Patent ID: 7804806
Filing Date: 2010-09-28
Classification: H04L,H04W

Abstract:
1. A method for wireless switches in a mobility domain to discover other wireless switches in the mobility domain across layer 3 (L3) subnets of a wireless local area network via a Discover Agent (DA) wireless switch, the method comprising: using an IP address of the DA wireless switch to establish a connection from each of the wireless switches to the DA wireless switch, wherein the IP address is configured in each of the wireless switches; transmitting a registration message from each of the wireless switches to the DA wireless switch to register each wireless switch with the DA wireless switch, wherein each registration message comprises registration information associated with the particular wireless switch; updating, at the DA wireless switch, a peer database for wireless switches in the mobility domain with registration information received from the wireless switches, wherein the registration information includes a mobility domain identifier of the mobility domain for configuring the wireless switches in the peer database, wherein the mobility domain is used by the DA wireless switch to determine whether the particular wireless switch is a member of the mobility domain; transmitting, from the DA wireless switch, a peer discovery message to each of the wireless switches in the peer database which have registered with the DA wireless switch, wherein the peer discovery message comprises registration information associated with each new wireless switch in mobility domain which has registered with the DA wireless switch; updating a peer database at each wireless switch which receives the peer discovery message; and using the registration information in the peer discovery message at each of the wireless switches to establish a peering session with each of the other wireless switches in their respective peer database to exchange mobility related control plane information and create a mesh network implementing a L3 mobility protocol.