UNIT-3 Mobile IP

•It Is an internet engineering task force(IETF)

standard communication protocol that is
designed to allow mobile device users to
move from one network to another without
changing their IP address
•Mobile IP allows the mobile node to use 2 IP
addresses called home address and care of
address.
 Mobile IP contd.,
• Mobile IP is a communication protocol (created by
extending Internet Protocol, IP) that allows the users to
move from one network to another with the same IP
address.
• It ensures that the communication will continue without
user’s sessions or connections being dropped.
• The home address is static and known to everybody as
the identity of the host.
• The care of address changes at each new point of
attachment and can be thought of as the mobile node’s
location specific address.
 Mobile Internet protocol- design goals
• Developed as a means for transparently
dealing with problems of mobile users
• It was designed to make the size and
frequency of required routing updates as small
as possible.
• It was designed to make it simple to
implement mobile node software.
 Terminology
• Mobile node(MN)
• Home agent
• Foreign agent
• Care of address correspondent node
Terminology contd.,
 Foreign agent
• The foreign agent plays a mostly passive role
in Mobile IP registration.
• A foreign agent adds all
registered mobile nodes to its visitor table.
• It relays registration requests
between mobile nodes and home agents, and,
when it provides the care-of address, de-
encapsulates datagrams for delivery to
the mobile node.
 Foreign network
• In the Mobile Internet Protocol (Mobile IP), a
foreign network is any network other than
the home network to which a mobile device
may be connected.
Mobile IP diagram
Data transfer using Mobile IP
Data transfer
Step-1
Step-2
Step-3
Step-4
Mechanisms in Mobile IP
 Discovery
A mobile node uses a method known as agent
discovery to determine the following
information:
• When the node has moved from one network
to another
• whether the network is the node's home or a
foreign network
• What is the foreign agent care-of address
offered by each foreign agent on that network
 Discovery contd.,
Agent Discovery:
•Agents advertise their presence by
periodically broadcasting their agent
advertisement messages.
• The mobile node receiving the agent
advertisement messages observes whether the
message is from its own home agent and
determines whether it is in the home network
or foreign network.
 Discovery
• Extension of ICMP advertisement
• Home agents and foreign agents broadcast the
advertisements at regular intervals
– Allows the detection of mobility agents
• Lists one or more available COA
• Informs the mobile node about special features
• MN selects its COA
• MN checks whether the agent is a HA or FA
 Discovery

• Agent advertisement and

• Agent solicitation
 Agent Advertisement

• Mobile nodes use agent advertisements to

determine their current point of attachment
to the Internet or to an organization's
network.
• An agent advertisement is an Internet Control
Message Protocol (ICMP) router
advertisement that has been extended to also
carry a mobility agent advertisement
extension.
 Agent advertisement
• A foreign agent can be too busy to serve
additional mobile nodes.
• However, a foreign agent must continue to
send agent advertisements.
• This way, mobile nodes that are already
registered with it will know that they have not
moved out of range of the foreign agent and
that the foreign agent has not failed.
 Agent solicitation
• Mobility agents transmit agent advertisement
s to advertise their services on a network.
• In the absence of agent advertisements,
a mobile node can solicit advertisements.
• This is known as agent solicitation.
 Registration
• The main purpose of the registration is to
inform the home agent of the current location
for correct forwarding of packets.
 Registration contd.,
• If the COA is at the FA, the MN sends its
registration request containing the COA to the
FA which is forwarding the request to the HA.
The HA now set up a mobility
binding containing the mobile node's home IP
address and the current COA.
Timing diagram for registration
 Registration process

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 Steps in timing diagram
• Agent Registration:
Mobile node after discovering the foreign
agent, sends registration request (RREQ) to
the foreign agent.

