Patent ID: 8155129

Claim:
An electronic data processing apparatus for forwarding data packets in a packet-switched network, the apparatus comprising: one or more processors; one or more interfaces that are communicatively coupled to the processors and to one or more other devices in the packet-switched network; one or more computer-readable media that are communicatively coupled to the one or more processors; one or more first sequences of instructions recorded on the computer-readable media which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to interact with the other devices according to Border Gateway Protocol (BGP); one or more second sequences of instructions recorded on the computer-readable media which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform: for a BGP Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) session that has been established between a BGP router and a mobile node: receiving a BGP pause message from the mobile node; wherein the BGP pause message comprises a request to suspend the BGP TCP session established between the BGP router and the mobile node; suspending the BGP TCP session between the BGP router and the mobile node using BGP, including suspension of expiration of BGP sessions for lack of keepalive messages; receiving a BGP resume message from the mobile node, wherein the resume message comprises a checkpoint marker that identifies a sequence number for a last route update that the mobile node received before the suspending; resuming the BGP TCP session between the BGP router and the mobile node using BGP; determining and sending to the mobile node all BGP routes that originated after the checkpoint marker.