Abstract: An invention is disclosed that enables proxy Mobile IP registration to be performed in a secure manner. Various security mechanisms may be used independently, or in combination with one another, to authenticate the identity of a node during the registration process. First, an Access Point receiving a packet from a node verifies that the source MAC address identified in the packet is in the Access Point's client association table. In addition, as a second mechanism, the Access Point (or Foreign Agent) ensures that a one-to-one mapping exists for the source MAC address and source IP address identified in the packet. As a third mechanism, a binding is not modified in the mobility binding table maintained by the Home Agent unless there is a one-to-one mapping in the mobility binding table between the source MAC address and the source IP address.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for providing a centralized source of session keys to be shared by a Home Agent and a Mobile Node are disclosed. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a Mobile Node registers with a Home Agent supporting Mobile IP by sending a registration request to the Home Agent. The Home Agent sends a request message (e.g., access-request message) to a AAA server, the request message identifying the Mobile Node. The AAA server then derives key information from a key or password associated with the Mobile Node. The AAA server then sends a reply message (e.g., access-reply message) to the Home Agent, the reply message including the key information associated with the Mobile Node, thereby enabling the Home Agent to derive a shared key to be shared between the Mobile Node and the Home Agent from the key information. The Home Agent derives a key from the key information, the key being a shared key between the Mobile Node and the Home Agent. A registration reply is then sent to the Mobile Node.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for enabling mobility of a node that does not support Mobile IP are disclosed. Access point information is maintained for all functioning access points. In accordance with one embodiment, an authoritative access point (AAP) maintains access point information for all functioning access points (APs) and sends updates for all additions or other modifications to the continually changing access point information to enable APs to store a local copy of the AP information. For instance, when an AP goes offline, the access point information for that AP will be removed from the set of access point information, and notification of this removal is sent to other APs so that the local copy of the AP information may be similarly updated. As another example, when an AP comes online, it will send its AP information to the AAP. The AAP will store the AP information and provide this new AP information to other “active” APs. The AP information preferably includes an AP subnet and a gateway.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for allowing mobile nodes to have access to mobility functions after being attached to their home networks are disclosed. The invention allows a home agent to authenticate a registration request and validate a DHCP-acquired home address even if no mobile bindings currently exist. Typically, a home agent will not create mobility bindings if a mobile node attaches itself to a home agent network segment. By using either cached information or DHCP resources, the home agent can approve a registration request.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for processing registration requests by a Home Agent supporting Mobile IP are disclosed. A registration request is received from each of a plurality of Mobile Nodes, the registration request specifying a care-of address, which may be allocated by the Foreign Agent. A binding is established between each of the plurality of Mobile Nodes and the associated care-of address, each of the plurality of Mobile Nodes being associated with one another. For instance, the plurality of Mobile Nodes may be statically or dynamically assigned the same Home Address. A tunnel is then created between the Home Agent and the care-of address for each of the plurality of Mobile Nodes, thereby enabling a server request to be distributed by the Home Agent to one of the plurality of Mobile Nodes or to a cluster of Mobile Nodes (e.g., associated with the care-of address) via the associated tunnel.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for processing a registration request packet received from a mobile node during registration are disclosed. The registration request packet is received from a mobile node. The Home Agent then determines whether an IP address has previously been assigned to the mobile node. When the Home Agent determines that an IP address has previously been assigned to the mobile node, the Home Agent obtains the IP address previously assigned to the mobile node, composes a registration reply including the IP address previously assigned to the mobile node and sends the registration reply to the mobile node. When the Home Agent determines that an IP address has not previously been assigned to the mobile node, the Home Agent assigns an IP address to the mobile node, composes a registration reply including the IP address and sends the registration reply to the mobile node.

