Mobility amongst heterogeneous networks with AAA support

This work deals with IP based mobility within a heterogeneous environment. In particular, the problem of secure roaming amongst different data networks with 'always on' IP connectivity is investigated. With this aim, a Mobile IP (MIP) architecture with authentication, authorization and accounting (AAA) support is proposed and analyzed. The basic combined MIP and AAA registration procedure is described and then different scenarios of handover are considered. For each scenario, the interaction between MIP and AAA functionalities is described. Particular attention has been dedicated to minimize the complexity of the procedures and the number of the exchanged messages during the transition from one network access point to another. The presented solutions are very general and can be applied to different implementation cases and with different AAA protocols.