Estimator for end-to-end throughput of wireless networks

• US 20090052320A1
• Filed: 10/21/2008
• Published: 02/26/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 04/01/2004
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Jasmine Chennikara, Onur Altintas, Wai Chen, Yibei Ling
• Original Assignee: Jasmine Chennikara, Onur Altintas, Wai Chen, Yibei Ling
• Inventors: Chen, Wai, Ling, Yibei, Altintas, Onur, Chennikara, Jasmine
• Application Number:
  US12/288,461
• Publication Number:
  US 20090052320A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/231
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0213 Standardised network management protocols, e.g. simple network management protocol [SNMP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/147 for predicting network behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5012 determining service availability, e.g. which services are available at a certain point in time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5019 Ensuring fulfilment of SLA
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0864 Round trip delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 Network monitoring probes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/11 Identifying congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/19 at layers above the network layer network arrangements for networked applications for scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0273 adapting protocols for flow control or congestion control to wireless environment, e.g. adapting transmission control protocol [TCP] wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation, e.g. wireless application protocol H04W80/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/10 Flow control between communication endpoints
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/12 Application layer protocols, e.g. WAP [Wireless Application Protocol]

Abstract

The present invention presents an architecture to dynamically measure and estimate the throughput perceived by a user during a connection in real-time in a wireless network system. The architecture system design of the present invention allows for information gathering independent of the mathematical models used and takes into account security settings in the network hosts. The present invention also sets forth a number of throughput estimators (TEs) that can be used within the architecture to gather the information needed to carry out the throughput estimation calculations. The throughput estimations can then be used for download rate control, QoS, load balancing, etc. The present invention also provides algorithms to calculate the real-time throughput experienced by a user flow.

Claims

1. A telecommunications system architecture comprising:

at least one access network;

a mobile host located in said access network;

a backbone network, including at least one application server;

an information gateway located in said backbone network; and

a throughput estimator residing on said information gateway;

wherein said mobile host communicates with said application server through said information gateway and said throughput estimator provides information useful in optimizing download rate to said mobile host.

2. A telecommunications system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said throughput estimator is selected from the group consisting of an ICMP-based throughput estimator, a HTTP-based throughput estimator, a TCP trace throughput estimator, and a SNMP-based throughput estimator.

3. A telecommunications system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said throughput estimator is a passive throughput estimator.

4. A telecommunications system as set forth in claim 1, wherein said throughput estimator is an active throughput estimator.

5. A method of optimizing download rate to a mobile host from an application server in a telecommunications network, said method comprising:

providing an information gateway between said mobile host and said application server capable of adjusting said download rate;

measuring a throughput rate using the following equation

R(τ

)=M/Δ

t, wherein R(τ

) is the measured throughput rate, Δ

t is the measurement time interval, τ

be the current measurement time and M is the number of messages that arrive during the time interval;

calculating an estimated throughput rate for an application flow using the following equation

{circumflex over (R)}(τ

)=α

(τ

) R(τ

)+(1−

α

(τ

)) E[R<sub>τ

−

Δ

t</sub>], wherein the estimated value E[R<sub>t−

Δ

t</sub>] is a weighted average of the current measured value and the average of the last K-1 measured values, and weight value α

(τ

) is the average fractional difference between consecutive measurements points;

calculating the difference between said measured throughput rate and said estimated throughput rate and if said difference is less than a predetermined sensitivity parameter, then increasing said download rate through said information gateway by a predetermined incremental amount.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein said predetermined incremental amount is less than said predetermined sensitivity parameter.

7. A method according to claim 5, wherein said step of calculating an estimated throughput rate is carried out at said information gateway.

8. A method according to claim 5, wherein said step of calculating an estimated throughput rate is carried out at said mobile host.

9. A method according to claim 5, wherein said step of calculating the difference is carried out at said information gateway.