Traffic management in a wireless data network
AssigneeAirvana, Inc.
InventorsFiras Abi-Nassif, Sae-Young Chung
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
In a radio access network (e.g., a cellular network), a radio node is configured to monitor one or more characteristics of a stream of data packets destined for an access terminal (e.g., a cellular telephone, laptop computer, etc.) to determine whether there is congestion in a network supplying the stream of data packets. If the radio node detects congestion, the radio node transmits a congestion alert to another device to cause the rate at which data enters the network to be slowed. The rate may be slowed either directly (e.g., by an upstream device which slows the rate at which the upstream device supplies the data to the network) or indirectly (e.g., by a downstream device which requests a slower delivery of data from the radio node).
Claims27
A method for reducing congestion in a radio access network, the method comprising:
- monitoring, at a radio node, congestion in a stream of data packets that is received at the radio node from a radio network controller over a network and that is to be sent over an air link to one or more access terminals, wherein monitoring the congestion comprises:
- monitoring numbers of the stream of data packets for a gap in sequential
- numbering associated with the stream of data packets;
- and
- monitoring a one way delay in the stream of data packets;
- and
- reducing a rate at which the stream of data packets is sent by the radio network controller over the network to the radio node in response to the monitoring, wherein reducing the rate at which the stream of data packets is sent over the network to the radio node comprises:
- reducing a rate at which the radio network controller transmits data packets into the network, wherein reducing the rate at which the radio network controller transmits the data packets into the network comprises:
- using a leaky bucket mechanism to reduce the rate at which the data packets enter the network, wherein using the leaky bucket mechanism comprises:
- incrementing a counter at a rate of R bytes per second;
- decrementing the counter by an amount proportional to a size of a data packet that is transmitted to the network;
- and
- preventing data packets from being transmitted to the network if the counter reaches zero.
A radio access network comprising:
- a backhaul network;
- a radio network controller configured to receive a stream of data packets destined for an access terminal and to transmit the stream of data packets to a radio node via the backhaul network;
- and
- a radio node configured to receive the stream of data packets and transmit the stream of data packets to the access terminal via an air link, wherein the radio node is configured to monitor congestion in the stream of data packets, wherein monitoring the congestion comprises monitoring numbers of the stream of data packets for a gap in sequential numbering associated with the stream of data packets and monitoring a one way delay in the stream of data packets;
- wherein the radio access network is configured to:
- cause a reduction in a rate at which the stream of data packets enters the backhaul network in response to monitoring the congestion;
- cause the reduction in the rate at which the stream of data packets enters the backhaul network by reducing the rate at which the radio network controller transmits data packets into the backhaul network;
- wherein the radio network controller comprises a leaky bucket mechanism which is configured to control the rate at which the stream of data packets enters the backhaul network,
- wherein the leaky bucket mechanism is configured to increment a counter at a rate of R bytes per second, to decrement the counter by an amount proportional to a size of a data packet that is transmitted to the network, and to prevent data packets from being transmitted to the network if the counter reaches zero.
A method for reducing congestion in a radio access network, the method comprising:
- monitoring congestion in a stream of data packets that is received at a radio node from a network and that is to be sent over an air link to one or more access terminals;
- and
- reducing a rate at which the stream of data packets is sent over the network to the radio node in response to the monitoring;
- wherein reducing the rate at which the stream of data packets is sent over the network to the radio node comprises replacing content of a data packet of the stream of data packets with random data, wherein receipt of the data packet with random data at an access terminal signals the access terminal to reduce a rate at which the access terminal requests delivery of data over the air link.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.