OPTIMIZING NETWORK CHANNEL LOADING

• US 20180006949A1
• Filed: 06/30/2016
• Published: 01/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Hughes Network Systems LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Hughes Network Systems LLC (Echostar Corporation)
• Inventors: Xu, Jun, Torres, Robert, Border, John, Javali, Nagesh
• Granted Patent: US 10,812,389 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0882 Utilisation of link capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/125 by balancing the load, e.g. traffic engineering
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/743 Reaction at the end points
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/805 QOS or priority aware

Abstract

A terminal device in a first network includes a processor programmed to receive first data indicating a respective first loading of each of a plurality of first level access devices. The processor is further programmed to select a first level access device based at least in part on the first data; and communicate with a second network via the selected first level access device and a selected second level access device. Each of the first level access devices is switchable to communicate with the first terminal via at least a respective one of one or more shared access channels, and each of a plurality second level access devices is switchable to communicatively couple one or more of the plurality of first level access devices with a second network.

Claims

1. A first terminal device in a first network, the first terminal device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions such that the processor is programmed to:

receive first data indicating a respective first loading of each of a plurality of first level access devices;

select a first level access device based at least in part on the first data; and

communicate with a second network via the selected first level access device and a selected second level access device;

wherein each of the first level access devices is switchable to communicate with the first terminal via at least a respective one of one or more shared access channels; and

further wherein each of a plurality second level access devices is switchable to communicatively couple one or more of the plurality of first level access devices with a second network.

2. The first terminal device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

select, prior to selecting the first level access device, the second level access device, wherein the first level access device is selected without changing the selected second level access device.

3. The first terminal device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

determine, prior to selecting the first level access device, that the first terminal device has been inactive for a predetermined period of time, wherein selecting the first level access device is based at least in part on the determination that the first terminal device has been inactive for the predetermined period of time.

4. The first terminal device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

receive second data indicating a respective second loading of each of the two or more second level access devices; and

select the second level access device based at least in part on the second data.

5. The first terminal device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

determine, based on the first data, an average of a first level device loading over all of the plurality of first level devices, wherein the selection of the first level device is based at least in part on the determination of an average of the first level device loading over all of the plurality of first level devices.

6. The first terminal device of claim 5, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

determine that the average of the first level device loading over all of the plurality of first level devices is greater than a predetermined threshold, wherein the selection of the first level device is based at least in part on the determination that the average of the first level device loading over all of the plurality of first level devices is greater than the predetermined threshold.

7. The first terminal device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

select the second level device based on a default condition.

8. The first terminal device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

receive third data indicating a respective utilization of each of one or more second level devices associated with the selected first level device;

determine a utilization of the selected second level device based at least in part on the third data;

determine an overall average utilization of the one or more second level devices based at least in part on the third data;

compare the utilization of the selected second level device to the overall average utilization of the one or more second level devices; and

select a second level device based at least in part on the comparison.

9. The first terminal device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

receive fourth data indicating a respective utilization of each of the plurality of first level devices;

identify one or more pairs of a first level device communicatively coupled with a second level device;

determine, based on the fourth data, a respective utilization for each of the one or more identified pairs of the respective first level device and the respective second level device; and

select the first level device based at least in part on the determined utilizations for each of the one or more pairs of the respective first level device and the respective second level device.

10. The first terminal device of claim 1, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

determine a sum of an assigned data rate for each of one or more terminal devices including the first terminal device; and

select the first level device based at least in part on the determined sum of the assigned data rates for each of the one or more terminal devices including the first terminal device.

11. The first terminal device of claim 10, wherein the assigned data rate is based on rate plans associated respectively with each of the one or more terminal devices including the first terminal device.

12. A bandwidth management computing device in a first network, the bandwidth management computing device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions such that the processor is programmed to:

receive first data indicating a respective loading of each of two or more first level access devices at a time;

determine, based on the first data, an average loading over all of the two or more first level access devices at the time;

identify, based in part on the average loading over all of the two or more first level access devices at the time, a first threshold;

determine that a loading of a first first level access device is greater than the first threshold at the time; and

based on the determination that the loading of the first first level device is greater than the first threshold, instruct a first terminal device associated with the first first level device to switch from the first first level access device to a second first level access device;

wherein each of the first level access devices is switchable to communicate with the first terminal via at least a respective one of one or more shared access channels; and

further wherein each of the second level access devices is switchable to communicatively couple one or more of the two or more first level access devices with a second network.

