Patent ID: 7058181

Claim:
A method for roaming in a network environment, the network environment comprising a first bridge device at a first location, a second bridge device at a second location, and a mobile device which roams from the first location to the second location, comprising the steps of: (a) creating a token by the first bridge device, wherein the token comprises an identity of a context associated with the mobile device, wherein creating the token by the first bridge device comprises: (a1) creating a first message by the first bridge device, wherein the first message comprises a first random number encrypted using a public key of the mobile device; and (a2) creating a second message by the first bridge device, wherein the second message comprises a digital signature for the first random number and the identity, and wherein the digital signature is an encrypted hash of the first random number and the identity; (b) securely providing the token to the mobile device by the first bridge device, wherein the token securely provided to the mobile device by the first bridge device comprises the first message and the second message; (c) securely providing the token to the second bridge device by the mobile device; (d) securely providing the token to the first bridge device by the second bridge device; (e) determining if the token from the second bridge device is authentic by the first bridge device; and (f) securely providing the context to the second bridge device by the first bridge device, if the token from the second bridge device is authentic.