Home Agent and MSP Relocation in operational Mobile IPv6 networks

In the deployment of Mobile IPv6 (MIPv6) in a large mobile operator network, several Home Agents (HAs) may be present and the selection of the "optimal" HA can significantly influence the performance and scalability of the overall MIPv6 service. In this regard, in some scenarios, the efficiency of the MIPv6 service may be improved if the HA currently assigned to a MN is replaced by a more suitable one upon wide area movements of the Mobile Node. The new HA could belong to the same Mobility Service Provider (MSP) of the previous one or to a different one. This paper describes the motivations and scenarios for HA and MSP relocation, and introduces solutions to realize them.