Techniques for radio link resource management in wireless networks carrying packet traffic

• US 20060234716A1
• Filed: 04/12/2006
• Published: 10/19/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 04/13/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy (Nokia Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nokia Corporation
• Inventors: Rinne, Mikko J., Vesterinen, Seppo
• Granted Patent: US 7,630,338 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/450
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/20 Negotiating bandwidth
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/21 in the uplink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/543 based on requested quality, e.g. QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 74/00 Wireless channel access

Abstract

A method includes receiving on an uplink communication path one or more packets from a user equipment, and determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment. The determination is based at least in part on an information content of the one or more packets. The determined radio link resources are allocated. Another method is disclosed including receiving at a network access element on a first uplink communication path a bandwidth request from a user equipment. The bandwidth request is for a second uplink communication path used for packet traffic from the user equipment to the network access element. Radio link resources to be allocated on the second uplink communication path for the user equipment are determined, the determination is based at least in part on the bandwidth request. The determined radio link resources are allocated on the second uplink communication path.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving on an uplink communication path at least one packet from a user equipment;

responsive to the reception, determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment, the determination based at least in part on an information content of the at least one packet; and

allocating the determined radio link resources on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the radio link resources comprise bandwidth;

determining further comprises determining bandwidth to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment; and

allocating further comprises allocating the determined bandwidth on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein:

allocating further comprises scheduling transmission opportunities for the user equipment on the uplink communication path; and

the method further comprises communicating to the user equipment on a downlink communication path an indication of the scheduled transmission opportunities for the user equipment.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the method further comprises, prior to receiving, communicating to the user equipment on the downlink communication path an indication of bandwidth availability for at least the user equipment; and

communicating to the user equipment on the downlink communication path an indication of the scheduled transmission opportunities for the user equipment further comprises communicating an indication of an increase or no increase, relative to the communicated bandwidth availability, of the scheduled transmission opportunities for the user equipment.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein communicating an indication of bandwidth availability for at least the user equipment further comprises communicating an indication of bandwidth availability for a cell.

6. The method of claim 3, wherein scheduling further comprises adjusting the scheduled transmission opportunities based at least on activity of the user equipment on the uplink communication path, the activity determined at least in part by packet transmissions per a time period on the uplink communication path.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein scheduling further comprises adjusting the scheduled transmission opportunities based at least on the activity of the user equipment on the uplink communication path and on bandwidth determined to be needed for the activity of the user equipment on the uplink communication path.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the information content comprises a code; and

determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment further comprises;

determining a quality of service corresponding to the code; and

based on the quality of service, determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one packet is formatted in accordance with an internet protocol (IP) and the information content comprises a differentiated services code point (DSCP) code.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the information content comprises information indicating by which one of a plurality of predetermined transport protocols the at least one packet is formatted; and

determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment further comprises determining based at least on the one predetermined transport protocol the radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of predetermined transport protocols comprise at least two of real-time transport protocol (RTP), trivial file transfer protocol (TFTP), file transport protocol (FTP), or hypertext transport protocol (HTTP).

12. The method of claim 10, wherein determining based at least on the one predetermined transport protocol the radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment further comprises:

determining a traffic profile corresponding to the one predetermined transport protocol; and

determining from the traffic profile the radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises:

determining a reduction of activity in a user service flow for the user equipment, the user service flow comprising the at least one packet and at least one additional packet;

changing the determined radio link resources to reduced radio link resources; and

communicating to the user equipment on a downlink communication path an indication of the reduced radio link resources allocated for the user equipment.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein determining radio link resources to be allocated is performed each time a packet is received from the user equipment and wherein allocating the determined radio link resources is performed when needed in response to a determination of radio link resources that modifies a current allocation of radio link resources.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the at least one packet is part of a user service flow comprising the at least one packet, wherein the at least one packet is formatted in accordance with an internet protocol (IP), and wherein determining radio link resources to be allocated further comprises:

associating a tuple determined using the at least one packet with the user service flow; and

marking the user service flow as active in response to the reception of the at least one packet.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein there is a plurality of user service flows, each user service flow comprising at least one packet, and wherein determining radio link resources and allocating use tuples associated with the user service flows in order to distinguish between the user service flows.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein each tuple comprises a source IP address, a destination IP Address, a transport protocol, a source port, and a destination port.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein:

the method further comprises;

receiving a bandwidth request from the user equipment, the bandwidth request based at least in part on an amount of information in a buffer of the user equipment, the information to be communicated from the user equipment on the uplink communication path;

responsive to the reception of the bandwidth request, determining based at least in part on the bandwidth request initial radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment;

allocating the determined initial radio link resources; and

communicating an indication of the initial radio link resources to the user equipment; and

determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment further comprises adjusting the initial radio link resources based at least in part on the information content of the at least one packet.

19. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting on a downlink communication path from a network access element to the user equipment an indication of radio link resources allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment;

receiving at the user equipment from the downlink communication path the indication of radio link resources allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment; and

communicating so as to meet the indicated radio link resources at least one additional packet on the uplink communication path.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein communicating so as to meet the indicated radio link resources further comprises performing at least one of delaying sending packets, sending infrequent packets, or not starting an application requiring packets to be sent.

