Optimizing network channel loading

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10812389-B2
Application number	US-201615199629-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2016
Priority date	Jun 30, 2016
Publication date	Oct 20, 2020
Grant date	Oct 20, 2020

Abstract

A terminal device in a first network includes a processor programmed to receive first data indicating a respective first loading of each of a plurality of first level access devices. The processor is further programmed to select a first level access device based at least in part on the first data; and communicate with a second network via the selected first level access device and a selected second level access device. Each of the first level access devices is switchable to communicate with the first terminal via at least a respective one of one or more shared access channels, and each of a plurality second level access devices is switchable to communicatively couple one or more of the plurality of first level access devices with a second network.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A first terminal device in a first network, the first terminal device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions such that the processor is programmed to:
receive first data indicating a respective first loading of each of two or more first level access devices in a resource pool in the first network;
select a first level access device from the plurality of first level access devices based at least in part on the first data; and
communicate with a second network via the selected first level access device and a second level access device selected from two or more second level access devices in the resource pool in the first network;
wherein:
communication between the first terminal device and the second network can be established in the first network by a combination of any one of the two more first level access devices in the resource pool and any one of the two or more second level access devices in the resource pool; and
each of the first level access devices in the resource pool is switchable to communicate with the first terminal via at least a respective one of one or more shared access channels.

2. The first terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to:
select, prior to selecting the first level access device, the second level access device, wherein the first level access device is selected without changing the selected second level access device.

3. The first terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to:
determine, prior to selecting the first level access device, that the first terminal device has been inactive for a predetermined period of time, wherein selecting the first level access device is based at least in part on the determination that the first terminal device has been inactive for the predetermined period of time.

4. The first terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to:
receive second data indicating a respective second loading of each of the two or more second level access devices; and
select the second level access device based at least in part on the second data.

5. The first terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to:
determine, based on the first data, an average of a first level device loading over all of the plurality of first level devices, wherein the selection of the first level device is based at least in part on the determination of an average of the first level device loading over all of the plurality of first level devices.

6. The first terminal device of claim 5 , wherein the processor is further programmed to:
determine that the average of the first level device loading over all of the plurality of first level devices is greater than a predetermined threshold, wherein the selection of the first level device is based at least in part on the determination that the average of the first level device loading over all of the plurality of first level devices is greater than the predetermined threshold.

7. The first terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to:
select the second level device based on a default condition.

8. The first terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to:
receive third data indicating a respective utilization of each of the two or more second level devices in the resource pool;
determine a utilization of the selected second level device based at least in part on the third data;
determine an overall average utilization of the two or more second level devices in the resource pool based at least in part on the third data;
compare the utilization of the selected second level device to the overall average utilization of the two or more second level devices; and
select a second level device based at least in part on the comparison.

9. The first terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to:
receive fourth data indicating a respective utilization of each of the two or more first level devices in the resource pool;
identify one or more pairs of a first level device in the resource pool communicatively coupled with a second level device in the resource pool;
determine, based on the fourth data, a respective utilization for each of the one or more identified pairs of the respective first level device and the respective second level device; and
select the first level device based at least in part on the determined utilizations for each of the one or more pairs of the respective first level device and the respective second level device.

10. The first terminal device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further programmed to:
determine a sum of an assigned data rate for each of one or more terminal devices including the first terminal device; and
select the first level device based at least in part on the determined sum of the assigned data rates for each of the one or more terminal devices including the first terminal device.

11. The first terminal device of claim 10 , wherein the assigned data rate is based on rate plans associated respectively with each of the one or more terminal devices including the first terminal device.

12. A bandwidth management computing device in a first network, the bandwidth management computing device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions such that the processor is programmed to:
receive first data indicating a respective loading of each of two or more first level access devices in a resource pool in the first network at a time;
determine, based on the first data, an average loading over all of the two or more first level access devices in the resource pool at the time;
identify, based in part on the average loading over all of the two or more first level access devices at the time, a first threshold;
determine that a loading of a first first level access device is greater than the first threshold at the time; and
based on the determination that the loading of the first first level device is greater than the first threshold, instruct a first terminal device associated with the first first level device to switch from the first first level access device to a second first level access device;
wherein:
communication between the first terminal device and the second network can be established in the first network by a combination of any one of the two more first level access devices in the resource pool and any one of the two or more second level access devices in the resource pool; and
each of the first level access devices is switchable to communicate with the first terminal via at least a respective one of one or more shared access channels.

13. The bandwidth management computing device of claim 12 , wherein the average loading over the two or more first level devices in the resource pool is based at least in part on a reported backlog for each of the two or more first level devices at the time.

14. The bandwidth management computing device of claim 12 , wherein the processor is further programmed to:
determine, prior to instructing the first terminal to switch from the first first level access device to the second first level access device, that the average loading over the two or more first level access devices in the resource pool is less than a second threshold; and
instructing the first terminal to switch from the first first level access device to the second first level access device based at least in part on the determination that the average over all loading is less than the second threshold.

15.

Assignees

• Hughes Network Systems Llc

Inventors

• Xu Jun
• Torres Robert
• Border John
• Javali Nagesh

Classifications

• H04L43/16

  Threshold monitoring · CPC title

• H04L47/125 Primary

  by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering · CPC title

• H04L47/805

  QOS or priority aware · CPC title

• H04L43/0882

  Utilisation of link capacity · CPC title

• H04L47/743

  Reaction at the end points · CPC title