SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR COOPERATIVE APPLICATIONS IN COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS

• US 20130165084A1
• Filed: 01/17/2013
• Published: 06/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 12/22/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Cygnus Broadband, Inc. (Quarterhill Inc. (f/k/a Wi-LAN Inc.))
• Inventors: Xu, Haibo, Chinnathambi, Gopinath Murali, Gell, David, Stanwood, Kenneth L., Colban, Erik
• Granted Patent: US 9,668,083 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 455/414.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/235 Processing of additional data, e.g. scrambling of additional data or processing content descriptors
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/25825 involving client display capabilities, e.g. screen resolution of a mobile phone optimising the visualisation of content during browsing in the Internet G06F16/9577; processing of terminal status or physical abilities in wireless networks H04W8/22; authentication in wireless network security H04W12/06
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/41407 embedded in a portable device, e.g. video client on a mobile phone, PDA, laptop constructional details of equipment or arrangements specially adapted for portable computer application G06F1/1626; arrangements specially adapted for mobile receivers in broadcast systems H04H20/57
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/60 Subscription-based services using application servers or record carriers, e.g. SIM application toolkits

Abstract

Systems and methods provide communications between applications in terminal nodes and applications agents in access nodes. The APP-agent cooperative communications can be used to improve quality of experience for users or the terminal nodes. An access node may, for example, have a parameterized scheduling system that incorporates information from the APP-agent cooperative communications in determining scheduling parameters. An application at a terminal node may, for example, modify requests for communication based on information about communication capabilities received from an access node. For APP-agent cooperative communications for multiple applications, an access node may include a master application agent to facilitate and coordinate communications to specific application agents that address APP-agent cooperative communications for specific applications. Similarly, a terminal node may use a master application and specific applications for APP-agent cooperative communications.

Claims

1. An access node, comprising:

a transceiver module configured to communicate with terminal nodes;

a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to

receive from the terminal nodes information about applications at the terminal nodes,

receive from the terminal nodes requests for data from one or more application servers,

transmit the requests for data to the application servers,

receive data from the application servers in response to the requests for data, and

transmit the data received from the application servers to the terminal nodes; and

a backhaul module coupled to the processor and configured to provide communications with the application servers.

2. The access node of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to transmit the data with characteristics that utilize the information about the applications.

3. The access node of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to establish APP-agent cooperative communication control paths between the access node and the terminal nodes for receiving the information about the applications.

4. The access node of claim 3, wherein the APP-agent cooperative communication control paths use long term evolution (LTE) radio access network (RAN) bearers.

5. The access node of claim 4, wherein at least one of the APP-agent cooperative communication control paths uses a plurality of RAN bearers.

6. The access node of claim 4, wherein the RAN bearers are signaling radio bearers (SRBs).

7. The access node of claim 4, wherein the RAN bearers are data radio bearers (DRBs).

8. The access node of claim 4, wherein at least one of the APP-agent cooperative communication control paths uses one or more RAN bearers that are dedicated to APP-agent cooperative communications.

9. The access node of claim 4 wherein the APP-agent cooperative communication control path is not communicated via a core network node.

10. The access node of claim 3, wherein the APP-agent cooperative communication control paths use the user datagram protocol (UDP).

11. The access node of claim 3, wherein the APP-agent cooperative communication control paths use Internet protocol (IP) communications.

12. The access node of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to establish the APP-agent cooperative communication control paths using broadcast or multicast IP addresses, discover IP addresses associated with the applications, and continue communications on the APP-agent cooperative communication control paths using the discovered IP addresses.

13. The access node of claim 11, wherein the processor is further configured to

track IP addresses, port numbers, and protocol types used for application data traffic,

detect a conflict between the IP addresses, port numbers, and protocol types used for application data traffic and IP addresses, port numbers, and protocol types used for APP-agent cooperative communications, and

select a new combination of IP addresses, port numbers, and protocol types used for the APP-agent cooperative communications to resolve the conflict.

14. The access node of claim 13, wherein the information about applications at the terminal nodes includes a streaming status of a video application, and wherein the processor is further configured to increase scheduling resources for packets associated with the video application when the streaming status is an initial buffering period.

15. The access node of claim 13, wherein the information about applications at the terminal nodes includes a streaming status of a video application, and wherein the processor is further configured to defer an admission control request received when the streaming status is an initial buffering period.

16. The access node of claim 13, wherein the information about applications at the terminal nodes includes a buffer occupancy of a video application, and wherein the processor is further configured to determine scheduling resources for packets associated with the video application based at least in part on the buffer occupancy.

17. An access node, comprising:

a transceiver module configured to communicate with terminal nodes;

a processor coupled to the transceiver module and configured to

transmit to the terminal nodes information about capabilities for communication with the terminal nodes,

receive from the terminal nodes requests for data from one or more application servers, the requests being from applications at the terminal nodes,

transmit the requests for data to the application servers,

receive data from the application servers in response to the requests for data, and

transmit the data received from the application servers to the terminal nodes; and

a backhaul module coupled to the processor and configured to provide communications with the application servers.

18. The access node of claim 17, wherein the processor comprises:

a master application agent configured to process information common to the applications; and

specific application agents coupled to the master application agent and configured to process information for subsets of the applications.

19. The access node of claim 17, wherein the processor is further configured to transmit to the terminal nodes indications of whether the access node includes a master application agent.

