Mobile Computing – Mobile Network Layer

MNL provides protocol enhancement that allows

transparent routing of IP datagrams to mobile nodes
in the internet.
Moves data into and through other networks.
Routes packets from the source host to the destination
host.
Translates logical network address into physical address
Provides network layer flow control, network layer error
control & packet sequence control.
Breaks larger packets into smaller packets.

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 Motivation for Mobile IP
Routing
Based on IP destination address, network prefix (e.g.
129.13.42) determines physical subnet
Change of physical subnet implies change of IP address
to have a topological correct address (standard IP) or
needs special entries in the routing tables
Specific routes to end-systems
Change of all routing table entries to forward packets to
the right destination
Changing the IP-address
Adjust the host IP address depending on the current
location
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 Requirements to Mobile IP
Transparency
Mobility should remain invisible for many higher layer protocols and applications.
Higher layers should continue to work even if the mobile computer has changed its
attachment to the network.
Compatibility
Mobile IP has to be integrated into existing O.S.
Mobile IP has to remain compatible with all lower layers
End-systems should be able to communicate with fixed systems.
Mobile IP has to ensure that users can still access all other servers.
Security
Authentication of all registration messages
IP layer should guarantee that the IP address of the receiver is correct.
Efficiency and scalability
Enhancing IP for mobility must not generate too many new messages flooding the
network.
Mutiple devices, vehicles etc have IP implementation and they require mobile IP.

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 Entities & Terminology
Mobile Node (MN) - System (node) that can change the point of
connection to the network without changing its IP address
 E.g laptop, mobile phone, router
Correspondent Node (CN) – communication partner – fixed or
mobile node
Home Network (HN) – MN belongs to Home Network with
respect to IP address.
Foreign Network (FN) – visitor network for the MN
Foreign Agent (FA)- acts as a default router for the MN when
MN visits foreign network.
Care-of Address (COA)- defines the current location of the MN.
 IP packets sent to the MN are delivered to the COA
 COA marks the tunnel endpoint

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 Entities & Terminology
Care-of Address (COA)
Two possibilities:
 Foreign agent COA:
 COA is located at the FA , i.e COA is an IP address of the FA

 The FA is the tunnel endpoint and forwards packets to the MN

 Co-located COA:
 COA is co-located if the MN temporarily acquired an

additional IP address which acts as COA.

Home Agent (HA)- provides services for the MN and
it is located in the home network
Tunnel for packets toward the MN starts at the HA

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Mobile IP Example Network

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Data Transfer to the mobile system

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Data Transfer from the mobile system

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Packet Delivery to and from the mobile
node

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 Network Integration
Agent Advertisement
HA and FA periodically send advertisement messages into their physical
subnets
MN listens to these messages and detects, if it is in the home or a foreign
network (standard case for home network)
MN reads a COA from the FA advertisement messages
Registration
MN signals COA to the HA via the FA, HA acknowledges via FA to MN
these actions have to be secured by authentication
Advertisement
HA advertises the IP address of the MN (as for fixed systems), i.e. standard
routing information
routers adjust their entries, these are stable for a longer time (HA responsible
for a MN over a longer period of time)
packets to the MN are sent to the HA,
independent of changes in COA/FA

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 Agent Discovery
Mobile Node (MN) needs to discover where it has moved
i.e it has to find its foreign agent
Two methods used
Agent advertisement
 In this foreign agents and home agents advertise their presence
periodically using special agent advertisement messages.
 Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) messages are used
 Routers advertise their routing service periodically to the attached
links.
Agent solicitation
 In this MN tries to search for FA by sending solicitation
(pinging/polling) messages

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 Agent Advertisement
Agent advertisement packet – according to RFC 1256
(Request for Comments)
Upper part represent the ICMP packet
Type – set to 9, code – set to 0, if agent routes traffic
from non mobile nodes. Code- set to 16 if agent does not
route anything else other than mobile traffic.
#addresses – denoted number of addresses advertised
with the packet
Lifetime – denoted the length of time the advertisement
is valid
 Preference – helps a node to choose the router
 lower part is the extension needed for mobility.
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 Agent Advertisement
Lower part of the packet – takes care of mobility
Type – set to 16
Length – depends on the number of COAs provided with
the message
Sequence number – shows total number of advertisements
sent since initialization.
Registration lifetime – agent specifies the maximum
lifetime in seconds a node can request during registration.
R – shows if registration with agent is needed or not, B –
shows if the agent is busy , H & F – indicates if its home or
foreign agent, M & G – specify method of encapsulation M-
minimal encapsulation, G – generic routing encapsulation.
r-to specify header compression (0), T – reverse tunnel

