Method and system for fast IP handoff of a mobile node

1 . A method for fast Internet Protocol (IP) handoff of a mobile node (MN) from a first wireless network to a second wireless network, the method comprising:

releasing a tunnel between a first access router (AR) and a second AR based on at least one predefined criterion, wherein the first AR is associated with the first wireless network and the second AR is associated with the second wireless network; and

initializing a mobile IP registration procedure with the second AR, the mobile IP registration procedure being performed by the MN.

2 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein determining a predetermined criterion of the at least one predefined criterion comprises initializing at least one tunnel inactivity timer when one of the first AR and the second AR performs one of tunneling data traffic and de-tunneling data traffic, data traffic being exchanged between the MN and a correspondent node (CN).

3 . The method according to claim 2 further comprising comparing a tunnel inactivity time with a predetermined value, the tunnel inactivity time being a time during which data traffic is not transferred through the tunnel.

4 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein determining a predetermined criterion of the at least one predefined criterion comprises configuring the first AR and the second AR with a traffic profile to identify real-time data traffic.

5 . The method according to claim 5 further comprising comparing data traffic routed from the first wireless network to the second wireless network with the traffic profile.

6 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein determining a predetermined criterion of the at least one predefined criterion comprises determining CPU utilization at the first AR.

7 . The method according to claim 7 further comprising comparing the CPU utilization with a configurable CPU utilization threshold value.

8 . The method according to claim 8 further comprising determining whether the tunnel is associated with a low priority user.

9 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein determining a predetermined criterion of the at least one predefined criterion comprises determining a time for which the MN has been registered with one of the first AR and the second AR.

10 . The method according to claim 10 further comprising comparing the time with a tunnel lifetime of the MN.

11 . The method according to claim 1 , wherein determining a predetermined criterion of the at least one predefined criterion comprises determining buffer utilization at the first AR.

12 . The method according to claim 11 further comprising comparing the buffer utilization with a buffer utilization threshold value.

13 . The method according to claim 11 further comprising comparing a buffering delay with a preconfigured time.

14 . The method according to claim 13 further comprising determining whether the tunnel is associated with a low priority user.

15 . An access router (AR), the AR configured to:

release a tunnel between two ARs based on at least one predefined criterion; and

initialize a mobile IP registration procedure, the mobile IP registration procedure being performed by a mobile node (MN).

16 . The AR according to claim 15 wherein the at least one predefined criterion is selected from a group comprising:

determining whether a time for which the tunnel has been inactivity exceeds a predetermined value;

determining whether data traffic between the two ARs is real time data traffic;

determining whether CPU utilization at the AR exceeds a configurable CPU utilization threshold value;

determining whether a time for which the MN has been registered with one of the two ARs exceeds a tunnel lifetime of the MN; and

determining whether buffer utilization at the AR exceeds a buffer utilization threshold value.