| abstract |
Session Inter-Device (SID) mobility networks ( 50, 100, 150 ) are described in which a seamless transfer of a communication session from a first device ( 56. 106, 116 ) to a second device ( 66, 116, 166 ) can be achieved without interrupting the active session. According to the SID mobility network ( 50 ), the transfer can be accomplished by transferring away from the Transferring Node or first device ( 56 ) the IP address associated with the active session ( 58 ) so that the network ( 50 ) will route the session to the desired Target Node or second device ( 66 ). The Transferring Node ( 56 ) transfers its IP address ( 58 ) to the Agent ( 60 ) and stops requesting data packets addressed to its IP address ( 58 ). The Agent ( 60 ) then begins to request and eventually receive the packets addressed to the Transferring Node's IP address ( 58 ). The Agent ( 60 ) then transfers the packets to the Target Node ( 66 ). In an alternate SID mobility network ( 100 ), the Transferring Node ( 106 ) transfers a session specific IP address ( 114 ) to the Agent ( 110 ). The Agent ( 110 ) then transfers packets sent to the session specific IP address ( 114 ) to the Target Node ( 120 ). In another SID mobility network ( 150 ), the Transferring Node ( 162 ) obtains a temporary IP address ( 170 ) and transfers its IP address ( 164 ) to a Session Agent ( 166 ). The Session Agent ( 166 ) begins to request and eventually receive the packets addressed to the Transferring Node's IP address ( 164 ), and for each received packet determines if it belongs to the session the Transferring Node ( 162 ) requested to transfer to the Target Node ( 176 ). If it does, the Session Agent ( 166 ) will transfer the packet to the Target Node ( 176 ) at the Target Node's IP address ( 178 ). If it does not, the Session Agent ( 166 ) will transfer the packet to the Transferring Node ( 162 ) at its temporary IP address ( 170 ). In each SID mobility network, the session with respect to the Correspondent Node continues without interruption throughout the transfer, thereby providing a seamless transfer of the session from a first device to a second device. |