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Agent advertisement

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 Agent Solicitation
If no agent advertisements are available, the MN sends
agent solicitations.
MN sends three solicitations, one per second, as soon
as it enters a new network
Challenge
Dynamic nature of wireless networks and mobility of
MNs one second delay could also lead to delay.
Multiple solicitation messages may flood the network

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 Registration
Having received COA, MN has to register with the HA
Registration is required to inform the HA of the current
location for correct forwarding of packets.
Two ways of registration
COA at FA
 FA forwards the request to HA
COA at HA
 MN directly contacts HA
Mobility Binding – Registration
Lifetime of the registration negotiated during the
registration process
MN should register before expiration

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Registration

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Mobile IP Registration Request

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Registration Reply

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Registration Reply Codes - Example

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 Tunneling & Encapsulation
Tunnel: It establishes a virtual pipe for data packets
between a tunnel entry and a tunnel endpoint.
It is achieved by using encapsulation.
Encapsulation: It is the mechanism of taking a
packet consisting of packet header and data and
putting it into the data part of a new packet.
Decapsulation: taking a packet out of the data part
of another packet
Encapsulation & decapsulation is performed when a
packet is transferred from a higher protocol layer to a
lower layer.

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IP Encapsulation

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Encapsulation I (IP –in – IP encapsulation)

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 IP –in – IP encapsulation
Ver – version 4, IPV4
IHL – internet header length (length of outer header) – 32 bits
DS(TOS) – differentiated services – type of service – copied from
the inner header
length – length of encapsulated packet
TTL – time to leave (must be high for the packet to reach tunnel
endpoint
IP-in-IP – type of protocol used in IP protocol
checksum – for error correction
IP address of HA – tunnel entry as source address
COA – tunnel exit as destination address
Inner Header – same fields as outer header
IP address of CN- original sender
IP address of MN – receiver MN of the packet

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Encapsulation II (Minimal Encapsulation)

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 Minimal Encapsulation
Drawback of IP-in-IP encapsulation
Several fields are redundant
Minimal Encapsulation
Address of the MN is needed
Only applicable for un fragmented packets
S – if it is set, the original sender address of the CN is
included
No field for fragmentation offset is left in the inner
header

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Generic Routing Encapsulation
Drawback of IP-in-IP & Minimal Encapsulation
Both work only for IP
GRE supports other network protocols also
It allows encapsulation of packets of one protocol suite
into the payload portion of a packet of another suite.

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Generic Routing Encapsulation

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Generic Routing Encapsulation
Outer header
standard IP header with HA as source address & COA as destination address.
GRE header
C- indicates checksum, if C is set – checksum field contains a valid IP
checksum
R – indicates if routing fields are present, if R is set – contains fields for
source routing.
Key – used for authentication
S- sequence number field – used for decapsulator to restore packet order. s –
indicates strict source routing is used.
rec- recursion control – distinguishes GRE from IP-in-IP & minimal
encapsulation.
rsv- fields are 0 and ignored
ver-version field contains 0 for GRE version.
Inner header

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Optimization of Packet Forwarding
Drawback of normal routing (Triangular
Routing)
Sender (CN) sends all packets via HA to MN
 E.g 2 nodes belonging to different country trying to send data
 higher latency & network load
Solution
Inform CN of the current location of the MN
 CN stores information in its binding cache – in its routing
table
HA informs CN of the location of MN

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 Optimization messages
Binding request:
CN sends binding request to HA
HA reveals the binding update back to CN
Binding update:
Message from HA to CN contains the fixed IP address of the
MN/COA
Binding update requests for acknowledgement
Binding acknowledgement:
CN sends a acknowledgement after receiving a binding update
message
Binding warning:
HA sends warning message to inform CN if the binding has
become stale (i.e when communicating agent is not present)
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Change of Foreign Agent

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Reverse Tunneling

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 Mobile IP with Reverse Tunneling
Reverse Tunneling takes care of the following issues:
Firewall: Allows packets with topologically correct
addresses to pass
 Provides protection against misconfigured systems of
unknown addresses.
Multi-cast: allows MN to participate in a multicast
group
 Well defined group of addresses (belonging to HA)
TTL: since TTL is short, packet received by HA will be
delivered faster than packet getting sent directly from
MN to CN

