ES2360678B1 - PROCEDURE AND MANAGEMENT DEVICE FOR LOCALIZED IP MOBILITY BASED ON THE NETWORK, ACCESS NETWORK AND DEVICE FOR FIXED AND MOBILE ACCESS PASSWAY TO DOMAINS WITH LOCATED IP MOBILITY. - Google Patents

Abstract

An IP mobility management (IPv4 or IPv6) is proposed in localized domains that include fixed and mobile, network-based connection points. The localized domain has a receiving device for all packets destined for the domain. This device (N-LMA) stores information on the connection point (fixed or mobile) to which the nodes (terminals or mobile connection points) in the domain are stored in an association table. If the node is connected to a mobile connection point, packets are re-sent through the fixed connection point to which said mobile connection point is connected. The connection points detect the nodes that connect to them and notify the receiving device to update its table. Thus, a terminal can move in the domain, change connection point, connect to a mobile connection point and move connected to it, always without changing the IP address.

Description

With infrastructure, support IP mobility

and provide Internet access to the terminals that

Procedure and localized IP mobility management device based on the network, access network and fixed and mobile access gateway device to domains with localized IP mobility. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention falls within the framework of information technologies and communications in general, being applied more particularly for IP networks ("Internet Protocol", in English; both the version of the IPv4 protocol and the IPv6) access, which route users' connections to the Internet and manage the mobility of IP terminals connected to localized areas. Background of the invention

Nowadays, users are increasingly demanding to be able to access the Internet from anywhere and in any situation. Mobile terminals (PDAs, smart mobile phones, laptops or pocket PCs, ...) evolve to incorporate a large number of applications based on data communication. To provide access to ubiquitous Internet, multiple communication technologies (for example, 3G and WLAN) are incorporated into the terminal. The 3G option suffers from a number of disadvantages, such as capacity aspects from the operator's point of view,

or cost considerations from the end user's point of view.

Therefore, there is a need for an alternative solution to 3G that offers broadband Internet access efficiently in vehicular scenarios, such as urban public transport (metro, city buses, commuter trains, etc.), which are characterized because a large number of users spend a great deal of time moving in the vehicles, in the corresponding stations, and between the stations and the vehicles. Other examples of scenarios with similar requirements are those where users move in a large area, such as fairgrounds, airports, or exhibition centers. In these areas, there may be fixed Internet access points (for example, in an airport terminal, or in a fairground pavilion) but also mobile access points (for example, vehicles used to change terminal at an airport, or pavilion at a fairground). Users demand to keep the communications they have in progress while moving in these scenarios, take vehicles and move with them, get off and move, etc.

Current proposals that can be applied to provide Internet access in vehicle scenarios such as those mentioned above have deficiencies detailed below:

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Network mobility solutions or NEMO solutions (“NEtwork MObility” or “NEtwork that MOves”, in English, depending on the context): Both in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF: “Internet Engineering Task Force”, in English) as in the scientific community, we are currently working on developing efficient solutions to provide Internet access from IP networks that move as a whole (the so-called NEMO networks, which comes from the name that the IETF gave to the task force in charge of network mobility in IPv6). NEMO networks incorporate special devices called Routers or Mobile Routers (MR: “Mobile Routers”, in English) that are in charge of communication, they connect through them using a radio technology (which can be short range).

A first solution standardized by the IETF is the basic protocol for mobile network support (NEMO BS: “NEMO Basic Support protocol”, in English) [see RFC 3963 “Network Mobility (NEMO) Basic Support Protocol”, V Devarapalli et al., January 2005]. According to the NEMO B.S. protocol, packets directed to the nodes of the NEMO network are routed to a home network where the NEMO resides when it is not moving. Since the NEMO is part of the home network, the NEMO network uses mobile network prefixes (MNPs: “Mobile Network Prefixes”) that belong to the address blocks assigned to the home network. In order to receive the packets, the MR, when not in the home network, acquires a topologically valid address in the visited network, called CoA ("Care-of Address", in English). By creating a bi-directional tunnel between the CoA and a node called HA (“Home Agent”, in English) in the home network of the mobile network, the nodes of the NEMO network can send and receive packets using addresses of the MNPs. The major performance limitations of the NEMO B.S. they are that it introduces a non-negligible overload in the packets by the use of tunnels and that forces a sub-optimal routing because the packets have to be forwarded through the HA in the home network, turning the HA into a neck of bottle and at a single point of failure.

To overcome these limitations, what has been called Route Optimization has been proposed to achieve a direct exchange of packets between the nodes of the NEMO network and the nodes with which they communicate without having to go through the home network [eg, "Design and Experimental Evaluation of a Route Optimization Solution for NEMO ”M. Calderon et al., IEEE Journal on Selected Areas in Communications, Issue on Mobile Routers and Network Mobility, vol. 24, no. 9, pp. 1702-1716, September 2006]. The drawback of Route Optimization is that it does not allow a conventional IP terminal to leave the mobile network and connect to a connection point in the fixed infrastructure while maintaining its communications.

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Localized Mobility Management Solutions based on the network or NetLMM solutions (“Networkbased Localised Mobility Management”, in English): Recently there have been proposals that provide mobility to conventional IP terminals (that is, those that do not have any functionality mobility) in a domain located only with functionality present in network nodes [see RFC 4830, "Problem Statement for Network-Based Localized Mobility Management (NETLMM)" J. Kempf, April 2007].

