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US 8,014,273 B1Granted
Dynamic feedback from an internet service provider about network occupancy/availability
AssigneeAvaya Inc.
InventorsKaren L. Barrett, Siobhan Buckley, Ciaran Gannon, Muneyb Minhazuddin
Life of this patent
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Abstract
In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a system for providing user access to a public network that includes (a) a service modification agent 154 operable to (i) determine that public network resources are available for use; (ii) determine that a first class of users will be offered an upgrade in a Quality of Service (QoS) of communications over the public network; and (iii) determine that a first user in the first class of users may intend to use the public network resources and a service reporting agent 166 operable to provide the user with the higher QoS when the first user accesses the public network.
Claims24
A method, comprising:
- (a) automatically determining, by a service reporting agent, that first and third users may intend to access the Internet;
- (b) automatically determining, by the service reporting agent, that the first and third users, pursuant to a service level agreement with an Internet Service Provider (“ISP”), are each entitled to receive a first level of Internet service, wherein different Internet service level agreements of the ISP with different users have different levels of service;
- (c) automatically determining, by a service modification agent, that a usage level of the Internet when the first and third users access the Internet is less than a selected threshold;
- (d) automatically determining whether the first and third users are currently upgradable;
- (e) in response to determining that the Internet usage level is less than the selected threshold and that the first user is currently upgradable, automatically providing, by the service reporting agent, the first user with a second level of service provided in a second service level agreement with a different customer when the first user accesses the Internet, the second level of service being of a higher quality than the first level of service;
- (f) in response to determining that the Internet usage level is less than the selected threshold and that the third user is not currently upgradable, automatically not providing, by the service reporting agent, the third user with the second level of service when the third user accesses the Internet;
- wherein the service reporting agent receives usage performance constraints from the ISP, the constraints mapping to a set of applications complying with the constraints, and provides the constraints and/or set of applications to the first user to enable the first user to determine what applications can be used by the first user;
- and
- wherein the constraints comprise a plurality of minimum bandwidth, maximum packet loss, maximum packet delay, and maximum jitter, wherein the constraints correspond to the second level of service and wherein the service reporting agent provides the first user with a time limit for the first user's upgrade to the second level of service.
6 more elements
A method, comprising:
- (a) receiving requests, from first and third subscribers, for Internet access to run first and third applications, respectively;
- (b) automatically determining, by a service level reporting agent, a corresponding service class of the first and third subscribers and a guaranteed level of service to be provided by an Internet Service Provider (“ISP”), wherein a corresponding level of service stipulates at least one of a minimum bandwidth level, minimum Quality of Service (“QoS”), and delivery rate, the first and third subscribers having a same level of service;
- (c) automatically determining, by a service modification agent, that the first subscriber, but not the third subscriber, is upgradable to a second level of service, the second level of service providing a greater access to Internet resources than the first level of service, the second level of service being offered to a different second subscriber in a different service level agreement with the ISP;
- (d) automatically providing, by the service modification agent, the first subscriber, but not the third subscriber, with the second level of service;
- wherein the service reporting agent receives usage performance constraints from the ISP, the constraints mapping to a set of applications complying with the constraints, and provides the constraints and/or set of applications to the first user to enable the first user to determine what applications can be used by the user;
- and
- wherein the constraints comprise a plurality of minimum bandwidth, maximum packet loss, maximum packet delay, and maximum jitter, wherein the constraints correspond to the second level of service and wherein the service reporting agent provides the first user with a time limit for the first user's upgrade to the second level of service.
4 more elements
A system, comprising:
- (a) a service modification agent operable to:
- (i) automatically determine that Internet resources are available for use;
- (ii) automatically determine that selected members of a first class of users will be offered an upgrade to a second Quality of Service (QoS) of communications over the Internet, each of the users, including first and third users, in the first class being subject to a service level agreement with an Internet Service Provider (“ISP”), the service level agreement guaranteeing a first QoS, the first QoS being lower than the second QoS guaranteed by the ISP in service level agreements with users in a different second class of users;
- (iii) automatically determine that a first and third users in the first class of users intend to use the Internet;
- (b) at least one router comprising a service reporting agent operable, when the service modification agent determines that Internet resources are available for use, to provide automatically the first user, but not the third user, with the higher second QoS when the first and third users access the Internet;
- wherein the service reporting agent receives usage performance constraints from the ISP, the constraints mapping to a set of applications complying with the constraints, and provides the constraints and/or set of applications to the first user to enable the first user to determine what applications can be used by the user;
- and
- wherein the constraints comprise a plurality of minimum bandwidth, maximum packet loss, maximum packet delay, and maximum jitter, wherein the constraints correspond to the second level of service and wherein the service reporting agent provides the first user with a time limit for the first user's upgrade to the second level of service.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.