13. The bandwidth management computing device of claim 12, wherein the average loading over all of the two or more first level devices is based at least in part on a reported backlog for each of the two or more first level devices at the time.

14. The bandwidth management computing device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

determine, prior to instructing the first terminal to switch from the first first level access device to the second first level access device, that the average loading over all of the two or more first level access devices is less than a second threshold; and

instructing the first terminal to switch from the first first level access device to the second first level access device based at least in part on the determination that the average over all loading is less than the second threshold.

15. The bandwidth management computing device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

identify, based in part on the average loading over all of the two or more first level access devices at the time, a third threshold;

determine that a loading of a second first level device is less than the third threshold, wherein, the first terminal is instructed to switch to the second first level access device based at least in part on the determination that the loading of the second first level access device is less than the third threshold.

16. The bandwidth management computing device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

determine an average weighted rate plan over all of the two or more first level access devices at the time;

identify, based at least in part on the average weighted rate plan, a fourth threshold;

determine that a weighted rate plan of a third first level device is greater than the fourth threshold; and

based at least in part on the determination that the loading of the third first level device is greater than the fourth threshold, instruct a second terminal associated with the third first level device to switch to another first level device.

17. The bandwidth management computing device of claim 16, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

determine that a loading of a fourth first level device is less than a fifth threshold, wherein, the second terminal is instructed to switch from the third first level access device to the fourth first level access device.

18. The bandwidth management computing device of claim 16, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

determine, prior to instructing the second terminal to switch, that no first level device has a loading greater than the first threshold.

19. The bandwidth management computing device of claim 16, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

determine that the average loading over all of the two or more first level access devices at the time is less than a sixth threshold;

wherein instructing the second terminal associated with the third first level device to switch to another first level device is based at least in part on the determination that the average loading over all of the two or more first level access devices at the time is less than the sixth threshold.

20. A first second level access device in a first network, the first second level access device including a processor and a memory, the memory storing instructions such that the processor is programmed to:

receive first data indicating an activity level of each of one or more terminal devices for a time period;

identify, a target data rate threshold;

determine, based on the first data, that the activity level of a first terminal device of the one more terminal devices is greater than the target data rate threshold for the time period; and

based on the determination that the activity level of the first terminal device is greater than the target data rate threshold for the time period, instruct the first terminal device to switch from a first first level access device to a second first level access device;

wherein each of two or more first level access devices is switchable to communicate with the first terminal via at least a respective one of one or more shared access channels; and

further wherein each of one or more second level access devices is switchable to communicatively couple one or more of the two or more first level access devices with a second network.

21. The first second level access device of claim 20, wherein the target rate threshold is based at least in part on a base plan rate.

22. The first second level access device of claim 20, wherein the first data indicating the activity level includes at least one of a respective backlog and a respective throughput of each of the one or more terminal devices for the time period.

23. The first second level access device of claim 20, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

identify a respective number of terminal devices associated with each of the first level access devices with an activity level greater than the target data rate threshold;

determine, based on the respective number of terminal devices with an activity level greater than the target data rate threshold associated with each of the first level access devices;

a target number of terminal devices with an activity level greater than the target data rate to be associated with each of the first level access devices; and

instruct one or more terminal devices with an activity level greater than the target data rate threshold associated with each of the first level access devices to switch from a third first level access device to a fourth first level access device, wherein the third first level access device is associated with more than the target number of high activity terminal devices prior to the switch, and the fourth first level access device is associated with less than the target number of high activity terminal devices prior to the switch.

24. The first second level access device of claim 20, wherein the processor is further programmed to:

determine a normalized activity level for each of the terminal devices with an activity level greater than the target activity level;

wherein instructing the one or more terminal devices to switch from the third first level access to the fourth first level access is based at least in part on the normalized activity levels for the respective terminal devices.

25. The first second level access device of claim 20, wherein the third first level device and the fourth first level device are associated with the first second level device.

26. The first second level access device of claim 20, wherein a number of terminal devices moved during a move time period is less than a predetermined threshold.