USER-PLANE CONGESTION MANAGEMENT

• US 20160112896A1
• Filed: 01/10/2014
• Published: 04/21/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/11/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: InterDigital Patent Holdings, Inc. (InterDigital, Inc.)
• Inventors: KAUR, Samian, ADJAKPLE, Pascal M., KARAMPATSIS, Dimitrios
• Granted Patent: US 9,973,966 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/22 Traffic shaping
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/32 by discarding or delaying data units, e.g. packets or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0252 per individual bearer or channel dynamic wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0268 using specific QoS parameters for wireless networks, e.g. QoS class identifier [QCI] or guaranteed bit rate [GBR] negotiating SLA or negotiating QoS H04W28/24
• 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 72/569 of the traffic information

Abstract

Methods, apparatuses and systems for user-plane congestion management are provided. Among these method, apparatuses and systems is a method, implementable by a base station (and/or a serving gateway), for mitigating user plane congestion. The method may include sending a congestion indication to a core network; receiving a general packet radio system (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet including an first internet protocol (IP) packet associated with a first flow within a bearer; obtaining, from a header of the GTP packet, an indicator indicative of a priority of the IP packet, wherein the indicator was inserted into the header of the GTP packet by the core network responsive to the congestion indication; and dropping any of the GTP packet and the first IP packet on condition that a priority of a second IP packet associated with second flow within the bearer takes precedence over the priority of the first IP packet.

Claims

1. A method, implementable by a base station, for mitigating user plane congestion, the method comprising:

sending a congestion indication to a core network;

receiving a general packet radio system (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet including an first internet protocol (IP) packet associated with a first flow within a bearer;

obtaining, from a header of the GTP packet, an indicator indicative of a priority of the IP packet, wherein the indicator was inserted into the header of the GTP packet by the core network responsive to the congestion indication; and

dropping any of the GTP packet and the first IP packet on condition that a priority of a second IP packet associated with second flow within the bearer takes precedence over the priority of the first IP packet.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein dropping any of the GTP packet and the first IP packet comprises:

dropping any of the GTP packet and the first IP packet responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that the priority of the second IP packet takes precedence over the priority of the first IP packet.

14. The method of any of the claims 1-13, wherein the first and second flows are associated with first and second applications, respectively.

15. The method of any of the claims 1-13, wherein the first and second flows are associated with the same application.

16. The method of any of the claims 1-15, wherein sending a congestion indication to a core network comprises:

sending from the base station and/or a radio access network (RAN) to a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), through bearer traffic, information indicating that the base station and/or the radio access network (RAN) is experiencing congestion.

17. The method of any of the claims 1-16, wherein the bearer is a default bearer.

18. The method of any of the claims 1-17, wherein the GTP packet is received on a S1-U interface.

3. A method, implementable by a base station, for mitigating user plane congestion, the method comprising:

sending a congestion indication to a core network;

receiving a general packet radio system (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet including a first internet protocol (IP) packet associated with a first flow within a bearer;

obtaining, from a header of the GTP packet, an indicator indicative of a priority of the first IP packet, wherein the indicator was inserted into the header of the GTP packet by the core network responsive to the congestion indication; and

on condition that the priority of the first IP packet takes precedence over a priority of a second IP packet that is associated with a second flow and that persists in a queue, performing queue management to en-queue the first IP packet and to de-queue the second IP packet.

4. The method of claim 4, wherein the queue management is performed responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that the priority of the first IP packet takes precedence over the priority of the second IP packet.

5. A method, implementable by a base station, for mitigating user plane congestion, the method comprising:

sending a congestion indication to a core network;

receiving a general packet radio system (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet including a first internet protocol (IP) packet associated with a first flow within a bearer;

obtaining, from a header of the GTP packet, an indicator indicative of a priority of the first IP packet, wherein the indicator was inserted into the header of the GTP packet by the core network responsive to the congestion indication; and

on condition that a priority of a second IP packet associated with a second flow takes precedence over the priority of the first IP packet, performing queue management to de-queue one or more of IP packets associated with the first flow.

6. The method of claims 5, wherein the queue management is performed responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that the priority of the second IP packet takes precedence over the priority of the first IP packet.

