc., such as in devices where data processing is provided); memory; flash memory; a full chip set or integrated circuit interfaces (such as, e.g., USB, CODEC, UART, PCM, etc.); and/or the like.

[0012] Wireless LANs (WLANs) in which a mobile user can connect to a local area network (LAN) through a wireless connection may be employed for wireless communications. Wireless communications can include, e.g., communications that propagate via electromagnetic waves, such as light, infrared, radio, microwave. There are a variety of WLAN standards that currently exist, such as, e.g., Bluetooth, IEEE 802.11, and HomeRF.

[0013] By way of example, Bluetooth products may be used to provide links between mobile computers, mobile phones, portable handheld devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other mobile devices and connectivity to the Internet. Bluetooth is a computing and telecommunications industry specification that details how mobile devices can easily interconnect with each other and with non-mobile devices using a short-range wireless connection. Bluetooth creates a digital wireless protocol to address end-user problems arising from the proliferation of various mobile devices that need to keep data synchronized and consistent from one device to another, thereby allowing equipment from different vendors to work seamlessly together. Bluetooth devices may be named according to a common naming concept. For example, a Bluetooth device may possess a Bluetooth Device Name (BDN) or a name associated with a unique Bluetooth Device Address (BDA). Bluetooth devices may also participate in an Internet Protocol (IP) network. If a Bluetooth device functions on an IP network, it may be provided with an IP address and an IP (network) name. Thus, a Bluetooth Device configured to participate on an IP network may contain, e.g., a BDN, a BDA, an IP address and an IP name. The term “IP name” refers to a name corresponding to an IP address of an interface.

[0014] An IEEE standard, IEEE 802.11, specifies technologies for wireless LANs and devices. Using 802.11, wireless networking may be accomplished with each single base station supporting several devices. In some examples, devices may come pre-equipped with wireless hardware or a user may install a separate piece of hardware, such as a card, that may include an antenna. By way of example, devices used in 802.11 typically include three notable elements, whether or not the device is an access point (AR), a mobile station (STA), a bridge, a PFMCIA card or another device: a radio transceiver, an antenna; and a MAC (Media Access Control) layer that controls packet flow between points in a network.

[0015] In addition, Multiple Interface Devices (MIDs) may be utilized in some wireless networks. MIDs may contain two independent network interfaces, such as a Bluetooth interface and an 802.11 interface, thus allowing the MID to participate on two separate networks as well as to interface with Bluetooth devices, The MID may have an IP address and a common IP (network) name associated with the IP address.

[0016] Wireless network devices may include, but are not limited to Bluetooth devices, Multiple Interface Devices (MIDs), 802.11×devices (IEEE 802.11 devices including, e.g., 802.11a, 802.11b and 802.11g devices), HomeRF (Home Radio Frequency) devices, Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) devices, GPRS (General Packet Radio Service) devices, 3G cellular devices, 2.50 cellular devices, GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) devices, EDGE (Enhanced Data for GSM Evolution) devices, TDMA type (Time Division Multiple Access) devices, or CDMA type (Code Division Multiple Access) devices, including CDMA2000. Each network device may contain addresses of varying types including but not limited to an IP address, a Bluetooth Device Address, a Bluetooth Common Name, a Bluetooth IP address, a Bluetooth IP Common Name, an 802.11 IP Address, an 802.11 IP common Name, or an IEEE MAC address.

[0017] Wireless networks can also involve methods and protocols found in, e.g., Mobile IP (Internet Protocol) systems, in PCS systems, and in other mobile network systems. With respect to Mobile IP, this involves a standard communications protocol created by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). With Mobile IP, mobile device users can move across networks while maintaining their IP Address assigned once. See e.g. Request for Comments (RFC) 3344 and Request for Comments (RFC) 2002 (1996). NB: RFCs are formal documents of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). Mobile IP enhances Internet Protocol (IP) and adds means to forward Internet traffic to mobile devices when connecting outside their home network. Mobile IP assigns each mobile node a home address on its home network and a care-of-address (CoA) that identifies the current location of the device within a network and its subnets. When a device is moved to a different network, it receives a new care-of address. A mobility agent on the home network can associate each home address with its care-of address. The mobile node can send the home agent a binding update each time it changes its care-of address using, e.g., Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP). As discussed in RFC 2002, “IP version 4 assumes that a node's IP address uniquely identifies the node's point of attachment to the Internet. Therefore, a node must be located on the network indicated by its IP address in order to receive datagrams destined to it; otherwise, datagrams destined to the node would be undeliverable. For a node to change its point of attachment without losing its ability to communicate, currently one of the two following mechanisms must typically be employed: a) the node must change its IP address whenever it changes its point of attachment, or b) host-specific routes must be propagated throughout much of the Internet routing fabric. Both of these alternatives are often unacceptable. The first make it impossible for a node to maintain transport and higher-layer connections when the node changes location. The second has obvious and severe scaling problems, especially relevant considering the explosive growth in sales of notebook (mobile) computers. A new, scalable, mechanism is required for accommodating node mobility within the Internet. [The RFC 2002 document related to Mobile P] defines such a mechanism, which enables nodes to change their point of attachment to the Internet without changing their IP address.”

[0018] In that regard, RFC 2002 explains that “[a] mobile node must be able to communicate with other nodes after changing its link-layer point of attachment to the Internet, yet without changing its IP address. A mobile node must be able to communicate with other nodes that do not implement these mobility functions. No protocol enhancements are required in hosts or routers that are not acting as any of the new architectural entities.” RFC 2002 further explains that “Mobile IP is intended to enable nodes to move from one IP subnet to another. It is just as suitable for mobility across homogeneous media as it is for mobility across heterogeneous media. That is, Mobile IP facilitates node movement from one Ethernet segment to another as well as it accommodates node movement from an Ethernet segment to a wireless LAN, as long as the mobile node's IP address remains the same after such a movement.” RFC 2002 further explains that “Mobile IP introduces the following new functional entities: Mobile Node=a host or router that changes its point of attachment from one network or subnetwork to another. A mobile node may change its location without changing its IP address; it may continue to communicate with other Internet nodes at any location using its (constant) IP address, assuming link-layer connectivity to a point of attachment is available. Home Agent=a router on a mobile node's home network which tunnels datagrams for delivery to the mobile node when it is away from home, and maintains current location information for the mobile node. Foreign Agent=a router on a mobile node's visited network which provides routing services to the mobile node while registered. The foreign agent detunnels and delivers datagrams to the mobile node that were tunneled by the mobile node's home agent. For datagrams sent by a mobile node, the foreign agent may serve as a default router for registered mobile nodes. A mobile node is given a long-term IP address on a home network. This home address is administered in the same way as a “permanent” IP address is provided to a stationary host. When away from its home network, a “care-of address” is associated with the mobile node and reflects the mobile node's current point of attachment. The mobile node uses its home address as the source address of all IP datagrams that it sends, except where otherwise described in [RFC 2002] for datagrams sent for certain mobility management functions.”

[0019] RFC 2002 further explains that: “The following support services are defined for Mobile IP: Agent Discovery=home agents and foreign agents may advertise their availability on each link for which they provide service. A newly arrived mobile node can send a solicitation on the link to learn if any prospective agents are present. Registration=When the mobile node is away from home, it registers its care-of address with its home agent. Depending on its method of attachment, the mobile node will register either directly with its home agent, or through a foreign agent which forwards the registration to the home agent. The following steps provide a rough outline of operation of the Mobile IP protocol:

[0020] Mobility agents (i.e., foreign agents and home agents) advertise their presence via Agent Advertisement messages (Section 2 [of RFC 2002]). A mobile node may optionally solicit an Agent Advertisement message from any locally attached mobility agents through an Agent Solicitation message.

[0021] A mobile node receives these Agent Advertisements and determines whether it is on its home network or a foreign network.

[0022] When the mobile node detects that it is located on its home network, it operates without mobility services. If returning to its home network from being registered elsewhere, the mobile node deregisters with its home agent, through exchange of a Registration Request and Registration Reply message with it.

[0023] When a mobile node detects that it has moved to a foreign network, it obtains a care-of address on the foreign network. The care-of address can either be determined from a foreign agent's advertisements (a foreign agent care-of address), or by some external assignment mechanism such as DHCP [see reference 6 cited in RFC 2002] (a co-located care-of address).

[0024] The mobile node operating away from home then registers its new care-of address with its home agent through exchange of a Registration Request and Registration Reply message with it, possibly via a foreign agent (Section 3 [of RFC 2002]).

[0025] Datagrams sent to the mobile node's home address are intercepted by its home agent, tunneled by the home agent to the mobile node's care-of address, received at the tunnel endpoint (either at a foreign agent or at the mobile node itself), and finally delivered to the mobile node (Section 4.2.3 [of RFC 2002)).

[0026] In the reverse direction, datagrams sent by the mobile node are generally delivered to their destination using standard IP routing mechanisms, not necessarily passing through the home agent.” RFC 2002.

[0027] “When away from home, Mobile IP uses protocol tunneling to hide a mobile node's home address from intervening routers between its home network and its current location. The tunnel terminates at the mobile node's care-of address. The care-of address must be an address to which datagrams can be delivered via conventional IP routing. At the care-of address, the original datagram is removed from the tunnel and delivered to the mobile node.” RFC 2002.

[0028] “Mobile IP provides two alternative modes for the acquisition of a care-of address:

[0029] A “foreign agent care-of address” is a care-of address provided by a foreign agent through its Agent Advertisement messages. In this case, the care-of address is an IP address of the foreign agent. In this mode, the foreign agent is the endpoint of the tunnel and, upon receiving tunneled datagrams, decapsulates them and delivers the inner datagram to the mobile node. This mode of acquisition is preferred because it allows many mobile nodes to share the same care-of address and therefore does not place unnecessary demands on the already limited IPv4 address space.