The IETF is currently working on a protocol to provide this functionality called PMIPv6 ("Proxy Mobile IPv6", in English). PMIPv6 works as follows. The network finds out, using the standard operations of the terminals (such as the discovery of routers and neighbors or level 2 operations), when a mobile terminal (MT: “Mobile Terminal”) joins a connection point of a localized domain (LMD: “Localised Mobility Domain”) and, based on this, updates the routing without the terminal having to perform any specific IP mobility operation. PMIPv6 defines two functional entities in the infrastructure: the mobility access gateways (MAG: “Mobile Access Gateway”) and the Localized Mobility Anchors (LMA: “Localised Mobility Anchor”). The MAG makes the mobility signaling in favor of the MT towards the LMA. There are several MAGs in an LMD. The LMA maintains routes for the MTs within the LMD, routes that point to the MAG to which the MT is currently connected. The packages of a MT are routed to / from the MT through a bi-directional tunnel between the LMA and the corresponding MAG. The disadvantage of the PMIPv6 is that it does not allow mobile networks to be incorporated into the LMD, so a conventional IP terminal cannot move in an LMD and then move to a mobile network and move with it.

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Traditional solutions to provide mobility in IP networks that are based on existing functionality in both mobile terminals and the network: To ensure that MTs can move in the localized domain, move to the mobile network and move with it, and to be able to leave the mobile network and move to the infrastructure, always keeping the communications that you had in progress, you can combine the proposals of network mobility, network-based localized mobility management and terminal-based mobility (“Mobile IP ", In English) [see RFC 3775" Mobility Support in IPv6 ", D. Jonson et al., June 2004]. However, this combination requires, on the one hand, that the terminal has functionality to manage its own mobility at the IP level and, on the other hand, the efficiency advantages of localized network-based mobility for travel to / from the network are not achieved. mobile, since in those cases it is necessary to change the IP address when the terminal moves.

In summary, an IP mobility based on functionality in the network that allows terminals (without IP mobility functionality) to move, in a localized environment, between fixed connection points, between fixed and mobile connection points, remains unresolved to date. and move connected to a mobile connection point, always keeping their IP addresses and their ongoing communications open. Description of the invention

The present invention resolves the above-mentioned problem, in each and every one of the different aspects mentioned, conceiving a network architecture for a localized domain, which includes both fixed connection points and mobile connection points for IP terminals ( both IPv4 and IPv6), where a mobility management procedure is implemented based on network nodes that is proposed here and hereafter referred to as N-PMIP (“NEMO-enabled Proxy Mobile Internet Protocol”), with the following objectives:

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allow IP terminals without IP mobility functionality to scroll through the localized domain, change the connection point (either fixed or mobile the access point or gateway device to which the terminal is connected), and move connected to a point mobile connection, always keeping your communications in progress and your IP address;

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minimize the IP mobility signaling on the radio interface and, therefore, the delay caused by the necessary mobility signaling, as well as the handover delay (“in English”) due to point changes of connection.

In N-PMIP, the mobile terminals (MTs) of the users can be connected to fixed connection points or to mobile connection points. Examples of MT devices can be mobile phones (2G technology, 3G or 4G) electronic agendas (PDAs), laptops, ..., with wireless connection (WiFi, WiMAX, Bluetooth, ZigBee, W- USB, etc.) The MTs can be conventional IP nodes, that is, they support the Protocol. Internet (IP) without incorporating IP mobility functionality.

An N-PMIP domain is defined as an area covered by a set of mobility access gateways or connection points, which can be fixed connection points (fMAG: “Fixed Mobile Access Gateway”) and / or connection points phones (mMAG: “Moving Mobile Access Gateway”), where the procedure proposed here runs and which has come to be called the N-PMIP protocol. The N-PMIP domain is a domain with localized mobility (LMD) but not conventional since it includes both fixed and mobile Internet access points, with IP mobility managed exclusively by the network through the functionality of N-PMIP. The mobile connection points (mMAG) are in turn connected to fixed connection points (fMAG) of the domain and the mMAG can be moved by changing the fMAG with which they connect to the infrastructure.

N-PMIP does not require IP mobility functionality either at the terminals (MTs) or at the mobile connection points (mMAGs), since such mobility is managed from the network. Mobile connection points do need specific functionality to extend the N-PMIP localized mobility domain to the nodes that connect to said mobile connection points, so that a MT that joins a mobile connection point does not have to change its IP address, satisfying one of the objectives of the invention.

In an N-PMIP domain, MTs without IP mobility functionality can move while maintaining the same IP address, whether they move between fixed connection points, between mobile connection points, or also between fixed and mobile connection points. As a result, the objective is also achieved to reduce the signaling load associated with handovers and improve their performance by decreasing the latency due to said signaling, which is an improvement compared to IP mobility solutions based on terminal functionality (“Mobile IP”).

In addition to the fixed and mobile mobility access points or access gateways (fMAGs and mMAGs), the N-PMIP domain comprises an address anchoring device of the localized domain, which hereafter and following the terminology of PMIPv6 it is renamed N-LMA ("NEMOenabled LMA"). This N-LMA localized mobility anchoring device constitutes a receiving center for all packets that, sent from outside the N-PMIP domain, have destination addresses belonging to the N-PMIP domain addresses. The N-PMIP protocol can use both IPv6 and IPv4 addressing.

An aspect of the invention is therefore a mobility management procedure located in IP networks based on functionality in the network comprising the following steps:

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detection of the connection of at least one node of an IP network, node that can be a mobile terminal MT or a mobile connection point (mMAG), to a connection point that can also be mobile (mMAG) or fixed (fMAG) and that has an IP address, within a localized IP mobility domain;

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sending (to the N-LMA) a signaling message containing an identity of the node of the IP network, from the connection point (fixed or mobile) to which the node is connected;

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assignment (by the N-LMA) of an IP addressing information to the connected node, the IPv6 or IPv4 addressing being treated;

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sending (from the N-LMA) to the connection point to which the node is connected from a response signaling message with the IP addressing information assigned to the node;

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association between the identity of the node, the IP addressing information assigned to it and the IP address of the connection point to which said node is connected.

