Interactive Connectivity Checks in Mobile IP Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Mobile IP technologies lack mechanisms to systematically determine available communication paths between end points and fail to efficiently traverse network address translators (NATs) and stateful packet filtering firewalls, leading to communication failures and increased latency and cost.
Innovation Solution
A network element and method that utilize a discovery unit to identify candidate IP addresses and ports, a mobile IP signaling unit to submit and receive candidates, and a simple traversal underneath network address translators protocol to perform connectivity checks using the STUN protocol, along with the ICE algorithm to determine viable pairs for data traffic, ensuring secure and efficient communication.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If all traffic is routed via the home agent (reverse tunneling), then communication is possible through NATs and firewalls, but latency increases and communication cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication path into multiple candidate paths (direct path, path via home agent, etc.) and systematically tests each path's connectivity. This allows the system to identify and use the most efficient path (direct path when available) rather than forcing all traffic through the home agent, thereby reducing latency while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamic path selection by continuously testing connectivity to multiple candidate paths and adapting the routing decision based on current network conditions. The system can switch between direct communication and home agent tunneling depending on which path is currently available and optimal, preventing permanent reliance on high-latency routed paths.
2Loss of time
If direct communication between end points is enabled, then latency is reduced and cost decreases, but communication may fail due to NATs and firewalls
Solution Approach 1:
The patent performs preliminary connectivity testing using STUN protocols and ICE algorithms before establishing direct communication paths. By proactively testing whether direct paths work through NATs and firewalls before actual data transmission, the system can identify viable direct paths in advance, enabling low-latency communication while avoiding failures by falling back to home agent tunneling when direct paths are blocked.
3Device complexity
If no systematic path determination mechanism is implemented, then device complexity is reduced, but communication failures occur without diagnostic capability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces intermediary protocols (STUN and ICE) that act as mediators between end points to systematically test and determine communication paths. These intermediary mechanisms provide structured connectivity checks and path discovery capabilities, enabling diagnostic capability and systematic path determination without requiring complex custom implementations, thereby balancing complexity and reliability.
4Reliability
If middlebox signaling protocols are deployed to traverse NATs and firewalls, then direct communication is enabled, but deployment complexity increases and widespread adoption is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The patent leverages the universality of existing STUN and ICE protocols, which are already widely deployed and standardized across multiple applications (VoIP, video conferencing, etc.). By reusing these established protocols rather than deploying application-specific middlebox signaling solutions, the invention achieves NAT and firewall traversal capability with broad compatibility and ease of deployment, avoiding the limitations of proprietary protocols.
Data Source
AI summary
A network element, method and computer program product is enabled to perform interactive connectivity checks in a mobility environment. Specifically, a network element comprises a discovery unit configured to identify a candidate defined as a combination of an internet protocol address and a port which the network element can use to communicate with a particular other network element. The network further comprises a mobile internet protocol signaling unit configured to submit a candidate identified by the discovery unit and to receive a candidate related to the other network element, and a simple traversal underneath network address translators protocol enabled unit configured to perform a connectivity check for a pair constituted by the submitted candidate and the received candidate by using the simple traversal underneath network address translators protocol.