[0030] A “co-located care-of address” is a care-of address acquired by the mobile node as a local IP address through some external means, which the mobile node then associates with one of its own network interfaces. The address may be dynamically acquired as a temporary address by the mobile node such as through DHCP [see Reference 6 of RFC 2002], or may be owned by the mobile node as a long-term address for its use only while visiting some foreign network. Specific external methods of acquiring a local IP address for use as a co-located care-of address are beyond the scope of this document. When using a co-located care-of address, the mobile node serves as the endpoint of the tunnel and itself performs decapsulation of the datagrams tunneled to it.” RFC 2002.

[0031] “The mode of using a co-located care-of address has the advantage that it allows a mobile node to function without a foreign agent, for example, in networks that have not yet deployed a foreign agent. It does, however, place additional burden on the IPv4 address space because it requires a pool of addresses within the foreign network to be made available to visiting mobile nodes. It is difficult to efficiently maintain pools of addresses for each subnet that may permit mobile nodes to visit. It is important to understand the distinction between the care-of address and the foreign agent functions. The care-of address is simply the endpoint of the tunnel. It might indeed be an address of a foreign agent (a foreign agent care-of address), but it might instead be an address temporarily acquired by the mobile node (a co-located care-of address). A foreign agent, on the other hand, is a mobility agent that provides services to mobile nodes.” RFC 2002.

[0032] “A home agent MUST be able to attract and intercept datagrams that are destined to the home address of any of its registered mobile nodes. Using the proxy and gratuitous ARP mechanisms described in Section 4.6 (of RFC 2002], this requirement can be satisfied if the home agent has a network interface on the link indicated by the mobile node's home address. Other placements of the home agent relative to the mobile node's home location MAY also be possible using other mechanisms for intercepting datagrams destined to the mobile node's home address. . . . ” RFC 2002.

[0033] “Similarly, a mobile node and a prospective or current foreign agent MUST be able to exchange datagrams without relying on standard IP routing mechanisms; that is, those mechanisms which make forwarding decisions based upon the network-prefix of the destination address in the IP header. This requirement can be satisfied if the foreign agent and the visiting mobile node have an interface on the same link. In this case, the mobile node and foreign agent simply bypass their normal IP routing mechanism when sending datagrams to each other, addressing the underlying link-layer packets to their respective link-layer addresses. Other placements of the foreign agent relative to the mobile node MAY also be possible using other mechanisms to exchange datagrams between these nodes, but such placements are beyond the scope of this document.” RFC 2002.

[0034] “If a mobile node is using a co-located care-of address (as described in (b) above), the mobile node MUST be located on the link identified by the network prefix of this care-of address. Otherwise, datagrams destined to the care-of address would be undeliverable.” RFC 2002.

[0035] In basic IR routing (e.g., outside mobile IP), routing mechanisms rely on the assumptions that each network node always has a constant attachment point to, e.g., the Internet and that each node's IP address identifies the network link it is attached to. In this document, the terminology “node” includes a connection point, which can include, e.g., a redistribution point or an end point for data transmissions, and which can recognize, process and/or forward communications to other nodes. For example, Internet routers can look at, e.g., an IP address prefix or the like identifying a device's network. Then, at a network level, routers can look at, e.g., a set of bits identifying a particular subnet. Then, at a subnet level, routers can look at, e.g., a set of bits identifying a particular device. With typical mobile IP communications, if a user disconnects a mobile device from, e.g., the Internet and tries to reconnect it at a new subnet, then the device has to be reconfigured with a new IP address, a proper netmask and a default router. Otherwise, routing protocols would not be able to deliver the packets properly.

[0036] The Assignees' MPA Technologies:

1. Introduction

[0037] As wireless technologies including cellular and wireless LAN are popularly used, supporting terminal handovers across different types of access networks, such as from a wireless LAN to CDMA or to GPRS is a challenge. On the other hand, supporting terminal handovers between access networks of the same type is still challenging, especially when the handovers are across IP subnets or administrative domains. To address those challenges, it is important to provide terminal mobility that is agnostic to link-layer technologies in an optimized and secure fashion without incurring unreasonable complexity. In the following sections, we discuss terminal mobility that provide seamless handovers with low-latency and low-loss. Seamless handovers are characterized in terms of, e.g., performance requirements as described in Section 1.1.

[0038] The basic part of terminal mobility is accomplished by a mobility management protocol that maintains a binding between a locator and an identifier of a mobile terminal, where the binding is referred to as the mobility binding. The locator of the mobile node may dynamically change when there is a movement of the mobile terminal. The movement that causes a change of the locator may occur not only physically but also logically. A mobility management protocol may be defined at any layer. In the following sections, the term “mobility management protocol” refers to a mobility management protocol which operates at network layer or higher.

[0039] There are several mobility management protocols at different layers, Mobile IP [RFC3344] and Mobile IPv6 [RFC3775] are mobility management protocols that operate at network-layer. There are several ongoing activities in the IETF to define mobility management protocols at layers higher than network layer. For example, MOBIKE (IKEv2 Mobility and Multihoming) [I-D.ietf-mobike-design] is an extension to IKEv2 that provides the ability to deal with a change of an IP address of an IKEv2 end-point. HIP (the Host Identity Protocol) and [I-D.ietf-hip-base] defines a new protocol layer between network layer and transport layer to provide terminal mobility in a way that is transparent to both network layer and transport layer. Also, SIP-Mobility is an extension to SIP to maintain the mobility binding of a SIP user agent [SIPMM].

[0040] While mobility management protocols maintain mobility bindings using them solely in their current form is not sufficient to provide seamless handovers. An additional optimization mechanism that works in the visited network of the mobile terminal to prevent loss of outstanding packets transmitted while updating the mobility binding is needed to achieve seamless handovers. Such a mechanism is referred to as a mobility optimization mechanism. For example, mobility optimization mechanisms [I-D.ietf-mobileip-lowlatency-handoffs-v4] and [I-D.ietf-mipshop-fast-mipv6] are defined for Mobile IPv4 and Mobile IPv6, respectively, by allowing neighboring access routers to communicate to carry information on mobile terminals. There are protocols that are considered as “helpers” of mobility optimization mechanisms. The CARD (Candidate Access Router Discovery Mechanism) protocol [I-D.ietf-seamoby-card-protocol] is designed to discover neighboring access routers. The CTP (Context Transfer Protocol) [I-D.ietf-seamoby-ctp] is designed to carry state that is associated with the services provided for the mobile terminal, or context, among access routers.

[0041] There are several issues in existing mobility optimization mechanisms. First, existing mobility optimization mechanisms are tightly coupled with specific mobility management protocols. For example, it is not possible to use mobility optimization mechanisms designed for Mobile IPv4 or Mobile IPv6 for MOBIKE. What is desired is a single, unified mobility optimization mechanism that works with any mobility management protocol. Second, there is no existing mobility optimization mechanism that easily supports handovers across administrative domains without assuming a pre-established security association between administrative domains. A mobility optimization mechanism should work across administrative domains in a secure manner only based on a trust relationship between a mobile node and each administrative domain. Third, a mobility optimization mechanism needs to support not only multi-interface terminals where multiple simultaneous connectivity through multiple interfaces can be expected, but also single-interface terminals.

[0042] The following sections describe a framework of Media-independent Pre-Authentication (MPA), a new handover optimization mechanism of the present Assignees that has a potential to address all those issues. MPA is a mobile-assisted, secure handover optimization scheme that works over any link-layer and with any mobility management protocol including Mobile IPv4, Mobile IPv6, MOBIKE, HIP, SIP mobility, etc. In MPA, the notion of IEEE 802.11i pre-authentication is extended to work at higher layer, with additional mechanisms to perform early acquisition of IP address from a network where the mobile terminal may move as well as proactive handover to the network while the mobile terminal is still attached to the current network. The following sections reveal, among other things, an initial illustrative implementation of MPA in our testbed and some performance results to show how existing protocols could be leveraged to realize the functionalities of MPA (see the above-noted prior U.S. application related to MPA incorporated herein by reference).

[0043] In some of the preferred embodiments described herein, systems and methods are described to proactively establish higher layer and lower layer contexts of different media. Here, media includes, e.g., the available networks accessible to mobile devices (e.g., wired, wireless licensed, wireless unlicensed, etc.), See, e.g., media discussed in I.E.E.E. 802, including I.E.E.E. 802.21. Media may include, e.g., wireless LAN (e.g., I.E.E.E. 802.11), I.E.E.E. 802.16, I.E.E.E. 802.20, Bluetooth, etc. Some illustrative examples include: 1) a mobile device switching from a cellular network to a wireless or WIFI network, such as, e.g., a cell phone with cellular interface and wireless interface trying to get WIFI access by obtaining information (e.g., keys, etc.) initially over the cellular network, rather than simultaneously establishing a wireless interface; 2) where a mobile device currently has wireless or WIFI connectivity, where the wireless LAN may potentially shut down quickly or the like, in which case, by way of example, the mobile device can proactively do pre-authentication via cellular network (i.e., so as to enable a quick switch if needed). In some illustrative cases, a mobile node with a single IEEE 802.xx interface may roam among multiple subnets and multiple administrative domains. While keeping multiple interfaces always-on is an option, a mobile node may want to deactivate unused interfaces in some instances (such as, e.g., to save power, etc.). In addition, MPA can provide, among other things, secure and seamless mobility optimization that works for inter-subnet handoff, inter-domain handoff, inter-technology handoff, etc., as well as the use of multiple interfaces.

