QUALITY OF SERVICE RESOURCE NEGOTIATION

• US 20080031204A1
• Filed: 08/04/2006
• Published: 02/07/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/10/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Intel Corporation
• Inventors: Sood, Kapil
• Granted Patent: US 7,911,997 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/00 Routing or path finding of packets in data switching networks routing or path finding in wireless networks H04W40/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/22 Alternate routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/247 using M:N active or standby paths
• 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 47/20 Traffic policing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/767 after changing the attachment point, e.g. after hand-off
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/786 Mapping reservation between domains
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/805 QOS or priority aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/824 Applicable to portable or mobile terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/24 Negotiating SLA [Service Level Agreement]; Negotiating QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/12 Reselecting a serving backbone network switching or routing node

Abstract

Embodiments of apparatuses, articles, methods, and systems for negotiating quality of service resources in wireless networks are generally described herein. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

establishing, by a station, a wireless connection with a wireless router;

transmitting, by the station, a resource request to another wireless router requesting allocation of a quality of service (QoS) resource;

receiving, by the station, a resource response from the another wireless router indicating a nonallocation of the QoS resource; and

transitioning the wireless connection from the wireless router to the another wireless router notwithstanding said nonallocation of the QoS resource.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, in the resource response, one or more QoS resources as suggested alternatives to the requested QoS resource.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

transmitting, subsequent to said transitioning of the wireless connection, another resource request requesting allocation of another QoS resource selected from the one or more suggested QoS resources.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

detecting a signal deterioration in the wireless connection with the wireless router; and

transitioning the wireless connection from the wireless router to the another wireless router based at least in part on said detecting of the signal deterioration.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said transitioning of the wireless connection further comprises:

transmitting a re-association request to the another wireless router; and

receiving a successful re-association response from the another wireless router.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein said transmitting of the re-association request includes said transmitting of the resource request.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein said transmitting of the resource request occurs prior to said transmitting of the re-association request.

8. The method of claim 5, wherein said transmitting of the resource request occurs prior to said transmitting of the re-association request if no policy advertisement is received from the another wireless router.

9. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving a policy advertisement from the another wireless router indicating whether the station must transmit the resource request prior to transmitting the re-association request or whether the station has the option to transmit the resource request prior to transmitting the re-association request or contemporaneously with the re-association request.

10. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

transmitting the resource request to a plurality of wireless routers that includes the another wireless router;

receiving resource responses from the plurality of wireless routers;

selecting the another wireless router from the plurality of wireless routers based at least in part on said receiving of the resource responses; and

transmitting the re-association request to the another wireless router based at least in part on said selecting of the another wireless router.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said transmitting of the resource request requesting allocation of the QoS resource further comprises:

identifying a plurality of QoS resources; and

requesting allocation of at least one of the plurality of the QoS resources.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said transmitting of the resource request and receiving of the resource response are conducted within an integrity-protected communication session.

13. A system comprising:

an omnidirectional antenna coupled to a host and configured to provide access to a wireless network, said access including a wireless connection between the host and a wireless router; and

the host including a transitioning manager configured to transmit, via the omnidirectional antenna, a resource request to another wireless router for a quality of service (QoS) resource;

to receive, via the omnidirectional antenna, a resource response from the another wireless router indicating a nonallocation of the QoS resource; and

to transition the wireless connection from the wireless router to the another wireless router notwithstanding said nonallocation of the QoS resource.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the resource request further indicates one or more suggested QoS resources as alternatives to the requested QoS resource.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the transitioning manager is further configured to transmit another resource request to the another wireless router for another QoS resource selected from the one or more suggested QoS resources.

16. The system of claim 13, wherein the transitioning manager is further configured to transmit a re-association request to the another wireless router;

and to transition the wireless connection from the wireless router to the another wireless router based at least in part on a receipt of a successful re-association response from the another wireless router to the re-association request.

17. The system of claim 16, wherein the transitioning manager is further configured to include the resource request in the re-association request.

18. The system of claim 16, wherein the transition manager is further configured to transmit the resource request prior to the re-association request.

19. The system of claim 16, wherein the transition manager is further configured

to receive a QoS capability advertisement from the another wireless router indicating whether the another wireless router is capable of receiving the resource request as a part of the re-association request.

20. An apparatus comprising:

a wireless network interface card coupled to a host and configured to provide the host access to a wireless network; and

the host including a scheduler configured to receive, via the wireless network interface card, a resource request from a station requesting allocation of a quality of service (QoS) resource;

transmitting, via the wireless network interface card, a resource response indicating a nonallocation of the QoS resource; and

forming a wireless connection with the station notwithstanding said nonallocation of the QoS resource.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the scheduler is further configured to broadcast a policy advertisement indicating whether a station must transmit a resource request prior to transmitting a re-association request or whether a station has the option to transmit a resource request prior to transmitting a re-association request or contemporaneously with a re-association request.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the scheduler is further configured to transmit, in the resource response, one or more QoS resources as suggested alternatives to the requested QoS resource.

23. A machine-accessible medium having associated instructions, which, when executed, results in a station:

establishing a wireless connection with a wireless router;

transmitting a resource request to another wireless router requesting allocation of a quality of service (QoS) resource;

receiving a resource response from the another wireless router indicating a nonallocation of the QoS resource; and

transitioning the wireless connection from the wireless router to the another wireless router notwithstanding said nonallocation of the QoS resource.

24. The machine-accessible medium of claim 23 having associated instructions, which, when executed, further results in the station:

receiving, in the resource response, one or more suggested QoS resources as suggested alternatives to the requested QoS resource; and

transmitting, subsequent to said transitioning of the wireless connection, another resource request requesting allocation of another QoS resource selected from the one or more suggested QoS resources.

25. The machine-accessible medium of claim 23 having associated instructions, which, when executed, further results in the station:

determining whether to transmit the resource request prior to transmitting a re-association request or contemporaneously with the re-association request.

26. The machine-accessible medium of claim 23 having associated instructions, which, when executed, further results in the station:

receiving a policy advertisement from the wireless router and said determining whether to transmit the resource request prior to transmitting a re-association request or contemporaneously with the re-association request is based at least in part on said receiving of the policy advertisement.