Autoconfiguration, registration, and mobility management for pervasive computing

In the vision of pervasive computing, users will exchange information and c ontrol their environments from anywhere using various wireline/wire less ne tworks and computing devices. We believe that current protocols, such as DI -ICP, PPP, and Mobile IP, must be enhanced to support pervasive network acc ess. In particular, this article identifies three fundamental functions: au toconfiguration, registration, and mobility management, that need such enha ncements. Realizing that the IP autoconfiguration capabilities must be exte nded to configure routers and large dynamic networks, we first describe our autoconfiguration solution based on the Dynamic Configuration and Distribu tion Protocol (DCDP). Second, we discuss why providing user-specific servic es over a common infrastructure needs a uniform registration protocol, inde pendent of the mobility and configuration mechanisms. We present an initial version of the Basic User Registration Protocol (BURP), which provides sec ure client-network registration and interfaces to AAA protocols such as Dia meter. Finally, we discuss the Dynamic Mobility Agent (DMA) architecture, w hich provides it hierarchical and scalable mobility management framework. T he DMA approach allows individual users to customize their own mobility-rel ated features, such as paging, fast handoffs, and QoS support, over a commo n access infrastructure and to select multiple global binding protocols as appropriate.