The connection point (fMAG or mMAG) to which said node of the IP network is connected can additionally send to the node a point-to-point ("unicast") signaling message containing the IP addressing information assigned to it. .

If the node is a mobile terminal (MT), it connects to a connection point that can be fixed (fMAG) or a mobile connection point (mMAG). If the node consists of a mobile connection point (mMAG), it can be connected to a fixed connection point (fMAG) or to another mobile connection point.

Additionally, the mobility management procedure located in IP networks proposed herein includes the reception of a data packet, destined for one of the mobile terminals (MT) of the localized IP mobility domain, in the localized mobility anchoring device ( N-LMA), as well as the following steps:

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perform a first search on the associations created by the N-LMA to obtain the IP address of the connection point to which the recipient MT of the data packet is connected;

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if the IP address obtained in the first search belongs to a mobile connection point (mMAG), recursive searches are made in the associations created in the N-LMA until an IP address belonging to a fixed connection point (fMAG) is obtained;

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forwarding (or) the packet (s) of data received and addressed to said MT from the N-LMA to the MT.

The forwarding of the data packets received in the N-LMA comprises its transmission to the fMAG connection point whose IP address is the end result of the search process.

Another aspect of the invention relates to a mobile mobility access gateway device (mMAG) or mobile connection point comprising:

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means for detecting the connection to said mMAG of at least one node of an IP network, which may be a MT or other mMAG;

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means for sending the signaling message with the identity of the node of the IP network to the N-LMA.

Additionally, the mMAG presents:

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means for receiving the response signaling message from the N-LMA with the IP addressing information assigned to the connected node;

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means for sending a point-to-point signaling message containing the IP addressing information assigned to the connected node to the connected node.

This mobility access gateway device, mMAG, which constitutes a mobile connection point is also capable of forwarding data packets, for example by establishing IP tunnels as explained below, between the connected node and the mobile device. localized mobility anchor (N-LMA).

Also, another aspect of the invention is a fixed mobility access gateway device (fMAG) or fixed connection point which also comprises means for detecting that a node, which can be a mobile terminal or a mobile connection point such as the one defined. previously, it is connected, to the fixed connection point (fMAG), as well as means to send the identity of the connected node to the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA). In addition, it has means to receive the N-LMA response signaling message with the IP addressing information that the N-LMA assigns to the connected node and to send said IP addressing information to the node.

If you include an association table, here this MAGFix is called N-MAG (“NEMO-enabled MAG”), its association table comprising one entry for each node that connects to the mobile connection point (mMAG) connected to said fixed connection point (N-MAG). Each entry contains the identity of said node, the IP addressing information assigned to the node by the N-LMA and the IP address of the mobile connection point (mMAG) to which the node is connected.

Additionally the fixed connection point (fMAG

or N-MAG) comprises means for forwarding data packets from the connected node to the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) and the same in the opposite direction of communication, using for example IP tunnels as explained below. .

It is also aspect of the invention a localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) comprising a table of associations and means for assigning an IP addressing information (IPv4 or IPv6) to a node, when it receives, from a point connection, mobile (mMAG) or fixed (fMAG or N-MAG) belonging to the localized mobility domain, a signaling message with a node identity. The node is a mobile terminal (MT) or a mobile connection point (mMAG) connected to said fixed or mobile connection point. The N-LMA creates the association table comprising one entry per connected node and containing the identity of said node, the IP addressing information assigned to the node and the IP address of the connection point to which the node is connected. And through means of sending a response signaling message it transmits the IP addressing information assigned to the connected node.

The N-LMA is a receiving center for all data packets addressed to the defined localized IP mobility domain (N-PMIP domain) and, therefore, comprises means for receiving at least one data packet to forward the received data packets to the destination mobile terminal through the fixed connection point whose IP address is obtained by means of one (or more) search in its association table. The N-LMA is configured to search the IP address of the connection point to which the mobile terminal to which the mobile terminal is connected and, if necessary, search more recursively until obtaining a search in the entry corresponding to the destination mobile terminal. IP address belonging to a fixed connection point (fMAG or N-MAG). For the forwarding of the received data packets, the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) preferably has means to establish an IP tunnel with the fixed connection point to which it transmits or from which it receives the packets of the mobile terminal .

A final aspect of the invention consists of an IP access network comprising at least one localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA), one or more fixed mobility access gateway devices (fMAG) connected to said N -LMA and at least one mobile mobility access gateway device (mMAG) connected to at least one of said fMAGs, which cooperate as described above.

The basic operation of a mobile connection point (mMAG) is as follows. When an mMAG is connected to a fixed connection point (fMAG), the fMAG informs the N-LMA about this event, by sending a signaling message containing the identity of the mMAG. The identity of a node of the IP network, which may be either an mMAG or an MT, within the N-PMIP domain may have a different nature, for example: it may be an address of the OSI link layer or level 2 (Organization International for Standardization), an identifier associated with the node authentication protocol used in the link layer, or any other identifier uniquely assigned to the node. The N-LMA delegates an addressing information assigned to the mMAG and stores in an association table (“binding cache”) an association between the identity of the mMAG (received in the signaling message), the information of addressing delegated to the mMAG and the IP address of the fMAG to which said mMAG is connected. Such addressing information assigned by the N-LMA and defined within the N-PMIP domain comprises: if IPv6 is used in the IP network, an IPv6 prefix; if IPv4 is used, an IPv4 address instead of a prefix.

