Session Inter-Device (SID) mobility networks (50, 100, 150) are described
in which a seamless transfer of a communication session from a first
device (56, 106, 116) to a second device (66, 116, 166) can be achieved
without interrupting the active session. According to the SID mobility
network (50), the transfer can be accomplished by transferring away from
the Transferring Node or first device (56) the IP address associated with
the active session (58) so that the network (50) will route the session
to the desired Target Node or second device (66). The Transferring Node
(56) transfers its IP address (58) to the Agent (60) and stops requesting
data packets addressed to its IP address (58). The Agent (60) then begins
to request and eventually receive the packets addressed to the
Transferring Node's IP address (58). The Agent (60) then transfers the
packets to the Target Node (66). In an alternate SID mobility network
(100), the Transferring Node (106) transfers a session specific IP
address (114) to the Agent (110). The Agent (110) then transfers packets
sent to the session specific IP address (114) to the Target Node (120).
In another SID mobility network (150), the Transferring Node (162)
obtains a temporary IP address (170) and transfers its IP address (164)
to a Session Agent (166). The Session Agent (166) begins to request and
eventually receive the packets addressed to the Transferring Node's IP
address (164), and for each received packet determines if it belongs to
the session the Transferring Node (162) requested to transfer to the
Target Node (176). If it does, the Session Agent (166) will transfer the
packet to the Target Node (176) at the Target Node's IP address (178). If
it does not, the Session Agent (166) will transfer the packet to the
Transferring Node (162) at its temporary IP address (170). In each SID
mobility network, the session with respect to the Correspondent Node
continues without interruption throughout the transfer, thereby providing
a seamless transfer of the session from a first device to a second
device.