Apparatus, systems, and methods for providing offloading to an alternate network

• US 10,165,487 B2
• Filed: 05/02/2014
• Issued: 12/25/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 08/07/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Chowdhury, Kuntal
• Primary Examiner(s): Sweet, Lonnie
• Assistant Examiner(s): Jones, Prenell
• Application Number:
  US14/268,286
• Publication Number:
  US 20140241153A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,698 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/04 Interdomain routing, e.g. hierarchical routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/306 Route determination based on the nature of the carried application
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/22 for handling the traffic

Abstract

This disclosure relates to a system and method for offloading selected data to an alternate communication network. The offloading provides another route for selected packet traffic that can relieve the burden on a mobile operator'"'"'s network, such as the backhaul and core networks. As the proliferation of data rich content and increasingly more capable mobile devices has continued, the amount of data communicated over mobile operator'"'"'s networks has exponentially increased. Upgrading the existing network that was designed for voice calls is not desirable or practical for many mobile operators. This disclosure provides systems and methods for offloading data to the Internet or another IP network to relieve congestion on the mobile operator'"'"'s network.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method to provide offloading from a mobile backhaul network to an offload network, the computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, at a radio base station, a packet from a mobile device over a radio network;

determining, at the radio base station and by operation of one or more computer processors, and based on at least one of a radio bearer type associated with the packet and a radio bearer identification associated with the packet, whether the packet is eligible to be sent to a gateway via the offload network instead of the mobile backhaul network, wherein the mobile backhaul network is operatively connected to the radio base station and the gateway; and

upon a determination that the packet is eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network, providing, by the radio base station, the packet to a router that is configured to add routing information to the packet to cause the packet to be routed over the offload network to the gateway, thereby bypassing the mobile backhaul network, whereupon the gateway is configured to strip routing information associated with the packet received from the radio base station via the offload network and further configured to encapsulate a payload of the packet to cause the packet to be routed to the radio network;

wherein the radio base station is configured to, upon a determination that the packet is not eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network, cause the packet to be routed over the mobile backhaul network to the gateway.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the packet is eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network includes determining the radio bearer identification associated with the packet.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining whether the packet is eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network includes determining the radio bearer type associated with the packet.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, wherein when the radio bearer type is a default bearer type, determining that the packet is not eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the router includes a label edge router (LER) and the offload network includes a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) virtual link between the gateway and the radio base station.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 5, further comprising performing label stacking to send the packet to the gateway using MPLS.

7. A radio access network to provide offloading from a mobile backhaul network to an offload network, the radio access network comprising:

a radio base station configured to;

(i) receive a packet from a mobile device over a radio network and (ii) determine, by operation of one or more computer processors and based on at least one of a radio bearer type associated with the packet and a radio bearer identification associated with the packet, whether the packet is eligible to be sent to a gateway via the offload network instead of the mobile backhaul network, wherein the mobile backhaul network is operatively connected to the radio base station and the gateway; and

a router configured to add routing information to the packet to cause the packet to be routed over the offload network to the gateway, thereby bypassing the mobile backhaul network, whereupon the gateway is configured to;

(i) strip routing information associated with the packet received from the radio base station via the offload network and (ii) encapsulate a payload of the packet to cause the packet to be routed to the radio network;

wherein the radio base station is configured to, upon a determination that the packet is not eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network, cause the packet to be routed over the mobile backhaul network to the gateway.

8. The radio access network of claim 7, wherein the radio base station is configured to determine whether the packet is eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network based on the radio bearer identification associated with the packet.

9. The radio access network of claim 7, wherein the radio base station is configured to determine whether the packet is eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network based on the radio bearer type associated with the packet.

10. The radio access network of claim 9, wherein the radio base station is configured to determine that the packet is not eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network when the radio bearer type is a default bearer type.

11. The radio access network of claim 7, wherein the router includes a label edge router (LER) and the offload network includes a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) virtual link between the gateway and the radio base station.

12. The radio access network of claim 11, wherein the router is further configured to perform label stacking to send the packet to the gateway using MPLS.

13. A radio base station to provide offloading from a mobile backhaul network to an offload network, the radio base station comprising:

an interface configured to receive a packet from a mobile device over a radio network; and

one or more computer processors configured to;

(i) determine, based on at least one of a radio bearer type associated with the packet and a radio bearer identification associated with the packet, whether the packet is eligible to be sent to a gateway via the offload network instead of the mobile backhaul network, wherein the mobile backhaul network is operatively connected to the radio base station and the gateway; and

(ii) upon a determination that the packet is eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network, initiate provision of the packet to a router that is configured to add routing information to the packet to cause the packet to be routed over the offload network to the gateway, thereby bypassing the mobile backhaul network;

whereupon the gateway is configured to;

(i) strip routing information associated with the packet received from the radio base station via the offload network; and

(ii) encapsulate a payload of the packet to cause the packet to be routed to the radio network;

wherein the radio base station is configured to, upon a determination that the packet is not eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network, cause the packet to be routed over the mobile backhaul network to the gateway.

14. The radio base station of claim 13, wherein the base station is configured to determine whether the packet is eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network based on the radio bearer identification associated with the packet.

15. The radio base station of claim 13, wherein the base station is configured to determine whether the packet is eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network based on the radio bearer type associated with the packet.

16. The radio base station of claim 15, wherein when the radio bearer type is a default bearer type, the radio base station is configured to determine that the packet is not eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network.

17. The radio base station of claim 16, wherein the router includes a label edge router (LER) and the offload network includes a multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) virtual link between the gateway and the radio base station.

18. The radio base station of claim 17, wherein the base station is configured to determine whether the packet is eligible to be sent to the gateway via the offload network based further on the radio bearer identification associated with the packet.

19. The radio base station of claim 18, wherein the one or more computer processors are further configured to perform label stacking to send the packet to the gateway using MPLS, wherein the default bearer type includes, in respective instances:

(i) an Iu type and (ii) an S1 type.

20. The radio base station of claim 19, wherein the packet comprises an uplink packet.