# US 2013/0155854 A1 · Multi-Tier Polling > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2013/0155854 A1 - Document ID: US20130155854A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 13/762,776 - Filed: 2013-02-08 - Published: 2013-06-20 - Earliest claimed: 2009-12-04 - Assignees: Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. - Inventors: Jennifer Andreoli-Fang; Luis Alberto Campos - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20130155854A1 ## CPC - H04J 4/00: Combined time-division and frequency-division multiplex systems (H04J13/00 takes precedence {; data transmission H04L5/26; telemetry G08C15/00}) - H04J 3/1647: {Subrate or multislot multiplexing} - H04L 12/2801: {Broadband local area networks} - H04L 47/765: triggered by the end-points - H04J 3/1694: {Allocation of channels in TDM/TDMA networks, e.g. distributed multiplexers (Passive Optical Networks H04Q11/0062)} - H04J: MULTIPLEX COMMUNICATION (transmission in general H04B; peculiar to transmission of digital information H04L5/00; systems for the simultaneous or sequential transmission of more than one television signal H04N7/08; in exchanges H04Q11/00; stereophonic systems H04S) - H04L: TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION (arrangements common to telegraphic and telephonic communication H04M) ## Abstract A polling arrangement where polling frequency and/or rates may be adjusted according to activities of end stations or other elements being polled. The ability to adjust the polling activities may be used to facilitate reducing or otherwise controlling network resources allocated to the supporting the polling or other messaging depending operations. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method of dynamically managing network space allocated to end stations desiring to transmit data, the method comprising: monitoring data transmission activities of the plurality of end stations; logging information reflective of the monitored data transmission activities; individually characterizing each end station to be one of active and inactive based on the logged information; allocating a first amount of network space to a first plurality of end stations characterized as being inactive; allocating a second amount of network space to a second plurality of end stations characterized as being active, the second amount of network space being greater than the first amount of network space. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising individually characterizing the plurality of end stations to be active and inactive depending an elapse time since each end station last transmitted a transmission request, the active characterization corresponding with the elapse time being less than a time threshold and the inactive characterization corresponding with the elapse time being equal to or greater than the time threshold. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2 further comprising: determining network congestion; and setting the time threshold at a first threshold when the network congestion is at a first level and at a second threshold when the network congestion is at a second level, the second threshold being greater than the first threshold. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2 further comprising: determining application requirements for each end station to be one of frequent data transfer and less frequent data transfer; and setting the time threshold individually for each end station to be one of a first threshold and a second threshold depending on the application requirements of each end station, the first threshold being set when the application requirements require frequent data transfer and the second threshold being set when the application requirements require less frequent data transfer, the second threshold being greater than the first threshold. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2 further comprising: determining service requirements for each end station to be one of business service and residential service; and setting the time threshold individually for each end station to be one of a first threshold and a second threshold depending on the service requirements of each end station, the first threshold being set when the service requirements are for business service and the second threshold being set when the service requirements are for residential service, the second threshold being greater than the first threshold ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The method of claim 2 further comprising: determining percent utilization of a network used to transfer data from the end stations to be one of a first level and a second level; and setting the time threshold individually to be one of a first threshold and a second threshold depending on the percent utilization, the first threshold being set when the percent utilization is at the first level and the second threshold being set when the percent utilization is at the second level, the second threshold being greater than the first threshold. ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising: determining a percent utilization of a network used to transfer data from the end stations; and selecting the second amount to be one of a first value when the percent utilization is less than a percent utilization threshold and a second value when the percent utilization is equal to or greater than the percent utilization threshold, the first value being less than the second frequency. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising: determining a percent utilization of a network used to transfer data from the end stations; and selecting the first amount to be one of a first value when the percent utilization is less than a percent utilization threshold and a second value when the percent utilization is equal to or greater than the percent utilization threshold, the first value being less than the second value. ### Claim 9 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising: determining application requirements for each of the second plurality of end station to be one of frequent data transfer and less frequent data transfer; and selecting the second amount individually for each of the second plurality of end station to be one of a first value when the application requirement is frequent data transfer and a second value when the application requirement is less frequent data transfer, the second frequency being greater than the first frequency. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising monitoring the data transmission activities with an aggregating unit that consumes network space to transmit polling messages to each of the plurality of end stations. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising: determining a class of service for each of the second plurality of end stations to be to one of higher class and lower class; and setting the second amount for a first portion of the second plurality of end stations having the higher class of service to be a first value and a second portion of the second plurality of end stations having the lower class of server to be a second value, the second value being less than the first frequency ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The method of claim 1 further comprising: characterizing a third plurality of the end stations to be moderately active; and allocating a third amount of network space for a third plurality of end stations characterized as being moderately-active, the third amount being greater than the first amount and less than the second amount. ### Claim 13 A method of allocating data units of a transmission channel used to support polling of end stations, the end stations being characterized as one of active and inactive, the method comprising: allocating a first number of data units to support polling of a first plurality of the end stations characterized as being inactive; and allocating a second number of data units to support polling of a second plurality of the end stations characterized as being active, the second number of data units being greater than the first number of data units. ### Claim 14 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13 further comprising: determining service requirements of the second plurality of the end stations to be one of a first level and a second level; allocating a second portion of the second number of data units to support polling of the second plurality of end station having service requirements of the first level; and allocating a second portion of the second number of data units to support polling of the second plurality of end station having service requirements of the second level, the first portion being greater than the second portion. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13 further comprising determining the first number and the second number of data units in proportion to a usage percentage of the transmission channel such that a total number of data units, defined as the sum of the first number and the second number, increases when the usage percentage decreases and decreases when the usage percentage increases ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13 further comprising: setting an inactive polling frequency for the first plurality of end stations; and setting an active polling frequency for the second plurality of end stations, the active polling frequency being greater than the inactive polling frequency. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The method of claim 13 further comprising determining the end stations to be active in the event an elapse time since issuing a data transmission request is greater than a time threshold and to be inactive in the event the elapse time is equal to or greater than the time threshold ### Claim 18 A computer program product embedded in a non-transitory computer readable medium, the medium storing instructions for allocating minislots of a transmission channel used to support polling a plurality of end stations, the medium including non-transitory instructions sufficient for: logging transmission activities of the plurality of end stations; characterizing each end station to be one of active and inactive based on the logged transmission activities; allocating a first number of minslots to a first plurality of end stations characterized as being inactive; allocating a second number of minislots to a second plurality of end stations characterized as being active, the second number of minislots being greater than the first number of minislots. ### Claim 19 (depends on 18) The computer program product of claim 18 further comprising non-transitory instructions sufficient for allocating the first number and the second number of minislots from network space allocated to facilitate polling the end stations. ### Claim 20 (depends on 18) The computer program product of claim 18 further comprising non-transitory instructions sufficient for: updating the transmission activities logged for a first end station of the first plurality of end stations characterized as being inactive; continuing to allocate the first end station the first number of minislots if the updated transmission activities characterize the first end station as being inactive; and allocating the first end station the second number of minislots if the update transmission activities characterize the first end station as being active.