Patent ID: 7342914

Claim:
A node connectable to a home network of a communication system, comprising: a processor for receiving a plurality of associated link-layer addresses, each of said link-layer addresses designating a physical link-layer connection related to one of a plurality of nodes in a home network; said node being adapted to communicate with a foreign network having a plurality of associated link-layer addresses, each of said link-layer addresses designating a physical link-layer connection between one of a plurality of mobile nodes and said foreign network, and being further adapted to communicate using an information packet that can comprise any one of a plurality of message types to update a data table entry on a plurality of nodes, said information packet including a generalized link-layer address extension that has a type data field, a length data field indicating the length of the link-layer address data field and a sub-type data field, the sub-type data field designating the link-layer address protocol used on the foreign network, and a link-layer address data field designating the link-layer address of the physical link-layer connection to at least one mobile node associated with said home network.