System and Method for Enforcing Uplink Wireless Medium Usage in Wireless Networks

• US 20140036893A1
• Filed: 07/31/2012
• Published: 02/06/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Original Assignee: Aruba Networks Incorporated (Hewlett-Packard Enterprise Company)
• Inventors: Bhanage, Gautam Dilip, Ganu, Sachin, Narasimhan, Partha
• Granted Patent: US 9,124,547 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/338
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/193 at the transport layer, e.g. TCP related
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/27 Evaluation or update of window size, e.g. using information derived from acknowledged [ACK] packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/00 Network architectures or network communication protocols for network security cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for secret or secure communication H04L9/00; network architectures or network communication protocols for wireless network security H04W12/00; security arrangements for protecting computers or computer systems against unauthorised activity G06F21/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/1408 by monitoring network traffic monitoring network traffic per se H04L43/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/00 Network arrangements, protocols or services independent of the application payload and not provided for in the other groups of this subclass networks security protocols H04L9/40; wireless communication networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/16 Implementation or adaptation of Internet protocol [IP], of transmission control protocol [TCP] or of user datagram protocol [UDP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/163 In-band adaptation of TCP data exchange; In-band control procedures
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0205 at the air interface dynamic wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/52 based on load

Abstract

The present disclosure discloses a method and network device for enforcing uplink airtime fairness in wireless local area networks. The disclosed network device receives usage limits associated with transmissions from one or more client devices. The client devices transmit packets to the network device via one or more uplink wireless mediums. The disclosed network device further collects wireless medium usage times associated with the client devices, and calculates a size for transmission windows corresponding to the client devices based on the wireless medium usage times and the usage limits. The transmission windows can be TCP advertisement windows whose size determines a rate of transmissions permitted over the wireless medium. Then, the disclosed network device sets the transmission window to the calculated size.

Claims

1. A method comprising:

receiving, by a network device, a first usage limit associated with transmissions from a first client device to the network device via a wireless medium;

collecting, by the network device, a first wireless medium usage time associated with the transmissions from the first client device;

calculating, by the network device, a size for a transmission window corresponding to the transmissions based at least on the first wireless medium usage time and the first usage limit; and

setting, by the network device, the transmission window to the calculated size.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the network device, a second usage limit associated with transmissions from a second client device to the network device via the wireless medium;

collecting, by the network device, a second wireless medium usage time associated with transmissions from the second client device; and

wherein calculating the size for the transmission window corresponding to the transmissions is based at least on the first wireless medium usage time, the first usage limit, the second wireless medium usage time, and the second usage limit.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmission window comprises a Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) advertisement window whose size determines a rate of transmissions permitted over the wireless medium.

4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the network device, whether the wireless medium is operating in a saturation state;

wherein in response to the wireless medium not operating in the saturation state, the first usage limit indicates a minimum amount of wireless medium usage time that the first client device is allowed to use, and

wherein in response to the wireless medium operating in the saturation state, the first usage limit indicates a maximum amount of the wireless medium usage time that the first client device is allowed to use.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the network device is in communication with a plurality of groups of client devices, each group of client devices being subject to a usage limit.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

receiving, by the network device, a plurality of usage limits associated with the plurality of groups;

collecting, by the network device, a plurality of wireless medium usage times associated with the groups; and

calculating sizes for transmission windows corresponding to transmission sessions from a group of client devices based at least on the plurality of usage limits, the plurality of wireless medium usage times associated with the groups, and a medium usage policy predefined for the group.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the first wireless medium usage time comprises one or more of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) uplink wireless medium usage time, User Datagram Protocol (UDP) uplink wireless medium usage time, and downlink wireless medium usage time.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein setting the transmission window to the calculated size further comprises setting the transmission window at a predetermined rate of correction, wherein the rate of correction determines the rate at which the transmission window size increases or decreases.