The signaling message sent to the N-LMA to indicate the identity of a node that has connected to the N-PMIP domain, is for example, if IPv6 is used in the IP network, a message of the type Proxy Binding Update (PBU ). The PBU is a message sent by a fixed or mobile MAG to an N-LMA, requesting the routing information assigned to the node that has been connected and requesting that an association be created between said routing information and the fixed or mobile MAGMA that sends the PBU. The PBU message is included indicating the identity of the node that has been connected. The format of the message is identical to that of the Binding Update (BU) type message, defined in RFC 3775 [RFC 3775 "Mobility Support in IPv6", D. Jonson et al., June 2004]), except for inclusion of a modi fi er (“fl ag”) that indicates that it is a PBU type message, and the existence of new mobility options, such as those necessary to transport the address information assigned to the node and its identifier. The N-LMA sends a response signaling message to transmit the addressing information assigned to the node that has been connected and, following the previous example, this information can go in a Proxy Binding Acknowledgment (PBA) message. The format of the PBA message is identical to that of the Binding Acknowledgment (BA) type message (defined in RFC 3775 [RFC 3775 "Mobility Support in IPv6", D. Jonson et al., June 2004]), except for the Inclusion of a modi fi er that indicates that it is a PBA type message, and the existence of new mobility options, such as those necessary to transport the address information assigned to the node and its identifier.

The detection of the connection to the N-PMIP domain of a node (mMAG connecting to an fMAG or another mMAG, or MT connecting to an fMAG or an mMAG) can be performed based on standard operations of the node when connecting to a link. Non-limiting examples of how to make this detection are:

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Authentication procedure of the node in the link. If the access network requires that the nodes that it connects be authenticated in it to verify if they are authorized to use it, it is necessary to use authentication mechanisms of the node in the link (such as the protocol “ Protocol for Carrying Authentication for Network Access ”, PANA [RFC 4058“ Protocol for Carrying Authentication for Network Access (PANA) Requirements ”, A. Yegin et al.). The signaling used by a node to authenticate in the network to which it is connected can be used by a fixed or mobile MAGMA to detect the presence of a new node.

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IEEE 802.21 Signaling [Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, “Draft IEEE Standard for Local and Metropolitan Area Networks: Media Independent Handover Services”, IEEE 802.21 / D09, 2008 standard). The IEEE 802.21 standard defines a series of mechanisms and components to abstract the particularities of different access technologies and provide better support for IP mobility in heterogeneous environments. A series of signaling messages informing the network of the presence of a new node is defined as part of the standard. These messages could be used by the MAGFIXES or mobiles of a network that N-PMIP to detect the connection of new nodes.

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Level 2 information (as an association to an access point in IEEE 802.11). Information from OSI level 2 can be used by the higher levels to detect the connection of a node. For example, in IEEE 802.11 networks in infrastructure mode, a station exchanges a series of signaling messages with the access point to associate with it (as a previous step to be able to send traffic). This information can be used by the access point to notify the connection of a new node in the network.

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For IPv6, by router or neighbor discovery procedures ["Neighbor Discovery for IP version 6 (IPv6)", T. Narten et al., RFC 4861, September 2007].

The N-LMA creates, in its association table, one entry for each node (MT or mMAG) present in the domain. The entry associates the addressing information (prefix IPv6 or IPv4 address) delegated to the node, the identity of the node, and the IP address of its connection point (fixed or mobile).

If the mMAG moves to another connection point (fixed: fMAG, or mobile: mMAG), the N-LMA updates the association with the information of the new connection point.

When a mobile node - be it a mobile terminal (MT) or an mMAG - joins an mMAG, from the point of view of the mobile node, the mMAG behaves like a fixed MAG of the N-PMIP domain. In particular, the mMAG informs the N-LMA of the connection of the mobile node by means of a signaling message (eg, PBU), and obtains in response (eg, PBA) the addressing information assigned by the N-LMA for the mobile node The mMAG provides the addressing information belonging to the N-PMIP domain to each mobile node that connects and forwards all its packets through the N-LMA. The N-LMA stores an association between the identity of the mobile node, the delegated addressing information and the address of the mMAG to which it is connected.

The N-LMA is configured not to accept any node of the network requests for this kind of operations, it only responds to previously authorized connection points (fMAGs or mMAGs). Therefore, the connection points in the N-PMIP domain, both fixed and mobile, have a security association with the N-LMA, to be able to operate in that localized domain. Here the way of making this association is not restricted, indicating by way of non-limiting example that the association can be performed statically.

When the N-LMA has a packet to forward, with a destination address belonging to the N-PMIP domain addresses, the N-LMA performs recursive searches in its association table. In a first search, the N-LMA obtains the connection point (which can be fixed or mobile) to which the recipient MT of the packet is connected. Then a second search can proceed, to find out the information in the table about the connection point found in the first search. If the connection point found in the first search is fixed (fMAG), it is not necessary to continue searching. If the connection point found in the first search is mMAG mobile), the N-LMA makes the second connection point search in the domain, in this case to find the MAG to which said mMAG is connected. You can have nested mMAGs, by enabling a recursive search a number (n) of times until you find an entry in the table. In a general case, there may be n-1 mMAGs nested and a fixed connection point whose IP address obtains the N-LMA in the nth search. As soon as the N-LMA finds the address of a fixed connection point to which to forward the packet, for the search in the association table. With this information, the N-LMA can send packets from one MT to the fMAG to which it is directly connected, or to the mMAG to which it is connected, passing through the fMAG to which said mMAG was connected. The fMAG or mMAG then sends the packets to the MT. If there are a plurality of nested mobile connection points, the mMAG to which the MT is connected is the one that sends the signaling message with the identity of the MT to the N-LMA.

