Active Network Supports for Mobile IP

The basic mobile IP protocol is difficultto implement on the traditional IP network and not flexible andefficient under certain conditions. For example, firewalls or boundaryrouters may drop packets sent by mobile nodes for security reasons.Traditional networking devices such as routers cannot dynamically loadand unload extended services to achieve different qualities of services.In this paper, a new scheme of using the active network to support themobile IP is presented. The Softnet, a prototype of active networksbased on mobile agents, is introduced. The active network ischaracterized by the programmability of its intermediate nodes andtherefore presents dynamic and flexible behaviors. Special services canbe dynamically deployed onto the active nodes in the Softnet. Thisproperty is definitely required in implementing the mobile IPprotocols. The Softnet supports not only the basic mobile IP protocolbut also other extended mobile IP protocols. Virtual networks formobile IP services are dynamically formed by mobile agents in theSoftnet to provide different qualities of services.