Patent ID: 8699495
Filing Date: 2014-04-15
Classification: H04L

Abstract:
1. A method of processing a signaling flow of an Internet Protocol (IP) network that has an IP tunneling path connected to an end-to-end signaling flow, the method comprising: generating a tunnel signaling flow corresponding to the end-to-end signaling flow of an end-to-end path; generating a tunnel data object that comprises a session identifier that identifies the end-to-end signaling flow session and a tunnel flow identifier that separately identifies the tunnel signaling flow session; transmitting the generated tunnel signaling flow to an exit node through at least one intermediate node over the IP tunneling path, the IP tunneling path comprising a mobile IP tunneling path connecting at least one of a mobile node (MN) and a foreign agent (FA) with a home agent (HA), wherein the MN, the FA, and the HA support mobile IP; forwarding the end-to-end signaling flow between an entry node and the exit node of the IP tunneling path; in response to a path of the end-to-end signaling flow being changed, maintaining a value of the session identifier while simultaneously changing a value of the tunnel flow identifier, based on the changed path of the end-to-end signaling flow; searching for a crossover node (CRN) that is generated by a hand-off of the MN from at least one node on the mobile IP tunneling path; transmitting a tunnel signaling message including a release flag to at least one node on a local tunneling path connecting the MN with the CRN prior to the hand-off; and releasing at least one of an end-to-end signaling state and a tunnel signaling state of the CRN by referring to the release flag, wherein the releasing is performed by a node on the local tunneling path which has received the tunnel signaling message, and the releasing is performed in response to a value of a tunnel flow identifier of the tunnel signaling flow associated with the tunnel signaling message being changed by the hand-off.