To send the packets of the MT between the N-LMA and the corresponding fMAG or mMAG, tunnels can be used (in the opposite direction, communication of the connection point to the N-LMA, the tunnels are optional and, if not used , it is only necessary to check the validity of the source addresses of the packets generated in the domain in the N-LMA). There are several options for these tunnels that are detailed below.

The description of the operation of N-PMIP is valid as stated for both IPv6 and IPv4 addressing. The IPv4 address that is delegated to the node (MT or mMAG) when connecting for the first time in the N-PMIP domain is normally assigned using the DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) network protocol. In DHCP, which is a client / server type protocol, the server has a list of dynamic IP addresses and assigns them to clients as they are free, controlling at all times who has been in possession of that IP, how long has it been and who has been assigned later. The DHCP server must run on the N-LMA that registers in the association table the IPv4 address assigned along with the identity of the node and the mMAG or fMAG to which it is connected.

In summary, the advantages of the invention over the state of the prior art are:

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Facing terminal-based mobility: unlike in Mobile IP, in N-PMIP the terminals do not require mobility functionality. Transfers are also more efficient by not requiring the change of IP address and by managing mobility closer to the terminal.

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In the face of network mobility solutions: network mobility solutions (such as NE-MO) only allow the mobility of the terminals connected to the network, however N-PMIP allows the movement of the terminal with the network, but also from the network to fixed connection points in the infrastructure.

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Compared to other localized mobility solutions based on network functionality: PMIPv6 only allows terminal mobility, without changing its IP address, between fixed connection points (MAGs). N-PMIP extends the functionality of PMIPv6 to integrate mobile connection points (mMAGs) into network-based localized mobility management, so that N-PMIP adds to the terminals the mobility between fixed connection points and connection points. mobile connection, as well as the displacement of the terminal next to a mobile connection point to which it is connected, always without changing the IP address.

Description of the drawings

To complement the description that is being made and in order to help a better understanding of the features of the invention, according to a preferred example of practical implementation thereof, it is accompanied as an integral part of this description, a set of drawings in which with the illustrative and non-limiting nature, the following has been represented:

Figure 1.- Shows a schematic representation of the architecture of the system object of the invention that implements the N-PMIP procedure.

Figure 2.- Shows a graph of the detailed signaling in the operation of N-PMIP, according to a preferred embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description of the Invention

Using the example network scenario that appears in Figure 1 and the signaling sequence that appears in Figure 2, a possible embodiment of the invention is described here.

In Figure 1 a domain with localized mobility (10) is defined that comprises a plurality of connection points (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4, mMAG1), distinguishing a fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) and point of mobile connection (mMAG1), and a localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) connected to the fixed connection points (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4). The fixed access points (fMAGs) are connected to the N-LMA via a wired fixed network, for example, of Ethernet type. The mobile terminals (MT) and mobile access points (mMAG) are connected by a wireless access technology, for example of type IEEE 802.11.

When a mobile connection point (mMAG1) is connected to a fixed connection point (fMAG1), this event (21) is detected by the fixed connection point (fMAG1) and from this connection informs the localized mobility anchoring device ( N-LMA). To notify you, the fixed connection point (fMAG1) sends a signaling message containing the identity of the connected mobile connection point (mMAG1). In Figure 2 it is shown that a Proxy Binding Update message is used for that purpose.

The localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) has an association table (11) where it is creating entries, such as those shown in Figures 1 and 2, that associate:

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a node identity (ID), which for example can be a link level address;

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an addressing information (PR), which may consist of an IPv6 prefix; Y

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an IP address (Dir) that identifies the connection point within the access IP network.

If the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) does not have any input created for the mobile connection point (mMAG1) from which its connection has been notified, and assuming that IPv6 is used, the localized mobility anchoring device ( N-LMA) assigns an IPv6 prefix as addressing information (PR), for example, Pref2 :: / 64, to said mobile connection point mMAG (mMAG1). The localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) creates a new entry in the association table (11), which includes information on the IPv6 prefix and the IPv6 address of the fixed connection point (fMAG1) to which in this case, example in Figure 1, the mobile connection point (mMAG1) is connected. The localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) then sends a response signaling message, which includes the IPv6 prefix, Pref2 :: / 64, assigned to the mobile connection point (mMAG1). In the signaling example shown in Figure 2, a Proxy Binding Acknowledgment message is used to send that response. With this information, the fixed connection point (fMAG1) sends a point-to-point "unicast" signaling message of the Router Announcement or Router Advertisement type, as shown in Figure 2 and specifying the RFC standard 4861. This unicast message is addressed to the mobile connection point (mMAG1) so that it can form an IPv6 address and start sending / receiving traffic.

While the mobile connection point (mMAG1) moves within the same N-PMIP domain (10), moving between different fixed connection points (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4), its IPv6 address does not change.

If IPv4 is used, the process described is identical, but instead of assigning an IPv6 prefix, an IPv4 address is assigned, using a DHCP server in the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA). The IPv4 -assigned address is delivered to the mobile connection point (mMAG1) by the fixed connection point (fMAG1) to which it is connected, using a standard DHCP Relay message.

When a mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3), for example MT3, is connected to the mobile connection point (mMAG1), said mobile connection point (mMAG1) sends a PBU message to the localized mobility anchoring device (N -LMA) to communicate that connection (22), as shown in Figure 2. The localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) then assigns, if IPv6 is used, an IPv6 prefix, for example Pref4 :: / 64, for the mobile terminal (MT 3) and creates a new entry for this terminal in its association table (11). The localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) reports the prefix assigned to the mobile connection point (mMAG1). Finally, the mobile connection point (mMAG1) in turn informs using a Point-to-Point Router Announcement message to the mobile terminal (MT 3) that it has connected over the prefix it has to use.

If IPv4 is used, the process described is identical, but an IPv4 address is assigned by using DHCP.