7. A method, implementable by a base station, for mitigating user plane congestion, the method comprising:

sending a congestion indication to a core network;

receiving a general packet radio system (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet including a first internet protocol (IP) packet associated with a first flow within a bearer;

obtaining, from a header of the GTP packet, an indicator indicative of a priority of the first IP packet, wherein the indicator was inserted into the header of the GTP packet by the core network responsive to the congestion indication;

on condition that a priority of a second IP packet persisting in a queue is the same as the priority of the first IP packet, performing a first queue management to de-queue the second IP packet; and

/or

on condition that the priority of the first IP packet takes precedence over a priority of the second IP packet, performing a second queue management to de-queue the second IP packet.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the first queue management is performed responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that a priority of a second IP packet persisting in a queue is the same as the priority of the first IP packet,

9. The method the any of the claims 7-8, wherein the second queue management is performed responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that the priority of the first IP packet takes precedence over the priority of the second IP packet.

10. A method, implementable by a base station, for mitigating user plane congestion, the method comprising:

sending a congestion indication to a core network;

receiving a general packet radio system (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet including a first internet protocol (IP) packet associated with a first flow within a bearer;

obtaining, from a header of the GTP packet, an indicator indicative of a priority of the first IP packet, wherein the indicator was inserted into the header of the GTP packet by the core network responsive to the congestion indication; and

delaying scheduling of the first IP packet on condition that a priority of a second IP packet associated with another flow within the bearer takes precedence over the priority of the first IP packet.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein delaying scheduling of the IP packet comprises:

delaying scheduling of the IP packet responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that the priority of the second IP packet takes precedence over the priority of the first IP packet.

12. A method, implementable by a base station, for mitigating user plane congestion, the method comprising:

sending a congestion indication to a core network;

receiving a general packet radio system (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet including a first internet protocol (IP) packet associated with a first flow within a bearer;

obtaining, from a header of the GTP packet, an indicator indicative of a priority of the first IP packet, wherein the indicator was inserted into the header of the GTP packet by the core network response to the congestion indication; and

on condition that the priority of the first IP packet takes precedence over a priority of a second IP packet associated with a second flow within the bearer, scheduling the first IP packet ahead of the second IP packet.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein scheduling the first IP packet occurs responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that the priority of the first IP packet takes precedence over a priority of the second IP packet.

19. An apparatus comprising:

a processor, wherein the processor is configured to;

send a congestion indication to a core network;

receive a general packet radio system (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet including an first internet protocol (IP) packet associated with a first flow within a bearer;

obtain, from a header of the GTP packet, an indicator indicative of a priority of the IP packet, wherein the indicator was inserted into the header of the GTP packet by the core network responsive to the congestion indication; and

drop any of the GTP packet and the first IP packet on condition that a priority of a second IP packet associated with second flow within the bearer takes precedence over the priority of the first IP packet.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to drop any of the GTP packet and the first IP packet responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that the priority of the second IP packet takes precedence over the priority of the first IP packet.

32. The apparatus of any of the claims 19-31, wherein the first and second flows are associated with first and second applications, respectively.

33. The apparatus of any of the claims 19-31, wherein the first and second flows are associated with the same application.

34. The apparatus of any of the claims 19-33, wherein the processor being configured to send a congestion indication to a core network comprises the processor being configured to:

send from the base station and/or a radio access network (RAN) to a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), through bearer and/or control signaling traffic, information indicating that the base station and/or the RAN is experiencing congestion.

35. The apparatus of any of the claims 19-34, wherein the bearer is a default bearer.

36. The method of any of the claims 19-35, wherein the GTP packet is received on a S1-U interface.

21. An apparatus comprising:

a processor, wherein the processor is configured to;

send a congestion indication to a core network;

receive a general packet radio system (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet including a first internet protocol (IP) packet associated with a first flow within a bearer;

obtain, from a header of the GTP packet, an indicator indicative of a priority of the first IP packet, wherein the indicator was inserted into the header of the GTP packet by the core network responsive to the congestion indication; and

on condition that the priority of the first IP packet takes precedence over a priority of a second IP packet that is associated with a second flow and that persists in a queue, perform queue management to en-queue the first IP packet and to de-queue the second IP packet.

22. The apparatus of claim 21, wherein the queue management is performed responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that the priority of the first IP packet takes precedence over the priority of the second IP packet.

23. An apparatus comprising:

a processor, wherein the processor is configured to;

send a congestion indication to a core network;

receive a general packet radio system (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet including a first internet protocol (IP) packet associated with a first flow within a bearer;

obtain, from a header of the GTP packet, an indicator indicative of a priority of the first IP packet, wherein the indicator was inserted into the header of the GTP packet by the core network responsive to the congestion indication; and

on condition that a priority of a second IP packet associated with a second flow takes precedence over the priority of the first IP packet, perform queue management to de-queue one or more of IP packets associated with the first flow.

