Predicting degradation of a communication channel below a threshold based on data transmission errors

• US 20070124625A1
• Filed: 11/30/2005
• Published: 05/31/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 11/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Microsoft Technology Licensing LLC (Microsoft Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Microsoft Corporation
• Inventors: Huitema, Christian, Wu, Deyun, Parikh, Vishesh, Hassan, Amer
• Granted Patent: US 8,381,047 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/704
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/076 by exceeding a count or rate limit, e.g. word- or bit count limit
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/079 Root cause analysis, i.e. error or fault diagnosis in a hardware test environment G06F11/22; in a software test environment G06F11/36
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0009 by adapting the channel coding H04L1/1812 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/002 Algorithms with memory of the previous states, e.g. Markovian models
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/20 using signal quality detector
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/50 Testing arrangements

Abstract

Applicants have discovered that error detection techniques, such as Forward Error Correction techniques, may be used to predict the degradation below a certain threshold of an ability to accurately convey information on a communication channel, for example, to predict a failure of the communication channel. In response, transmission and/or reception of information on the channel may be adapted, for example, to prevent the degradation below the threshold, e.g., prevent channel failure. Predicting the degradation may be based, at least in part, on data transmission error information corresponding to one or more blocks of information received on the channel and may include determining an error rate pattern over time. Based on these determinations, the degradation below the threshold may be predicted and the transmission and/or reception adapted. Adapting may include initiating use of a different error encoding scheme and/or using an additional communication channel to convey information.

Claims

1. A method of handling information received on a network device on a communication channel, comprising an act of:

(A) predicting a degradation below a particular threshold of an ability to accurately convey information on the communication channel based at least in part on data transmission error information corresponding to at least a first block of the information received on the communication channel.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising an act of:

(B) in response to predicting the degradation below a particular threshold, adapting transmission and/or reception of information on the communication channel.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the act (B) comprises adapting the transmission and/or reception to prevent the degradation below the threshold.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the information is received encoded according to a first encoding algorithm, and

wherein the act (B) comprises initiating a changing of the encoding of the information from the first encoding algorithm to a second encoding algorithm.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the act (B) comprises establishing an additional communication channel on which to receive and/or transmit information.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising an act of:

(B) determining the data transmission error information corresponding to the at least first block.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the act (B) comprises determining a number of information transmission errors within the at least first block using a hard decision decoding technique.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the act (B) comprises determining a soft error distance of the at least first block using a soft decision decoding technique.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein the act (B) comprises determining a probability metric of transmission errors corresponding to the at least first block.

10. The method of claim 6, wherein the act (B) comprises using Forward Error Correction to determine the data transmission error information.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the act (B) comprises determining the data transmission error information based on errors corrected using Forward Error Correction.

12. The method of claim 6, wherein the act (B) comprises determining over a period of time, for each of a plurality of blocks of information of a same size received during the period of time, data transmission error information corresponding to the block, the data transmission error information representing an error rate of the block,

wherein the method further comprises an act of:

(C) determining an error rate pattern over the period of time based on the error rates of the blocks, and

wherein the act (A) comprises predicting the degradation below the particular threshold based at least in part on the determined pattern.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the act (C) comprises determining an increase in the error rates over the period of time, and

wherein the act (A) comprises comparing the determined increase with a threshold value and predicting the degradation below the particular threshold value based at least in part on the comparison.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the act (A) comprises determining a first metric of data transmission errors corresponding to a most recently received block of the plurality of blocks, comparing the metric to a threshold value and predicting the degradation below the particular threshold based at least in part on a result of the comparison.

15. The method of claim 6, wherein the act (A) comprises determining a first metric of data transmission errors corresponding to the at least first block, comparing the metric to a threshold value and predicting the degradation below the particular threshold based at least in part on a result of the comparison.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the communication channel corresponds to an application, and

wherein the act (A) comprises comparing the metric to a threshold value corresponding to the application.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein the act (A) is implemented by an operating system of the network device.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the information is received on the communication channel of a software-defined radio, and

wherein the act (A) comprises predicting the degradation on the communication channel of the software-defined radio.

19. A system for controlling transmission and/or reception of information on a network device on a communication channel, comprising:

a prediction module to predict a degradation below a particular threshold of an ability to accurately convey information on the communication channel based at least in part on data transmission error information corresponding to at lest a first block of information received on the communication channel, and

a transmission adapter module to control an adapting of transmission and/or reception of information on the communication channel in response to predicting the degradation below a particular threshold.

20. A computer program product comprising:

at least one computer-readable medium; and

computer-readable signals, stored on the at least one computer-readable medium, that define instructions that, as a result of being executed by a computer, control the computer to perform a method of handling information received on a network device on a communication channel of a software-defined radio, comprising an act of;

(A) predicting a degradation below a particular threshold of an ability to accurately convey information on the communication channel below a particular threshold based at least in part on data transmission error information corresponding to at least a first block of the information received on the communication channel of the software-defined radio.