Probe mechanism for enhancing explicit congestion notification usability

• US 10,397,825 B2
• Filed: 01/22/2018
• Issued: 08/27/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 10/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Intellectual Property I LP (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cui, Zhi, Ramakrishnan, Kadangode K., Streijl, Robert C.
• Primary Examiner(s): Nawaz, Asad M
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ali, Syed
• Application Number:
  US15/877,100
• Publication Number:
  US 20180146396A1
• Time in Patent Office: 582 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/103 with adaptive polling, i.e. dynamically adapting the polling rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 Network monitoring probes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/10 Scheduling measurement reports ; Arrangements for measurement reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0284 detecting congestion or overload during communication monitoring arrangements H04L43/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/06 based on traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 Selecting a network or a communication service

Abstract

Explicit congestion notification (ECN) data that is utilized in a core portion of a cellular communication network has known issues associated with a first use scenario and an infrequent use scenario. A probe comprising probe data and a data structure for storing certain ECN data can be transmitted in order to mitigate these issues. Transmitting the probe in response to a communication session being established with a device of a network can mitigate the first use issue. Transmitting the probe in response to expiration of a probe timer in connection with a network traffic idle period can mitigate the infrequent use scenario.

Claims

1. A user equipment device, comprising:

a processor; and

a memory that stores executable instructions that, when executed by the processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising;

determining that the user equipment device is attached to a group of access point devices, wherein the group comprises a first access point device of a first network that operates according to a first communication protocol and a second access point device of a second network that operates according to a second communication protocol different than the first communication protocol;

determining that communication between the user equipment device and the first access point device is below a defined threshold indicative of an initial use situation, wherein the initial use situation is representative of data traffic between the user equipment device and the first access point device being determined, according to a defined function, to be insignificant since the user equipment device attached to the first access point device;

in response to the determining that the communication is below the defined threshold, transmitting an uplink probe comprising a first aggregate data structure to a network device of the first network via the first access point device;

in response to the transmitting the uplink probe, receiving, via the first access point device, a downlink probe from the network device, wherein the downlink probe comprises the first aggregate data structure populated with values representative of first congestion states between respective first node devices of a communication path from the network device and the user equipment device; and

selecting the first network for communication of data of an application executing on the user equipment device in response to a comparison of the first aggregate data structure to a second aggregate data structure that is representative of second congestion states of second node devices of the second network.

2. The user equipment device of claim 1, wherein the first communication protocol is a first member of, and the second communication protocol is a second member of, a protocol group comprising:

a long term evolution protocol, a third generation partnership project protocol, a second generation partnership project protocol, a wireless fidelity protocol, and a worldwide interoperability for microwave access protocol.

3. The user equipment device of claim 1, wherein the determining the communication is below the defined threshold comprises determining that a stale use situation exists, and wherein the stale use situation is representative of data traffic between the user equipment device and the first access point device being determined, according to the defined function, to be insignificant for a defined period of time.

4. The user equipment device of claim 1, wherein the first aggregate data structure comprises a value indicative of a congestion state for uplink traffic between the user equipment device and the first access point device.

5. The user equipment device of claim 1, wherein the first aggregate data structure comprises a value indicative of a congestion state for uplink traffic between the first access point device and the network device.

6. The user equipment device of claim 1, wherein the first aggregate data structure comprises a value indicative of a congestion state for downlink traffic between the network device and the first access point device.

7. The user equipment device of claim 1, wherein the first aggregate data structure comprises a value indicative of a congestion state for downlink traffic between the first access point device and the user equipment device.

8. The user equipment device of claim 1, wherein the operations further comprise, in response to the receiving the downlink probe, transmitting a portion of the first aggregate data structure to the network device.

9. The user equipment device of claim 8, wherein the portion comprises a first value indicative of a first congestion state of first downlink traffic between the network device and the first access point device and a second value indicative of a second congestion state of second downlink traffic between the first access point device and the user equipment device.

10. The user equipment device of claim 9, wherein the determining the second value comprises determining the second value based on data associated with the receiving the downlink probe, and wherein the data comprises at least one of first data representing time stamp information, second data representing packet loss information, third data representing packet retransmission information, or fourth data representing packet transmission performance information.

11. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium, comprising executable instruction that, when executed by a processor, facilitate performance of operations, comprising:

determining that a user equipment device is attached to a group of access point devices, wherein the group comprises a first access point device of a first network that operates according to a first communication protocol and a second access point device of a second network that operates according to a second communication protocol different than the first communication protocol;

determining that communication between the user equipment device and the first access point device is below a traffic threshold indicating that an initial use situation exists, wherein the initial use situation is representative of data traffic between the user equipment device and the first access point device being determined, according to a defined function, to be insignificant since the user equipment device attached to the first access point device;

in response to the determining that the communication is below the traffic threshold, transmitting an uplink probe comprising a first aggregate data structure to a network device of first network devices of the first network via the first access point device;

in response to the transmitting the uplink probe, receiving, via the first access point device, a downlink probe from the network device, wherein the downlink probe comprises the first aggregate data structure that stores values representative of first congestion states between respective first node devices of a communication path from the network device and the user equipment device; and

selecting the first network devices of the first network as candidates for communication of data of an application executing on the user equipment device in response to a comparison of the first aggregate data structure to a second aggregate data structure that is representative of second congestion states of second network devices of the second network.

12. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the determining the communication is below the traffic threshold comprises determining that a stale use situation exists, and wherein the stale use situation is representative of data traffic between user equipment device and the first access point device being determined to be statistically insignificant for a defined period of time.

13. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the first aggregate data structure comprises a first value indicative of a first congestion state for first uplink traffic between the user equipment device and the first access point device, a second value indicative of a second congestion state for second uplink traffic between the first access point device and the network device, a third value indicative of a third congestion state for first downlink traffic between the network device and the first access point device, and a fourth value indicative of a fourth congestion state for second downlink traffic between the first access point device and the user equipment device.

14. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the operations further comprise, in response to the receiving the downlink probe, transmitting a portion of the first aggregate data structure to the network device, and wherein the portion comprises the third value and the fourth value.

15. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 11, wherein the operations further comprise, in response to the receiving the downlink probe, transmitting a portion of the first aggregate data structure to the network device.

16. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the portion comprises a first value indicative of a first congestion state of first downlink traffic between the network device and the first access point device and a second value indicative of a second congestion state of second downlink traffic between the first access point device and the user equipment device.

17. The non-transitory machine-readable storage medium of claim 15, wherein the determining the second value comprises determining the second value based on data associated with the receiving the downlink probe, and wherein the data comprises at least one of first data representing time stamp information, second data representing packet loss information, third data representing packet retransmission information, or fourth data representing packet transmission performance information.

18. A method, comprising:

determining, by a device comprising a processor, that a user equipment device is attached to a group of access point devices, wherein the group comprises a first access point device of a first network that operates according to a first communication protocol and a second access point device of a second network that operates according to a second communication protocol different than the first communication protocol;

determining, by the device, that communication between the user equipment device and the first access point device is below a defined threshold indicative of an initial use situation, wherein the initial use situation is representative of data traffic between the user equipment device and the first access point device being determined, according to a defined function, to be insignificant since the user equipment device attached to the first access point device;

transmitting, by the device, an uplink probe to a network device of the first network via the first access point device in response to the determining that the communication is below the defined threshold, wherein the uplink probe comprises a first aggregate data structure;

receiving, by the device, a downlink probe from the network device, wherein the downlink probe comprises the first aggregate data structure populated with values representative of first congestion states between first nodes of a communication path from the network device and the user equipment device; and

in response to a comparison of the first aggregate data structure to a second aggregate data structure that is representative of second congestion states of second nodes of the second network, selecting, by the device, the first network to communicate data of an application executed by the user equipment device.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the determining the communication is below the defined threshold comprises determining that a stale use situation exists, and wherein the stale use situation is representative of data traffic between user equipment device and the first access point device being immaterial for a defined period of time.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the first aggregate data structure comprises a first value indicative of a first congestion state for first uplink traffic between the user equipment device and the first access point device, a second value indicative of a second congestion state for second uplink traffic between the first access point device and the network device, a third value indicative of a third congestion state for first downlink traffic between the network device and the first access point device, and a fourth value indicative of a fourth congestion state for second downlink traffic between the first access point device and the user equipment device.