Wireless communication system for enabling communication between a mobile device and a network device
A network controller for facilitating roaming of a mobile wireless communications device between access points communicates with at least one access point over a wired network which, in turn, communicate with a mobile wireless communications device over a wireless network. The network controller includes a data processing system including a protocol stack that facilitates a communication session between the mobile device and a network device on the wired network, and a session table identifying session information for each said communication session. The session information identifies the current access point with which the mobile device is currently associated. The protocol stack updates the session table from session information received from the current access point, maintains a first virtual circuit with the network device, maintains a second virtual circuit with the current access point, and bridges communication between the virtual circuits in accordance with the session information.
1. A network controller for a mobile communication between a wireless mobile device and a network device, the network controller including a TCP layer for communications with the network device and a current access point associated with the mobile device, characterized in that the network controller comprises:
a first protocol layer configured to maintain a first virtual circuit between the network controller and the network device;
a second protocol layer configured to maintain a second virtual circuit between the network controller and the current access point; and
a third protocol layer configured to bridge a communication between the first virtual circuit and the second virtual circuit through mapping,
wherein the second protocol layer is configured to extract a first data segment encapsulated into a second data segment received via the second virtual circuit and pass it to the third protocol layer for transmission to the network device, the first data segment comprising message data from the mobile device and a session number for identifying a network device,
wherein the third protocol layer is configured to extract the message data from the first data segment and map the extracted message data to the first virtual circuit based on the session number;
and wherein the second protocol layer is further configured to receive data from the third protocol layer and process the received data for transmission to the current access point.
2. The network controller according to claim 1 , further comprising a storage device for storing information including a boot number for identifying the current access point.
3. The network controller according to claim 1 , wherein the third protocol layer is configured to extract the message data of the mobile device from the first data segment, and map the extracted message data to the first virtual circuit based on the session number that identifies a data format of the message data.
4. The network controller according to claim 1 , wherein the first data segment comprises a header, and wherein the first data segment header has a length less than a TCP/IP header.
5. The network controller according to claim 1 , wherein the first data segment is a transport layer data segment, and wherein the second data segment is a link layer datagram, and wherein the message data is encapsulated in the transport layer data segment.
6. The network controller according to claim 5 , wherein the transport layer data segment comprises a transport layer header having the session number that is used for identifying a data format of the message data.
7. The network controller according to claim 5 , wherein the transport layer header has a length less than a TCP/IP header.
8. The network controller according to claim 5 , wherein the third protocol layer is configured to bridge the communication by mapping the transport layer data segment between the virtual circuits.
9. The network controller according to claim 1 , wherein the first virtual circuit is maintained with a TCP protocol layer on the network device, the second virtual circuit being maintained with a TCP protocol layer on the access point.
10. A system for a mobile communication, comprising:
a network controller according to claim 1 ; and
one or more access points, each being accessible from the mobile device and periodically broadcasting a beacon data frame having a boot number uniquely assigned to the access point to allow the mobile device to identify that it is in range of the access point, and transmitting the boot number to the network controller when receiving a response with the boot number from the mobile device.
11. The system according to claim 10 , wherein the access point comprises a fourth protocol layer for communication with the network controller and the mobile device, and wherein the fourth protocol layer is associated with the second protocol layer.
12. A method for a mobile communication between a mobile device and a network device via a network controller, the network controller including a TCP layer for communications with the network device and a current access point associated with the mobile device, characterized in that the method comprises the steps of:
at the network controller, controlling a communication between the network device and the current access point, the network controller having a first protocol layer configured for maintaining a first virtual circuit between the network controller and the network device, a second protocol layer configured for maintaining a second virtual circuit between the network controller and the current access point, and a third protocol layer configured for bridging a communication between the first virtual circuit and the second virtual circuit;
the step of controlling including:
at the second protocol layer, extracting a first data segment encapsulated into a second data segment received from the current access point via the second virtual circuit and passing it to the third protocol layer for transmission to the network device, the first data segment comprising message data from the mobile device and a session number for identifying the network device;
at the third protocol layer, extracting the message data from the first data segment and mapping the extracted message data to the first virtual circuit based on the session number; and
at the second protocol layer, receiving data from the third protocol layer and processing the received data for transmission to the current access point.
13. The method according to claim 12 , further comprising the step of:
at the current access point, encapsulating the first data segment into the second data segment.
14. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the first data segment comprises a header, and wherein the first data segment header has a length less than a TCP/IP header.
15. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the first data segment is a transport layer data segment, and wherein the second data segment is a link layer datagram.
16. The method according to claim 15 , wherein the transport layer data segment comprises a header, and wherein the transport data segment header has a length less than a TCP/IP header.
17. The method according to claim 12 , wherein the session number is used to identify a data format of the message data received from the mobile device.
18. The method according to claim 12 , comprising the step of:
at the access point, periodically broadcasting a beacon data frame having a boot number uniquely assigned to the access point to allow the mobile device to identify that it is in range of the access point, and transmitting the boot number to the network controller when receiving a response with the boot number from the mobile device.