Abstract: Methods and apparatuses for obtaining home agent assignment. The invention uses a DNS query to signal a request for dynamic home agent assignment. The DNS query will cause a content routing device to be notified that home agent assignment is being requested. The content routing device can then use predetermined metrics to select a home agent. A DNS response will then be sent back to the device that initiated the DNS query containing the IP address of the selected home agent.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for establishing an optimized route between a Mobile Node and a Correspondent Node are disclosed. In particular, a Correspondent Node is notified of the location of a Mobile Node, thereby enabling the Correspondent Node to communicate directly with the Mobile Node. This is accomplished by sending a HOTi message protected in IPSec transport mode from the Mobile Node to a Home Agent associated with the Mobile Node for modification and transmission of a modified HOTi message to the Correspondent Node. The Mobile Node then receives a HOT message protected in IPSec transport mode from the Home Agent associated with the Mobile Node, the HOT message being received from the Home Agent associated with the Mobile Node after modification has been performed by the Home Agent on an initial HOT message received by the Home Agent from the Correspondent Node.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for authenticating a mobile node are disclosed. A server is configured to provide a plurality of security associations associated with a plurality of mobile nodes. A packet identifying a mobile node may then be sent to the server from a network device such as a Home Agent. A security association for the mobile node identified in the packet may then be obtained from the server. The security association may be sent to the network device to permit authentication of the mobile node. Alternatively, authentication of the mobile node may be performed at the server by applying the security association.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for supporting broadcast traffic in Mobile IP are disclosed. When a Mobile Node registers via a Foreign Agent supporting Mobile IP, the Foreign Agent receives a registration request from a Mobile Node and sends the registration request to a Home Agent. A registration reply received from the Home Agent has a network mask extension including a network mask associated with the home address of the Mobile Node. The Foreign Agent then sends the registration reply to the Mobile Node. Alternatively, the Mobile Node may register via a collocated care-of address, in which case the registration reply is received directly from the Home Agent. Once the Mobile Node has obtained its network mask, it may send packets such as broadcast packets, as well as roam to its Home Agent. Additionally, in accordance with various embodiments, the Foreign Agent duplicates broadcast packets for transmission to Mobile Nodes, rather than receiving the duplicated packets from the Home Agent.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are disclosed that enable a Home Agent to be dynamically assigned to a mobile node. A Mobility Agent supporting Mobile IP enables a mobile node to be registered with either the Mobility Agent or another “local” Home Agent, by receiving a registration request packet from the Mobile Node indicating that a key to be shared by the Mobile Node and an agent with which the Mobile Node is registering is requested. In addition, the agent with which the Mobile Node is registering (e.g., local Home Agent) may be assigned. For instance, a local Home Agent may be assigned if load balancing among multiple Home Agents is desired. A key to be shared by the Mobile Node and the agent with which the Mobile Node is registering is obtained. The key to be shared by the Mobile Node and the agent with which the Mobile Node is registering is then stored.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for supporting broadcast traffic in Mobile IP are disclosed. When a Mobile Node registers via a Foreign Agent supporting Mobile IP, the Foreign Agent receives a registration request from a Mobile Node and sends the registration request to a Home Agent. A registration reply received from the Home Agent has a network mask extension including a network mask associated with the home address of the Mobile Node. The Foreign Agent then sends the registration reply to the Mobile Node. Alternatively, the Mobile Node may register via a collocated care-of address, in which case the registration reply is received directly from the Home Agent. Once the Mobile Node has obtained its network mask, it may send packets such as broadcast packets, as well as roam to its Home Agent. Additionally, in accordance with various embodiments, the Foreign Agent duplicates broadcast packets for transmission to Mobile Nodes, rather than receiving the duplicated packets from the Home Agent.