1.1 Performance Requirements

[0044] In order to provide desirable quality of service for interactive VoIP and streaming traffic, one preferably limits the value of end-to-end delay, jitter and packet loss to a certain threshold level, ITU-T and ITU-E standards define the acceptable values for these parameters. For example for one-way delay, ITU-T G. 114 recommends 150 ms as the upper limit for most of the applications, and 400 ms as generally unacceptable delay. One way delay tolerance for video conferencing is in the range of 200 to 300 ms. Also, if an out-of-order packet is received after a certain threshold, it is considered lost. References [RFC2679], [RFC2680] and 2681 [RFC2681] describe some of the measurement techniques for delay and jitter (see the above-noted prior U.S. application related to MPA incorporated herein by reference). Also if an out-of-order packet is received after a certain threshold it is considered lost.

[0045] An end-to-end delay includes several components, such as network delay, OS delay, CODEC delay and application delay. Network delay includes transmission delay, propagation delay, queueing delay in the intermediate routers. Operating System related delay includes scheduling behavior of the operating system in the sender and receiver. CODEC delay is generally caused due to packetization and depacketization at the sender and receiver end. Application delay is mainly attributed to playout delay that helps compensate the delay variation within a network. End-to-end delay and jitter values can be adjusted using proper value of the playout buffer at the receiver end. In case of interactive VoIP traffic end-to-end delay affects the jitter value and is an important thing to consider. During a mobile's frequent handover, transient traffic cannot reach the mobile and this contributes to the jitter as well. If the end system has a playout buffer, then this jitter is subsumed by the playout buffer delay, but otherwise this adds to the delay for interactive traffic. Packet loss is typically caused by congestion, routing instability, link failure, lossy links such as wireless links. During a mobile's handover, a mobile is subjected to packet loss because of its change in attachment to the network. Thus, for both streaming traffic and VoIP interactive traffic packet loss will contribute to the service quality of the real-time application. Number of packets lost is proportional to the delay during handover and rate of traffic the mobile is receiving. Lost packets contribute to congestion in case of TCP traffic because of re-transmission, but it does not add to any congestion in case of streaming traffic that is RTP/UDP based. Thus, it is desirable to reduce the packet toss and effect of handover delay in any mobility management scheme. In Section 2, we describe some of the fast-handover scheme that have tried to reduce the handover.

[0046] According to ETSI TR 101 [ETSI] a normal voice conversation can tolerate up to 2% packet loss (see the above-noted prior U.S. application related to MPA incorporated herein by reference). If a mobile is subjected to frequent handoff during a conversation, each handoff wilt contribute to packet loss for the period of handoff. Thus, maximum loss during a conversation needs to be reduced to a level that is acceptable. There is no dear threshold value for packet loss for streaming application, but it needs to be reduced as much as possible to provide better quality of service to a specific application.

2. Existing Work Fast-Handover

[0047] The above-noted prior U.S. application related to MPA incorporated herein by reference describes some existing schemes which are set forth in the references cited in such application, which are incorporated herein by reference. While basic mobility management protocols such as Mobile IP [RFC3344], Mobile IPv6 [RFC3775], SIP-Mobility [SIPMM] offer solutions to provide continuity to TCP and RTP traffic, these are not optimized to reduce the handover latency during mobile's frequent movement between subnets and domains. In general these mobility management protocols suffer from handover delays incurred at several layers such as layer 2, layer 3 and application layer for updating the mobile's mobility binding. Reference [Yegin] discusses the requirements to support optimized handover between two access points on the same subnet, between two access routers on different subnets, and for context transfer between access routers. These requirements apply to any type of mobility management protocols described above.

[0048] There have been several optimization techniques that apply to current mobility management schemes that try to reduce handover delay and packet loss during a mobile's movement between cells, subnet and domain. There are few micro-mobility management schemes [CELLIP], [HAWAII], and intra-domain mobility management schemes such as [IDMP], [I-D.ietf-mobileip-reg-tunnel] that provide fast-handover by limiting the signaling updates within a domain. Fast Mobile IP protocols for IPv4 and IPv6 networks [I-D.ietf-mobileip-lowlatency-handoffs-v4], [I-D.ietf-mipshop-fast-mipv6] provide fast-handover techniques that utilize mobility information made available by the link layer triggers. Yokota et al. [YOKOTA] propose joint use of access point and dedicated MAC bridge to provide fast-handover without altering MIPv4 specification. [MACD] scheme reduces the delay due to MAC layer handoff by providing a cache-based algorithm.

[0049] Some of the mobility management schemes use dual interfaces thus providing make-before-break scenario [SUM]. In a make-before-break situation communication usually continues with one interface, when the secondary interface is in the process of getting connected. The IEEE 802.21 working group is discussing these scenarios. Providing fast-handover using a single interface needs more careful design techniques than for a client with multiple interfaces. [SIPFAST] provides an optimized handover scheme for SIP-based mobility management, where the transient traffic is forwarded from the old subnet to the new one by using an application layer forwarding scheme. [MITH] provides a fast handover scheme for a single interface case that uses mobile initiated tunneling between the old foreign agent and new foreign agent. [MITH] defines two types of handover schemes such as Pre-MIT and Post-MIT. The present Assignees' MPA scheme is generally comparable to MITH's predictive scheme where the mobile communicates with the foreign agent before actually moving to the new network. However, the MPA scheme described in this document is not limited to MIP type mobility protocol only and, in addition this scheme takes care of movement between domains and performs pre-authentication in addition to proactive handover. Thus, the proposed scheme can reduce the overall delay to close to link-layer handover delay.

3. Terminology

[0050] Mobility Binding:

[0051] A binding between a locator and an identifier of a mobile terminal.

[0052] Mobility Management Protocol (MMP):

[0053] A protocol that operates at network layer or higher to maintain a binding between a locator and an identifier of a mobile terminal.

[0054] Binding Update:

[0055] A procedure to update a mobility binding.

[0056] Media-Independent Pre-Authentication Mobile Node (MN):

[0057] A mobile terminal of media-independent pre-authentication (MPA) which is a mobile-assisted, secure handover optimization scheme that works over any link-layer and with any mobility management protocol. An MPA mobile node is an IP node. In this document, the term “mobile node” or “MN” without a modifier refers to “MPA mobile node.” An MPA mobile node usually has a functionality of a mobile node of a mobility management protocol as well.

[0058] Candidate Target Network (CTN):

[0059] A network to which the mobile may move in the near future.

[0060] Target Network (TN):

[0061] The network to which the mobile has decided to move. The target network is selected from one or more candidate target network.

[0062] Proactive Handover Tunnel (PHT):

[0063] A bidirectional IP tunnel that is established between the MPA mobile node and an access router of the candidate target network. In this document, the term “tunnel” without a modifier refers to “proactive handover tunnel.”

[0064] Point of Attachment (PoA):

[0065] A link-layer device (e.g., a switch, an access point or a base station, etc,) that functions as a link-layer attachment point for the MPA mobile node to a network.

[0066] Care-of Address (CoA):

[0067] An IP address used by a mobility management protocol as a locator of the MPA mobile node.

4. MPA Framework

4.1 Overview

[0068] Media-independent Pre-Authentication (MPA) is a mobile-assisted, secure handover optimization scheme that works over any link-layer and with any mobility management protocol. With MPA, a mobile node is not only able to securely obtain an IP address and other configuration parameters from a candidate target network, but also able to send and receive IP packets using the obtained IP address and other configuration parameters, before it attaches to the candidate target network when the candidate target network becomes the target network. This makes it possible for the mobile node to complete the binding update of any mobility management protocol and use the new care-of address before performing a handover at link-layer.

[0069] This functionality is provided by allowing a mobile node, which has a connectivity to the current network but is not yet attached to a candidate target network, to (i) establish a security association with the candidate target network to secure the subsequent protocol executions, then (ii) securely execute a configuration protocol to obtain an IP address and other configuration parameters from the candidate target network as well as a tunnel management protocol to establish a bidirectional tunnel between the mobile node and an access router of the candidate target network, then (iii) send and receive IP packets, including signaling messages for binding update of a mobility management protocol and data packets transmitted after completion of binding update, over the tunnel using the obtained IP address as the tunnel inner address, and finally (iv) deleting or disabling the tunnel immediately before attaching to the candidate target network when it becomes the target network and then re-assigning the inner address of the deleted or disabled tunnel to its physical interface immediately after the mobile node is attached to the target network through the interface. Instead of deleting or disabling the tunnel before attaching to the target network, the tunnel may be deleted or disabled immediately after attached to the target network.

[0070] Especially, the third procedure makes it possible for the mobile to complete higher-layer handover before starting link-layer handover. This means that the mobile is able to send and receive data packets transmitted after completion of binding update over the tunnel, while it is still able to send and receive data packets transmitted before completion of binding update outside the tunnel.

[0071] In the above four basic procedures of MPA, the first procedure is referred to as “pre-authentication”, the second procedure is referred to as “pre-configuration”, the combination of the third and fourth procedures are referred to as “secure proactive handover.” The security association established through pre-authentication is referred to as an “MPA-SA.” The tunnel established through pre-configuration is referred to as a “proactive handover tunnel.”

4.2 Functional Elements

[0072] In the MPA framework, the following functional elements are expected to reside in each candidate target network to communicate with a mobile node: Authentication Agent (AA), Configuration Agent (CA) and Access Router (AR). Some or all of those elements can be placed in a single network device or in separate network devices.

