Quality of service application programming interface over socket

• US 20080181116A1
• Filed: 01/16/2008
• Published: 07/31/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 01/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: NETGEAR, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Sierra Wireless Incorporated
• Inventors: Kavanaugh, Richard Thomas, Vos, Gustav
• Granted Patent: US 7,830,804 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/236
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/61 taking into account QoS or priority requirements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/32 Architecture of open systems interconnection [OSI] 7-layer type protocol stacks, e.g. the interfaces between the data link level and the physical level

Abstract

Disclosed is a Quality of Service (QoS) control mechanism for QoS-aware network applications running on computer devices. The mechanism provides IP socket-based QoS Application Program Interfaces (APIs) for QoS-aware applications for accessing MAC layer QoS function of network access devices. In various embodiments, the QoS mechanism utilizes QoS API over Socket (QAoS) handler and/or a MAC layer QAoS handler wrapper at the network access device to control and monitor the QoS data being transmitted by the application over the active network interface(s).

Claims

1. A system comprising:

one or more QoS-aware applications;

one or more QoS-supporting network access devices; and

a QoS management and reporting communications protocol that operates between the one or more QoS-aware applications and the one or more QoS-supporting network access devices, wherein the one or more QoS-aware applications control and manage QoS of data communications streams through the one or more QoS-aware network access devices.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the management and reporting communications protocol is exchanged through a bi-directional connection.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein there is a one-to-one relationship between each QoS-aware application and QoS-supporting network access device pair that communicate over the QoS management and reporting communications protocol.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the QoS-supporting function of the network access device is implemented in the network access device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the QoS-supporting function of the network access device is implemented in a device driver for the network access device.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the QoS management and reporting communications, protocol operates over well-known data communications services.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the well-known data communications services is the Internet Protocol based sockets.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the QoS-aware application communicates with the QoS-supporting network access device through an intermediate device that implements the QoS management and reporting communications protocol.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the QoS-supporting network access device is a intermediary for a plurality of network access devices.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the QoS supporting network access device routes the data traffic over one or more of the network access devices.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the QoS supporting network access devices provide QoS status information to the QoS-aware application using the QoS management and reporting communications protocol.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the QoS-supporting network access devices are remotely connected to the QoS-aware application through a data communications link.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the data communications link is a wired communications link.

14. The system of claim 12, wherein the data communications link is a wireless communications link.

15. A method comprising:

communicating data between one or more QoS-aware applications and one or more QoS-supporting network access devices using a QoS management and reporting communications protocol; and

controlling and managing QoS of one or more data communications streams through one or more network access devices.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the management and reporting communications protocol is exchanged through a bi-directional connection.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein there is a one-to-one relationship between each QoS-aware application and QoS-supporting network access device pair that communicate over the QoS management and reporting communications protocol.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein the QoS-supporting function of the network access device is implemented in the network access device.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein the QoS-supporting function of the network access device is implemented in a device driver for the network access device.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the QoS management and reporting communications protocol operates over well-known data communications services.

21. The method of claim 20, wherein the well-know data communications services is the Internet Protocol based sockets.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the QoS-aware application communicates with the QoS-supporting network access device through an intermediate device that implements the QoS management and reporting communications protocol.

23. The method of claim 15, wherein the QoS-supporting network access device is a intermediary for a plurality of network access devices.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the QoS supporting network access device routes the data traffic over one or more of the network access devices.

25. The method of claim 15 wherein the QoS supporting network access devices provide QoS status information to the QoS-aware application using the QoS management and reporting communications protocol.

26. The method of claim 15, wherein the QoS-supporting network access device is remotely connected to the QoS-aware application through a data communications link.

27. The method of claim 26, wherein the data communications link is a wired communications link.

28. The method of claim 26, wherein the data communications link is a wireless communications link.

29. A method comprising:

establishing a bi-direction connection between a QoS-aware application and a QoS-supporting network access device; and

communicating QoS-related data through the established bi-direction connection.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein the bi-direction connection is an IP socket.

31. The method of claim 29, wherein establishing includes establishing a bi-direction connection between a QoS-aware application and a MAC layer of the QoS-supporting network access device.

32. The method of claim 29, wherein communicating includes communicating QoS-related data through a QoS management and reporting communications protocol.

33. The method of claim 29, wherein communicating includes sending one or more QoS messages with QoS-related data.

34. The method of claim 29 further comprising providing one or more QoS APIs for establishing a bi-direction connection with the QoS-supporting network access device.

35. The method of claim 29 further comprising providing one or more QoS APIs for communication QoS-related data to the QoS-supporting network access device.

36. The method of claim 29 further comprising providing a MAC layer QoS API handler for communication with a QoS aware application.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the MAC layer QoS API handler is embodied in a device driver for the network access device.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the MAC layer QoS API handler is embodied in the MAC layer of the network access device.