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 Mobile IP & IPv6
Mobile IP was developed for IPv4, but IPv6 simplifies the protocols
Security is integrated and not an add-on, authentication of registration is
included
COA can be assigned via auto-configuration, every node has address
autoconfiguration
No need for a separate FA, all routers perform router advertisement which
can be used instead of the special agent advertisement
 Addresses are always co-located
MN can signal directly to COA/CN, sending via HA not needed in this
case (automatic path optimization)
Soft hand-over, i.e. without packet loss, between two subnets is supported
 MN sends the new COA to its old router
 The old router encapsulates all incoming packets for the MN and forwards them to

the new COA

 Authentication is always granted

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 Problems with mobile IP
Security
Authentication with FA problematic, for the FA typically
belongs to another organization
No protocol for key management and key distribution
has been standardized in the Internet
Firewalls
Typically mobile IP cannot be used together with
firewalls, special set-ups are needed (such as reverse
tunneling)
QoS
Tunneling makes it hard to give a flow of packets a
special treatment needed for the QoS
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 IP Micro-mobility support
Micro-mobility support:
Efficient local handover inside a foreign domain
without involving a home agent
Reduces control traffic on backbone
Especially needed in case of route optimization
Example approaches:
Cellular IP
HAWAII (Handoff-Aware Wireless Access Internet
Infrastructure
Hierarchical Mobile IP (HMIP)
Important criteria:
Security Efficiency, Scalability, Transparency, Manageability

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IP Micro-mobility support –Cellular IP
 Cellular IP Gateway (CIPGW): provides local handovers without
renewed registration for each domain.
Inside the domain, all nodes collect routing information
for accessing MNs based on the origin of packets sent by
the MNs towards the CIPGW
Handovers are achieved by allowing simultaneous
forwarding of packets destined for a mobile node along
multiple paths.
Mobile node moving between adjacent cells is able to
receive packets via both old and new base stations(BS)
CIPGW – handles mobile IP tunnel endpoint
CIPGW – handles initial registration processing

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 Architecture of Cellular IP
 Internet

 Mobile IP

 CIP Gateway
 data/control
 packets
 from MN 1

 BS  BS  BS
 packets from
 MN2 to MN 1

 MN1  MN2

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 Cellular IP
Advantages
Manageability:
 Cellular IP is self-configuring
 Integration of the CIPGW into firewall facilitate
administration of mobility-related functionality.
Disadvantages
Efficiency: additional network load is induced by
forwarding packets on multiple paths.
Transparency: changes to MNs are required
Security: routing tables are changed based on messages
sent by MNs.

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 IP Micro-mobility support –Hawaii
 Hawaii (Handoff-Aware Wireless Access Internet Infrastructure)
MN obtains co-located COA
and registers with HA
Handover: MN keeps COA,
new BS answers Registration
request and updates routers
Reconfiguration of all routers
on the path from old and new
BS – crossover router

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 Hawaii
Advantages:
Security: Challenge-response extensions are mandatory
Transparency: HAWAII is mostly transparent to mobile
nodes
Disadvantages:
Security: There are no provisions regarding the setup of
IPSec tunnels.

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 IP Micro-mobility support –Hierarchical
Mobile IPv6 (HMIPv6)
Operation:
Network consists of Mobility
Anchor Point (MAP)
 Mapping of regional COA(RCOA)
to link COA (LCOA)
Upon handover, MN informs
MAP only
 Gets new LCOA, keeps RCOA
HA is only contacted if MAP changes.

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 Hierarchical Mobile IPv6 (HMIPv6)
Advantages:
Security: Local COAs can be hidden, which provides
some location privacy
Disadvantages:
Transparency: Additional infrastructure component
(MAP)
Security: Routing tables are changed based on messages
sent by MNs.
 Demands for strong authentication and protection

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DHCP: Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
Application
Simplification of installation and maintenance of
networked computers
Supplies systems with all necessary information, such as
IP address, DNS server address, domain name, subnet
mask, default router etc.
Enables automatic integration of systems into an
Intranet or the Internet, can be used to acquire a COA
for Mobile IP.
Client/Server-Model
The client sends via a MAC broadcast a request to the
DHCP server (DHCP relay)

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 DHCP Configuration
DHCP client send a request to a server
(DHCPDISCOVER) to which the server responds
Client sends requests using MAC broadcasts to reach all
devices in the LAN.
DHCP relay is used to forward requests across inter-
working units to a DHCP server.