20. The access node of claim 19, wherein the indications of whether the access node includes the master application agent are transmitted to the terminal nodes using a communication selected from the group consisting of a field in a long term evolution (LTE) master information block (MIB), a field in an LTE system information block (SIB), a field in a broadcast message defined for master application agent indications, and a field in radio access network (RAN) protocol packet headers.

21. The access node of claim 19, wherein the indications of whether the access node includes the master application agent are transmitted to the terminal nodes via a core network node.

22. The access node of claim 17, wherein the information about capabilities for communication with the terminal nodes includes information about future resource availability for communication with the terminal nodes.

23. The access node of claim 22, wherein the information about future resource availability for communication with the terminal nodes includes estimated resource availabilities for a plurality of time intervals.

24. The access node of claim 22, wherein the information about future resource availability for communication with the terminal nodes is estimated using information selected from the group consisting of historical time-of-day resource availability, historical day-of-week resource availability, historical per-user patterns, and historical time-varying channel conditions.

25. The access node of claim 22, wherein the information about future resource availability for communication with the terminal nodes is extrapolated from prior resource availability.

26. A terminal node, comprising:

a transceiver module configured to communicate with an access node; and

a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to

receive from the access node information about capabilities for communication with the terminal node, and

request communications from an application server via the access node, the requested communications being for an application, the request being for an application and having characteristics that utilize the information about capabilities for communication.

27. The terminal node of claim 26, wherein the application includes a master application and a video application that receives a list of bit rates in which the video application can request video data, and wherein the master application filters the list of formats based on the information about capabilities for communication with the terminal node and supplies the filtered list to the video application.

28. The terminal node of claim 26, wherein the application is a video application that requests video data in a sequence of segments, the video data being available in multiple bit rates, wherein the information about capabilities for communication with the terminal node includes estimated future capacity for communication with the terminal node, and wherein the video application requests a next segment of the video data in a format having a data rate at or below the estimated future capacity.

29. The terminal node of claim 26, wherein the application is a video application that requests video data in a sequence of segments, the video data being available in multiple formats, wherein the information about capabilities for communication with the terminal node includes estimated future capacity for communication with the terminal node, and wherein the video application requests a next segment of the video data in a format based on the estimated future capacity and occupancy of a video buffer at the terminal node used to playback the video data.

30. The terminal node of claim 29, wherein the video application requests the next segment of the video data in a format having a bit rate larger than the estimated future capacity when the occupancy of the video buffer is sufficient.

31. The terminal node of claim 26, wherein the processor is further configured to inspect received packets to detect packets containing the information about capabilities for communication with the terminal node.

32. The terminal node of claim 26, wherein the application includes a master application and specific applications, and wherein the master application is configured to process information common to the specific applications.

33. The terminal node of claim 32, wherein at least one of the specific applications is not aware of the terminal node receiving from the access node information about capabilities for communication with the terminal node.

34. The terminal node of claim 33, wherein the at least one specific applications that is not aware of the terminal node receiving from the access node information about capabilities for communication with the terminal node is a video application that receives a list of formats in which the video application can request video data, and wherein the master application filters the list of formats based on information about capabilities for communication with the terminal node.

35. A terminal node, comprising:

a transceiver module configured to communicate with an access node; and

a processor coupled to the transceiver module and configured to

request communications from an application server via the access node, the requested communications being for an application, and

transmit information about the application to the access node, the information about the application being for use by the access node in communicating with the terminal node.

36. The terminal node of claim 35, wherein the application includes a master application and specific applications, and wherein the master application is configured to process information common to the specific applications.

37. The terminal node of claim 35, wherein the information about the application includes an indication of whether the terminal node includes a master application.

38. The terminal node of claim 37, wherein the indication of whether the terminal node includes a master application is transmitted to the access node using a field in a radio access network (RAN) protocol packet header.

39. The terminal node of claim 36, wherein at least one of the specific applications is not aware of the terminal node transmitting information about the application to the access node.

40. The terminal node of claim 35, wherein the application is a video application, and wherein the information about the application includes an indication of whether the streaming status of the video application is an initial buffering period.

41. The terminal node of claim 35, wherein the application is a video application, and wherein the information about the application includes information about occupancy of a buffer used by the video application.

42. A method for use in communicating between an access node and a terminal node, the method comprising:

establishing an APP-agent cooperative communications control path between the access node and the terminal node, the APP-agent cooperative communications control path communicating from the terminal node to the access node information about an application at the terminal node and communicating information from the access node to the terminal node about capabilities for communication with the terminal node;

transmitting, from the terminal node to the access node, a request for data from an application server, the request being from an application at the terminal node;

transmitting, from the access node, the request for data to the application server;

receiving, at the access node, data from the application server in response to the request for data; and

transmitting, from the access node to the terminal node, the data received from the application server.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the request for data includes characteristics based on the information communicated on the APP-agent cooperative communications control path.

44. The method of claim 42, wherein the data received from the application server is transmitted with characteristics based on the information communicated on the APP-agent cooperative communications control path.

45. The method of claim 42, wherein the APP-agent cooperative communications control path uses long term evolution (LTE) radio access network (RAN) bearers.

46. The method of claim 42, wherein the APP-agent cooperative communications control path is communicated via a core network node.

47. The method of claim 42, wherein establishing an APP-agent cooperative communications control path includes communicating using broadcast or multicast Internet protocol (IP) addresses, discovering an IP address associated with the application, and continuing communications on the APP-agent cooperative communication control path using the discovered IP address.