• Foreign agent in turn, sends the registration

request to the home agent with the care-of-
address.
 Steps contd.,
• Home agent sends registration reply (RREP) to
the foreign agent.
• Then it forwards the registration reply to the
mobile node and completes the process of
registration
 Tunneling
• Tunnel consists of Datagram (COR & IP Address)
• It establishes virtual pipe for data packets
between a tunnel entry and a tunnel endpoint.
• Packets entering a tunnel are forwarded inside
the tunnel and leave the tunnel unchanged.
• Tunneling is, sending a packet through a tunnel is
achieved by using encapsulation.
Datagram packet format
 Encapsulation
• It is a mechanism of taking a packet consisting
of packet header and data and putting it into
the data packet of the data packet.
• Reverse is called decapsulation.
• Performed when a packet is transferred from a
high protocol layer to lower layer
IP packet delivery & handover management
IP packet delivery & handover
management steps
Step 1: in IP Packet delivery & handover
management
Step-2 IP Packet delivery & handover
management
Step-3 IP packet delivery & handover
management
Step-4 IP packet delivery &
handover management
Step-4 IP packet delivery & handover
management
Step-4 IP packet delivery contd., &
handover management
Working of Mobile IP & handover
management
 Cells in mobile communication
for location management
• In a cellular network, a service coverage area is divided
into smaller areas of hexagonal shape, referred to as cells.
• Each cell is served by a base station. The base station is
fixed.
• It is able to communicate with mobile stations such as
cellular phones using its radio transceiver.
• The center (Mbase station is connected to the mobile
switching SC), which is, in turn, connected to the public
switched telephone network (PSTN). Fig. 1 illustrates a
typical cellular network. (A base station is marked with a
triangle.)
Cell representation
 Location management
• How to keep track of an active mobile(talking
to some one) within a cellular network.
Basic operations of location management

• Location updating
• paging
 Location updating
• Always informing the location of device to
location management
• The location update operation is performed by
an active mobile station.
. Informing the network of devices location
 Location updation schemes
• Static location update schemes
• Dynamic location update scheme
 Static update scheme
• A location update scheme is static if there is a predetermined set of
cells at which location updates must be generated by a mobile
station regardless of it mobility.
• Defines frequency and occurrence of a location and updates
independently
• Low computational requirements
• Always updates/ never updates because of static property
• a scheme is local if an individual subscriber is allowed to decide when
and where to perform location update
(cells are different).
• A location update scheme is global if all subscribers update their
locations at the same set of cells
• A local scheme is also called individualized or per-user based.
 Dynamic location update scheme
• A scheme is dynamic if a location update can
be generated by a mobile station in any cell
depending on its mobility.
• Allow per user parameterization
• Unlike static strategies, a location update may
be performed from any cell in the network ,
taking into consideration the call arrival and
mobility pattern of the user.
 Dynamic location update scheme
• Dynamic location update schemes allow per-
user
parameterization of the location update
frequency.
• These account for the dynamic behavior of
users and may result in lower location
management costs than static schemes.
 Dynamic location update scheme
• Threshold-Based
• Profile-Based
 Threshold-Based

• In threshold-based schemes each mobile

device maintains a particular parameter,
updating its location when the parameter
increases beyond a certain threshold.
• Types
Time-Based Update
Movement-Based Update
Distance-Based Update:
 Time based
• The time-based strategy requires that users
update their location at constant time intervals.
• This time interval may then be optimized per-
user, to minimize the number of redundant
update messages sent.
• This only requires the mobile device to maintain
a simple timer, allowing efficient implementation
and low computational overhead
Time based dynamic location updating
 Movement-Based Update

• This scheme requires mobile devices to

update their location after a given number of
boundary-crossings to other cells in the
network.
Movement-Based Update
 Distance-Based Update
• In a distance-based scheme the mobile device
performs a location update when it has moved
a certain distance from the cell where it last
updated its location.
• Here the location is only updated when the
user travels beyond a certain radii from the
previous update location.
Distance-Based Update
 Profile-Based location updating
• Under a profile-based scheme the network
maintains a profile for each user in the
network, based on previous movements,
containing a list of the most probable cells for
the user to reside within.
• The mobile device updates its location only
when entering a cell not contained in the list
 Paging
• Polling a group of cells to determine the precise
location of a device
• This requires the network to send a paging query to
all cells where the mobile device may be located, to
inform it of the incoming transmission.
• It is desirable to minimize the size of this paging area,
to reduce the cost incurred on the network with each
successive paging message
• The paging operation is performed by the cellular
network.
 Paging contd.,
• For location update, the current location of
user to be able to route an incoming call.
• This requires network to send a paging query
to all the cells in the cellular networks where
the mobile device may be located, to inform it
of the incoming transmission.
 Paging contd.,
• Paging is the one-to-one communication
between the mobile and the base station
• Paging is a procedure the network uses to find
out a subscriber's location before actual call
establishment.
• Paging is used to alert the mobile station of an
incoming call
 Paging types
• Simultaneous paging
• Sequential paging and
• Intelligent paging
 Simultaneous paging