21. An apparatus comprising circuitry configured to receive on an uplink communication path at least one packet from a user equipment, the circuitry configured, responsive to the reception, to determine radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment, the determination based at least in part on an information content of the at least one packet;

and the circuitry configured to allocate the determined radio link resources on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein:

the radio link resources comprise bandwidth;

the circuitry is further configured when determining to determine bandwidth to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment; and

the circuitry is further configured when allocating to allocate the determined bandwidth on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

23. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein:

the circuitry is further configured when allocating to schedule transmission opportunities for the user equipment on the uplink communication path; and

the circuitry is further configured to communicate to the user equipment on a downlink communication path an indication of the scheduled transmission opportunities for the user equipment.

24. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein:

the information content comprises a code; and

the circuitry is further configured when determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment to determine a quality of service corresponding to the code, and, based on the quality of service, to determine radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

25. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein:

the information content comprises information indicating by which one of a plurality of predetermined transport protocols the at least one packet is formatted; and

the circuitry is further configured when determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment to determine based at least on the one predetermined transport protocol the radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

26. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine a reduction of activity in a user service flow for the user equipment, the user service flow comprising the at least one packet and at least one additional packet, to change the determined radio link resources to reduced radio link resources, and to communicate to the user equipment on a downlink communication path an indication of the reduced radio link resources allocated for the user equipment.

27. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the circuitry is further configured to determine radio link resources to be allocated each time a packet is received from the user equipment and the circuitry is further configured to allocate the determined radio link resources when needed in response to a determination of radio link resources that modifies a current allocation of radio link resources.

28. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the circuitry is further configures to receive a bandwidth request from the user equipment, the bandwidth request based at least in part on an amount of information in a buffer of the user equipment, the information to be communicated from the user equipment on the uplink communication path, the circuitry is further configured, responsive to the reception of the bandwidth request, to determine based at least in part on the bandwidth request initial radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment, the circuitry is also configured to allocate the determined initial radio link resources and to communicate an indication of the initial radio link resources to the user equipment, and the circuitry is further configured, when determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment, to adjust the initial radio link resources based at least in part on the information content of the at least one packet.

29. The apparatus of claim 21, further comprising the user equipment, wherein the user equipment does not support radio bearer related control.

30. A signal bearing medium tangibly embodying a program of machine-readable instructions executable by at least one processor to perform operations comprising:

receiving on an uplink communication path at least one packet from a user equipment;

responsive to the reception, determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment, the determination based at least in part on an information content of the at least one packet; and

allocating the determined radio link resources on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

31. The signal bearing medium of claim 30, wherein:

the information content comprises a code; and

determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment further comprises;

determining a quality of service corresponding to the code; and

based on the quality of service, determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

32. The signal bearing medium of claim 30, wherein:

the information content comprises information indicating by which one of a plurality of predetermined transport protocols the at least one packet is formatted; and

determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment further comprises determining based at least on the one predetermined transport protocol the radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

33. The signal bearing medium of claim 30, wherein:

the operations further comprise;

receiving a bandwidth request from the user equipment, the bandwidth request based at least in part on an amount of information in a buffer of the user equipment, the information to be communicated from the user equipment on the uplink communication path;

responsive to the reception of the bandwidth request, determining based at least in part on the bandwidth request initial radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment;

allocating the determined initial radio link resources; and

communicating an indication of the initial radio link resources to the user equipment; and

determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment further comprises adjusting the initial radio link resources based at least in part on the information content of the at least one packet.

34. An apparatus comprising:

means for receiving on an uplink communication path at least one packet from a user equipment;

means, responsive to the reception, for determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment, the determination based at least in part on an information content of the at least one packet; and

means for allocating the determined radio link resources on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

35. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein:

the information content comprises a code; and

the means for determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment further comprises;

means for determining a quality of service corresponding to the code; and

means responsive to the quality of service for determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

36. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein:

the information content comprises information indicating by which one of a plurality of predetermined transport protocols the at least one packet is formatted; and

the means for determining radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment further comprises means for determining based at least on the one predetermined transport protocol the radio link resources to be allocated on the uplink communication path for the user equipment.

37. The apparatus of claim 34, wherein the uplink communication path comprises a shared radio link traffic channel, the at least one packet is received from the shared radio link traffic channel, and the allocated determined radio link resources are allocated for the shared radio link traffic channel.

38. A method comprising:

receiving at a network access element on a first uplink communication path a bandwidth request from a user equipment, the bandwidth request for a second uplink communication path used for packet traffic from the user equipment to the network access element;

responsive to the reception, determining radio link resources to be allocated on the second uplink communication path for the user equipment, the determination based at least in part on the bandwidth request; and

allocating the determined radio link resources on the second uplink communication path for the user equipment.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein communication on the first uplink communication path uses radio resource control (RRC) protocol.

40. The method of claim 38, wherein the bandwidth request is based at least in part by an amount of information in a buffer of the user equipment, the information to be transmitted by the user equipment using the second uplink communication path.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the amount of information is based on a number of packets in the buffer.

42. The method of claim 40, wherein the amount of information is based on a number of packets placed in the buffer during a predetermined time period.

43. The method of claim 38, further comprising communicating a bandwidth report on a downlink communication path from the network access element to the user equipment.

44. The method of claim 43, wherein communication on the downlink communication path uses radio resource control (RRC) protocol.

45. The method of claim 38, further comprising:

receiving at the network access element a plurality of packets on the second uplink communication path;

determining an inactivity in reception of packets from the user equipment;

adjusting the radio link resources based at least in part on the inactivity; and

communicating an indication of the adjusted radio link resources to the user equipment.