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DHCP Server

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DHCP Process

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Client Initialization via DHCP

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 Mobile ad-hoc Networks
Dynamic network which provides connectivity/access
when infrastructure is not available or its too expensive.
Mobile IP requires HA, tunnels, default routers
DHCP requires servers and broadcast capabilities of the
medium.
Ad-hoc networks are needed under following situations
Instant infrastructure: unplanned meetings,
spontaneous interpersonal communication
Disaster relief: emergency teams setting up network ,
military activities
Remote areas: setting up of infrastructure difficult
Effectiveness: ad-hoc set up faster and less expensive

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MANETS & Mobile IP

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 Ad-hoc Network – Routing mechanism
In wireless networks with infrastructure support , BS
always reaches all mobile nodes, but in ad-hoc
network may drop go out of range

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 Difference between wired & ad-hoc
Networks
Asymmetric links: bidirectional links
Wired Network
 mostly consists of symmetric links
 Ad-hoc Network
 asymmetric links
Redundant links: to survive link failures
Wired network
 Consists of few RL, handled by infrastructure
 Ad-hoc Network
 No infrastructure to control redundancy, overhead
Interference:
Wired network
 Links exist only where wire exists, connections are planned/handled by network admin, less interference
Ad-hoc network
 Unplanned links creates interference
Dynamic topology:
Wired network
 Can be managed since network can handle
Ad-hoc network
 Becomes complex to handle

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Ad-hoc Networks – Routing Concerns
Traditional Routing Algorithms: ad-hoc
networks have highly dynamic topology ,
asymmetric links, interference
Information from lower layers: helps ad-hoc
networks routing algorithms to find a good path.
Limited battery power: ad-hoc network nodes has
battery limitation
Wireless changing environment: not possible to
maintain a connection for a longer time.
Flooding of network: forwarding of packet across
unknown topology creates inefficiency.
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 Interference-based Routing
Interference is taken into account in finding the best
routing path.
Example network if S1 wants to send packet to R1 & if S2
wants to send packet to R2
Least Interference Routing (LIR):- calculate the cost of
path based on successful transmissions & interference

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Least Interference Routing (LIR)- Example
For S1 to R1
C1 = cost(S1,N3,N4,R1)=16
C2=cost(S1,N3,N2,R1)=15
C3=cost(S1,N1,N2,R1)=12----path is chosen since less
interference (all three paths have same number of
hops)
For S2 to R2
C4= cost (S2,N5,N6,R2)=16
C5=cost(S2,N7,N8,N9,R2)=15---- path is chosen since
less interference (though this path has one extra hop)

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Overview of Ad-hoc Routing Protocols
Ad-hoc routing protocols – new routing algorithms
Flat ad-hoc routing
 All nodes in this approach play and equal role in routing
 Two categories

 Proactive protocols

 Reactive protocols

Hierarchical ad-hoc routing

 Used for larger networks – tree structure to manage the
nodes/network
Geographic position-assisted ad-hoc routing
 Routing is done based on geographical position of the node

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 Flat Ad-hoc Routing
Proactive protocols: they set up tables for routing
E.g link-state algorithm: - it floods their information about
neighbors periodically
 Drawback: it may take time and extra load
 Solution
 Fuzzy sighted link-state: routing entries corresponding to faraway

destination are propagated with lower frequency

 Advantage: as long as the topology does not change often, routing
tables reflect the current topology with certain precision.
Reactive protocols: avoids the problems of proactive by
setting up a path between sender and receiver only if a
communication is waiting.
Disadvantage: initial search latency may degrade the
performance .
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 Hierarchical Ad-hoc Routing
Cluster based routing
Nodes within the cluster needs to be managed
Cluster head acts as gateway for the cluster
 Advantages: helps to reduce routing tables
 Disadvantages: multiple levels of clusters within clusters
 Solution: Zone Routing protocol
 Proactive routing applied within the zone,

 Reactive routing applied outside the zone

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Hierarchical Ad-hoc Routing - Example

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 Geographic-position-assisted ad-hoc
Routing
Global positioning system (GPS)
Message may be sent to nodes using addresses based on
geographical routers
Greedy perimeter stateless routing:
Uses the location information of neighbors that are
exchanged via periodic beacon messages
 Technique used
 Packets are forwarded to the neighbor that is geographically

closest to the destination

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