• The simultaneous paging scheme, also known

as blanket paging, is the mechanism used in
current GSM network implementations.
• Here all cells in the users’ location area are
paged simultaneously, to determine the
location of the mobile device
 Simultaneous paging
adv and disadvantages
• This requires no additional knowledge of user
location but may generate excessive amounts of
paging traffic.
• Implementations of simultaneous paging favor
networks with large cells and low user population
and call rates.
• This scheme does not scale well to large networks
with high numbers of users, necessitating the
development of more advanced paging
techniques.
 Sequential paging
• Sequential paging avoids paging every cell
within a location area by segmenting it into a
number of paging areas, to be polled one-by-
one
 Sequential paging adv, disadv
• It is found that the optimal paging
mechanism, in terms of network utilization, is
a sequential poll of every cell in the location
area individually, in decreasing probability of
user residence.
 Intelligent paging

• The intelligent paging scheme is a variation of

sequential paging, where the paging order is
calculated probabilistically based on pre-
established probability metrics
• Intelligent paging aims to poll the correct
paging area on the first pass, with a high
probability of success. This efficient ordering
of paging areas requires a comprehensive
knowledge of user residence probabilities.
 Refer
• Location Management in Cellular
Networks(World Academy of Science,
Engineering and Technology paper)
 DHCP
• Stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
• It is a protocol used in IP networks
• It allows a computer to join an IP-based network
without having a pre-configured IP address
• It is a protocol that assigns unique IP addresses
to devices
• It also will release or renews these addresses as
devices leave and re-join the network
 DHCP contd.,
• If a new computer is connected to a network,
DHCP can provide it with all the necessary
information for full system integration into the
network
 DHCP contd.,
• DHCP is based on a client/server model as shown
below.
• DHCP clients send a request to a server
(DHCPDISCOVER in the example) to which the
server responds.
• A client sends requests using MAC broadcasts to
reach all devices in the LAN
• A DHCP relay might be needed to forward requests
across inter-working units to a DHCP server.
 DHCP Contd.,

•A DHCP relay agent is any host that forwards DHCP packets between clients
and servers.
•Relay agents are used to forward requests and replies between clients and
servers when they are not on the same physical subnet.
• A relay agent forwards the packets between the DHCP client and server.
DHCP Contd.,
DHCP Contd.,
DHCP Contd.,
Client requests for IP Address
Requests for IP [Link]????
Client response
Server acknowledgement
4-step process
 Steps
1. DHCP DISCOVER
2. DHCP OFFER
3. DHCP REQUEST
4. DHCP ACK
5. DHCP RELEASE
Step 1: DHCP Request
Step 1: DHCP Request
Step 1: DHCP Setup
Step 2: DHCP Offer
Step 2: DHCP Offer Set up
Step 3: DHCP request
Step 3: DHCP request Set up
Step 4: DHCP ACK
Step 3: DHCP request Set up
Successful IP address allocation
 Reference
• [Link]
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 2 servers and 1 client
• Consider the scenario where there is one
client and two servers are present. A typical
initialization of a DHCP client is shown below
 4 step process
1. DHCP DISCOVER
2. DHCP OFFER
3. DHCP REQUEST
4. DHCP ACK
5. DHCP RELEASE
Timing diagram
 5 Step process
• The client broadcasts a DHCPDISCOVER into the subnet.
• There might be a relay to forward this broadcast
• In the case shown, two servers receive this broadcast
and determine the DHCPOFFER and offer a list of
configuration parameters.
• The client can now choose one of the configurations
offered.
• The client in turn replies to the servers, accepting one
of the configurations and rejecting the others using
DHCPREQUEST.
 Steps contd.,
• If a server receives a DHCPREQUEST with a
rejection, it can free the reserved configuration
for other possible clients.
• The server with the configuration accepted by
the client now confirms the configuration with
DHCPACK. This completes the initialization phase.
• If a client leaves a subnet, it should release the
configuration received by the server using
DHCPRELEASE.
 Route Optimization
Assume the scenario occurs:

where if the MN is in the same subnetwork as

the node to which it is communicating and HA
is on the other side of the world. It is called
triangular routing
• Problem as it causes unnecessary overheads
for the network between CN and the HA.
Diagrammatic representation of original
problem
 Triangular routing problem
• MN is in the same subnetwork as the node to
which it is communicating and HA is on the
other side of the world. It is called triangular
routing.
 Solution for triangular routing
A solution to this problem is

