# US 11,310,698 B2 · Overload control mechanism > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,310,698 B2 - Document ID: US11310698B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 17/412,778 - Filed: 2021-08-26 - Published: 2022-03-03 - Granted: 2022-04-19 - Earliest claimed: 2020-08-28 - Assignees: Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy - Applicants: Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy - Inventors: Silvio Mandelli; Alessandro Lieto - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11310698B2 ## CPC - H04L 47/805: {QOS or priority aware} - H04W 28/24: Negotiating SLA [Service Level Agreement]; Negotiating QoS [Quality of Service] - H04L 47/822: {Collecting or measuring resource availability data} - H04W 24/08: Testing, {supervising or monitoring} using real traffic - H04W 28/0268: {using specific QoS parameters for wireless networks, e.g. QoS class identifier [QCI] or guaranteed bit rate [GBR] (negotiating SLA or negotiating QoS H04W28/24)} - H04W 76/36: for reassigning the resources associated with the released connections - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) - H04W: WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS (broadcast communication H04H; communication systems using wireless links for non-selective communication, e.g. wireless extensions H04M1/72) ## Abstract An overload control mechanism involving at least an intra slice instance and two or more inter slice instances is disclosed. The inter slice instance is monitoring how two or more network slices use resources. If the use is not within slice constraints, the intra slice instance determines, per a network slice, an amount of resources to be released by the network slice; and causes commanding network slices to release resources correspondingly. An intra slice instance is configured at least to determine, in response to detecting reception of a command to release resources or that one or more of flows do not reach quality of service level, an amount corresponding to resources missing to satisfy quality of service requirements of active flows; sorting flows to an order according to a predetermine sorting rule for flows; and releasing resources flow by flow according to the order. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An apparatus comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform: monitoring how two or more network slices use resources; determining, in response to the use not being within slice constraints, per a network slice, an amount of resources to be released by the network slice; and causing commanding network slices to release resources correspondingly. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform the monitoring by checking per a network slice whether the slice violates its maximum resource constraint and/or other slices' minimum resources constraints and/or its maximum rate constraint and/or other slices' minimum resource constraints. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform: sorting, in response to the use not being within slice constraints, the network slices to an order according to a predetermined rule; causing commanding network slices one network slice at a time according to the order; in response to receiving from a network slice information that more resources than the amount in the command were released, updating amounts of resources to be released of network slices that have not yet been commanded to release resources. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform for at least one of the two or more network slices an intra-slice procedure comprising: determining, in response to the command to release resources a first amount or in response to one or more of flows of the slice not reaching quality of service level of the flow, a second amount corresponding to resources missing to satisfy quality of service requirements of active flows; sorting, in response to having two or more flows, the flows to an order according to a predetermine sorting rule for flows; and releasing resources flow by flow according to the order until enough resources have been released. ### Claim 5 An apparatus comprising at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform: determining, in response to detecting that a command to release resources a first amount is received or that one or more of flows do not reach quality of service level of the flow, a second amount corresponding to resources missing to satisfy quality of service requirements of active flows; sorting, in response to having two or more flows, the flows to an order according to a predetermine sorting rule for flows; releasing resources flow by flow according to the order until enough resources have been released. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein enough resources have been released when a released amount of resources is at least equal to the sum of the first amount and the second amount. ### Claim 7 (depends on 5) An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the releasing includes removing the flow or degrading the quality of service of the flow. ### Claim 8 (depends on 5) An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the quality of service is a bit rate requirement. ### Claim 9 (depends on 5) An apparatus as claimed in claim 5, wherein the sorting rule is based on one or more of key performance indicators comprising a spectral efficiency, an achieved throughput, a guaranteed quality of service, and a priority. ### Claim 10 (depends on 5) An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform the sorting of flows by performing at least the following: in response to flows having each at least the same throughput than its minimum throughput constraint but different priorities, sorting the flows according to the priority order, so that resources of a flow with a lower priority are released before resources of flows with higher priority; in response to flows each at least having the same throughput than its minimum throughput constraint and the same priorities, determining spectral efficiencies of the flows and sorting the flows so that resources of a flow with lower spectral efficiency are released before resources of flows with higher spectral efficiency; and in response to flows each at least having the same throughput than its minimum throughput constraint, the same priorities, and the same spectral efficiencies, sorting the flows according to mobile identifiers associated with the flows. ### Claim 11 (depends on 5) An apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the at least one memory and computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform: determining, per a flow, a packet delay budget failure ratio; and in response to the packet delay budget failure ratio of the flow being above a threshold, removing the flow. ### Claim 12 A method comprising: monitoring how two or more network slices use resources; determining, in response to the use not being within slice constraints, per a network slice, an amount of resources to be released by the network slice; and causing commanding network slices to release resources correspondingly. ### Claim 13 (depends on 12) A method according to claim 12, further comprising: determining, in response to detecting that a command to release resources a first amount is received or that one or more of flows do not reach quality of service level of the flow, a second amount corresponding to resources missing to satisfy quality of service requirements of active flows; sorting, in response to having two or more flows, the flows to an order according to a predetermine sorting rule for flows; releasing resources flow by flow according to the order until enough resources have been released. ### Claim 14 A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least one of a first process and a second process: wherein the first process comprises the following: monitoring how two or more network slices use resources; determining, in response to the use not being within slice constraints, per a network slice, an amount of resources to be released by the network slice; and causing commanding network slices to release resources correspondingly, wherein the second process comprises the following: determining, in response to detecting that a command to release resources a first amount is received or that one or more of flows do not reach quality of service level of the flow, a second amount corresponding to resources missing to satisfy quality of service requirements of active flows; sorting, in response to having two or more flows, the flows to an order according to a predetermine sorting rule for flows; releasing resources flow by flow according to the order until enough resources are released.