Abstract: A method and implementation are disclosed for binding a mobile node to a subnet. The invention comprises steps and implementations for intercepting messages sent by a mobile node to a server, associating a predetermined subnet with the intercepted messages and forwarding the intercepted messages to the server. The invention intercepts reply messages sent by at least one server, selects reply messages that are associated with the predetermined subnet. The selected reply messages are forwarded to the mobile node and reply messages that are not associated with the predetermined subnet are discarded.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for implementing a Mobile IP mobile router are provided. In accordance with one aspect, the Home Agent receives a registration request packet. The registration request packet may include a care-of address for the mobile router. Networks associated with the mobile router are then identified. The Home Agent then updates a routing table to associate the identified networks with the care-of address. In addition, the Home Agent updates a mobility binding table with the care-of address for the mobile router. In accordance with another aspect, routing information is exchanged between the Home Agent and the mobile router. A routing table associated with at least one of the Home Agent and the mobile router is then updated as appropriate to include the exchanged routing information.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for supporting a Mobile IP mobile router are disclosed. A method of establishing a multicast session, thereby enabling multicast IP data packets to be transmitted to the multicast mobile router, include registering the mobile router with its Home Agent. Upon receipt of a registration reply from the Home Agent, the mobile router sends a join host group message. The join host group messages specifies a multicast group address and requests that a source or rendezvous point send packets destined to the multicast group address to a Foreign Agent to which the multicast mobile router has roamed when the multicast group address is a global scope address. Thus, multicast IP data packets may be received from the Home Agent when the data packets are addressed to an administrative scope address, while multicast IP data packets are received from the Foreign Agent when the data packets are addressed to a global scope address.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for enabling a Mobile Node supporting mobile IP to roam without an assigned IP address and receive lookups indicating that a Corresponding Node wants to send information to the Mobile Node are disclosed. A name lookup may be sent from a Corresponding Node to a Home Agent that has previously registered the Mobile Node. The name lookup may be sent through an intermediate device, including a Domain Name Server, such that the intermediate device contacts the Home Agent. During the name lookup process, an IP address is allocated to the Mobile Node and a data path is established between the Home Agent and the Mobile Node via a Foreign Agent. When the lookup is completed successfully, the Home Agent sends the IP address allocated to the Mobile Node in the name lookup process to the device requesting the lookup. The IP address of the Mobile Node may then be used by the Corresponding Node to “push” information to the Mobile Node.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for registering a mobile device such as a mobile node or mobile router with a Home Agent in an asymmetric link environment. A Foreign Agent associates each of one or more interfaces of the Foreign Agent with a different care-of address. An agent advertisement including the care-of address for the one or more interfaces of the Foreign Agent is then sent via one or more uplinks. A registration request is received via a downlink router. The registration request identifies a care-of address associated with one of the one or more interfaces of the Foreign Agent. One of the interfaces identified by the care-of address is ascertained, thereby identifying the interface to which the mobile device has roamed. The registration request is forwarded to the Home Agent. A registration reply is received from the Home Agent. The registration reply is then forwarded to the mobile device via the ascertained interface.

Abstract: An adaptive feedback technique is described for a Mobile IP environment in which Mobile IP mechanisms provide early feedback to mechanisms in the transport layer and/or application layer of a mobile node in response to detection of changes in link characteristics of the communication used by the mobile node to communicate with a data network. Using the early feedback information, appropriate measures may then be taken in order to accommodate the changes in link characteristics. Such appropriate measures may include, for example, providing feedback to media aware applications in order to allow such applications to dynamically adjust their bandwidth requirements to accommodate the new link characteristics, modifying timeout parameters, modifying an encoding formats to accommodate the new link characteristics, notifying participants in a real-time application session of the detected changes in the link characteristics, etc.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for processing a registration request from a Mobile Node that has roamed to a Foreign Agent supporting Mobile IP are disclosed. In a first one of a plurality of Home Agents supporting Mobile IP, a registration request addressed to a virtual Home Agent address associated with the plurality of Home Agents is received. The registration request is then sent to a second one of the plurality of Home Agents such that the second one of the plurality of Home Agents creates a binding between the Mobile Node and the Foreign Agent. The first one of the plurality of Home Agents creates a temporary binding between the Mobile Node and the Foreign Agent. A registration reply is then received from the second one of the plurality of Home Agents. The temporary binding is then updated to create a permanent binding when the registration reply is received from the second one of the plurality of Home Agents. The registration reply is then sent to the Foreign Agent identified in the temporary binding.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus for processing registration requests by a Home Agent supporting Mobile IP are disclosed. A registration request is received from each of a plurality of Mobile Nodes, the registration request specifying a care-of address. A binding is established between each of the plurality of Mobile Nodes and the associated care-of address, each of the plurality of Mobile Nodes being associated with one another. For instance, the plurality of Mobile Nodes may be statically or dynamically assigned the same Home Address. A tunnel is then created between the Home Agent and the care-of address for each of the plurality of Mobile Nodes, thereby enabling a server request to be distributed by the Home Agent to one of the plurality of Mobile Nodes via the associated tunnel. For instance, a server request addressed to the Home Address may be forwarded to one of the Mobile Nodes assigned that Home Address.