Controlling data transmission over a network

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9264377-B2
Application number	US-92484710-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 6, 2010
Priority date	Jun 18, 2010
Publication date	Feb 16, 2016
Grant date	Feb 16, 2016

Abstract

Method, device and computer program product for controlling data transmission over a network wherein a plurality of applications are capable of execution at a device of the network to thereby access the network, and wherein control means of the device are configured to set respective bandwidth limitations and to limit the bandwidth of the network access of the applications in accordance with their respective bandwidth limitations, the plurality of applications comprising at least one real-time application. The method comprises the control means determining a current transmission condition, the current transmission condition being one of a current network condition and a current bandwidth requirement of one of the at least one real-time application. The control means dynamically adapts the respective bandwidth limitations for the applications in dependence upon the determined current transmission condition. The control means controls network access of the applications to thereby limit the bandwidth of the network access of the applications in accordance with their respective adapted bandwidth limitations.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method comprising:
determining a current transmission condition for a network accessible by a device, the current transmission condition including at least one current network condition for the network;
executing, by the device, a real-time application and a non real-time application, where the real-time application executes a respective process;
receiving, at a functionality separate from the real-time application and responsive to the execution of the real-time application, an input directly from the real-time application including a current bandwidth requirement of the real-time application and a process identifier associated with the real-time application, the process identifier specifying within the process identifier that the real-time application is a real-time application;
in response to identifying the real-time application, automatically and dynamically adapting by the functionality separate from the real-time application, an existing bandwidth limitation for the non real-time application in dependence upon the determined current transmission condition and the current bandwidth requirement of the real-time application; and
controlling, by the functionality separate from the real-time application, network access of the non real-time application to thereby limit the bandwidth of network access of the non real-time application in accordance with respective adapted bandwidth limitation of the non real-time application.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the bandwidth limitation for the non real-time application is stricter than the bandwidth limitation for the real-time application.

3. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining a further current transmission condition, the further current transmission condition being the other one of the current network condition or the current bandwidth requirement of the real-time application, wherein the step of automatically and dynamically adapting the respective bandwidth limitation for the non real-time application is performed in dependence upon both the determined current transmission condition and the determined further current transmission condition.

4. The method of claim 1 , further comprising in response to determining that the current bandwidth requirement of the real-time application is zero, adapting the respective bandwidth limitation for the non real-time application such that the bandwidth limitation does not limit the bandwidth of access to the network for the non real-time application.

5. The method of claim 1 , further comprising responsive to determining that the current bandwidth of said real-time application is not zero, adapting the bandwidth limitation for the non real-time application to be zero.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining a current network load for the real-time application, and automatically and dynamically adapting respective bandwidth limitation for the non real-time application in dependence upon the determined current network load for the real-time application.

7. The method of claim 1 further comprising determining a total current network load for the real-time application and the non real-time application, and automatically and dynamically adapting bandwidth limitation for the non real-time application in dependence upon the determined total current network load.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein if the determined current network condition and the determined total current network load indicate that the real-time application and the non real-time application can access the network simultaneously, then the respective bandwidth limitation for the non real-time application is adapted such that the bandwidth limitation does not limit the bandwidth of access to the network for the non real-time application.

9. The method of claim 1 wherein the determined current bandwidth requirement of the real-time application is reserved for the real-time application, and the remaining bandwidth capacity for accessing the network is divided between the non real-time application and one or more other applications by automatically and dynamically adapting the respective bandwidth limitations for the non real-time application and the one or more other applications accordingly.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the remaining bandwidth capacity is determined using the determined current bandwidth requirement of the real-time application and an estimate of the total bandwidth capacity of the device for accessing the network.

11. The method of claim 9 further comprising determining a current network load for the real-time application, and dividing remaining bandwidth capacity for accessing the network between the non real-time application and one or more other applications in dependence upon the determined current network load for the real-time application.

12. The method of claim 1 , further comprising applying the bandwidth limitation by at least one of: temporarily blocking a port that the non real-time application is using to access the network; modifying a quality-of-service field associated with a port that the non real-time application is using to access the network; utilizing a dedicated service for setting bandwidth limitations; or instructing the non real-time application to access the network in accordance with said at least one of the bandwidth limitations.

13. The method of claim 1 wherein the bandwidth limitation is one of an uplink bandwidth limitation and a downlink bandwidth limitation for the non real-time application.

14. A system comprising:
one or more processors; and
a memory device storing computer-readable instructions that are separate from a real-time application and a non real-time application and that are executable by the one or more processors to cause the system to perform operations including:
setting a respective bandwidth limitation for the non real-time application for use in accessing a network;
controlling network access of the non real-time application to thereby limit the bandwidth of the network access of the non real-time application in accordance with the respective bandwidth limitation;
determining a current transmission condition, the current transmission condition including a current network condition;
in response to executing a real-time application on the system, receiving an input directly from the real-time application including a current bandwidth requirement of the real-time application and a process identifier specifying within the process identifier that the real-time application is a real-time application;
in response to identifying the real-time application, automatically and dynamically adapting the respective bandwidth limitation for the non real-time application in dependence upon the determined current transmission condition and the current bandwidth requirement of the real-time application; and
limiting the bandwidth of the network access of the non real-time application in accordance with respective adapted bandwidth limitation.

15. The system of claim 14 wherein the operations further include:
determining a further current transmission condition, the further current transmission condition being the other one of the current network condition or the current bandwidth requirement of the real-time application; and
automatically and dynamically adapting the respective bandwidth limitation for the non real-time application in dependence upon both the determined current transmission condition and the determined further current transmission condition.

16. The system of claim 14 wherein the operations further include

Assignees

• Rodbro Christoffer
• Strommer Stefan
• Skype

Inventors

• Rodbro Christoffer
• Strommer Stefan

Classifications

• H04L47/20

  Traffic policing · CPC title

• H04L47/803

  Application aware · CPC title

• H04L47/762 Primary

  triggered by the network · CPC title

• H04L65/1086

  session scope modification · CPC title

• H04L47/801

  Real time traffic · CPC title