System, method, and apparatus for preventing data packet overflow at plurality of nodes in wireless packet data services network

• US 20030065736A1
• Filed: 11/07/2002
• Published: 04/03/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 07/25/2001
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Jogen K. Pathak, Vyankatesh Shanbhag
• Original Assignee: Jogen K. Pathak, Vyankatesh Shanbhag
• Inventors: Shanbhag, Vyankatesh, Pathak, Jogen K.
• Application Number:
  US10/289,873
• Publication Number:
  US 20030065736A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/19 at layers above the network layer network arrangements for networked applications for scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/30 in combination with information about buffer occupancy at either end or at transit nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0278 using buffer status reports dynamic wireless traffic scheduling definition H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0289 Congestion control load shedding arrangements in network planning H04W16/08; performing reselection for handling the traffic H04W36/22; wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/14 using intermediate storage
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]

Abstract

A technique as well as associated systems, methods, and apparatuses for preventing an overflow of data packets at a plurality of nodes in a wireless data network is presented herein. The amount of available allocated memory at the plurality of nodes for a wireless client is monitored by a wireless content switch. The wireless content switch also intercepts a signal transmitted from the wireless client which indicates the amount of available memory at the wireless client. The wireless content switch modifies the signal such that the indicated amount of memory does not exceed the amount of memory allocated at the plurality of nodes for the wireless client.

Claims

1. A method for controlling data transmission from a server to a wireless client, said method comprising:

estimating an amount of available memory allocated for the wireless client at a plurality of nodes;

receiving a message from the wireless client which includes a field that indicates the amount of available memory at the wireless client; and

replacing the field with the amount of available memory allocated for the wireless client at the plurality of nodes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein estimating the amount of available memory allocated for the wireless client at the plurality of nodes further comprises:

estimating an amount of memory at a first node allocated for the wireless client which is used; and

subtracting the estimated amount of memory allocated at the first node for the wireless client which is used from an amount of memory allocated at the node for the wireless client.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein subtracting further comprises:

receiving a message from the first node, wherein the message includes a downlink buffer size field; and

subtracting the estimated amount of memory allocated at the first node for the wireless client which is used from the downlink buffer size.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein receiving a message from the first node comprises:

receiving a link layer control message from the first node.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein estimating an amount of memory at the first node allocated for the wireless client which is used, further comprises:

measuring amount of data which is received from the first node for the wireless client;

receiving a signal which indicates amount of data which is received at the first node for the wireless client; and

subtracting the amount of data which is received from the first node from the amount of data which is received at the first node.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein estimating an estimated amount of memory at the plurality of nodes allocated for the wireless client which is used, further comprises:

estimating the amount of memory at a SGSN allocated for the wireless client which is used; and

estimating the amount of memory at a base station controller allocated for the wireless client which is used.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving the message from the wireless client further comprises:

receiving an acknowledgment from the wireless client.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

transmitting an acknowledgment to the content server, wherein the acknowledgment includes the amount of available memory for the wireless client at the plurality of nodes.

9. A system for controlling transmission between a server and a wireless client, said system comprising:

a processor for estimating an amount of available memory allocated for the wireless client at a plurality of nodes;

a first port for receiving a message from the wireless client, said message including a field indicating the available memory at the wireless client; and

a second port for transmitting the message to the content server, wherein the field indicating the available memory at the wireless client includes an indicator which indicates the estimated amount of available memory allocated for the wireless client at the plurality of nodes.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the system comprises:

a third port for receiving data packets from a first node to the wireless client.

11. The system of claim 9, further comprising:

a first memory for counting the number of data packets transmitted to the first node for a particular client; and

a second memory for counting the data packets transmitted from the first node to the particular wireless client.

12. The system of claim 11, further comprising:

a third memory for measuring amount of data that is transmitted to the second node for the particular wireless client; and

a fourth memory for measuring amount of data that is received at the particular wireless client.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the system receives a message from the first node to the wireless client, said message including a downlink buffer size field, and wherein the system further comprises:

a fifth memory for storing the downlink buffer size field.

14. The system of claim 9, wherein the plurality of nodes comprise an SGSN and a base station controller.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the message further comprises:

an acknowledgment from the wireless client, acknowledging the receipt of data packets.

16. An apparatus for controlling transmission of data from a content server to a wireless client, said apparatus comprising a computer readable medium for storing a plurality of executable instructions, said plurality of instructions comprising:

estimating an amount of available memory allocated for the wireless client at a plurality of nodes;

replacing a field in a message from the wireless client which that indicates the amount of available memory at the wireless client with the amount of available memory allocated for the wireless client at the plurality of nodes; and

transmitting the message to the content server.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the instructions comprising estimating the amount of available memory allocated for the wireless client at the plurality of nodes further comprise:

estimating an amount of memory at each of the plurality of nodes allocated for the wireless client which is used; and

subtracting the estimated amount of memory allocated at each of the plurality of nodes for the wireless client which is used from an amount of memory allocated at each of the plurality of nodes for the wireless client.

18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the instructions for subtracting further comprise:

subtracting the estimated amount of memory allocated at a first node for the wireless client which is used from a downlink buffer size field contained in a link layer control message transmitted from the first node to the wireless client.

19. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the instructions for estimating an amount of memory at the plurality of nodes allocated for the wireless client which is used, further comprises:

measuring amount of data that is received from the first node for the wireless client;

measuring amount of data which is received at the first node; and

subtracting the amount of data which is received from the first node from the data packets which are received at the first node.

20. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein the message from the wireless client further comprises an acknowledgment acknowledging receipt of data packets from the wireless client.