Method and system of using a wireless link in the backhaul connection

• US 20080159212A1
• Filed: 06/21/2007
• Published: 07/03/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 12/29/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Meta Platforms, Inc. (f/k/a Facebook, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Lucent Technologies, Inc. (Nokia Corporation)
• Inventors: Wang, Yan Lai, Zhang, Ji Zheng, Sun, Na, Liu, Xi Yin, Shi, Kun
• Granted Patent: US 7,948,942 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/329
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/06 Hybrid resource partitioning, e.g. channel borrowing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/20 Negotiating bandwidth
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/12 between access points and access point controllers

Abstract

One embodiment of the communication system includes a switch, at least one base station, and a backhaul connection including at least one wireless link connecting the at least one base station to the switch. The wireless link may include at least one of a WiMax carrier and a WiFi carrier.

Claims

1. A communication system, comprising:

a switch;

at least one base station; and

a backhaul connection including at least one wireless link connecting the at least one base station to the switch.

2. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the at least one wireless link includes at least one of a WiMax carrier and a WiFi carrier.

3. The communication system of claim 2, wherein

the switch receives WiMax services and other communication services, and provides the WiMax services and other communication services to the at least one base station via the wireless link, and

the base station transmits the WiMax services and the other communication services to users.

4. The communication system of claim 1, wherein the backhaul connection further includes at least one router transferring information between the at least one based station and the switch via the at least one wireless link.

5. The communication system of claim 1, wherein

at least one of the switch and the at least one base station includes a backhaul controller;

and

the backhaul controller allocates a first bandwidth amount of total wireless link bandwidth to WiMax services and a second bandwidth amount of total wireless link bandwidth to other communication services, receives a trigger signaling that at least one condition of the communication system has changed, and adjusts the first bandwidth amount and the second bandwidth amount in response to the trigger.

6. The communication system of claim 5, wherein the trigger is based on at least one monitored condition, the monitored condition being at least one of backhaul usage, backhaul congestion, a first unused amount of the first bandwidth amount, a second unused amount of the second bandwidth amount, and time.

7. A method of allocating bandwidth of a wireless link in a backhaul connection in a communication system, the method comprising:

allocating a first bandwidth amount of wireless link bandwidth to WiMax services and a second bandwidth amount of the wireless link bandwidth to other communication services;

receiving a trigger signaling that at least one condition of the communication system has changed; and

adjusting the first bandwidth amount and the second bandwidth amount in response to the trigger.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

monitoring the at least one condition of the communication system, the at least one condition being at least one of backhaul usage, backhaul congestion, a first unused amount of the first bandwidth amount, a second unused amount of the second bandwidth amount, and time; and

generating the trigger based the at least one monitored condition reaching an associated threshold.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the adjusting step comprises:

determining one of the first bandwidth amount and the second bandwidth amount to increase based on the trigger;

increasing the determined one of the first bandwidth amount and the second bandwidth amount; and

decreasing the other one of the first bandwidth amount and the second amount.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the at least one monitored condition is time and the associated threshold is a time of day.

11. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

monitoring a first unused amount of the first bandwidth amount and a second unused amount of the second bandwidth amount;

generating the trigger if the first unused amount exceeds a first threshold amount and the second bandwidth amount falls below a second threshold amount; and

wherein

the adjusting step increases the first bandwidth amount and decreases the second bandwidth amount in response to the trigger.

12. The method of claim 7, further comprising:

monitoring a first unused amount of the first bandwidth amount and a second unused amount of the second bandwidth amount;

generating the trigger if the first unused amount falls below a first threshold amount and the second bandwidth amount exceeds a second threshold amount; and

wherein

the adjusting step increases the second bandwidth amount and decreases the first bandwidth amount in response to the trigger.

13. The method of claim 7, wherein the wireless link includes a WiMax carrier.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein the wireless link includes a WiFi carrier.

15. The method of claim 7, wherein the wireless link includes a WiMax carrier and a WiFi carrier.