OPTIMIZED BROADBAND WIRELESS NETWORK PERFORMANCE THROUGH BASE STATION APPLICATION SERVER

• US 20140003394A1
• Filed: 09/03/2013
• Published: 01/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ALL Purpose Networks LLC
• Original Assignee: ALL Purpose Networks LLC
• Inventors: Rubin, Harvey, Brewington, James Keith, Sawkar, Anil S., Poticny, David M.
• Granted Patent: US 9,253,696 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/331
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/00 Error detection; Error correction; Monitoring error detection, correction or monitoring in information storage based on relative movement between record carrier and transducer G11B20/18; monitoring, i.e. supervising the progress of recording or reproducing G11B27/36; in static stores G11C29/00
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2028 eliminating a faulty processor or activating a spare
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2038 with a single idle spare processing component
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/2097 maintaining the standby controller/processing unit updated initialisation or re-synchronisation thereof G06F11/1658 and subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 15/16 Combinations of two or more digital computers each having at least an arithmetic unit, a program unit and a register, e.g. for a simultaneous processing of several programs coordinating program control therefor G06F9/52; in regulating and control system G05B
• CPC Class Codes: G08C 15/00 Arrangements characterised by the use of multiplexing for the transmission of a plurality of signals over a common path
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/00 Monitoring; Testing of line transmission systems H04B3/46; arrangements for monitoring or testing transmission systems employing electromagnetic waves other than radio waves H04B10/07
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 17/382 for resource allocation, admission control or handover
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/04 using two or more spaced independent antennas
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 1/16 Monitoring arrangements for transmission in general H04B17/00; for amplifiers H03F1/52, H03F1/523
• CPC Class Codes: H04J 3/14 Monitoring arrangements for SDH/SONET rings H04J3/085
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/00 Arrangements for detecting or preventing errors in the information received correcting synchronisation H04L7/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0003 by switching between different modulation schemes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/0026 Transmission of channel quality indication
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0668 by dynamic selection of recovery network elements, e.g. replacement by the most appropriate element after failure
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0817 by checking functioning
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1063 Application servers providing network services systems providing special services to telephonic subscribers H04M3/42
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/10 in which an application is distributed across nodes in the network software deployment G06F8/60; multiprogramming arrangements G06F9/46
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 : Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/562 : Brokering proxy services
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/568 : Storing data temporarily at an intermediate stage, e.g. caching
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/04 : Arrangements for maintaining operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0016 : Hand-off preparation specially adapted for end-to-end data sessions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0033 : with transfer of context information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/165 : for reducing network power consumption H04W36/18 - H04W36/22 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/20 : for optimising the interference level
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/40 : during macro-diversity or soft handoff
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/18 : Self-organising networks, e.g. ad-hoc networks or sensor networks

Abstract

In embodiments of the present disclosure improved capabilities are described for increasing the bandwidth in a large area broadband LTE wireless network, where regional optimization servers are incorporated near the wireless network in association with the public data network gateway, thus reducing the time-latency for applications being run from a mobile cellular device. Further, by associating additional optimization servers at base stations, application functionality may be optionally transferred from the regional optimization server to the local base station optimization server in instances where a number of mobile cellular devices are requesting the same data via their access through the same cell, and in other instances, to the effect that back haul network bandwidth utilization is reduced or eliminated.

Claims

1. A system comprising:

a cellular wireless RF base station node in RF communication with a plurality of mobile devices, the cellular wireless RF base station node being connected to a back haul network and having a RF coverage area;

at least one base station optimization server that is connected to the cellular wireless RF base station node and to the back haul network so as to permit a data packet to selectively flow either (a) between the cellular wireless RF base station node and the back haul network, (b) between the at least one base station optimization server and the back haul network, or (c) between the cellular wireless RF base station node and the at least one base station optimization server;

a regional optimization server communicatively connected with a public data network gateway (PGW) on the public data network side of the PGW and adapted to (a) run an application for providing services to the plurality of mobile devices and (b) transfer the application'"'"'s functionality for the plurality of mobile devices to the at least one base station optimization server of the cellular wireless RF base station node based on a usage characteristic of the plurality of mobile devices; and

a wireless control facility communicatively connected with the regional optimization server and the cellular wireless RF base station node;

