Method and apparatus relating to congestion control

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9538419-B2
Application number	US-201214387397-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 28, 2012
Priority date	Mar 28, 2012
Publication date	Jan 3, 2017
Grant date	Jan 3, 2017

Abstract

A method and apparatus for enabling service aware congestion control of PS (Packet Switched) data to be performed in a communication network. In the communication network PS data is communicated between a core network of the communication network and one or more User Equipments, UE, via the communication network node. Each UE is associated to the core network by one or more PS connections, and each of the PS connections is applied by the UE for a respective PS data service. When performing the service aware congestion control, information related to a respective PS data service is obtained, and priority information is provided to a resource manager arranged in the communication network. The priority information is based on the information related to the respective PS data service for a plurality of the PS connections. The resource manager is then enabled to perform congestion control of the PS connections based on the priority information. By determining for which PS data services the PS connections are currently applied, and prioritize the PS connections accordingly, the communication network node may reallocate RAN communication resources to higher prioritized PS data services from less prioritized PS data services. Thereby, a more flexible and effective use of available RAN communication resources may be achieved.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method in a communication network node for a communication network for enabling congestion control of Packet Switched (PS) data, in the communication network, the PS data being communicated between a core network of the communication network and one or more User Equipments (UEs) via the communication network node, where each UE is associated to the core network by one or more PS connections, and each of the PS connections is applied by the UE for a respective PS data service, the method comprising:
obtaining information related to the respective PS data service, wherein obtaining the information related to the respective PS data service comprises:
inspecting a content of communicated packets for the PS connection, wherein the inspected content is at least one of headers of communicated packets for the PS connection and payload of the communicated packets; and
determining, based on the inspected content of the communicated packets, a type of PS data service for which the PS data of the PS connection is currently communicated; and

providing priority information for each of a plurality of the PS connections to a resource manager arranged in the communication network, the priority information being based on the information related to the respective PS data service for the plurality of the PS connections, wherein providing the priority information comprises:
categorizing the PS connection in one of a plurality of pre-defined service categories at least based on the determined type of PS data service;
putting together a priority list of the plurality of the PS connections, the priority list prioritizing the plurality of PS connections with respect to each other, based on the categorizing; and
providing the priority list to the resource manager,

wherein the resource manager is enabled to perform congestion control of the PS connections based on the priority information.

2. The method of claim 1 , further comprising detecting a risk for congestion of the PS data in any of the PS connections, wherein a detected risk for congestion initiates the obtaining of information.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein detecting a risk for congestion comprises:
setting a threshold value for a parameter related to communication of the PS data;
determining a parameter value of the parameter related to communication of the PS data;
comparing the parameter value with the threshold value; and
deciding that there is a risk for congested PS data, based on the comparing.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein the parameter related to communication of the PS data is any of: Downlink power, Transport Network capacity, High Speed Downlink Packet Access codes, Radio Signal Strength Indication, Hardware in terms of Channel Element, number of High Speed Packet Access users, Air Interface Speech Equivalent for Downlink or Uplink, node capacity, and processor load.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the obtaining of information related to the respective PS data service further comprises determining an amount of PS data being currently communicated, and the categorizing of the PS connection is further based on the determined amount of currently communicated PS data.

6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising storing the determined type of PS data service, and wherein the categorizing of the PS connection is further based on heuristics of previously determined types of PS data services for a UE associated by the PS connection.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the type of PS data services is one of: Streamed Video, Streamed Audio, Voice over Internet Protocol, Gaming Services, Web Browsing, E-mail, Application Traffic, File uploading, File downloading, Software updating, and Peer to Peer communication.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the PS connection is categorized in one of a plurality of predefined service categories due to the determined type of PS data service.

9. The method of claim 8 , wherein there are three predetermined service categories: a first service category comprising Streamed Video, Streamed Audio, Voice over Internet Protocol, and Gaming Services; a second service category comprising Web browsing, Application traffic, and E-mail; and a third service category comprising Peer to Peer communication, File uploading, File downloading and Software updating.

10. The method according claim 8 , wherein a new PS connection, for which no prior determined type of PS data service is stored, is categorized in one specific of the predetermined second categories, as default.

11. A method in a communication network node for a communication network for enabling congestion control of Packet Switched (PS) data, in the communication network, the PS data being communicated between a core network of the communication network and one or more User Equipments (UEs) via the communication network node, where each UE is associated to the core network by one or more PS connections, and each of the PS connections is applied by the UE for a respective PS data service, the method comprising:
obtaining information related to the respective PS data service; and
providing priority information for each of a plurality of the PS connections to a resource manager arranged in the communication network, the priority information being based on the information related to the respective PS data service for the plurality of the PS connections, wherein the priority information is a priority list of one or more PS communications to get currently allocated communication resources reallocated there from, the priority being based on the categorizing of the PS communications,
wherein the resource manager is enabled to perform congestion control of the PS connections based on the priority information.

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein there are three predetermined service categories: a first service category comprising Streamed Video, Streamed Audio, Voice over Internet Protocol, and Gaming Services; a second service category comprising Web browsing, Application traffic, and E-mail; and a third service category comprising Peer to Peer communication, File uploading, File downloading and Software updating, and wherein the priority list comprises: first, the PS connections categorized in the first service category; second, the PS communications categorized in the second category; and third, the PS communications categorized in the third category.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein within each of the service categories, the PS communications on the priority list are sorted according to the determined amount of currently communicated PS data.

14. The method of claim 12 , wherein the resource manager when performing congestion control reallocates communication resources from PS communications according to the priority list, by performing one or more of: reducing a priority in a High Speed (HS) scheduler arranged in the communication network node; reducing a rate in an Enhanced Uplink (EUL) scheduler; down switching a rate in R99 data; and down switching to a Forward Access Channel (FACH).

15. An arrangement for a communication network node for a communication network for enabling congestion control of Packet Switched (PS) data, in the communication network, the PS data being communicated between a core network of the communication network and one or more User Equipments (UEs) via the communication network node, where each UE is associated to the core network by one or more PS connections, and each of the PS connections is applied by the UE for a respective PS data service, the arrangement comprising:
a communication circuit adapted to capture the PS data be

Assignees

• Kim Seungtai
• Lundkvist Karl-Johan
• Skarve Martin
• ERICSSON TELEFON AB L M (publ)

Inventors

• Kim Seungtai
• Lundkvist Karl-Johan
• Skarve Martin

Classifications

• H04W72/52

  based on load · CPC title

• H04W72/0486

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H04W28/0247 Primary

  based on conditions of the access network or the infrastructure network (central resource management H04W28/16) · CPC title

• H04W28/0289 Primary

  Congestion control (load shedding arrangements in network planning H04W16/08; performing reselection for handling the traffic H04W36/22; wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12) · CPC title