FAIR USE MANAGEMENT METHOD AND SYSTEM
First Claim
1. A method of managing a plurality of subscribers using a communication network, said method comprising:
- obtaining network usage data for a plurality of service flows associated with the plurality of subscribers using the network;
from the network usage data, determining which of the plurality of subscribers has been using an excess amount of bandwidth;
determining that at least some part of the network is currently in a congested state; and
in response to determining that at least some part of the network is currently in the congested state, sending a policy decision to a gateway device that controls bandwidth resources currently being provided to the identified subscriber, said policy decision instructing the gateway device to reduce network bandwidth that is currently being provided to support existing service flows for the identified subscriber.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method of managing a plurality of subscribers using a communication network involving: obtaining network usage data for a plurality of service flows associated with the plurality of subscribers using the network; from the network usage data, determining which of the plurality of subscribers has been using an excess amount of bandwidth; determining that at least some part of the network is currently in a congested state; and in response to determining that at least some part of the network is currently in the congested state, sending a policy decision to a gateway device that controls bandwidth resources currently being provided to the identified subscriber, said policy decision instructing the gateway device to reduce network bandwidth that is currently being provided to support existing service flows for the identified subscriber.
289 Citations
18 Claims
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1. A method of managing a plurality of subscribers using a communication network, said method comprising:
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obtaining network usage data for a plurality of service flows associated with the plurality of subscribers using the network; from the network usage data, determining which of the plurality of subscribers has been using an excess amount of bandwidth; determining that at least some part of the network is currently in a congested state; and in response to determining that at least some part of the network is currently in the congested state, sending a policy decision to a gateway device that controls bandwidth resources currently being provided to the identified subscriber, said policy decision instructing the gateway device to reduce network bandwidth that is currently being provided to support existing service flows for the identified subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system for managing a communication network having a plurality of devices through which a plurality of subscribers connect to the network, one or more monitoring devices for measuring network usage data for the plurality of subscribers, and a gateway device for controlling network bandwidth resources that are made available to each of the subscribers, said system comprising:
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a policy server that instructs the control device regarding what bandwidth is made available to each of the plurality of subscribers; an analysis module configured to;
(1) obtain usage data for a plurality of service flows associated with the plurality of subscribers using the network;
(2) from the network usage data, determine which of the plurality of subscribers has been using an excess amount of bandwidth;
(3) determine that at least some part of the network is currently in a congested state; and
(4) notify the policy server of the congested state,wherein the policy sever is programmed to respond to the notification from the analysis module by instructing the gateway device to reduce network bandwidth that is currently being provided to support existing service flows for the identified subscriber. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18)
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Specification