Paging of mobile hosts on an internet protocol network

A method of paging mobile hosts over an Internet protocol (IP) network comprising:

• coupling base stations to the IP network wherein one or more base stations define associated paging areas;
• initiating a page request for a mobile host at a given node of the network when the data on the network is addressed to the host;
• receiving the data addressed to the mobile host at a home agent on the network;
• defining a domain root router along a path on the network between the home agent and a current paging area for the mobile host;
• sending update messages to the domain root router from the mobile host:
• (i) when the host detaches from one base station and re-attaches to another base station while the host is in an active state;
• and (ii) only when the host re-attaches to a base station outside the current paging area while the host is in a standby state, thereby developing routing information concerning the mobile host at each node in a path between a last-serving base station for the mobile host and the domain root router;
• receiving a page response from the mobile host;
• and
• delivering the data to the mobile host according to the routing information.

A method of paging mobile hosts over an Internet protocol (IP) network comprising:

• coupling base stations to the IP network wherein one or more base stations define associated paging areas;
• receiving data addressed to a mobile host at a home agent on the network;
• initiating a page request from the home agent;
• directing the page request from the home agent to at least one of the base stations in a current paging area of the mobile host;
• receiving a page response from the mobile host at a base station in the current paging area;
• developing routing information concerning the mobile host based on the response;
• and
• delivering the data addressed to the mobile host based on the developed routing information.

A method of paging mobile hosts over an Internet protocol (IP) network comprising:

• coupling base stations to the IP network wherein one or more base stations define associated paging areas;
• receiving data addressed to a mobile host at a home agent on the network;
• tunneling the data from the home agent to a designated foreign agent on the network;
• receiving a page response from the mobile host at a base station in the current paging area of the host;
• developing routing information concerning the mobile host based on the response;
• and
• delivering the data addressed to the mobile host based on the developed routing information.