9. The method of claim 4, further comprising:

determining, by the network device, a previous action upon the transmission window;

in response to the wireless medium not being operated in a saturation state and the previous action not including setting the transmission window, determining that the transmission window is not to be reset in a next cycle; and

in response to the wireless medium being operated in the saturation state or the previous action including setting the transmission window, determining that the transmission window is to be reset in the next cycle.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first usage limit is measured by percentage, and wherein the calculated size for the transmission window is measured in bytes.

11. A network device comprising:

a processor;

a memory;

a receiving mechanism operating with the processor, the receiving mechanism to receive a first usage limit associated with transmissions from a first client device to the network device via a wireless medium;

a collecting mechanism operating with the processor, the collecting mechanism to collect a first wireless medium usage time associated with the transmissions from the first client device;

a calculating mechanism operating with the processor, the calculating mechanism to calculate a size for a transmission window corresponding to transmissions based at least on the first wireless medium usage time and the first usage limit; and

a window setting mechanism operating with the process, the window setting mechanism to set the network device, the transmission window to the calculated size.

12. The network device of claim 11,

wherein the receiving mechanism further receives a second usage limit associated with transmissions from a second client device to the network device via the wireless medium;

wherein the collecting mechanism further collects a second wireless medium usage time associated with transmissions from the second client device; and

wherein the calculating mechanism further calculates the size for the transmission window corresponding to the transmissions is based at least on the first wireless medium usage time, the first usage limit, the second wireless medium usage time, and the second usage limit.

13. The network device of claim 11, wherein the transmission window comprises a TCP advertisement window whose size determines a rate of transmissions permitted over the wireless medium

14. The network device of claim 11, further comprising:

a determining mechanism operating with the processor, the determining mechanism to determine whether the wireless medium is operating in a saturation state;

wherein in response to the wireless medium not operating in the saturation state, the first usage limit indicates a minimum amount of wireless medium usage time that the first client device is allowed to use, and

wherein in response to the wireless medium operating in the saturation state, the first usage limit indicates a maximum amount of the wireless medium usage time that the first client device is allowed to use.

15. The network device of claim 11, wherein the network device is in communication with a plurality of groups of client devices, each group of client devices being subject to a usage limit.

16. The network device of claim 15,

wherein the receiving mechanism further receives a plurality of usage limits associated with the plurality of groups;

wherein the collecting mechanism further collects a plurality of wireless medium usage times associated with the groups; and

wherein the calculating mechanism calculates sizes for transmission windows corresponding to transmission sessions from a group of client devices based at least on the plurality of usage limits, the plurality of wireless medium usage times associated with the groups, and a medium usage policy predefined for the group.

17. The network device of claim 11, wherein the first wireless medium usage time comprises one or more of Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) uplink wireless medium usage time, User Datagram Protocol (UDP) uplink wireless medium usage time, and downlink wireless medium usage time.

18. The network device of claim 11, wherein the setting mechanism further sets the transmission window at a predetermined rate of correction, wherein the rate of correction determines the rate at which the transmission window size increases or decreases.

19. The network device of claim 14, wherein the determining mechanism further to:

determine a previous action upon the transmission window; and

determine that the transmission window is not to be reset in a next cycle in response to the wireless medium not being operated in a saturation state and the previous action not including setting the transmission window; and

determine that the transmission window is to be reset in the next cycle in response to the wireless medium being operated in the saturation state or the previous action including setting the transmission window.

20. The network device of claim 11, wherein the first usage limit is measured by percentage, and wherein the calculated size for the transmission window is measured in bytes.

21. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing embedded instructions that are executed by one or more mechanisms implemented within a network device to perform a plurality of operations comprising:

receiving a first usage limit associated with transmissions from a first client device, wherein the first client device transmits packets to the network device via a wireless medium;

collecting a first wireless medium usage time associated with the transmissions from the first client device;

calculating a size for a transmission window corresponding to the transmissions based at least on the first wireless medium usage time and the first usage limit; and

setting the transmission window to the calculated size.