[0073] An authentication agent is responsible for pre-authentication. An authentication protocol is executed between the mobile node and the authentication agent to establish an MPA-SA. The authentication protocol needs to be able to derive a key between the mobile node and the authentication agent, should be able to provide mutual authentication. The authentication protocol should be able to interact with a AAA protocol such as RADIUS and Diameter to carry authentication credentials to an appropriate authentication server in the AAA infrastructure. The derived key is used for further deriving keys used for protecting message exchanges used for pre-configuration and secure proactive handover. Other keys that are used for bootstrapping link-layer and/or network-layer ciphers may also be derived from the MPA-SA.

[0074] A configuration agent is responsible for one part of pre-configuration, namely securely executing a configuration protocol to securely deliver an IP address and other configuration parameters to the mobile node. The signaling messages of the configuration protocol needs to be protected using a key derived from the key corresponding to the MPA-SA.

[0075] An access router is a router that is responsible for the other part of pre-configuration, i.e., securely executing a tunnel management protocol to establish a proactive handover tunnel to the mobile node, and secure proactive handover using the proactive handover tunnel. The signaling messages of the configuration protocol needs to be protected using a key derived from the key corresponding to the MPA-SA. IP packets transmitted over the proactive handover tunnel should be protected using a key derived from the key corresponding to the MPA-SA.

4.3 Basic Communication Flow

[0076] Assume that the mobile node is already connected to a point of attachment, say oPoA (old point of attachment), and assigned a care-of address, say oCoA (old care-of address). The communication flow of MPA is described as follows. Throughout the communication flow, data packet loss should not occur except for the period during the switching procedure in Step 5, and it is the responsibility of link-layer handover to minimize packet loss during this period.

[0077] Step 1 (pre-authentication phase): The mobile node finds a candidate target network through some discovery process and obtains the IP addresses, an authentication agent, a configuration agent and an access router in the candidate target network by some means. The mobile node performs pre-authentication with the authentication agent. If the pre-authentication is successful, an MPA-SA is created between the mobile node and the authentication agent. Two keys are derived from the MPA-SA, namely an MN-CA key and an MN-AR key, which are used to protect subsequent signaling messages of a configuration protocol and a tunnel management protocol, respectively. The MN-CA key and the MN-AR key are then securely delivered to the configuration agent and the access router, respectively.

[0078] Step 2 (pre-configuration phase): The mobile node realizes that its point of attachment is likely to change from oPoA to a new one, say nPoA (new point of attachment). It then performs pre-configuration, with the configuration agent using the configuration protocol to obtain an IP address, say nCoA (new care-of address), and other configuration parameters from the candidate target network, and with the access router using the tunnel management protocol to establish a proactive handover tunnel. In the tunnel management protocol, the mobile node registers oCoA and nCoA as the tunnel outer address and the tunnel inner address, respectively. The signaling messages of the pre-configuration protocol are protected using the MN-CA key and the MN-AR key. When the configuration and the access router are co-located in the same device, the two protocols may be integrated into a single protocol like IKEv2. After completion of the tunnel establishment, the mobile node is able to communicate using both oCoA and nCoA by the end of Step 4.

[0079] Step 3 (secure proactive handover main phase): The mobile node determines to switch to the new point of attachment by some means. Before the mobile node switches to the new point of attachment, it starts secure proactive handover by executing binding update of a mobility management protocol and transmitting subsequent data traffic over the tunnel (main phase).

[0080] Step 4 (secure proactive handover pre-switching phase): The mobile node completes binding update and becomes ready to switch to the new point of attachment point. The mobile executes the tunnel management protocol to delete the proactive handover tunnel. The mobile node caches nCoA even after deletion of the tunnel. The decision as to when the mobile node is ready to switch to the new point of attachment depends on handover policy.

[0081] Step 5 (switching): it is expected that a link-layer handover occurs in this step.

[0082] Step 6 (secure proactive handover post-switching phase): The mobile node executes the switching procedure. Upon successful completion of the switching procedure, the mobile node immediately restores the cached nCoA and assigns it to the physical interface attached to the new point Of attachment. After this, direct transmission of data packets using nCoA is possible without using a proactive handover tunnel.

5. Detailed Issues

[0083] In order to provide an optimized handover for a mobile experiencing rapid subnet and domain handover, one needs to look into several issues. These issues include discovery of neighboring networking elements, choosing the right network to connect to based on certain policy, changing the layer 2 point of attachment, obtaining an IP address from a DHCP or PPP server, confirming the uniqueness of the IP address, pre-authenticating with the authentication agent such as AAA server in a specific domain, sending the binding update to the correspondent host and obtaining the redirected streaming traffic to the new point of attachment. We describe these issues in details in the following paragraphs and describe how the present Assignees have optimized these in case of MPA-based secure proactive handover.

5.1 Discovery

[0084] Discovery of neighboring networking elements such as access points, access routers, authentication servers help expedite the handover process during a mobile's rapid movement between networks. By discovering the network neighborhood with a desired set of coordinates, capabilities and parameters, the mobile can perform many of the operation such as pre-authentication, proactive IP address acquisition, proactive address resolution, and binding update while in the previous network.

[0085] There are several ways a mobile can discover the neighboring networks. The Candidate Access Router Discovery protocol [I-D.ietf-seamoby-card-protocol] helps discover the candidate access routers in the neighboring networks. Given a certain network domain, SLP and DNS help provide address of the networking components for a given set of services in the specific domain. In some cases, many of the network layer and upper layer parameters may be sent over link-layer management frames such as beacons when the mobile approaches the vicinity of the neighboring networks. IEEE 802.11u is considering issues such as discovering neighborhood using information contained in link-layer. However, if the link-layer management frames are encrypted by some link-layer security mechanism, then the mobile node may not able to obtain the requisite information before establishing link-layer connectivity to the access point. In addition, this may add burden to the bandwidth constrained wireless medium. In such cases, a higher layer protocol is preferred to obtain the information regarding the neighboring elements. There is some proposal such as [NETDISC] that helps obtain this information about the neighboring networks from a mobility server (see the above referenced MPA application incorporated herein by reference). When the mobile's movement is imminent, it starts the discovery process by querying a specific server and obtains the required parameters such as the IP address of the access point, its characteristics, routers, SIP servers or authentication servers of the neighboring networks. In the event of multiple networks, it may obtain the required parameters from more than one neighboring networks and keep these in cache. At some point, the mobile finds out several candidate target networks out of many probable networks and starts the pre-authentication process by communicating with the required entities in the candidate target networks.

5.2 Proactive IP Address Acquisition

[0086] In general, a mobility management protocol works in conjunction with Foreign Agent or in co-located address mode. In the preferred embodiments, the present MPA approach can use both co-located address mode and foreign agent address mode. We discuss here the address assignment component that is used in co-located address mode. There are several ways a mobile node can obtain an IP address and configure itself. Most commonly, a mobile can configure itself statically in the absence of any configuring element such as a server or router in the network. The IETF Zeroconf working group defines auto-IP mechanism where a mobile is configured in an adhoc manner and picks a unique address from a specified range such as 169.254.x.x, In a LAN environment, the mobile can obtain IP address from DHCP servers. In case of IPv6 networks, a mobile has the option of obtaining the IP address using stateless auto-configuration as well. In a wide area networking environment, a mobile uses PPP to obtain the IP address by communicating with a NAS.

[0087] Each of these processes takes on the order of a few hundred mili-seconds to few seconds depending upon the type of IP address acquisition process and operating system of the clients and servers. Since IP address acquisition is part of the handover process, it adds to the handover delay and, thus, it is desirable to reduce this timing as much as possible. There are few optimized techniques such as DHCP Rapid Commit [I-D.ietf-dhc-rapid-commit-opt], GPS-coordinate based IP address [GPSIP] available that attempt to reduce the handover time due to IP address acquisition time (see the above-noted prior MPA application incorporated herein by reference). However, in all these cases the mobile also obtains the IP address after it moves to the new subnet and incurs some delay because of the signaling handshake between the mobile node and the DHCP server.

[0088] In the following paragraphs, a few ways a mobile node can obtain the IP address proactively from the candidate target network and the associated tunnel setup procedure are described. These can broadly be defined into three categories such as PANA-assisted proactive IP address acquisition, IKE-assisted proactive IP address acquisition and proactive IP address acquisition using DHCP only.

5.2.1 PANA-Assisted Proactive IP Address Acquisition

[0089] In case of PANA-assisted proactive IP address acquisition, the mobile node obtains an IP address proactively from a candidate target network. The mobile node makes use of PANA messages to trigger the address acquisition process on the DHCP relay agent that co-locates with PANA authentication agent in the access router in the candidate target network. Upon receiving a PANA message from the mobile node, the DHCP relay agent performs normal DHCP message exchanges to obtain the IP address from the DHCP server in the candidate target network. This address is piggy-backed in a PANA message and delivered to the client.

5.2.2 IKEv2-Assisted Proactive IP Address Acquisition

[0090] IKEv2-assisted proactive IP address acquisition works when an IPsec gateway and a DHCP relay agent are resident within each access router in the candidate target networks. In this case, the IPsec gateway and DHCP relay agent in a candate target network help the mobile node acquire the IP address from the DHCP server in the candidate target network, The MN-AR key established during the pre-authentication phase is used as the IKEv2 pre-shared secret needed to run IKEv2 between the mobile node and the access router. The IP address from the candidate target network is obtained as part of standard IKEv2 procedure, with using the co-located DHCP relay agent for obtaining the IP address from the DHCP server in the target network using standard DHCP. The obtained IP address is sent back to the client in the IKEv2 Configuration Payload exchange. In this case, IKEv2 is also used as the tunnel management protocol for a proactive handover tunnel (see Section 5.4).

