Patent ID: 8886820

Claim:
A method for handing off flows between a first access point to a first access network to an IP-type core network to which a terminal is attached, called current network, and a second access point to a second access network to the core network, called visited network, the network being made up of the various preceding networks and access points, wherein the flow has a flow identifier and is established between the terminal and a correspondent, and wherein the terminal has as many terminal identifiers as access interfaces to access networks of mutually different data technologies, the method comprising, after a handoff decision has been taken for a given pair of flow and terminal identifiers: a step of reception of a handoff execution order emanating from a handoff decision entity, by a first execution entity, which converts the handoff execution order into execution messages taking into account a hierarchy of execution entities of the network, the execution order containing at least fields comprising the flow identifier, the terminal identifier, an identifier of the current access point, an identifier of the visited access point and a flow direction identifier at the terminal level, a step of selection, by the first execution entity, of a mobility protocol from the mobility protocols supported by the execution entities of the hierarchy associated with the network, wherein the first execution entity learns the mobility protocols supported by the execution entities of the hierarchy associated with the network dynamically by message interchange with these execution entities, a step of selection, by the first execution entity, in the hierarchy of at least one second execution entity responsible for executing the mobility protocol, a step of sending, by the first execution entity, to the selected second execution entity of respective execution messages containing at least the fields comprising the flow identifier, the terminal identifier, a flow direction indicator, an identifier of a network interface to which the mobility protocol must be applied, an indicator of the selected protocol, an address of the terminal, a default router address and two flags to indicate to the second execution entity if the second execution entity is responsible for acquisition of an update address for the terminal and for updating of a location of the terminal.