Patent · US Expired

Providing roaming capability for mobile computers in a standard network

US6006090A · kind A · utility

164Cited by
8References
1Claims
0Family size

Assignee

Inventors

Key dates

Filing dateApr 28, 1993
Grant dateDec 21, 1999
Priority date
Expiry dateApr 28, 2013

Classification

  • Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
  • CPC primaryH04W48/17
  • WIPO fieldDigital communication
  • WIPO sectorElectrical engineering

Abstract

Roaming capability is provided to mobile computers within a standard network such as a Novell network. In a computer network running under a network operating system that provides for fault-tolerant internet routing of network communications between nodes and requires that network ID of a node remain constant for the duration of session, the nodes include multiple mobile computing devices wirelessly connected to the network. The mobile computing devices are provided with the capability to roam during a session by changing access points to the network. This capability is provided by programming the mobile computing devices so as to appear to the network as routers able to change access points during a session. The routers connect one sub-net to one other sub-net, the one sub-net being connected to a mobile computing device and having a fixed network ID and the other sub-net, through fault-tolerant internet routing being connected to a selectable access point and therefore having a variable network ID. The resulting workstation/routers may be termed virtual routers in that they connect a purely logical sub-net having a fixed network ID but no physical instantiation to exactly one oth…

Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.