• To inform the CN of the current location of the

MN.
• The CN can learn the location by caching it in a
binding cache, which is a part of the routing
table for the CN.
• HA informs the CN of the location. It needs four
additional messages
 4 additional messages
• Binding request
• Binding update
• Binding acknowledge
• Binding warning
 Binding request
• It is sent by the node that wants to know the
current location of an MN to the HA.
• HA checks if it is allowed to reveal the location
and then sends back a binding update.
 Binding update
• It is sent by the HA to the CN revealing the
current location of an MN.
• It contains the fixed IP address of the MN and
the COA.
• This message can request an
acknowledgement.
 Binding acknowledgement
• If requested, a node returns this
acknowledgement after receiving a binding
update message
 Binding warning
• A node sends a binding warning if it
decapsulates a packet for an MN, but it is note
the current FA of this MN.
• It contains MN’s home address and a target
nodes address.
• The recipient can be the HA, so the HA now
sends a binding update to the node that
obviously has a wrong COA for the MN.
Diagrammatic representation of 4
additional messages
 Steps for transferring data from CN to MN
via FAold

• The CN can request the current location from the HA. If allowed by the
MN, the HA returns the COA of the MN via an update message.
• The CN acknowledges this update message and stores the mobility
binding.
• Now the CN can send its data directly to the current foreign agent FAold.
• FAold forwards the packets to the MN
• This scenario shows a COA located at an FA.
• Encapsulation of data for tunneling to the COA is now done by the CN,
not the HA.
 If MN changes its location

•The MN might now change its location and register with a new
foreign agent, FAnew.
• This registration is also forwarded to the HA to update its location
database.
• Furthermore, FAnew informs FAold about the new registration of
MN.
•MN’s registration message contains the address of FAold for this
purpose.
•Passing this information is achieved via an update message,
which is acknowledged by FAold.
 3 step
rd

• Without the information provided by the new FA, the old FA

would not get to know anything about the new location of MN.
• In this case, CN does not know anything about the new location,
so it still tunnels its packets for MN to the old FA, FAold.
• This FA now notices packets with destination MN, but also knows
that it is not the current FA of MN.
• FAold might now forward these packets to the new COA of MN
which is FAnew in this example.
• This forwarding of packets is another optimization of the basic
Mobile IP providing smooth handovers.
• Without this optimization, all packets in transit would be lost
while the MN moves from one FA to another.
 4 step
th

• To tell CN that it has a stale binding cache, FAold sends,

a binding warning message to CN.
• CN then requests a binding update. (The warning could
also be directly sent to the HA triggering an update).
• The HA sends an update to inform the CN about the
new location, which is acknowledged.
• Now CN can send its packets directly to FAnew, again
avoiding triangular routing.
• Unfortunately, this optimization of mobile IP to avoid
triangular routing causes several security problems
 Refer
• Unit-3 pdf for route optimization
 Tunneling
• A tunnel establishes a virtual pipe for data
packets between a tunnel entry and a tunnel
endpoint.
• Packets entering a tunnel are forwarded
inside the tunnel and leave the tunnel
unchanged.
• Tunneling, i.e., sending a packet through a
tunnel is achieved by using encapsulation.
Tunneling diagram
 Encapsulation
• Encapsulation is the mechanism of taking a packet consisting of packet
header and data and putting it into the data part of a new packet.

• The reverse operation, taking a packet out of the data part of another
packet, is called decapsulation.
• Encapsulation and decapsulation are the operations typically performed
when a packet is transferred from a higher protocol layer to a lower layer or
from a lower to a higher layer respectively.

• The HA takes the original packet with the MN as destination, puts it into the
data part of a new packet and sets the new IP header so that the packet is
routed to the COA.

• The new header is called outer header.

Encapsulation and decapsulation