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The world is now embracing connectivity and communication like never before through the
application of various mobility based devices. Mobile computing devices such as mobile
phones, palmtops etc. have become a part of our daily routine as they are convenient and
effective to use.
Mobile IP (Internet Protocol) serves the needs of the burgeoning population of mobile
computer users who wish to connect to the Internet and maintain communications as they move
from place to place.
Mobile IP (or MIP) is an Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) standard communications
protocol that is designed to allow mobile device users to move from one network to another
while maintaining a permanent IP address.
It enables the transfer of information to and from mobile computers, such as laptops and
wireless communications. The mobile computer can change its location to a foreign network
and still access and communicate with and through the mobile computers home network.
Mobile Node: A device such as a cell phone, personal digital assistant, or laptop
whose software enables network roaming capabilities.
The Home Agent: A router on the home network serving as the anchor point for
communication with the mobile node; its tunnel packets from a device on the Internet,
called a correspondent node, to the roaming mobile node.
The Foreign Agent: A router that may function as the point of attachment for the
mobile node when it roams to a foreign network delivers packets from the home agent
to the mobile node.
messages
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described
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below.
Thus, a successful Mobile IP registration sets up the routing mechanism for transporting
packets to and from the mobile node as it roams.
After the registration phase, the home agent now encapsulates all the packets intended for the
mobile node and forwards those packets through the tunnel to the foreign agent. The foreign
agent de-encapsulates the packet and forwards them to the mobile node. The return path from
the mobile node is as per the standard IP routing principle where the foreign agent acts as a
gateway for the mobile node