24. The apparatus of claim 23, wherein the queue management is performed responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that the priority of the second IP packet takes precedence over the priority of the first IP packet.

25. An apparatus comprising:

a processor, wherein the processor is configured to;

send a congestion indication to a core network;

receive a general packet radio system (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet including a first internet protocol (IP) packet associated with a first flow within a bearer;

obtain, from a header of the GTP packet, an indicator indicative of a priority of the first IP packet, wherein the indicator was inserted into the header of the GTP packet by the core network responsive to the congestion indication;

on condition that a priority of a second IP packet persisting in a queue is the same as the priority of the first IP packet, perform a first queue management to de-queue the second IP packet; and

/or

on condition that the priority of the first IP packet takes precedence over a priority of the second IP packet, perform a second queue management to de-queue the second IP packet.

26. The apparatus of claims 25, wherein the first queue management is performed responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that a priority of a second IP packet persisting in a queue is the same as the priority of the first IP packet,

27. The apparatus the any of the claims 25-26, wherein the second queue management is performed responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that the priority of the first IP packet takes precedence over the priority of the second IP packet.

28. An apparatus comprising:

a processor, wherein the processor is configured to;

send a congestion indication to a core network;

receive a general packet radio system (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet including a first internet protocol (IP) packet associated with a first flow within a bearer;

obtain, from a header of the GTP packet, an indicator indicative of a priority of the first IP packet, wherein the indicator was inserted into the header of the GTP packet by the core network responsive to the congestion indication; and

delay scheduling of the first IP packet on condition that a priority of a second IP packet associated with another flow within the bearer takes precedence over the priority of the first IP packet.

29. The apparatus of claim 28, wherein the processor is configured to delay scheduling of the IP packet responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that the priority of the second IP packet takes precedence over the priority of the first IP packet.

30. An apparatus comprising:

a processor, wherein the processor is configured to;

sending a congestion indication to a core network;

receiving a general packet radio system (GPRS) tunneling protocol (GTP) packet including a first internet protocol (IP) packet associated with a first flow within a bearer;

obtaining, from a header of the GTP packet, an indicator indicative of a priority of the first IP packet, wherein the indicator was inserted into the header of the GTP packet by the core network response to the congestion indication; and

on condition that the priority of the first IP packet takes precedence over a priority of a second IP packet associated with a second flow within the bearer, scheduling the first IP packet ahead of the second IP packet.

31. The apparatus of claim 30, wherein scheduling the first IP packet occurs responsive to user plane congestion and on condition that the priority of the first IP packet takes precedence over a priority of the second IP packet.

37. A method comprising:

receiving at a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), through bearer and/or control signaling traffic, information indicating that a base station and/or a radio access network (RAN) is experiencing congestion; and

deciding at the PCRF one or more measures to mitigate the congestion.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the measures comprise throttling or otherwise traffic shaping certain traffic.

39. The method of any of the claims 37 and 38, wherein the PCRF takes into account a user subscription profile when deciding the one or more measures.

40. The method of any of the claims 37-39, wherein the PCRF takes into account an application run by a user when deciding the one or more measures.

41. A method comprising:

sending from a base station and/or a radio access network (RAN) to a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), through bearer and/or control signaling traffic, information indicating that the base station and/or the RAN is experiencing congestion; and

applying, at the base station and/or the RAN, one or more measures to mitigate the congestion based on corresponding one or more measures taken by the PCRF.

43. The method any of the claims 41 and 42, wherein the measures comprise throttling or otherwise traffic shaping certain traffic.

44. The method of any of the claims 41-43, wherein the one or more measures to mitigate the congestion applied at the base station and/or the RAN are based, at least in part, on a user subscription profile.

45. The method of any of the claims 41-44, wherein the one or more measures to mitigate the congestion applied at the base station and/or the RAN are based, at least in part, on an application run by a user.

42. A method comprising:

receiving at a base station and/or a radio access network (RAN) from a policy and charging rules function (PCRF) a rule specifying one or more measures for the base station and/or the RAN to apply to mitigate congestion; and

applying, at the base station and/or the RAN, the one or more measures specified by the rule provided from the PCRF.