wherein the transfer of the application'"'"'s functionality enables a publish-subscribe application service to the plurality of mobile devices being served by the at least one base station optimization server of the cellular wireless RF base station node.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the transfer of the application'"'"'s functionality is transfer of a service providing node of the application.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the transfer of the application'"'"'s functionality is enabled through redirection at the cellular wireless RF base station node of at least one mobile device bearer into a redirected bearer, so that packets are conveyed to and from the cellular wireless RF base station node'"'"'s at least one base station optimization server rather than being conveyed over a backhaul network through a Serving Gateway (SGW) and then through the PGW to the regional optimization server, and wherein the wireless control facility is adapted to interact with (a) the mobile device to establish a bearer that is to be used as the redirected bearer and (b) the cellular wireless RF base station node to redirect a specific user bearer to that node'"'"'s at least one base station optimization server.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the cellular wireless RF base station node is adapted to retain for a redirected bearer the general packet radio service tunneling protocol (GTP) tunnel information which was previously used to establish the mobile device bearer tunnel with the SGW and thereafter with the PGW.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the wireless control facility is adapted to implement the redirection of the at least one mobile device bearer through a wireless control program.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the transfer of the application'"'"'s functionality is enabled through redirection at the cellular wireless RF base station node of at least one mobile device bearer into a redirected bearer, so that packets are conveyed to and from the cellular wireless RF base station node'"'"'s at least one base station optimization server rather than being conveyed over a backhaul network through a Serving Gateway (SGW) and then through the PGW to the regional optimization server, and

wherein a LTE system uses pre-provisioned data for a mobile device to cause the LTE network to establish a bearer that is to be used as a redirected bearer, and wherein the wireless control facility is adapted to interact with (a) the mobile device to determine that a dedicated bearer has been established for use as a redirected bearer and (b) the cellular wireless RF base station node to redirect the specific user bearer to that node'"'"'s at least one base station optimization server.

7. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one base station optimization servers of the cellular wireless RF base station node comprises a plurality of uniquely IP addressed base station optimization servers.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless control facility is adapted to direct the cellular wireless RF base station node to redirect a bearer for a user that it serves to the at least one base station optimization server of the cellular wireless RF base station node.

9. The system of claim 1, wherein the usage characteristic is a threshold value for the number of mobile devices requesting identical publish-subscribe application services in the coverage area of the cellular wireless RF base station node.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the publish-subscribe application service is adapted to provide a single-stream of service packets to the plurality of mobile devices.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the single-stream of service packets is at least one of streaming video packets and streaming audio packets.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein at least one of the at least one base station optimization server of the cellular wireless RF base station node is co-located with the cellular wireless RF base station node.

13. The system of claim 1, further comprising at least one service program adapted to retrieve network state information from at least one wireless system network element.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the at least one wireless system network element comprises at least one of a mobility management entity (MME), a cellular wireless RF base station, and any mobile device, which may or may not be the aforementioned mobile device.

15. The system of claim 13, wherein the network state information includes information about the RF conditions being experienced by the mobile device and the system is adapted to use the network state information to modify the behavior of the application to alter the encoding rate for delivering video information to the mobile device based on the network state information.

16. The system of claim 1, wherein the transfer of the application'"'"'s functionality reduces time-latency of the services provided by the application to the mobile device.

17. The system of claim 1, wherein the transfer of the application'"'"'s functionality reduces use of backhaul communications bandwidth.

18. The system of claim 17, wherein the reduction in use of backhaul communications bandwidth reduces delivery time for a service packet that traverses the backhaul network.

19. The system of claim 1, wherein the wireless control facility is adapted to interact with the mobile device to (a) identify the cell through which the mobile device is accessing the wireless network, (b) obtain the Cell-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI) by which the mobile device is instantly being identified, and (c) obtain the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the mobile device.

20. A method comprising:

providing a cellular wireless RF base station node in RF communication with a mobile device, the cellular wireless RF base station node being connected to a back haul network and having a RF coverage;

providing at least one base station optimization server that is connected to the cellular wireless RF base station node and to the back haul network so as to permit a data packet to selectively flow either (a) between the cellular wireless RE base station node and the back haul network, (b) between the at least one first base station optimization server and the back haul network, or (c) between the cellular wireless RE base station node and the at least one base station optimization server;

providing a regional optimization server communicatively connected with a public data network gateway (PGW) on the public data network side of the POW and adapted to (a) run an application for providing services to the mobile device and (b) transfer the application'"'"'s functionality for the mobile device to the at least one base station optimization server of the cellular wireless RF base station node based on a usage characteristic of the mobile device; and

providing a wireless control facility communicatively connected with the regional optimization server and the cellular wireless RF base station node;

wherein the transfer of the application'"'"'s functionality enables a publish-subscribe application service to the plurality of mobile devices being served by the at least one base station optimization server of the cellular wireless RF base station node.