Description of the Working Group

IP mobility support for IPv4 nodes (hosts and routers) is specified in RFC3344. RFC 3344 mobility allows a node to continue using its "permanent" home address as it moves around the internet. The Mobile IP protocols support transparency above the IP layer, including maintenance of active TCP connections and UDP port bindings. Besides the basic Mobile IPv4 (MIPv4) protocols, several other drafts deal with concerns such as optimization, security, extensions, AAA support, and deployment issues.

Mobile IPv4 is currently being deployed on a wide basis (e.g., in cdma2000 networks). The scope of the deployment is on a fairly large scale and accordingly, the MIP4 WG will focus on deployment issues and on addressing known deficiencies and shortcomings in the protocol that have come up as a result of deployment experience. Specifically, the working group will complete the work items to facilitate interactions with AAA environments, interactions with enterprise environments when Mobile IPv4 is used therein, and updating existing protocol specifications in accordance with deployment needs and advancing those protocols that are on the standards track.

Work expected to be done by the MIP4 WG as proposed by this charter is as follows:

1. MIPv4 has been a proposed standard for several years. It has been adopted by other standard development organizations and has been deployed commercially. One of the next steps for the WG is to advance the protocol to draft standard status. As part of advancing base Mobile IP specs to DS, the Mobile IPv4 NAI RFC (2794) will also be progressed towards DS.
2. Key exchange using AAA infrastructures for setting up security associations defined in RFC3344 will be completed.
3. The AAA WG, which is currently dealing with the Diameter Mobile IP application, requires the AAA NAI for Mobile IPv4. This work will be completed by the WG. The MIP4 WG will also work with the AAA WG to ensure that the Diameter Mobile IP application is aligned with WG requirements.
4. Home agent assignment at the time of mobile-ip registration, rather than preconfigured for the mobile node, has been proposed in draft-kulkarni-mobileip-dynamic-assignment-01.txt. The WG will take on the task of completing this. The ability to switch the home agent assigned to a mobile node while registered will also be considered as part of this task.
5. Work items that are pending from the previous Mobile IP WG, which will be completed by the MIP4 WG, are RFC3012bis (Challenge-response mechanism), low-latency handover draft to experimental status and the completion of the MIB for the revised base Mobile IP specification (2006bis).
6. The MIP4 WG will also complete the work on Mobile IPv4 interactions in VPN scenarios. This work will involve identifying the requirements and a solution development for Mobile IPv4 operation in the presence of IPsec VPN's.
7. Experimental message types and extensions for Mobile IPv4 in accordance with draft-narten-iana-experimental-allocations-03.txt has been proposed in draft-patel-mobileip-experimental-messages-01.txt. The work group will take on and complete this specification.

Other potential work items may be identified in the future but will require an appropriate recharter.