Dynamic power line bandwidth limit

• US 20040264501A1
• Filed: 08/13/2003
• Published: 12/30/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 06/29/2003
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Main Net Communications Limited
• Original Assignee: Main Net Communications Limited
• Inventors: Hadas, David, Zalitzky, Yeshayahu
• Application Number:
  US10/641,241
• Publication Number:
  US 20040264501A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/468
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5408 using protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 2203/5445 Local network
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 3/544 Setting up communications; Call and signalling arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/08 Monitoring or testing based on specific metrics, e.g. QoS, energy consumption or environmental parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/11 Identifying congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/13 in a LAN segment, e.g. ring or bus
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/29 using a combination of thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/762 triggered by the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/808 User-type aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/822 Collecting or measuring resource availability data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/824 Applicable to portable or mobile terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/829 Topology based

Abstract

A method of dynamically controlling a maximal bandwidth limit of one or more clients in a network connecting the clients to a remote point through a plurality of nodes. The method includes monitoring one or more parameters of the traffic through a first node of the network, determining whether the value of the one or more monitored parameters fulfills a predetermined condition, changing the maximal bandwidth limit of one or more clients of the network, responsive to a determination that the value of the one or more parameters fulfills the condition and imposing the maximal bandwidth on the one or more clients by a second node of the network different from the first node.

Claims

1. A method of dynamically controlling a maximal bandwidth limit of one or more clients in a network connecting the clients to a remote point through a plurality of nodes, comprising:

monitoring one or more parameters of the traffic through a first node of the network;

determining whether the value of the one or more monitored parameters fulfills a predetermined condition;

changing the maximal bandwidth limit of one or more clients of the network, responsive to a determination that the value of the one or more parameters fulfills the condition; and

imposing the maximal bandwidth on the one or more clients by a second node of the network different from the first node.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein monitoring the one or more parameters comprises monitoring a link condition of at least one link connecting the first node of the network to a neighboring node.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein monitoring the link condition comprises monitoring a noise or attenuation level of the link.

4. A method according to claim 2, wherein monitoring the link condition comprises monitoring whether the link is operable.

5. A method according to claim 1, wherein monitoring the one or more parameters comprises monitoring a load on the first node of the network.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein monitoring the load on the first node comprises determining the amount of time in which the node is not busy.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein monitoring the load on the first node comprises determining the amount of data the node needs to transmit.

8. A method according to claim 5, wherein monitoring the load on the first node comprises determining the available bandwidth of the node.

9. A method according to claim 5, wherein changing the maximal bandwidth limit of one or more clients, responsive to the determination comprises reducing the maximal bandwidth limit of one or more clients responsive to the load on the first node being greater than an upper threshold.

10. A method according to claim 9, wherein the upper threshold is lower than a congestion level of the first node.

11. A method according to claim 9, wherein reducing the maximal bandwidth limit of one or more clients comprises reducing for fewer than all the clients of the network.

12. A method according to claim 9, wherein reducing the maximal bandwidth limit of one or more clients comprises reducing for a plurality of clients.

13. A method according to claim 12, wherein reducing the maximal bandwidth limit of the plurality of clients comprises reducing for all the clients whose limit is reduced, by a same step size.

14. A method according to claim 12, wherein reducing the maximal bandwidth limit of the plurality of clients comprises reducing for all the clients whose limit is reduced, to a same percentage of respective base maximal bandwidth limits.

15. A method according to claim 12, wherein reducing the maximal bandwidth limit of the plurality of clients comprises reducing for different clients by different step sizes.

16. A method according to claim 15, wherein reducing by different step sizes comprises reducing for each client by a step size which is a function of a respective base maximal bandwidth limit of the client.

17. A method according to claim 9, wherein reducing the maximal bandwidth limit of one or more clients comprises reducing for clients in the vicinity of a node having a load above the upper threshold.

18. A method according to claim 9, wherein reducing the maximal bandwidth limit of one or more clients comprises reducing for clients serviced by the node having a load above the upper threshold or by any direct neighbor of the node having a load above the upper threshold.

19. A method according to claim 1, wherein transmission of signals by the first node prevents at least one node other than a node receiving the signals from transmitting or receiving signals concurrently.

20. A method according to claim 1, wherein imposing the maximal bandwidth on the one or more clients comprises imposing on one or more clients that did not transmit signals that affected the throughput of the first node.

21. A method according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring of the one or more parameters is performed by the one or more first nodes, which determine when the predetermined condition is fulfilled.

22. A method according to claim 21, wherein the one or more first nodes transmit their determination to the second node.

23. A method according to claim 22, wherein the message from the first node is transmitted to the second node over the network.

24. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first node comprises a repeater.

25. A method according to claim 24, wherein the repeater does not examine the original source and original destination fields of the messages it repeats.

26. A method according to claim 1, wherein the second node comprises an entrance unit of the network.

27. A method according to claim 1, wherein the network comprises a cell based network.

28. A method according to claim 27, wherein the network comprises a wireless LAN network.

29. A method according to claim 1, wherein the network comprises a power line network.

30. A method according to claim 1, wherein the network comprises an access network.

31. A method according to claim 1, wherein changing the maximal bandwidth of one or more clients comprises changing both the uplink and downlink limits for the client.

32. A method according to claim 31, wherein changing both the uplink and downlink limits for the client comprises changing the uplink and downlink according to different rules.

33. A method according to claim 1, wherein changing the maximal bandwidth of one or more clients comprises changing only one of the uplink and downlink limits of the client.

34. A method according to claim 1, wherein imposing the maximal bandwidth on the one or more clients comprises discarding data of the one or more clients exceeding their respective maximal bandwidth limit.

35. A method according to claim 1, wherein imposing the maximal bandwidth on the one or more clients comprises delaying the data of the one or more clients so that the data is forwarded from the second node at a rate lower than or equal to the respective maximal bandwidth limit of the client.

36. A method according to claim 1, wherein the first node cannot transmit while receiving signals from a neighboring node.

37. A communication unit, comprising:

an input interface adapted to receive data for transmission;

an output interface adapted to forward data received by the input interface;

a controller adapted to determine a dynamic bandwidth limit for at least one client responsive to information on a parameter of the traffic through a different unit of a network in which the communication unit operates; and

a data processor adapted to impose the dynamic bandwidth limit on the data received by the input interface.

38. A unit according to claim 37, wherein the information on the parameter is received from a different unit of the network, through the input interface.

39. A unit according to claim 37, wherein the information on the parameter comprises information on the load of the different unit.

40. A unit according to claim 37, wherein the controller is adapted to reduce the dynamic bandwidth limit of at least one client responsive to a determination that at least one unit of the network has a load above a predetermined threshold.

41. A unit according to claim 40, wherein the predetermined threshold is below a congestion level of the node.