US Patent 7333451 Buffer management for mobile internet protocol

Disclosed is a buffer management method for a mobile node in a mobile IP telecommunication network. The buffer management method supports a handoff of the mobile node from a first agent of a first network to a second agent of a second network. The method begins upon initiation of the handoff. A first message is sent to the first agent requesting the first agent to buffer any packets being sent to the mobile node. While the buffering is being performed, the handoff may be completed to the second agent. Once the handoff is complete, a second message can be sent to the first agent requesting the first agent to forward the buffered packets to the second agent.