To hide the topology of the N-PMIP domain and avoid changing the prefix assigned to a node of the IP network, it may be a mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) or a mobile connection point (mMAG1), while moving within the same N-PMIP domain (10), IP tunnels can be used. The following describes several options for creating these tunnels.

The packets sent by a node outside the domain (10) to a mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) of said domain (10) always arrive at the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA). When the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) receives a packet, check in the association table (11), which is the IP address of the MAG, fixed or mobile, to which it has to resend the packets. The localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) adds an IP header to the original packet with source address that of the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) itself and destination address the MAG found in the search. Then, the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) performs a second search in the association table (11) to check if there is an entry for the MAG found in the first search. If the MAG is fixed, no entry is found and the package can be sent. But if it is mobile, the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) has in the association table (11) created an entry that points to the MAGFIX to which the mobile is connected. If nested mMAGs are allowed, the process of searching and adding IP headers can be repeated successively. For each input the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) adds an IP header with its address as the source address and destination address that of the MAG found in the table (11).

Therefore, if the mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) to which the packet is addressed is directly connected to a fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4), as in Figure 1 is the case of MT1 and fMAG1 or MT2 and fMAG2, to reach such a connection point an IP-in-IP tunnel is used. An IP-in-IP tunnel is constructed by encapsulating an IP datagram within another IP datagram, providing a direct logical connection between two remote ends - the ends of the tunnel -, crossing the intermediate network that interconnects them.

However, when the mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) is connected to a mobile connection point (mMAG1), in Figure 1 the MT3, two nested tunnels can be used. This last case, as illustrated in Figure 1, means using a first tunnel between the N-LMA and fMAG1, which is the fixed connection point to which mMAG1 is connected, and a second tunnel between the N-LMA and the mMAG1 to which the MT3 is connected. In nested tunnels, the second tunnel is encapsulated within the first tunnel. In this case, the N-LMA first creates a tunnel with the mMAG1 first and that tunnel is encapsulated in a second tunnel that also creates the N-LMA to communicate with the fMAG1. These tunnels are bi-directional, that is, they are used for incoming traffic to the user's mobile terminal and also for the outgoing traffic of that same mobile user terminal.

Following the example of MT3 connected to mMAG1, if the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) receives a packet addressed to MT 3, it performs a recursive search in its association table (11). As a result of the search, the packet is sent through the nested tunnel, with an external header with origin address of the N-LMA and destination the address of fMAG1, and an internal header with origin address the N-LMA and destination the mMAG1. The external header takes the packet to fMAG1, which removes that header. And the internal header takes the package to mMAG1. Finally, mMAG1 removes the internal header and delivers the package to MT3.

Based on the information available in the N-LMA and in the fMAGs and mMAGs, alternative methods can be used to create the tunnels to take the packets to the mobile user terminal:

-

Instead of nested tunnels, two consecutive tunnels can be used: a first tunnel established between the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) and the fixed connection point to which the mobile connection point (mMAG1) is connected, in the example fMAG1, and a second tunnel established between fMAG1 and mMAG1. In this case, the fixed connection point (fMAG1) has additional support to create its own association table, which has previously been called N-MAG. When a terminal such as MT3 is connected to mMAG1, the mMAG1 sends a PBU message to the N-LMA as already described, and the N-LMA sends a PBU to the N-MAG to which mMAG1 is connected. In this way, the N-MAG creates and updates its association table, and can properly encapsulate the packets destined for terminals connected to mobile connection points that in turn are connected to the N-MAG.

-

In IPv6 it can be used instead of two nested tunnels, which implies two IP headers added to the original IP packet, a single header with the N-LMA source address, the destination address of the MAGMA, and a Routing Header - “ Routing Header ”, in English-containing the address of the mMAG. Routing Header is used by the source of an IPv6 packet to list one or more intermediate nodes through which the packet must pass in the packet's delivery path. Upon receipt of the packet in the MAGFIX, it exchanges the address contained in the Routing Header for that contained in the destination address and sends the packet to the mMAG, which removes the header and delivers the packet to the terminal.

Optionally, the same tunnels can be used in the reverse direction of communication, to send packets from a node within the domain (10) to the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA).

Finally, returning to the description of the N-PMIP functionality in the example, if the MT3 terminal performs a handover (23) from mMAG1 to fMAG2, fMAG2 informs the N-LMA, with the corresponding PBU message shown in the fi gure. 2, so that the N-LMA can update its association table (11), because now in the MT3 input it must be saved that it is connected to fMAG2 instead of mMAG1 and thus the prefix, Pref4 :: / 64, is notified. assigned to MT3 to fMAG2.

On the other hand, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described herein but also covers the variants that can be made by the average expert in the field (for example, in terms of con fi guration criteria, message format, etc.), without departing from the scope of the invention that follows from the claims included below.

Claims (39)

 the localized mobility anchoring device (N 1. Mobility management procedure located in IP networks based on network functionality, characterized in that it comprises the following steps:

-

detect that at least one node of an IP network, which is selected between a mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) and a mobile connection point (mMAG1), is connected to a connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4 , mMAG1) which has an IP address;

-

sending, from the connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4, mMAG1) to which the node of the IP network is connected, a signaling message containing an identity of the node of the IP network;

-

assign an IP addressing information to the node of the connected IP network;

-

send, to the connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4, mMAG1) to which the node of the IP network is connected, a response signaling message containing the IP addressing information assigned to the network node IP connected;

-

create an association between the identity of the node of the IP network, the assigned IP addressing information and the IP address of the connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4, mMAG1) to which said node of the IP network is connected.

2.

Procedure according to claim 1, characterized in that the IP addressing information consists of an IPv6 prefix.

3.

