Method and apparatus for managing congestion in a data communication network

• US 20030103451A1
• Filed: 11/30/2001
• Published: 06/05/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google Technology Holdings LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Motorola, Inc. (Motorola Solutions, Inc.)
• Inventors: Ray, Dale E., Lutgen, Craig L.
• Granted Patent: US 7,301,897 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/229
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/286 Time to live
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/32 by discarding or delaying data units, e.g. packets or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/22 Parsing or analysis of headers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/02 Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]

Abstract

A method for managing data congestion and/or contention occurring at a point-of-traffic concentration. The method includes reading a time value associated with a data packet, the time value being representative of when the data packet entered the network. The time value is within the header of the data packet. The age of the data packet is determined from the time value. The data packet is discarded if the age of the data packet is above a threshold value. Alternatively, a first time value determined from a time reference is associated with, a data packet at a first node. The data packet is transmitted to a second node and the first time value is compared to a second time value to provide a result. The second time value is also determined from the time reference. The data packet is discarded if the result exceeds a threshold value.

Claims

1. A method of managing data congestion and contention at a point-of-traffic concentration within a network, comprising:

reading a first time value within the header of a data packet, wherein the first time value is representative of when data packet entered the network;

determining the age of the data packet relative to the first time value; and

discarding the data packet if the age of the data packet is above a threshold value.

2. A method as defined in claim 1, further comprising associating the first time value with the data packet at a first node, wherein the first time value is determined at least in part from a time reference;

and

transmitting the data packet to a second node,

wherein determining the age of the data packet comprises comparing the first time value to a second time value, the second time value determined at least in part from the time reference.

3. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein the first node is at least one of a source of the data packet, wherein the time the data packet entered the network is representative of when the time the data packet was created and a point of entry into the network.

4. A method as defined in claim 2, wherein the time reference has microsecond resolution.

5. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the first time value accounts for the time the data packet entered the network plus the threshold value.

6. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the threshold value is an allowable lifespan of the data packet.

7. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the data packet comprises a plurality of data fragments, wherein each data fragment includes the first time value.

8. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the data packet is an Internet Protocol datagram having a header that includes a datagram identification portion, wherein the first time value is included in the datagram identification portion and at least partially distinguishes the datagram from other datagrams.

9. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the threshold value is dependent upon at least one of the type of data transmitted within the data packet and the amount of data traffic within the network.

10. In a wireless communication system, the communication system providing communication service to a plurality of mobile stations, wherein a base station controller is operatively coupled to a backhaul for transmitting one or more data packets, the base station controller comprising:

one or more communication links operatively coupled with one or more base transceiver stations, the one or more communication links adapted to receive the one or more data packets;

a closed local area network;

a communication link operatively coupled with a timing element, the communication link adapted to receive a time reference from the timing element;

a time-stamping element operatively coupled to each of the one or more communication links, the time-stamping element adapted to associate a time value from the timing element with each data packet provided by the one or more communication links, wherein the time value is representative of when the data packet enters the closed local area network;

one or more data queues adapted to temporarily store the one or more data packets prior to transmission to the backhaul; and

a data management element adapted to read the time value associated with each data packet at the data queue, wherein the data management element is further adapted to discard data packets having a time value that exceeds an allowable threshold based at least in part on the time reference.

11. A base station controller as defined in claim 10, wherein a source of the one or more data packets is at least one of the one or more base transceiver stations and the one or more communication links operatively coupled with one or more base transceiver stations.

12. A base station controller as defined in claim 10, wherein the time references are provided in intervals of at least microsecond resolution.

13. A base station controller as defined in claim 10, wherein the data packets comprise at least one of real-time voice data, real-time video data, near real-time data, and non-real-time data.

14. A base station controller as defined in claim 10, wherein the base station controller operates in accordance to one of a code division multiple access (CDMA) based communication system and a time division multiple access (TDMA) based communication system.

15. In a wireless communication system, the communication system providing communication service to one or more mobile stations, wherein a base transceiver station is in communication with the one or more mobile stations, the base transceiver station comprising:

one or more radio transceivers for receiving signals from the one or more mobile stations, wherein the one or more radio transceivers provide data packets representing data from the one or more mobile stations;

a closed local area network;

a communication link operatively coupled with a timing element, the communication link adapted to receive a time reference from the timing element;

a time-stamping element operatively coupled to each of the one or more radio transceivers, the time-stamping element adapted to associate a time value from the timing element with each data packet provided by the one or more radio transceivers, wherein the time value is representative of when the data packet enters the closed local area network;

one or more data queues adapted to temporarily store the data packets prior to transmission to the base station controller; and

a data management element adapted to read the time value associated with each data packet at the data queue, wherein the data management element is further adapted to discard data packets having a time value that exceeds an allowable threshold based at least in part on the time reference.

16. A base transceiver station as defined in claim 15, wherein a source of the one or more data packets is the one or more radio transceivers.

17. A base transceiver station as defined in claim 15, wherein the data packets comprise at least one of real-time voice data, real-time video data, near real-time data, and non-real-time data.

18. A base transceiver station as defined in claim 15, wherein the base transceiver station operates in accordance to one of a code division multiple access (CDMA) based communication system and a time division multiple access (TDMA) based communication system.

19. A method of managing a plurality of fragments of a data packet at an intended destination of the data packet, the method comprising:

receiving a first one of the plurality of fragments;

reading a time value associated with the fragment, wherein the time value is common among all the fragments of the data packet;

determining the age of the data packet based on the time value of the data fragment; and

discarding the first fragment if not all of the plurality of fragments of the data packet have been received within a predefined time threshold, wherein the predefined time threshold is based at least in part on the age of the data packet.

20. A method as defined by claim 19, wherein the intended destination is a mobile station.