Method and apparatus for identifying mobile network protocol capabilities

Abstract

A method and apparatus for improving handover in an IEEE 802.21 compliant communication network. A query is transmitted from a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) to a media independent handover (MIH) server (MIHS). The WTRU includes a target point of attachment (PoA) and/or a preferred mobile inter protocol (MIP) method. The WTRU receives a response from the MIHS indicating the MIP method supported by the target PoA. Based on the received response, the WTRU may make an informed decision regarding handover.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . An integrated circuit (IC), comprising:
 circuitry configured to generate a query message that includes an identifier of a preferred Internet Protocol (IP)-based mobility protocol of the WTRU;   circuitry configured to output the query message for transmission to a server via wireless network; and   circuitry configured to receive a response message from the server via the wireless network, wherein the response message is responsive to the query message, and wherein the response message includes an identifier of a target point of attachment and an identifier of an IP-based mobility protocol supported by the target point of attachment.   
     
     
         2 . The IC of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the circuitry configured to generate the query message is further configured to determine to perform a handoff to the target point of attachment based on the IP-based mobility protocol supported by the target point of attachment;   wherein the circuitry configured to output the query message is further configured to perform the handoff to the target point of attachment.   
     
     
         3 . The IC of  claim 1 , wherein the query message further includes the identifier of the target point of attachment. 
     
     
         4 . The IC of  claim 1 , wherein the preferred IP-based mobility protocol is a Client Mobile IP (CMIP) protocol or a Proxy Mobile IP (PMIP) protocol. 
     
     
         5 . The IC of  claim 1 , wherein the server is a Media Independent Handover (MIH) server, and wherein the query message and the response message are MIH messages. 
     
     
         6 . An integrated circuit (IC), comprising:
 circuitry configured to receive a query message from a wireless transmit/receive unit (WTRU) via a wireless network, wherein the query message includes an identifier of a preferred Internet Protocol (IP)-based mobility protocol of the WTRU;   circuitry configured to generate a response message, wherein the response message is responsive to the query message, and wherein the response message includes an identifier of a target point of attachment and an identifier of an IP-based mobility protocol supported by the target point of attachment; and   circuitry configured to output the response message for transmission to the WTRU via the wireless network.