Procedure according to claim 2, characterized in that the signaling message and the response signaling message are respectively of the types Proxy Binding Update and Proxy Binding Acknowledgment.

Four.

Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it additionally comprises sending, to the connected IP network node, from the connection point (fMAG1, ..., mMAG1) to which said IP network node is connected, a message point-to-point signaling that contains the IP addressing information assigned to the node of the connected IP network.

5.

Method according to claims 2 and 4, characterized in that the point-to-point signaling message is of the Router Advertisement type.

6.

Procedure according to claim 1, characterized in that the IP addressing information consists of an IPv4 address assigned by means of a DHCP protocol.

7.

Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that the steps of assigning the information of, IP addressing and creating the association between said IP addressing information, the identity of the node of the IP network and the IP address of the connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4, mMAG1) are performed by a localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA).

8.

Method according to claims 6 and 7, characterized in that the DHCP protocol is carried out through the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA).

9.

Method according to any one of claims 7-8, characterized in that the step of sending to the connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4, mMAG1) to which the node of the IP network is connected the response signaling message which contains the assigned IP addressing information is done from

LMA). 10. Method according to any of claims 7-9, characterized in that it additionally comprises:

-

receiving at least one data packet with at least one mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) destination in the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA);

-

perform a first search in the associations created by the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) to obtain the IP address of the connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4, mMAG1) to which the at least one terminal mobile (MT1, MT2, MT3) destination is connected;

-

If the IP address obtained in the first search belongs to a mobile connection point (mMAG1), perform recursive searches in the associations created by the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) until obtaining an IP address belonging to a point of fixed connection (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4);

-

forward the at least one data packet received from the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) to the at least one mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) destination.

eleven.

Method according to claim 10, characterized in that the step of resending the at least one received data packet to the at least one mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) destination comprises sending said at least one received data packet. from the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) to the fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) whose IP address is the IP address obtained in the search step.

12.

Procedure according to claim 11, characterized in that the step of creating the association between the identity of the node of the IP network, the assigned IP addressing information and the IP address of the connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4, mMAG1) to which said node of the IP network is connected to the fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) found in the search step.

13.

Method according to any of claims 11-12, characterized in that, if the IP address obtained in the first search belongs to a mobile connection point (mMAG1), the step of forwarding the at least one data packet received to it, At least one mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) additionally comprises forwarding the at least one data packet received from the fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) to the mobile connection point (mMAG1) .

14.

Procedure according to claim 13, characterized in that, if the IP address obtained in the first search belongs to a mobile connection point (mMAG1), the step of forwarding the at least one data packet received to the at least one terminal Mobile (MT1, MT2, MT3) destination uses two nested IP tunnels, a first tunnel established between the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) and the fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4), and a second tunnel established between the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) and the mobile connection point (mMAG1).

fifteen.

Procedure according to claim 13, characterized in that, if the IP address obtained in the first search belongs to a connection point

mobile (mMAG1), the step of forwarding the at least one data packet received to the at least one mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) destination uses two consecutive IP tunnels, a first tunnel established between the device localized mobility anchor (N-LMA) and the fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4), and a second tunnel established between the fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) and the connection point mobile (mMAG1).

16.

Method according to any of claims 11-12, characterized in that, if the IP address obtained in the first search belongs to a fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4), the step of resending the at least one packet of data received to the at least one mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) destination uses a single IP-in-IP tunnel established between the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) and the fixed connection point ( fMAG1, ..., fMAG4).

17.

Method according to any of claims 14-16, characterized in that each tunnel used in the step of forwarding the at least one data packet received to the at least one mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) destination is used bidirectionally .

18.

Method according to claims 2 and 13, characterized in that the step of resending the at least one data packet received to the at least one mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) destination uses a single IP header in which it is indicated the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) in a source address, the fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) in a destination address and the mobile connection point (mMAG1) in a routing header.

19.

Method according to any of the preceding claims, characterized in that it additionally comprises:

-

If the node of the IP network is a mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3), connect the mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) to a connection point (fMAG1, ..., mMAG1) that is selected between a point fixed connection (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) and a mobile connection point (mMAG1);

-

If the node of the IP network is a mobile connection point (mMAG1), connect the mobile connection point (mMAG1) to a fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) or another mobile connection point.

20. Localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) adapted for localized mobility management in IP networks based on network functionality according to the procedure defined according to any of claims 1-19, which is a packet receiving center with destination addresses belonging to a localized IP mobility domain, characterized in that it comprises:

-

means for assigning an IP addressing information to at least one node, when it receives, from a connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4, mMAG1) that has an IP address belonging to the localized mobility domain, a signal message Alignment containing an identity of the node, node that is selected between a mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) and a mobile connection point (mMAG1), connected to said connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4, mMAG1) ;

-

means for sending a response signaling message containing the IP addressing information assigned to the connected node;

-

an association table comprising an entry per connected node and containing the identity of said node, the IP addressing information assigned to the node and the IP address of the connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4, mMAG1) to which the node is connected.

twenty-one.

Localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) according to claim 20, characterized in that the means for assigning the IP addressing information assign an IPv6 prefix.

22

Localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) according to claim 20, characterized in that the means of assigning the IP addressing information assign an IPv4 address using a DHCP protocol.

2. 3.

Localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) according to any of claims 20-22, characterized in that it additionally comprises:

-

means for receiving at least one data packet having at least one mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) destination;

-

means for searching in the association table first the entry corresponding to the mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) destination to obtain the IP address of the connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4, mMAG1) to which the at least one , mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) destination is connected and recursively until obtaining an IP address belonging to a fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4);

-

means for forwarding the at least one data packet received to the at least one mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) destination and through the fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG 4) whose IP address is obtained by the search means.

