Dynamic home agent discovery method and system

摘要

The present invention is an efficient and improved dynamic home agent discovery algorithm and system to be used in a protocol for Internet or network communications. The present efficient and improved dynamic home agent discovery algorithm and system for a protocol more efficiently uses the wireless access, communications resources, and the network resources. If a failure or error occurs at a home agent (16), the efficient and improved dynamic home agent discovery algorithm and system provide recovery or backup home agent services to the mobile node(s) associated or coupled to the failed home agent. The efficient dynamic home agent discovery algorithm and system encapsulate and integrate communications of the home agents (16) into a single home agent communication. Communication between the mobile node (11) and the home agents (16) is simplified to a single home agent communication. Dynamic home agent discovery processes are performed based on the single home agent communication. Encapsulation is achieved by having each of the home agents (16) maintain a home agent list that contains information about each of the home agents coupled to the home link. Heart beat messages are used to communicate the information between each of the home agents (16). A designated home agent (16) for the home agents receives and processes a single home agent discovery request from the mobile node (11), and a designated home agent (16) for the home agents (16) sends home agent advertisement and communicates and processes a single home agent discovery request to the mobile node (11). <IMAGE>