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Mobile Internet Protocol (Or Mobile IP)

Mobile Internet Protocol (Mobile IP) allows users to maintain the same IP address while moving between networks, ensuring uninterrupted communication. It involves key components such as Mobile Nodes, Home Agents, and Foreign Agents, and utilizes mechanisms like tunneling and agent discovery for seamless connectivity. Mobile IP is essential for mobile devices, enabling stable internet connections as they switch between different networks.

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21 views4 pages

Mobile Internet Protocol (Or Mobile IP)

Mobile Internet Protocol (Mobile IP) allows users to maintain the same IP address while moving between networks, ensuring uninterrupted communication. It involves key components such as Mobile Nodes, Home Agents, and Foreign Agents, and utilizes mechanisms like tunneling and agent discovery for seamless connectivity. Mobile IP is essential for mobile devices, enabling stable internet connections as they switch between different networks.

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Aptitude Engineering Mathematics Discrete Mathematics Operating System DBMS Computer Networks

Mobile Internet Protocol (or Mobile IP)


Last Updated : 01 Jul, 2024
Mobile IP is a communication protocol (created by extending Internet
Protocol, IP) that allows users to move from one network to another with the
same IP address. It ensures that the communication will continue without
the user’s sessions or connections being dropped. Imagine having a phone
number that stays the same no matter where you go. Mobile IP works
similarly, ensuring that even if your device changes its network connection, it
can still communicate without interruption.

This is particularly useful for mobile devices like smartphones, laptops, and
tablets, which frequently switch between different networks, such as Wi-Fi
and cellular. Mobile IP helps keep internet connections stable and reliable,
making it easier to stay connected while on the move.

Basic Terminologies Related to Mobile IP


A Mobile Node (MN): It is the hand-held communication device that the
user carries e.g. Cell phone.
A Home Network: It is a network to which the mobile node originally
belongs as per its assigned IP address (home address).
Home Agent (HA): It is a router in-home network to which the mobile
node was originally connected
Home Address: It is the permanent IP address assigned to the mobile
node (within its home network).
Foreign Network: It is the current network to which the mobile node is
visiting (away from its home network).
A Foreign Agent (FA): It is a router in a foreign network to which the
mobile node is currently connected. The packets from the home agent are
sent to the foreign agent which delivers them to the mobile node.
The Correspondent Node (CN): It is a device on the internet
communicating to the mobile node.
Care-of Address (COA): It is the temporary address used by a mobile
node while it is moving away from its home network.
Foreign Agent COA: The COA could be located at the FA, i.e., the COA is
an IP address of the FA. The FA is the tunnel end-point and forwards
packets to the MN. Many MN using the FA can share this COA as a
common COA.
Co-Located COA: The COA is co-located if the MN temporarily acquires
an additional IP address that acts as a COA. This address is now
topologically correct, and the tunnel endpoint is at the MN. Co-located
addresses can be acquired using services such as DHCP.

Mobile IP Topology

How Does Mobile IP Work?


The correspondent node sends the data to the mobile node. Data packets
contain the correspondent node’s address (Source) and home address
(Destination). Packets reach the home agent. But now mobile node is not in
the home network, it has moved into the foreign network. The foreign agent
sends the care-of-address to the home agent to which all the packets
should be sent. Now, a tunnel will be established between the home agent
and the foreign agent by the process of tunneling.

Tunneling establishes a virtual pipe for the packets available between a


tunnel entry and an endpoint. It is the process of sending a packet via a
tunnel and it is achieved by a mechanism called encapsulation.

Now, the home agent encapsulates the data packets into new packets in
which the source address is the home address and the destination is the
care-of-address and sends it through the tunnel to the foreign agent.
Foreign agent, on another side of the tunnel, receives the data packets,
decapsulates them, and sends them to the mobile node. The mobile node in
response to the data packets received sends a reply in response to the
foreign agent. The foreign agent directly sends the reply to the
correspondent node.

Key Mechanisms in Mobile IP


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.
Agent Registration: Mobile node after discovering the foreign agent
sends a Registration Request (RREQ) to the foreign agent. The foreign
agent, in turn, sends the registration request to the home agent with the
care-of-address. The home agent sends a Registration Reply (RREP) to
the foreign agent. Then it forwards the registration reply to the mobile
node and completes the process of registration.
Tunneling: It establishes a virtual pipe for the packets available between
a tunnel entry and an endpoint. It is the process of sending a packet via a
tunnel and it is achieved by a mechanism called encapsulation. It takes
place to forward an IP datagram from the home agent to the care-of-
address. Whenever the home agent receives a packet from the
correspondent node, it encapsulates the packet with source address as
home address and destination as care-of-address.

Route Optimization in Mobile IP


The route optimization adds a conceptual data structure, the binding cache,
to the correspondent node. The binding cache contains bindings for the
mobile node’s home address and its current care-of-address. Every time the
home agent receives an IP datagram that is destined to a mobile node
currently away from the home network, it sends a binding update to the
correspondent node to update the information in the correspondent node’s
binding cache. After this, the correspondent node can directly tunnel packets
to the mobile node. Mobile IP is provided by the network providers.

Conclusion
Mobile Internet Protocol (Mobile IP) makes it possible for devices to stay
connected to the internet while moving between different networks. This
technology ensures that your device can switch from Wi-Fi to cellular data
without losing its connection or needing a new IP address. Mobile IP is
essential for the seamless and reliable use of mobile devices, allowing you
to stay connected wherever you go.

Frequently Asked Questions on Mobile IP – FAQs

Which protocol is used in Mobile IP?

TCP/IP is a protocol that helps break messages into smaller pieces


called packets. It then routes these packets between mobile devices
and networks using IP addresses and routers. This process ensures
that data is transmitted efficiently and reaches the correct destination.

What is the difference between Mobile IP and IP?

Standard IP assigns a new IP address when a device moves to a


different network, interrupting connections. Mobile IP allows a device
to keep the same IP address across different networks, ensuring
continuous connectivity.

Can Mobile IP be used with IPv6?

Yes, Mobile IP can be used with both IPv4 and IPv6. The principles
remain the same, although the implementation details may differ.

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