Methods and apparatus for providing mobility of a node that does not support mobility

In a Foreign Agent that supports Mobile IP, a method of registering a node that does not support mobile IP with a Home Agent that supports Mobile IP, the method comprising:

• receiving a packet;
• and
• ascertaining from the packet whether a node has been detected in a vicinity of the Foreign Agent;
• wherein when a node has been detected, composing a registration request on behalf of the node;
• and
• sending the registration request to the Home Agent.

In a Home Agent supporting Mobile IP, a method of registering a node that does not support Mobile IP, the method comprising:

• receiving a registration request from a first Foreign Agent, the registration request being composed by the first Foreign Agent on behalf of the node and identifying the node;
• updating a mobility binding table to associate the first Foreign Agent with the node;
• updating the mobility binding table to perform de-registration of the node such that movement of the node from a second Foreign Agent to the first Foreign Agent is recorded, wherein performing de-registration is performed without a de-registration message from the node indicating that the node requests de-registration;
• and
• notifying the second Foreign Agent to update its visitor table to reflect roaming of the node from the second Foreign Agent to the first Foreign Agent.

In a Home Agent that supports Mobile IP, a method of registering a node that does not support Mobile IP, the method comprising:

• receiving a first registration request identifying the node from a first Foreign Agent composed by the first Foreign Agent on behalf of the node that does not support Mobile IP;
• receiving a second registration request identifying the node from a second Foreign Agent composed by the second Foreign Agent on behalf of the node that does not support Mobile IP;
• updating a mobility binding table to include an entry specifying a first tunnel between the Home Agent and the first Foreign Agent;
• and
• updating the mobility binding table to include an entry specifying a second tunnel between the Home Agent and the second Foreign Agent, wherein updating the mobility binding table to include an entry specifying the second tunnel is performed without removing the entry specifying the first tunnel.

In a Home Agent that supports Mobile IP, a method of registering a node that does not support Mobile IP, the method comprising:

• receiving a first registration request from a first Foreign Agent, the first registration request being composed by the first Foreign Agent on behalf of the node and including a node ID of the node;
• receiving a second registration request from a second Foreign Agent, the second registration request being composed by the second Foreign Agent on behalf of the node and including the node ID of the node;
• and
• denying registration from the first Foreign Agent for a specified period of time.

A computer-readable medium for registering a node that does not support mobile IP with a Home Agent that supports Mobile IP, comprising:

• instructions for receiving a packet;
• instructions for ascertaining from the packet whether a node has been detected in a vicinity of a Foreign Agent that supports Mobile IP;
• instructions for composing a registration request on behalf of the node when the node has been detected;
• and
• instructions for sending the registration request to the Home Agent.

A computer-readable medium for registering a node that does not support Mobile IP in a Home Agent supporting Mobile IP, comprising:

• instructions for receiving a registration request from a first Foreign Agent, the registration request being composed on behalf of the node by the first Foreign Agent and identifying the node;
• instructions for updating a mobility binding table to associate the first Foreign Agent with the node;
• instructions for performing de-registration of the node to update the mobility binding table such that movement of the node from a second Foreign Agent to the first Foreign Agent is recorded, wherein performing de-registration is performed without a de-registration message from the node indicating that the node requests de-registration;
• and
• instructions for notifying the second Foreign Agent to update its visitor table to reflect roaming of the node from the second Foreign Agent to the first Foreign Agent.

A computer-readable medium for registering a node that does not support Mobile IP by a Home Agent that supports Mobile IP, comprising:

• instructions for receiving a first registration request identifying the node from a first Foreign Agent, the first registration request being composed on behalf of the node by the first Foreign Agent;
• instructions for receiving a second registration request identifying the node from a second Foreign Agent, the second registration request being composed on behalf of the node by the second Foreign Agent;
• instructions for updating a mobility binding table to include an entry specifying a first tunnel between the Home Agent and the first Foreign Agent;
• and
• instructions for updating the mobility binding table to include an entry specifying a second tunnel between the Home Agent and the second Foreign Agent, wherein updating the mobility binding table to include an entry specifying the second tunnel is performed without removing the entry specifying the first tunnel.

A computer-readable medium for registering a node that does not support Mobile IP in a Home Agent that supports Mobile IP, comprising:

• instructions for receiving a first registration request from a first Foreign Agent, the first registration request being composed on behalf of the node by the first Foreign Agent and including a node ID of the node;
• instructions for receiving a second registration request from a second Foreign Agent, the second registration request being composed on behalf of the node by the second Foreign Agent and including the node ID of the node;
• and
• instructions for denying registration from the first Foreign Agent for a specified period of time.

A Foreign Agent that supports Mobile IP, the Foreign Agent being adapted for registering a node that does not support Mobile IP with a Home Agent that supports Mobile IP, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory, at least one of the processor and the memory being adapted for:
• receiving a packet;
• ascertaining from the packet whether a node has been detected in a vicinity of the Foreign Agent;
• composing a registration request on behalf of the node when the node has been detected;
• and
• sending the registration request to the Home Agent.

A Foreign Agent that supports Mobile IP, the Foreign Agent being adapted for generating a registration request for a node that does not support Mobile IP, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory, the memory storing therein:
• instructions for determining whether the Foreign Agent has an authentication key for the node;
• instructions for obtaining the authentication key for the node when it is determined that the Foreign Agent does not have the authentication key for the node;
• instructions for composing a registration request identifying the node;
• instructions for generating an authentication extension from the authentication key for the node;
• and
• instructions for appending the authentication extension to the registration request.

A Foreign Agent supporting Mobile IP, the Foreign Agent being adapted for implementing a virtual Foreign Agent in a network having a plurality of Foreign Agents, comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a memory, the memory storing therein:
• instructions for associating a MAC address with an interface of the Foreign Agent such that an interface of each one of the plurality of Foreign Agents is associated with a different MAC address;
• and
• instructions for associating a dummy interface IP address with the interface of the Foreign Agent, wherein the dummy interface IP address is associated with the interface of each one of the plurality of Foreign Agents thereby facilitating communication between a node that does not support Mobile IP with one of the plurality of Foreign Agents via the dummy interface IP address.

A Foreign Agent that supports Mobile IP, the Foreign Agent being adapted for registering a node that does not support mobile IP with a Home Agent that supports Mobile IP, comprising:

• means for receiving a packet;
• means for ascertaining from the packet whether a node has been detected in a vicinity of the Foreign Agent;
• means for composing a registration request on behalf of the node when the node has been detected;
• and
• means for sending the registration request to the Home Agent.