Radio access network load and condition aware traffic shaping control

摘要

Fine grained RAN aware traffic prioritization in spectrum constrained modern wireless networks which support differentiated service plans uses cell load metrics supplied to a Fine grained Traffic flow Prioritization Engine (FTPE) with and without the assistance from a client side collection module, Peer Agent (PA), at the mobile. Knowledge about a mobile's subscription plan is derived from a Subscription Profiles Repository (SPR). Dynamic control on traffic prioritization is applied through operator policy control engines, Policy and Charging Rules Function (PCRF) module. The FTPE works with flexible flow aggregation rules to simplify and scale prioritizing, blocking, and deferring decisions. The FPTE may apply Deep Packet Inspection (DPI) techniques to identify application flows, and uses hierarchical queue disciplines to achieve the necessary flow control. The FPTE may also instead use an adjunct DPI to perform the flow identifications.

主权项

1. An apparatus for RAN aware traffic shaping control, comprising:
a processor configured to receive a plurality of control/signaling messages and to determine cell/sector location awareness therefrom; said processor further configured to measure a location crowding factor based upon said control/signaling messages, said location crowding factor comprising a count of a number of connected subscribers in a cell/sector; said processor further configured to monitor a delay sensitivity metric based upon said control/signaling messages and also based upon a plurality of traffic data packets; a database configured to store a plurality of base station profiles, said base station profiles distinguishing feature/capacity differences among different base stations in a hybrid RF network utilizing a plurality of cellular communication standards; a classification and shaping interface in communication with said database, and configured to receive said traffic data packets and to perform application/subscriber flow identification/classification; and a policy element interface in communication with said classification and shaping interface and configured to access standard policy elements; said processor further configured to receive cell load metrics comprising a signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio and a ratio of RF frame arrival rate to a predetermined possible RF frame rate under low load conditions; and said processor further configured to control traffic prioritization based on the location crowding factor, delay sensitivity metric, base station profiles, standard policy elements, and cell load metrics.