5.2.3 Proactive IP Address Acquisition Using DHCP Only

[0091] As another alternative, DHCP may be used for proactively obtaining an IP address from a candidate target network without relying on PANA or IKEv2-based approaches by allowing direct DHCP communication between the mobile node and the DHCP relay or DHCP server in the candidate target network. In this case, the mobile node sends a unicast DHCP message to the DHCP relay agent or DHCP server in the candidate target network requesting an address, with using the address associated with the current physical interface as the source address of the request.

[0092] When the message is sent to the DHCP relay agent, the DHCP relay agent relays the DHCP messages back and forth between the mobile node and the DHCP server. In the absence of a DHCP relay agent the mobile can also directly communicate with the DHCP server in the target network. The broadcast option in client's unicast DISCOVER message should be set to 0 so that the relay agent or the DHCP server can send back the reply directly to the mobile using the mobile node's source address.

[0093] In order to prevent malicious nodes from obtaining an IP address from the DHCP server, DHCP authentication should be used or the access router should install a filter to block unicast DHCP message sent to the remote DHCP server from mobile nodes that are not pre-authenticated. When DHCP authentication is used, the DHCP authentication key may be derived from the MPA-SA established between the mobile node and the authentication agent in the candidate target network.

[0094] The proactively obtained IP address is not assigned to the mobile node's physical interface until the mobile has not moved to the new network The IP address thus obtained proactively from the target network should not be assigned to the physical interface but rather to a virtual interface of the client. Thus, such a proactively acquired IP address via direct DHCP communication between the mobile node and the DHCP relay or the DHCP server in the candidate target network may be carried with additional information that is used to distinguish it from other address assigned to the physical interface.

[0095] Upon the mobile's entry to the new network the mobile node can perform DHCP over the physical interface to the new network to get other configuration parameters such as SIP server, DNS server, etc., by using e.g., DHCP INFORM. This should not affect the ongoing communication between the mobile and correspondent host. Also, the mobile node can perform DHCP over the physical interface to the new network to extend the lease of the address that was proactively obtained before entering the new network.

[0096] In order to maintain the DHCP binding for the mobile node and keep track of the dispensed IP address before and after the secure proactive handover, the same DHCP client identifier needs to be used for the mobile node for both DHCP for proactive IP address acquisition and DHCP performed after the mobile node enters the target network. The DHCP client identifer may be the MAC address of the mobile node or some other identifier.

5.3 Address Resolution Issues

5.3.1 Proactive Duplicate Address Detection

[0097] When the DHCP server dispenses an IP address, it updates its lease table, so that this same address is not given to another client for that specific period of time. At the same time, the client also keeps a lease table locally so that it can renew when needed. In some cases, where a network includes both DHCP and non-DHCP enabled clients, there is a probability that another client with the LAN may have been configured with an IP address from the DHCP address pool. In such scenario the server does a duplicate address detection based on ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) or IPv6 Neighbor Discovery before assigning the IP address. This detection procedure may take up to 4 sec to 15 sec [MAGUIRE]and will thus contribute to a larger handover delay. In case of proactive IP address acquisition process, this detection is performed ahead of time and thus does not affect the handover delay at all. By performing the duplicate address detection ahead of time, we reduce the handover delay factor.

5.3.2 Proactive Address Resolution Update

[0098] During the process of pre-configuration, the address resolution mappings needed by the mobile node to communicate with nodes in the target network after attaching to the target network can also be known, where the nodes may be the access router, authentication agent, configuration agent and correspondent node. There are several possible ways of performing such proactive address resolution.

• • [0099] Use an information service mechanism [NETDISC] to resolve the MAC addresses of the nodes. This might require each node in the target network to involve in the information service so that the server of the information service can construct the database of proactive address resolution.
  • [0100] Extend the authentication protocol used for pre-authentication or the configuration protocol used for pre-configuration to support proactive address resolution. For example, if PANA is used as the authentication protocol for pre-authentication, PANA messages may carry AVPs used for proactive address resolution. In this case, the PANA authentication agent in the target network may perform address resolution for on behalf of the mobile node.

[0101] Define a new DNS resource recode to proactively resolve the MAC addresses of the nodes in the target network. This is less desirable because the mapping between domain name and MAC address is not stable in general.

[0102] When the mobile node attaches to the target network, it installs the proactively obtained address resolution mappings without necessarily performing address resolution query for the nodes in the target network.

[0103] On the other hand, the nodes that reside in the target network and are communicating with the mobile node should also update their address resolution mappings for the mobile node as soon as the mobile node attaches to the target network. The above proactive address resolution methods could also be used for those nodes to proactively resolve the MAC address of the mobile node before the mobile node attaches to the target network. However, this is not as desirable since those nodes need to detect the attachment of the mobile node to the target network before adopting the proactively resolved address resolution mapping. A better approach would be integration of attachment detection and address resolution mapping update. This is based on gratuitously performing address resolution [RFC3344], [RFC3775] in which the mobile node sends an ARP Request or an ARP Reply in the case of IPv4 or a Neighbor Advertisement in the case of IPv6 immediately after the mobile node attaches to the new network so that the nodes in the target network can quickly update the address resolution mapping for the mobile node.

5.4 Tunnel Management

[0104] After an IP address is proactively acquired from the DHCP server in a candidate target network, a proactive handover tunnel is established between the mobile node and the access router in the candidate target network. The mobile node uses the acquired IP address as the tunnel inner address and most likely it assigns the address to a virtual interface.

[0105] The proactive handover tunnel is established using a tunnel management protocol. When IKEv2 is used for proactive IP address acquisition, IKEv2 is also used as the tunnel management protocol. Alternatively, when PANA is used for proactive IP address acquisition, PANA may be used as the secure tunnel management protocol.

[0106] Once the proactive handover tunnel is established between the mobile node and the access router in the candidate target network, the access router also needs to perform proxy address resolution on behalf of the mobile node so that it can capture any packets destined to the mobile node's new address.

[0107] Since mobile needs to be able to communicate with the correspondent node while in the previous network, some or all part of binding update and data from the correspondent node to mobile node needs to be sent back to the mobile node over a proactive handover tunnel. When SIP Mobility is used for the mobility management protocol, the new address as the contact address is reported to the correspondent node using SIP Re-INVITE. Once the correspondent node's SIP user agent obtains the new contact address, it sends the OK to the new contact address which actually belongs to the target network. The access router in the target network picks up the OK signal as it was directed to the new contact address and tunnels it to the mobile in its previous network. Final ACK message is received from the mobile to the correspondent node. Data from the mobile to the correspondent node may not need to be tunneled in the absence of ingress filtering. After completion of the SIP Re-INVITE signaling handshake, the data from the correspondent node is sent to the mobile via the proactive handover tunnel.

[0108] In order for the traffic to be directed to the mobile node after the mobile node attaches to the target network, the proactive handover tunnel needs to be deleted or disabled. The tunnel management protocol used for establishing the tunnel is used for this purpose. Alternatively, when PANA is used as the authentication protocol, the tunnel deletion or disabling at the access router can be triggered by means of PANA update mechanism as soon as the mobile moves to the target network. A link-layer trigger ensures that the mobile node is indeed connected to the target network and can also be used as the trigger to delete or disable the tunnel.

5.5 Binding Update

[0109] There are several kinds of binding update mechanisms for different mobility management schemes. In some cases such as Mobile IPv4 without RO binding update is sent to home agent only, binding update is sent both to the home agent and corresponding host in case of Mobile IPv6. In case of SIP-based terminal mobility, the mobile sends binding update using ReINVITE both to the registrar and correspondent host as well. Based on the distance between the mobile and the correspondent node the binding update may contribute to the handover delay. SIP-fast handover [SIPFAST] provides several ways of reducing the handover delay due to binding update. In case of secure proactive handover using SIP-based mobility management, we rule out the delay due to binding update completely, as it takes place in the previous network. Thus, this scheme looks more attractive when the correspondent node is too far from the communicating mobile node.

5.6 Link-Layer Security and Mobility

[0110] Using the MPA-SA established between the mobile node and the authentication agent in a candidate target network, during the pre-authentication phase, it is possible to bootstrap link-layer security in the candidate target network while the mobile node is in the current network in the following way.

[0111] (1) The authentication agent in the candidate target network and the mobile node derives a PMK (Pair-wise Master Key) [I-D.ietf-eap-keying] using the MPA-SA that is established as a result of successful pre-authentication. Executions of EAP and a AAA protocol may be involved during pre-authentication to establish the MPA-SA. From the PMK, distinct TSKs (Transient Session Keys) [I-D.ietf-eap-keying] for the mobile node are directly or indirectly derived for each point of attachment of the candidate target network.

(2) The authentication agent may install the keys derived from the PMK and used for secure association to points of attachment. The derived keys may be TSKs or intermediary keys from which TSKs are derived.

[0112] (3) After the mobile node chooses the candidate target network as the target network and switches to a point of attachment in the target network (which now becomes the new network for the mobile node), it executes a secure association protocol such as IEEE 802.11i 4-way handshake [802.11i] using the PMK in order to establish PTKs (Pair-wise Transient Keys) and GTKs (Group Transient Keys) [I-D.ietf-eap-keying] used for protecting link-layer packets between the mobile node and the point of attachment. No additional execution of EAP authentication is needed here.

[0113] (4) While the mobile node is roaming in the new network, the mobile node only needs to perform a secure association protocol with its point of attachment point and no additional execution of EAP authentication is needed either. Integration of MPA with link-layer handover optimization mechanisms such as 802.11r can be archived this way.

[0114] The mobile node may need to know the link-layer identities of the point of attachments in the candidate target network to derive TSKs. If PANA is used as the authentication protocol for pre-authentication, this is possible by carrying Device-Id AVPs in the PANA-Bind-Request message sent from the PAA [I-D.ietf-pana-pana], with each AVP containing the BSSID of a distinct access point.

