Chapter 16
Mobile IP — the Moveable Feast
In This Chapter
Chasing after the protocols in this chapter: Mobile IP, Mobile IPv4, Mobile IPv6
Understanding how to get mobile
Staying secure while on the go
As a cellphone (mobile phone) user, you know that you can move around while you’re on a call. Whether you’re walking down the street or riding in a car, your mobile phone stays connected to the cellular network and your call continues as you move from one cell to another. Please don’t talk and drive!
If you pay your cellphone service provider for a data plan, you have the same freedom of movement while you are surfing the Web from your Internet-capable smart phone. The routing is handled by the provider’s Data Link layer.
In a perfect world, you could do the exact same thing whenever you’re connected to the Internet, from any device. The world isn’t perfect — yet — but we’re getting there.
This chapter describes how the protocols Mobile IP v4 and v6, or simply Mobile IP, and some new protocol additions to Mobile IPv6, make mobile computing across the Internet workable. In addition, the chapter also cautions about security risks in mobile computing and lists ways to protect your mobile communications.
Going Mobile
You have great Internet access at your office and in your home, but what happens when you and your laptop (with its wireless NIC) move around? For this discussion, there are three different kinds of mobility:
Portability: You can carry your (powered-down) laptop from ...
