RESOURCE MANAGEMENT FOR A WIRELESS DEVICE

• US 20100318660A1
• Filed: 02/18/2010
• Published: 12/16/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 06/15/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Qualcomm, Inc.
• Inventors: Seltmann, Kevin S., Shahidi, Reza, Payyappilly, Ajith T., Balasubramanian, Srinivasan, Zhao, Suli
• Granted Patent: US 8,516,101 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/11 Identifying congestion
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/25 with rate being modified by the source upon detecting a change of network conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/266 Stopping or restarting the source, e.g. X-on or X-off
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/02 Traffic management, e.g. flow control or congestion control

Abstract

Techniques for managing resources on a wireless device are described. In an aspect, congestion of resources on the wireless device may be detected. If any resources are deemed to be congested, then congestion of the congested resources may be relieved by controlling utilization of the congested resources by at least one client. In one design, flow control may be performed for at least one data flow to relieve congestion of the congested resources. A pattern indicative of when to send messages enabling data transmission and when to send messages disabling data transmission may be selected. Messages may then be sent in accordance with the pattern to control transmission of data for the at least one data flow. Another pattern with a higher ON fraction or a lower ON fraction may be selected based on usage of the congested resources.

Claims

1. A method of managing resources, comprising:

detecting for congestion of resources on a wireless device; and

relieving congestion of congested resources by controlling utilization of the congested resources by at least one client.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the resources on the wireless device comprise central processing unit (CPU) resources, or memory resources, or bus resources, or power resources, or a combination thereof.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the detecting for congestion comprises declaring congestion of the CPU resources if usage of a processor exceeds a high threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the relieving congestion comprises reducing bandwidth of data transmission to relieve congestion of the congested resources.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one client comprises a client for at least one data flow, and wherein the relieving congestion comprises performing flow control for the at least one data flow to relieve congestion of the congested resources.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the performing flow control comprises

determining a target bandwidth for the at least one data flow to relieve congestion of the congested resources, and

exchanging data for the at least one data flow based on the target bandwidth.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the performing flow control comprises sending messages to control transmission of data for the at least one data flow, each message enabling or disabling data transmission for the at least one data flow.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the sending messages comprises sending messages at Layer 1 or Layer 2 to control transmission of data for the at least one data flow.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the percentage of messages enabling data transmission is determined based on bandwidth requirements of data flows having quality-of-service (QoS) requirements among the at least one data flow.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the messages enabling data transmission are spaced closer than latency requirements of the at least one data flow.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the performing flow control further comprises determining which messages to send based on a pattern indicative of when to send messages enabling data transmission and when to send messages disabling data transmission.

12. The method of claim 5, wherein the performing flow control comprises selecting a pattern from among a plurality of patterns associated with different ON fractions, wherein an ON fraction for each pattern is determined based on a ratio of messages enabling data transmission to all messages covered by the pattern.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the performing flow control further comprises

determining usage of the congested resources with the pattern being applied, and

selecting another pattern with a higher ON fraction or a lower ON fraction based on the usage of the congested resources.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the performing flow control further comprises

selecting a pattern with a next lower ON fraction if usage of the congested resources is greater than a high threshold, and

selecting a pattern with a next higher ON fraction if usage of the congested resources is less than a low threshold.

15. The method of claim 12, wherein the performing flow control further comprises

selecting a pattern with a next lower ON fraction if usage of the congested resources is greater than a target level, and

selecting a pattern with a next higher ON fraction if usage of the congested resources is less than the target level.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein the relieving congestion comprises dropping at least one carrier used for data transmission to relieve congestion of the congested resources.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

restoring the at least one carrier if usage of the congested resources is below a threshold.

18. The method of claim 1, wherein the detecting for congestion comprises

receiving usage reports for the resources on the wireless device, and

detecting for congestion of the resources based on the usage reports.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the usage reports are sent periodically, or when triggered by occurrence of predetermined events, or when requested, or based on a combination thereof.

20. An apparatus for managing resources, comprising:

means for detecting for congestion of resources on a wireless device; and

means for relieving congestion of congested resources by controlling utilization of the congested resources by at least one client

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the at least one client comprises a client for at least one data flow, and wherein the means for relieving congestion comprises means for performing flow control for the at least one data flow to relieve congestion of the congested resources.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the means for performing flow control comprises means for sending messages to control transmission of data for the at least one data flow, each message enabling or disabling data transmission for the at least one data flow.

23. The apparatus of claim 22, wherein the means for performing flow control further comprises means for determining which messages to send based on a pattern indicative of when to send messages enabling data transmission and when to send messages disabling data transmission, and wherein the pattern has a particular ON fraction determined based on a ratio of messages enabling data transmission to all messages covered by the pattern.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the means for performing flow control further comprises

means for selecting a pattern with a next lower ON fraction if usage of the congested resources is greater than a high threshold, and

means for selecting a pattern with a next higher ON fraction if usage of the congested resources is less than a low threshold.

25. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the means for performing flow control further comprises

means for selecting a pattern with a next lower ON fraction if usage of the congested resources is greater than a target level, and

means for selecting a pattern with a next higher ON fraction if usage of the congested resources is less than the target level.

26. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the means for relieving congestion comprises means for dropping at least one carrier used for data transmission to relieve congestion of the congested resources.

27. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising:

at least one processor configured to detect for congestion of resources on a wireless device, and to relieve congestion of congested resources by controlling utilization of the congested resources by at least one client

28. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the at least one client comprises a client for at least one data flow, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to perform flow control for the at least one data flow to relieve congestion of the congested resources.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the at least one processor is configured to send messages to control transmission of data for the at least one data flow, each message enabling or disabling data transmission for the at least one data flow.

30. The apparatus of claim 29, wherein the at least one processor is configured to determine which messages to send based on a pattern indicative of when to send messages enabling data transmission and when to send messages disabling data transmission, and wherein the pattern has a particular ON fraction determined based on a ratio of messages enabling data transmission to all messages covered by the pattern.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the at least one processor is configured to select a pattern with a next lower ON fraction if usage of the congested resources is greater than a high threshold, and to select a pattern with a next higher ON fraction if usage of the congested resources is less than a low threshold.

32. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein the at least one processor is configured to select a pattern with a next lower ON fraction if usage of the congested resources is greater than a target level, and to select a pattern with a next higher ON fraction if usage of the congested resources is less than the target level.

33. The apparatus of claim 27, wherein the at least one processor is configured to drop at least one carrier used for data transmission to relieve congestion of the congested resources.

34. A computer program product, comprising:

a computer-readable medium comprising;

code for causing at least one computer to detect for congestion of resources on a wireless device, and

code for causing the at least one computer to relieve congestion of congested resources by controlling utilization of the congested resources by at least one client.