[0115] In addition to link-layer security, security for IP layer and/or higher layers can similarly be bootstrapped for the candidate network while the mobile node is still in the current network.

5.7 Authentication in Initial Network Attachment

[0116] When the mobile node initially attaches to a network network access authentication would occur regardless of the use of MPA. The protocol used for network access authentication when MPA is used for handover optimization can be a link-layer network access authentication protocol such as IEEE 802.1X or a higher-layer network access authentication protocol such as PANA.

6. Initial Implementation and Results

[0117] We describe a specific scenario where we evaluate both MPA and non-MPA based approaches. This section describes details of one of the specific implementation for MPA and non-MPA. In addition to implementation details, this section also provides the evaluation results of optimized hand-off with MPA and compares it with non-MPA-based handover.

6.1 Network Structure

[0118] The experiment network structure is shown in FIG. 4.

[0119] There are three networks defined in the implementation environment. Network 1 is old point of attachment (oPoA), Network 2 is new point of attachment (nPoA), and network 3 is where the correspondent node (CN) resides. The mobile is initially in Network 1 and starts communicating with the correspondent node. Network 1, network 2, and network 3 do not need to be adjacent. In the illustrative implementation scenario, however, network 1, network 2 and network 3 are one hop away. In the event of mobile's movement, a specific Mobility Management Protocol (MMP) can take care of continuity of streaming traffic set up by the peer-to-peer application.

[0120] Network 1 includes DHCP Server 1, access point (AP) 1 and Access Router 1. Network 2 includes DHCP Server 2, AP 2 and Access Router 2. AP 1 and AP 2 are 802.11 wireless LAN access points. Router 2 also works as a PANA Authentication Agent (PAA) [I-D.ietf-pana-pana] and a DHCP Relay Agent [RFC3046] for Network 2, but they can be separated. DHCP relay-agent also acts like a Configuration Agent (CA) that helps obtain the IP address for the mobile proactively from the neighboring target network. Network 3 includes a Correspondent Node (CN) that communicates with the mobile node in Network 1. Both the correspondent node and mobile node are equipped with mobility enabled SIP client. Mobile SIP client is also equipped with PANA Client (PaC). In this specific case SIP proxies are not involved to set up the initial communication between the correspondent node and mobile node. Mobile Node (MN) uses 802.11 wireless LAN as the access method and can communicate via AP 1 before it moves to Network 2 where it communicates via AP 2. In this specific case, the Mobility Management Protocol (MMP) is SIP Mobility (SIP-M), configuration protocol is DHCP, authentication agent (AA) is PAA, configuration agent (CA) is DHCP Relay Agent and Access Router (AR) is Router 2 that can provide IP-in-IP tunneling [RFC1853] management functions. The MN is also equipped with IP-in-IP tunneling management function. Thus, the mobile has the ability to set up a tunnel interface and detunnel the packets sent over the tunnel between the router 2 and the mobile. In this specific case, we have used IPv4, although one can as well use mobility management for IPv6 such as MIPv6 or SIP mobility over IPv6.

6.2 MPA Scenario

[0121] The communication flow for MPA in our implementation environment is described below and in FIG. 5.

[0122] Step 0: As the MN bootstraps it associates with AP 1 and obtains the IP address old Care of Address (oCoA) from the DHCP Server 1 in network 1. The MN's SIP user agent communicates with CN's SIP user agent. After a successful connection setup between the mobile and correspondent node, a voice traffic flows between the MN and the CN. This voice traffic is carried over RTP/UDP. We have used RAT (Robust Audio Tool) as the media agent.

[0123] In Step 1 (pre-authentication phase), there are some triggers to Step 1 such as AP 1's link level going down because of MN's movement. MN prepares to start the handover process and obtains the information about the required elements of the target network from an information server. Then the MN performs pre-authentication with PAA and derives the MN-CA key and MN-AR key from the MPA-SA if the pre-authentication is successful.

[0124] In Step 2 (pre-configuration phase), the MN performs pre-configuration by communicating with DHCP Proxy to obtain IP address and so forth. DHCP proxy and Authentication Agent (AA) are co-located in this case. This IP address is the new Care of Address (nCoA) the mobile would have obtained after moving to the new network. DHCP Proxy gets the IP address from DHCP Server 2. The new IP address of the mobile is relayed back to the mobile as pan of its pre-authentication process. After the MN gets the new IP address (nCoA), an IP-in-IP tunnel is created between Router 2 and the mobile.

[0125] At this point the behavior of the MN and Router 2 is basically followed by [RFC1853] and the signals are cryptographically protected by using the MN-CA key.

[0126] In Step 3 (secure proactive handover main phase), once the mobile is configured with the new IP address (nCoA) on its virtual interface and a tunnel is set up between the mobile and R2, the MN sends SIP Re-invite with nCoA as its contact address to the CN. All the SIP Re-invite signaling are carried over the tunnel and so as the new RTP stream. Thus, the mobile receives the traffic in the old network even if the CN sends traffic to nCoA.

[0127] Step 4 (secure proactive handover pre-switching phase). As the mobile detects the new point of attachment and makes a decision to switch over to the new network it associates with AP 2. At this point the mobile configures itself by assigning the nCoA to its physical interface and updates the default router from the local cache that is stored during the pre-configuration phase in network 1. The MN sends a PANA-Update-Request message to the access router R2. This update message deletes the tunnel on the router R2 and deletes the tunnel locally on the mobile. Mobile's ARP entry with nCoA is also updated in the router R2 during the secure proactive handover thus reducing the delay due to ARP process that usually happens when a new node comes to a network.

Virtual Soft Handoff

[0128] As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,046,647, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, the use of, e.g., IKE or IKEv2 or the like for pre-establishing higher-layer contexts enables data traffic originated from or destined for the pre-established IP address of the client device (e.g., a mobile station) to be redirected securely to the access network to which the client device is being attached. This can be achieved, e.g., by establishing an IPsec tunnel between the client device and an AR (Access Router) in the target network, where the IPsec tunnel inner address of the device is bound to the pre-established IP address.

[0129] This is comparable to having an IPsec-based VPN (Virtual Private Network) tunnel between the client device and the access router. For reference, a VPN enables the use of a shared public infrastructure, such as, e.g., the Internet, while maintaining privacy through security procedures and tunneling protocols.

[0130] It is also possible to use, e.g., Mobile IP or Mobile IPv6 for traffic redirection in a way that an AR in the target network is used as a temporal home agent with which the mobile client device registers its pre-established IP address as the home address and the IP address assigned in the physically attached network as the care-of address. However, this approach should still use, e.g., IKE or IKEv2 or the like pre-configuration of the home address in the target network (see, e.g., Reference #27, cited in said latter patent incorporated herein above), while the above-discussed IPsec based solution does both pre-configuration and data traffic redirection. For reference, as discussed above, Mobile IP typically assigns each mobile node a home address on its home network and a care-of-address (CoA) that identifies the current location of the device within a network and its subnets. When a device is moved to a different network, it receives a new care-of address.

[0131] In various alternative embodiments, the IPsec tunnel used for traffic redirection between the client device and an AR does not need to be an encrypted tunnel while it should be integrity protected with replay protection, such as, for example, if cryptographic processing for data packet is a concern. In this case, the IPsec tunnel can use, e.g., a null encryption algorithm, with or without per-packet authentication. See, e.g., R. Glenn and S. Kent, “The Null Encryption Algorithm and Its Use With IPsec,” RFC 2410, Nov. 1998, cited in said tatter patent incorporated herein above.

[0132] Among other things, the combination of pre-authentication, pre-configuration and the subsequent data traffic redirection can eliminate the timing dependency of higher-layer handoff (such as, e.g., in the cases of Mobile IP handoffs, VPN handoffs, etc.) on lower-layer handoff such that a higher-layer handoff can be performed even before performing the lower layer handoff. This technique of providing an early performance of a higher-layer handoff enables a “virtual soft-handoff” in which a mobile unit can send or receive packets or the like through a candidate network or subnetwork before a handoff. By using a virtual soft-handoff technique, it is possible to minimize the communication interruption during handoff to the extent that is incurred by the lowest level handoff or, in some cases, to even eliminate the communication interruption if, e.g., the lower-layer supports CDMA soft-handoff.

[0133] In some examples, a virtual soft-handoff assumes that the layer-2 handoff timing can be controlled by the upper layer, so that the pre-authentication and the pre-configuration can be completed prior to starting the layer-2 handoff. In this regard, most wireless LAN card drivers provide API (Application Program Interface) for application programs to choose an AP among multiple APs with different SSIDs (Service Set Identifiers).

[0134] A CDMA soft-handoff or handoff across multiple interfaces can provide similar functionality as a virtual soft-handoff. However the virtual soft-handoff mechanism can work for substantially all types of client devices. Thus, the virtual soft-handoff mechanism has substantial advantages.

[0135] In this regard, FIG. 5 shown in said latter patent illustrates comparative time sequences that may be found when higher-layer soft handoff is not used (see top time-line) and when higher-layer soft handoff is used (see bottom time-line) according to some illustrative and non-limiting embodiments. These schematic timelines are for illustrative purposes only and are should not be construed as limiting the specific timing, etc., of various embodiments. For example, it should be understood that various steps may have sub-steps and that such sub-steps do not necessarily have to occur at the same time.

