System and Method for an Agile Wireless Access Network

• US 20140362688A1
• Filed: 11/01/2013
• Published: 12/11/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 06/05/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Huawei Technologies Co., Ltd. (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Futurewei Technologies Incorporated (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Zhang, Hang, Senarath, Gamini, Callard, Aaron, Farmanbar, Hamidreza, Dao, Ngoc-Dung, Stephenne, Alex, Djukic, Petar, Li, Xu, Shafiee, Kaveh, Leroux, Philippe
• Granted Patent: US 9,642,146 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 370/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0816 the condition being an adaptation, e.g. in response to network events
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/12 Discovery or management of network topologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/147 for predicting network behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5067 Customer-centric QoS measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0284 detecting congestion or overload during communication monitoring arrangements H04L43/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0289 Congestion control load shedding arrangements in network planning H04W16/08; performing reselection for handling the traffic H04W36/22; wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0958 based on metrics or performance parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/52 based on load
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/105 PBS [Private Base Station] network H04W84/12 - H04W84/16 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/04 Interfaces between hierarchically different network devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/00 Systems for electrical power generation, transmission, distribution or end-user application management characterised by the use of communication or information technologies, or communication or information technology specific aspects supporting them

Abstract

A system and method for agile wireless access network is provided. A method embodiment for agile radio access network management includes determining, by a network controller, capabilities and neighborhood relations of radio nodes in the radio access network. The network controller then configures a backhaul network infrastructure for the radio access network in accordance with the capabilities and the neighborhood relations of the radio nodes.

Claims

1. A method for agile radio access network management comprising:

determining, by a network controller, capabilities and neighborhood relations of radio nodes in the radio access network; and

configuring a backhaul network infrastructure for the radio access network in accordance with the capabilities and the neighborhood relations of the radio nodes.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the backhaul network infrastructure comprises configuring the backhaul network infrastructure sequentially.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring the backhaul network infrastructure comprises configuring one or more alternative backhaul network infrastructure topographies and selecting one of the one or more alternative backhaul network infrastructure topographies.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the capabilities and the neighborhood relations of the radio nodes are stored in a node database.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing a current backhaul network infrastructure for the radio access network in a topography database.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising storing network resource utilization information in a resource pool database, wherein configuring the backhaul network infrastructure comprises configuring the backhaul network infrastructure in accordance with the network resource utilization information.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising identifying, by the network controller, network traffic conditions in the radio access network, wherein configuring the backhaul network infrastructure further comprises configuring the backhaul network infrastructure in accordance with the network traffic conditions.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein identifying the network traffic conditions comprises using a network status analyzer to monitor network traffic load, predict network traffic load, predict network traffic migration, detect congestion, detect delivered quality of experience (QoE) levels, or a combination thereof.

9. The method of claim 7 further comprising integrating, by the network controller, one or more privately deployed radio nodes in the backhaul network infrastructure in accordance with the network traffic conditions.

10. The method of claim 9 further comprising storing information on the one or more privately deployed radio nodes in a private node database.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein integrating the one or more privately deployed radio nodes comprises identifying potential privately deployed radio nodes for integration, negotiating integration terms with the one or more privately deployed radio nodes, and activating a logical interface between the radio access network and control planes of each of the one or more privately deployed radio nodes.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising releasing the one or more privately deployed radio nodes in accordance with network traffic conditions or integration conditions.

13. The method of claim 7 further comprising configuring, by the network controller, one or more access links in the agile radio access network in accordance with the network traffic conditions.

14. The method of claim 7, wherein configuring the backhaul network infrastructure comprises adding a backhaul link, removing a backhaul link, steering a backhaul link, adding a carrier to endpoints of a backhaul link, or a combination thereof in accordance with the network traffic conditions.

15. A network controller comprising:

a processor; and

a computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to;

determine, by a network controller, capabilities and neighborhood relations of radio nodes in an area of a radio access network controlled by the network controller; and

configure a backhaul network infrastructure for the area of the radio access network in accordance with the capabilities and the neighborhood relations of the radio nodes.

16. The network controller of claim 15, wherein programming includes further instructions to identify network traffic conditions in the area of the radio access network, wherein the instructions to configure the backhaul network infrastructure comprise further instructions to configuring the backhaul network infrastructure in accordance with the network traffic conditions.

17. The network controller of claim 15, wherein the radio nodes comprise a plurality of operator deployed radio nodes providing terminal specific access links to terminals in the area of the radio access network, wherein the programming includes further instructions to configure the access links in accordance with the network traffic condition.

18. The network controller of claim 17, wherein the plurality of operator deployed radio nodes comprises densely deployed low power radio nodes.

19. The network controller of claim 17, wherein the radio access network further comprises a node database identifying each of the plurality of operator deployed radio nodes and information regarding each of the plurality of operator deployed radio nodes, wherein the information comprises information on radio node capability, energy supply type, neighborhood relations, location, or a combination thereof.

20. The network controller of claim 19, wherein the information on radio node capability comprises information on a number of backhaul ports at a radio node, communications standards supported by the radio node, radio frequency capability in an access link, radio frequency capability in a backhaul link, storage capacity, or a combination thereof.

21. The network controller of claim 15, wherein the radio nodes comprise one or more privately deployed radio nodes and wherein the instructions to configure backhaul network infrastructure comprise further instructions to integrate the one or more privately deployed radio nodes in accordance with the network traffic conditions.

22. The network controller of claim 21, wherein the one or more privately deployed radio nodes comprise a mobile privately deployed radio node.

23. A network controller comprising:

a processor; and

a computer readable storage medium storing programming for execution by the processor, the programming including instructions to;

receive, from a network status analyzer, network traffic conditions in an area of a radio access network controlled by the network controller;

determine, from a node database, capabilities and neighborhood relations for radio nodes in the area of the radio access network;

determine, from a private node database, availability of privately deployed radio nodes in the radio access network;

determine, form a resource pool database, network resource utilization information of the area of the radio access network;

configure backhaul network infrastructure for the area of the radio access network in accordance with the network traffic conditions, the capabilities of the radio nodes, the neighborhood relations of the radio nodes, the availability of the privately deployed radio nodes, and the network resource utilization information;

signal the backhaul network infrastructure to one or more applicable end user terminals, one or more applicable radio nodes, one or more applicable privately deployed radio nodes, and a control plane of the area of the radio access network; and

update the resource pool database and a topography database with the backhaul network infrastructure.