Patent ID: 8682861

Claim:
A computer implemented method for recovering Mobile Internet Protocol (IP) sessions of a network element in a Mobile IP network, comprising: receiving a first Mobile IP registration request message from a first foreign agent indicating that a mobile node is requesting Mobile IP services from a home agent provisioned within the network element, wherein the first foreign agent is a mobility agent peer of the home agent; upon determining to provide Mobile IP services to the mobile node, storing a Mobile IP session for the mobile node in a Mobile IP data structure that includes Mobile IP information specific to the home agent, wherein the specific home agent Mobile IP information is inapplicable to the first foreign agent; transmitting a first Mobile IP registration response message to the first foreign agent; modifying the Mobile IP session associated with the mobile node in the Mobile IP session data structure in response to receiving a second Mobile IP registration request message from a second foreign agent, the request message indicating that the mobile node is requesting Mobile IP services from the home agent, wherein the second Mobile IP registration request is at a later time than the first Mobile IP registration request, and wherein the second foreign agent is a mobility agent peer of the home agent; transmitting a second Mobile IP registration response message to the second foreign agent; upon the home agent inadvertently losing at least a portion of information stored in the Mobile IP data structure associated with the mobile node, recovering the Mobile IP session, determining that the second foreign agent is providing Mobile IP services to the mobile node and the first foreign agent is no longer providing Mobile IP services to the mobile node, and directing the first foreign agent to remove Mobile IP information associated with the mobile node.