[0136] With reference to the top illustrative time-line, as shown the sequence starts when a new AP is detected in a new subnet (such as, e.g., via a beacon or probe response or the like). Then, layer-2 pre-authentication and pre-configuration starts. Then, layer-2 pre-authentication and pre-configuration completes. Then, the layer-2 handoff starts. Then, the layer-2 handoff completes and layer-2 association is done. At this delayed time after completion of the layer-2 handoff, the layer-3 authentication and configuration starts. Then, after further delay, the layer-3 authentication is completed. Then, the layer-3/layer-4 handoff begins. After a short time, the layer-3/layer-4 handoff is completed. As should apparent based on this illustrative time line, this methodology results in a significant critical period in which communication delays and communication interruption can occur.

[0137] With reference to the bottom illustrative time-line, as shown, the sequence similarly starts when a new AP is detected in a new subnet. Then, layer-2 and higher layer (i.e., layer(s) higher than layer-2) pre-authentication and pre-configuration starts. Among other things, the early initiation of higher layer pre-authentication and pre-configuration can result in time-savings and other advantageous (such as., e.g., described above). Then, the layer-2 and higher layer pre-authentication and pre-configuration are completed. Among other things, the early completion of higher layer pre-authentication and pre-configuration can result in further time-savings and other advantageous (such as, e.g., described above). Once again, it should be understood that this is an illustrative, schematic and non-limiting time-line. Among other things, layer-2 and higher layer pre-authentication and pre-configuration may occur at various times. Then, the layer-3/layer-4 handoff starts (NB: as indicated above, various other embodiments can be implemented which do not have an early layer-3 and the like handoff while still obtaining other advantages discussed herein). Among other things, the early initiation of layer-3 and the like handoff can result in yet further time-savings and other advantageous (such as, e.g., described above). Then, the layer-3 and the like handoff can be completed. This early completion of the layer-3 and the like handoff can be used to effectively provide, e.g., a virtual soft handoff (as described above). Among other things, the early completion of layer-3 and the like handoff can result in yet further time-savings and other advantageous (such as, e.g., described above). Then, as shown, the layer-2 handoff can begin. And, after a short period, the layer-2 handoff can be completed. As should apparent based on this illustrative time line, this latter methodology results in a minimal critical period.

[0138] In some preferred embodiments, there are two illustrative cases for the Ipsec-based virtual soft-handoff. The first illustrative case is based on using IPsec protection essentially for redirected traffic (i.e., for protecting traffic during redirect). The second illustrative case is based on using IPsec protection for protecting essentially all traffic (i.e., for protecting traffic during redirect and after moving to a new subnet).

[0139] FIG. 11 shows the first illustrative case in which a mobile client device uses an IPsec tunnel just for traffic redirection during a virtual soft-handoff. In this example, the IPsec tunnel is used for protection during handoff, while after handoff another form of protection (e.g., layer-2 protection) may be used, if desired, such as, e.g., encryption or the like. In the example shown in FIG. 11, the outer and inner IP addresses of the device for the IPsec tunnel is the care-of address in the present subnet (pCoA) and the care-of address in the new subnet (nCoA), respectively. With reference to FIG. 6, when the device is ready to perform a layer-2 handoff, it should delete the established IPsec tunnel before performing the layer-2 handoff so that the subsequent data traffic for the new IP address is directly forwarded through the new AP with which the device is going to associate. Without this operation, the traffic destined for nCoA can continue to be forwarded through the old AP even after the completion of layer-2 handoff. In addition, the new access router (nAR) should keep nCoA assigned to the mobile device, from being unauthorized for network access, or from being assigned to other devices even after the deletion of the tunnel, in order to avoid possible service theft by reusing the nCoA. This can be done, for example, by having a grace period for delaying the procedure to remove the authorized state for nCoA and to release the lease of CoA.

[0140] With reference to the illustrative example shown in FIG. 11, at a point at which the mobile client device can only use a current subnet, as shown at reference (1), higher layer pre-authorization and pre-configuration can be carried out (as discussed above). Then, as shown, an IPsec tunnel can be established for redirected traffic for nCoA represented by IPsec tunnel (nCoA-pCoA←→nAR). As shown: this could also be used for Mobile IP registration in some embodiments using Mobile IP. At this point, an IPsec Security Association has been established. Then, as shown at reference (2), the IPsec tunnel is deleted and redirection is stopped. This can be done, e.g., using IKE. Then, the layer-2 handoff is completed. At this point, as shown at reference (3), the mobile client device can only use the new subnet. Then, as shown at reference (4) the direct traffic for nCoA is carried out between the new AR and the mobile client.

[0141] FIG. 12 shows a second illustrative case in which a virtual soft-handoff uses an IPsec tunnel for all traffic. In this manner, a higher level of protection can be achieved by providing protective an IPsec tunnel during and even after a handoff. In this second example, both the outer and inner IP addresses of the device for the IPsec tunnel for the new subnet are the IP address of the device used for the new subnet (see, e.g., IPsec tunnel B shown in FIG. 12). As shown in FIG. 12, the horizontal cylinders represent IPsec tunnels. During a virtual soft-handoff, another IPsec tunnel is established (such as, e.g., the cross-hatched IPsec tunnel A shown in FIG. 12). The outer and inner IP addresses of the device for the IPsec tunnel A can be the same as that for the IPsec tunnel described in the previous section. Preferably, the IPsec tunnel for the new subnet is established by running IKE or IKEv2 over the latter IPsec tunnel. In this manner, among other things, some possible advantages that may be achieved can include that: (i) IPsec-based protection can be always or substantially always provided for mobile clients, with enhancing network layer security; and/or (ii) the lifetime of the care-of address can be substantially synchronized with the lifetime of the IPsec tunnel.

[0142] When the device is ready to perform a layer-2 handoff, it should delete the latter IPsec tunnel before performing the layer-2 handoff so that the IPsec tunnel B that carries data traffic for the new care-of address can be directly forwarded through the new AP with which the mobile device is going to associate.

[0143] In the illustrative example shown in FIG. 12, at a point at which the mobile client device can only use a current subnet via an existing IPsec tunnel designated as IPsec tunnel (pCoA-pCoA←→pAR), as shown at reference (1), higher layer pre-authorization and pre-configuration can be carried out (as discussed above). Then, as shown, an IPsec tunnel A can be established as represented by IPsec tunnel A (nCoA-pCoA←→nAR). Here, this can involve, e.g., using IKE over IPsec tunnel SA (using nCoA as initiator's address). Then, an IPsec tunnel B can be established for redirected traffic for nCoA represented by IPsec tunnel B (nCoA-nCoA←→nAR). As shown, this could also be used for Mobile IP registration in some embodiments involving Mobile IP. At this point, the mobile client can use both the current and new subnets. Then, as shown at reference (3), the IPsec tunnel A is deleted and redirection is stopped. This can be done, e.g., using IKE. Then, the layer-2 handoff is completed. At this point, as shown at reference (3), the mobile client device can only use the new subnet. As shown at reference (4), the direct traffic for nCoA is carried out between the new AR and the mobile client using the IPsec tunnel B. This process can then be repeated at a later point in time to effect another handoff at another new access point.

[0144] As should be appreciated based on the present disclosure, aspects can be employed in a variety of environments and applications. For example, one or more aspect(s) can be employed in any type of wireless application handoff environment in which a mobile device can obtain a new network address (e.g., IP address or care-of address) and a new higher-layer contexts for a new network or subnetwork while the mobile device is in communication with (e.g., located within) a current network or subnetwork. By way of example, a virtual soft handoff can be employed in any appropriate application, such as, e.g., a wireless Internet service provider (WISP) environment, a VPN environment, a Mobile IP environment, a Voice over IP (VOIP) environment, etc. For example, FIG. 10(A) shows an illustrative Mobile IP environment in which virtual soft handoff and/or other principles of the present invention can be employed when a mobile node moves from its home network to a foreign network and obtains a new CoA of the foreign network. As another example, FIG. 10(B) shows an illustrative Session Initiating Protocol (SIP) Voice over IP (VOIP) environment in which virtual soft handoff and/or other principles of the present invention can be employed when a client moves to a foreign network and obtains a new CoA. In this manner, among other things, delay associated with such handoffs can be minimized. See, e.g., Wireless IP and the Mobile Internet, S. Dixit and R. Prasad, Artech House Publishers, 2003 at p. 362 (“Delay associated with [SIP] handoff would consist of several factors such as delay due to . . . IP address acquisition by the mobile”), the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.

[0145] The present invention improves upon the above and/or other background technologies and/or problems therein. While the present invention may be embodied in many different forms, a number of illustrative embodiments are described herein with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as providing examples of the principles of the invention and that such examples are not intended to limit the invention to preferred embodiments described herein and/or illustrated herein.

[0146] As described above, in background MPA processes, a proactive handover tunnel is established between, e.g., the mobile node and the access router in the candidate target network. For example, the mobile node uses the acquired IP address as the tunnel inner address and most likely it assigns the address to a virtual interface. The proactive handover tunnel is established using a tunnel management protocol. As discussed above in the background regarding MPA, in the tunnel management protocol, the mobile node registers oCoA and nCoA as the tunnel outer address and the tunnel inner address, respectively.

[0147] In Mobile IP Foreign Agent (FA) Care-of Address mode (FA-COA mode), Mobile Node (MN) has only Home Address (HoA) on its interface. In addition, if HoA is used as outer address of the MPA proactive handover tunnel, a routing loop can occur.

[0148] According to some of the preferred embodiments, a system and method uses the Care-of Address assigned by the previous Foreign Agent as the Mobile Node's tunnel outer address of the forward proactive handover tunnel from the new Foreign Agent to the Mobile Node. In this regard, a) pFA-CoA is used as the tunnel outer address of the MN for forward proactive handover tunnel (to support this, a protocol used for establishing the proactive handover tunnel (e.g., PANA, IKEv2) should be able to specify an address different from the source IP address as the tunnel outer address) and b) Home Address is used as the outer address of the MN for the reverse proactive handover tunnel.