24.

Localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) according to claim 23, characterized in that it additionally comprises means for establishing an IP tunnel with the fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) that it uses to forward the at least one, data packet received.

25.

Device for accessing localized IP mobility domains adapted to communicate with the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) defined according to claims 2024, characterized in that it constitutes a mobile connection point (mMAG1) having an IP address belonging to a localized IP mobility domain that comprises:

-

means for detecting that at least one node of an IP network is connected to the mobile connection point (mMAG1);

-

means for sending a signaling message containing an identity of the node of the IP network to the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA).

26. Access gateway device to IP mobility domains according to claim 25, characterized in that it additionally comprises:

-

means for receiving a response signaling message containing an IP addressing information assigned to the node connected by the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA);

-

means for sending a point-to-point signaling message to the connected node containing the IP addressing information assigned to the connected node.

27.

Gateway device for access to IP mobility domains according to any of claims 25-26, characterized in that it additionally comprises:

- means for forwarding data packets from the connected node to the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) and from said localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) to the connected node.

28.

Gateway device for access to IP mobility domains according to claim 27, characterized in that it additionally comprises means for establishing an IP tunnel with the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) that it uses to forward the data packets.

29.

Gateway device for access to IP mobility domains according to claim 27, characterized in that it additionally comprises means for establishing a. IP tunnel with a fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) to which the mobile connection point (mMAG1) is connected, the IP tunnel you use to forward data packets.

30

Gateway device for access to IP mobility domains according to claim any of claims 25-29, characterized in that it is connected to the node consisting of a mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3).

31.

Gateway device for access to IP mobility domains according to any of claims 25-29, characterized in that it is connected to the node consisting of another mobile connection point.

32

Localized IP mobility domain access gateway device adapted to connect to the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) defined according to claims 20-24, characterized in that it constitutes a fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4 ) that has an IP address belonging to a localized IP mobility domain and comprising:

-

means for detecting that at least one node of an IP network, which is selected between a mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) and a mobile connection point (mMAG1) defined according to claims 2531, is connected to the fixed connection point ( fMAG1, ..., fMAG4);

-

means for sending a signaling message containing an identity of the node of the IP network to the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA).

33. Access gateway device to IP mobility domains according to claim 32, characterized in that it additionally comprises:

-

means for receiving a response signaling message containing an IP addressing information assigned to the node connected by the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA);

-

means for sending a point-to-point signaling message to the connected node containing the IP addressing information assigned to the connected node.

3. 4.

Device for access to IP mobility domains according to claim 33, characterized in that it additionally comprises, if the at least one node connected to the fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) is a mobile connection point (mMAG1 ):

-a table of associations comprising an entry for each node that is connected to the mobile connection point (mMAG1) connected to said fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) and each entry contains the identity of said node, the IP addressing information assigned to the node and the IP address of the mobile connection point (mMAG1) to which the node is connected.

35

Gateway device for access to IP mobility domains according to any of claims 32-34, characterized in that it additionally comprises:

- means for forwarding data packets from the connected node to the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) and from said localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) to the connected node.

36.

Device for accessing IP mobility domains according to claim 35, characterized in that it additionally comprises means for establishing an IP tunnel with the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) that it uses to forward the data packets.

37.

Device for accessing IP mobility domains according to claim 35, characterized in that it additionally comprises means for establishing an IP tunnel with a mobile connection point (mMAG1) to which the fixed connection point (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) is ¡Connected, the IP tunnel you use to forward the data packets.

38.

Access network to domains with localized IP mobility comprising at least one localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) defined according to claims 20-24, a plurality of fixed mobility access gateway devices (fMAG1, ... , fMAG4) defined according to claims 32-37 which are connected to the localized mobility anchoring device (N-LMA) by means of a wired fixed network and at least one mobile mobility access gateway device (mMAG1) defined according to claims 25 -31 that connects to at least one of the fixed mobility access gateway devices (fMAG1, ..., fMAG4) via a wireless link.

39.

Access network according to the preceding claim, in which the mobile mobility access gateway device (mMAG1) is connected to at least one node, which is selected between a mobile terminal (MT1, MT2, MT3) and another gateway device of mobile mobility access defined according to claims 25-31.

SPANISH PATENTS AND BRANDS OFFICE Application No.: 200801125 SPAIN Date of submission of the application: 04/18/2008 Priority Date: REPORT ON THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE 51 Int. Cl.: H04L29 / 06 (2006.01) RELEVANT DOCUMENTS

Category

Documents cited Claims Affected

X

"RFC 3775: Mobility Support in Ipv6" D. Johnson; C. Perkins; J. Arkko; June 2004. Available at: <a href="http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3775.txt"> http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3775.txt </a> 1-9,19-22

TO

"RFC 3963: Network Mobility (NEMO) Basic Support Protocol" V. Devarapalli; R. Wakikawa; A. Petrescu; P. Thuber. January 2005. Available at: <a href="http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3963.txt"> http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3963.txt </a> one

Category of the documents cited X: of particular relevance Y: of particular relevance combined with other / s of the same category A: reflects the state of the technique O: referred to unwritten disclosure P: published between the priority date and the submission of the application E: previous document, but published after the date of submission of the application

This report has been prepared • for all claims • for claims no:

Date of realization of the report 23.05.2011

Examiner M. Muà ± oz Sanchez Page 1/2

REPORT OF THE STATE OF THE TECHNIQUE Application number: 200801125 Minimum documentation sought (classification system followed by classification symbols) H04L Electronic databases consulted during the search (name of the database and, if possible, terms of search used) INVENES, EPODOC, WPI, XPMISC, XPI3E, XPIETF, XPIEE, XPESP, NPL, COMPDX State of the Art Report Page 2/2