Bandwidth regulation
First Claim
1. A system for regulating the rate at which subscribers can send and receive transmissions over an access network, the system comprising:
- a traffic controller; and
a token/leaky bucket having a capacity corresponding to a maximum number of tokens that can be stored in the token/leaky bucket;
wherein tokens escape from the token/leaky bucket at a sustained rate which is related to the quotient of a usage cap and a usage period, and wherein, in response to a data transmission request, the traffic controller determines whether there is sufficient capacity within the token/leaky bucket to process the request and, if so, allows the data to be transmitted over the access network at a rate of up to a peak transmission rate and deposits tokens into the token/leaky bucket to reflect the transmission.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A service provider enables a plurality of subscribers to gain access to a telecommunications network, such as the Internet. The service provider sets a bandwidth usage cap for the subscribers over a given usage period, such as a month. The usage cap is enforced by regulating the rate at which subscribers can send and receive data transmissions over an access network during the usage period. Those subscribers that send or receive data only occasionally will normally experience a transmission rate at or near the peak transmission rate offered by the service provider. However, those subscribers that attempt to send or receive excessive amounts of data will be throttled down to a lower sustained transmission rate, which will prevent them from exceeding the usage cap set by the service provider.
66 Citations
69 Claims
-
1. A system for regulating the rate at which subscribers can send and receive transmissions over an access network, the system comprising:
-
a traffic controller; and
a token/leaky bucket having a capacity corresponding to a maximum number of tokens that can be stored in the token/leaky bucket;
wherein tokens escape from the token/leaky bucket at a sustained rate which is related to the quotient of a usage cap and a usage period, and wherein, in response to a data transmission request, the traffic controller determines whether there is sufficient capacity within the token/leaky bucket to process the request and, if so, allows the data to be transmitted over the access network at a rate of up to a peak transmission rate and deposits tokens into the token/leaky bucket to reflect the transmission. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
-
-
7. A system for regulating the rate at which subscribers can send and receive transmissions over an access network, the system comprising:
-
a token generator that periodically generates a first number of tokens corresponding to a usage cap for the subscribers over a usage period;
a leaky bucket into which the token generator periodically deposits tokens, wherein the size of the leaky bucket corresponds to the usage cap; and
a token bucket into which the leaky bucket deposits tokens at a sustained rate, wherein the sustained rate is related to the quotient of the usage cap and the usage period, and wherein, if a sufficient number of tokens are present in the token bucket, data is allowed to be transmitted over the access network at a rate of up to a peak transmission rate and tokens are removed from the token bucket to reflect the transmission. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. A system for regulating the rate at which subscribers can send and receive transmissions over an access network, the system comprising:
-
a traffic control element;
a leaky bucket configured to hold tokens, which leak out of the leaky bucket at a sustained rate which is related to the quotient of a usage cap and a usage period, and a token bucket configured to hold tokens, wherein, in response to a data transmission request, the traffic control element checks the number of tokens within the token bucket and, if a selected condition is satisfied, allows the data to be transmitted over the access network at a rate of up to a peak transmission rate and adjusts the number of tokens in the token bucket to reflect the transmission. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19)
-
-
20. An access network comprising:
-
service provider equipment coupled to a telecommunications network; and
a plurality of communication links coupled to the service provider equipment, wherein a plurality of subscribers can gain access to the telecommunications network through the access network, and wherein the service provider equipment regulates the rate at which the subscribers can send or receive data over the access network such that the subscribers do not exceed a selected usage cap over a given usage period. - View Dependent Claims (21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30)
-
-
31. An access network comprising:
-
service provider equipment coupled to a telecommunications network and comprising a burst counter having a maximum burst allocation value, wherein the value of the burst counter decreases at a rate greater than or equal to a sustained rate that is based at least in part on the quotient of a selected usage cap and a corresponding usage period; and
a plurality of communication links coupled to the service provider equipment, wherein the communication links enable a plurality of subscribers to gain access to the telecommunications network through the access network, and wherein, when a transmission request is received, the service provider equipment determines whether the sum of the burst counter value and the size of the transmission request is less than the maximum burst allocation value and, if so, processes the transmission request and increases the value of the burst counter to reflect the transmission. - View Dependent Claims (32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38)
-
-
39. A method for regulating the bandwidth usage of subscribers within a telecommunications system, the method comprising:
-
referencing a selected usage cap for a given usage period;
providing a burst counter having a maximum burst allocation value;
decreasing the value of the burst counter at a rate greater than or equal to a sustained rate, wherein the sustained rate is based at least in part on the quotient of the usage cap and the usage period; and
when a transmission request is received, determining whether the sum of the burst counter value and the size of the transmission request is less than the maximum burst allocation value and, if so, processing the transmission request and increasing the value of the burst counter to reflect the transmission. - View Dependent Claims (40, 41, 42, 43, 44)
-
-
45. A method for regulating the bandwidth usage of subscribers within a telecommunications system, the method comprising:
-
providing a token/leaky bucket having a capacity corresponding to a maximum number of tokens that can be stored in the token/leaky bucket;
withdrawing tokens from the token/leaky bucket at a sustained rate which is related to the quotient of a usage cap and a usage period, and when a transmission request is received, determining whether there is sufficient capacity within the token/leaky bucket to process the request and, if so, transmitting the data and depositing tokens into the token/leaky bucket to reflect the transmission. - View Dependent Claims (46, 47, 48, 49, 50)
-
-
51. A method for regulating the bandwidth usage of subscribers within a telecommunications system, the method comprising:
-
generating a first number of tokens corresponding to a selected usage cap for the subscribers over a usage period;
depositing tokens into a leaky bucket, wherein the size of the leaky bucket corresponds to the usage cap; and
transferring tokens from the leaky bucket to a token bucket at a sustained rate, which is related to the quotient of the selected usage cap and the usage period, such that the first number of tokens is deposited into the token bucket during the usage period, and when a transmission request is received, determining whether a sufficient number of tokens are present in the token bucket to process the request and, if so, transmitting the data and removing tokens from the token bucket to reflect the transmission. - View Dependent Claims (52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58)
-
-
59. A method for regulating the bandwidth usage of subscribers within a telecommunications system, the method comprising:
-
providing a leaky bucket configured to hold tokens;
providing a token bucket configured to hold tokens;
allowing tokens to leak from the leaky bucket at a sustained rate which is related to the quotient of a usage cap and a usage period, and when a transmission request is received, evaluating the number of tokens within the token bucket and, if a selected condition is satisfied, transmitting the data and adjusting the number of tokens within the token bucket to reflect the transmission. - View Dependent Claims (60, 61, 62, 63)
-
-
64. A machine readable medium comprising machine readable instructions for causing a computer to perform a method comprising:
-
referencing a selected usage cap for a given usage period;
providing a burst counter having a maximum burst allocation value;
decreasing the value of the burst counter at a rate greater than or equal to a sustained rate, wherein the sustained rate is based at least in part on the quotient of the usage cap and the usage period; and
when a transmission request is received, determining whether the sum of the burst counter value and the size of the transmission request is less than the maximum burst allocation value and, if so, processing the transmission request and increasing the value of the burst counter to reflect the transmission. - View Dependent Claims (65, 66, 67, 68, 69)
-
Specification