[0149] In addition, the system and method also lets the new Foreign Agent forward packets destined to the Home Address over the forward proactive handover tunnel, instead of forwarding them towards the Home Agent.

[0150] The above and/or other aspects, features and/or advantages of various embodiments will be further appreciated in view of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Various embodiments can include and/or exclude different aspects, features and/or advantages where applicable. In addition, various embodiments can combine one or more aspect or feature of other embodiments where applicable. The descriptions of aspects, features and/or advantages of particular embodiments should not be construed as limiting other embodiments or the claims.

[0151] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown by a way of example, and not limitation, in the accompanying figures, in which:

[0152] FIGS. 1-6 depict features related to media-independent pre-authentication applications, wherein:

[0153] FIG. 1 is flow diagram depicting a basic communication flow according to some illustrative examples, which flow diagram is continued in FIG. 2;

[0154] FIG. 2 is a continuation of the flow diagram shown in FIG. 1;

[0155] FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting the bootstrapping of link-layer security according to some illustrative examples;

[0156] FIG. 4 is an architectural diagram depicting illustrative network structure according to some illustrative examples;

[0157] FIG. 5 is a flow diagram depicting a MPA communication flow diagram according to an illustrative implementation examples; and

[0158] FIG. 6 is a flow diagram depicting a non-MPA communication flow diagram according to an illustrative implementation environment;

[0159] FIG. 7 is an architectural diagram demonstrating an illustrative routing loop;

[0160] FIG. 8 is an architectural diagram demonstrating an illustrative example without a Mobile IP reverse tunnel;

[0161] FIG. 9 is an architectural diagram demonstrating an illustrative example with a Mobile IP reverse tunnel;

[0162] FIG. 10(A) shows an illustrative Mobile IP environment in which virtual soft handoff and/or other principles herein can be employed when a mobile node moves from its home network to a foreign network and obtains a new CoA of the foreign network; and

[0163] FIG. 10(B) shows an illustrative Session Initiating Protocol (SIP) Voice over IP (VOIP) environment in which virtual soft handoff and/or other principles herein can be employed when a client moves to a foreign network and obtains a new CoA;

[0164] FIG. 11 shows a schematic flow diagram demonstrating a first illustrative case in which a mobile client device uses an IPsec tunnel for traffic redirection during a virtual soft-handoff; and

[0165] FIG. 12 shows a schematic flow diagram demonstrating a second illustrative case in which virtual soft-handoff uses an IPsec tunnel for substantially all or all traffic.

[0166] While the present invention may be embodied in many different forms, a number of illustrative embodiments are described herein with the understanding that the present disclosure is to be considered as providing examples of the principles of the invention and that such examples are not intended to limit the invention to preferred embodiments described herein and/or illustrated herein.

[0167] There is an existing problem in that in Mobile IP foreign agent (FA) care-of address mode (FA-CoA mode), the mobile node (MN) has only a home address (HoA) on its interface. As a result, if HoA is used as outer address of the MPA proactive handover tunnel, a routing loop can occur.

[0168] In this regard, FIG. 7 shows illustrative architecture in which such a routing loop can occur. With reference to, a mobile node is designated as MN and has a home address designated as HoA. In this example, the mobile node MN is being transitioned between a previous foreign agent pFA and a new foreign agent nFA. In addition, in this example, a home agent is designated as HA and a correspondent node is designated as CN.

[0169] In this example, the following scenario can occur. First, the home agent HA will tunnel packets to the new foreign agent nFA. Second, the new foreign agent nFA wilt forward the packets over a proactive tunnel PHT, with an outer address of HoA. Third, because the tunnel PHT's outer address is HoA, the packets are forwarded towards the home agent (HA). Next, the home agent HA will tunnel packets to the new foreign agent nFA and the routing loop occurs.

[0170] The present inventors have developed some advantageous solutions to overcome the existing problems.

[0171] In this regard, according to some preferred embodiments, the methodology is modified so as to use the care-of address assigned by the previous foreign agent pFA as the mobile node's tunnel outer address of the forward proactive handover tunnel PHT from the new foreign agent nFA to the mobile node MN. That is, the pFA-CoA is used as the tunnel outer address of the MN for a forward proactive handover tunnel. In the preferred implementations, to support this, the protocol used for establishing the proactive handover tunnel (e.g., PANA, IKEv2) should be able to specify an address different from the source IP address as the tunnel outer address. In the preferred embodiments, the home address HoA is used as the outer address of the mobile node MN for the reverse proactive handover tunnel. Here, the system can, thus, let new foreign agent nFA forward packets destined to the home address HoA over the forward proactive handover tunnel, instead of forwarding them towards the home agent HA.

[0172] Referring now to FIG. 8, a first illustrative example is depicted without Mobile IP reverse tunnel. As shown, a routing loop need not occur in this scenario. Here, communication between a correspondent node CN and a mobile node MN can occur without a routing loop.

[0173] With reference to FIG. 8, in the forward direction, the correspondent node CN transmits packets to the home agent HA. Then, the home agent HA transmits packets via a Mobile IP forward tunnel IPFT to the new foreign agent nFA. Here, the new foreign agent nFA has host route for traffic destined to HoA to be forwarded on the forward proactive handover tunnel FPHT. Then, the new foreign agent nFA transmits packets to the prior foreign agent pFA via the forward proactive handover tunnel FPHT with the outer tunnel address set as pFA-CoA. Then, in turn, the previous foreign agent pFA transmits packets to the mobile MN.

[0174] With further reference to FIG. 8, in the reverse direction, the mobile node MN transmits packets to the new foreign agent (nFA) via a reverse proactive handover tunnel RPHT, with the tunnel outer address of HoA. Then, in turn, the new foreign agent can transmit packets to the correspondent node CN.

[0175] In some embodiments, reverse tunneling can be taken into consideration. In this regard, reference is made to RFC 3024, entitled Reverse Tunneling for Mobile IP, January 2001, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. With reference to reverse tunneling, it is noted that mobile Internet Protocol (IP) uses tunneling from the home agent to the mobile node's care-of address, but not typically in the reverse direction. Usually, a mobile node sends its packets through a router on the foreign network, and assumes that routing is independent of source address. When this assumption is not true, it is convenient to establish a topologically correct reverse tunnel from the care-of address to the home agent. RFC 3024 sets forth illustrative extensions to Mobile IP to support reverse tunnels.

[0176] It is noted that when a mobile node MN proactively performs Mobile IP registration with a new foreign agent nFA, both direct and encapsulating delivery styles are supported over the reverse proactive handover tunnel. In this regard, in the case of an encapsulating delivery style, the reverse proactive handover tunnel can be used as the reverse tunnel for the encapsulating delivery style between the mobile MN and the new foreign agent nFA, Among other things, this helps to reduce encapsulation overhead. An illustrative example with a Mobile IP reverse tunnel is shown in FIG. 9 .

[0177] Referring now to FIG. 9, a second illustrative example is depicted with a Mobile IP reverse tunnel. As shown, a routing loop also need not occur in this scenario. Here, communication between a correspondent node CN and a mobile node MN can occur without a routing loop.

[0178] With reference to FIG. 9, in the forward direction, the correspondent node CN transmits packets to the home agent HA. Then, the home agent HA transmits packets via a Mobile IP forward and reverse tunnel IPFRT to the new foreign agent nFA. Here, the new foreign agent nFA has host route for traffic destined to HoA to be forwarded on the forward proactive handover tunnel FPHT. Then, the new foreign agent nFA transmits packets to the prior foreign agent pFA via the forward proactive handover tunnel FPHT with the outer tunnel address set as pFA-CoA. Then, in turn, the previous foreign agent pFA transmits packets to the mobile MN.

[0179] With further reference to FIG. 9, in the reverse direction, the mobile node MN transmits packets to the new foreign agent (nFA) via a reverse proactive handover tunnel RPHT, with the tunnel outer address of HoA. Then, in turn, the new foreign agent can transmit packets to the home agent HA via the Mobile IP forward and reverse tunnel IPFRT. Then, the home agent HA transmits packets to the correspondent node CN.

Broad Scope of the Invention:

[0180] While illustrative embodiments of the invention have been described herein, the present invention is not limited to the various preferred embodiments described herein, but includes any and all embodiments having equivalent elements, modifications, omissions, combinations (e.g., of aspects across various embodiments), adaptations and/or alterations as would be appreciated by those in the art based on the present disclosure. The limitations in the claims (e.g., including that to be later added) are to be interpreted broadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited to examples described in the present specification or during the prosecution of the application, which examples are to be construed as non-exclusive. For example, in the present disclosure, the term “preferably” is non-exclusive and means “preferably, but not limited to.” In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application, means-plus-function or step-plus-function limitations will only be employed where for a specific claim limitation all of the following conditions are present in that limitation: a) “means for” or “step for” is expressly recited; b) a corresponding function is expressly recited; and c) structure, material or acts that support that structure are not recited. In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application, the terminology “present invention” or “invention” may be used as a reference to one or more aspect within the present disclosure. The language present invention or invention should not be improperly interpreted as an identification of criticality, should not be improperly interpreted as applying across all aspects or embodiments (i.e., it should be understood that the present invention has a number of aspects and embodiments), and should not be improperly interpreted as limiting the scope of the application or claims. In this disclosure and during the prosecution of this application, the terminology “embodiment” can be used to describe any aspect, feature, process or step, any combination thereof, and/or any portion thereof, etc. In some examples, various embodiments may include overlapping features. In this disclosure, the following abbreviated terminology may be employed: “e.g.” which means “for example;” and “NB” which means “note well.”