Predictive access-control and routing system for integrated services telecommunication networks
First Claim
1. A predictive system for controlling access to and for routing traffic through a network comprising nodes wherein each node is adapted to communicate with each of the other nodes, an interconnection of said nodes constituting a network topology, said system comprising:
- a network control center having a central computer;
a plurality of nodes in said network, each of said nodes being an intelligent, software controlled switch having a routing table;
each node having outgoing trunk groups connected thereto and being connected via a data link to said computer in said network control center;
each of said nodes comprising;
(a) means to measure a current occupancy state of each of said nodes outgoing trunk groups to determine instantaneous node-to-node link occupancies and to transmit said current state of link occupancies to said network control center;
(b) means to count each of said nodes number of attempts as source node to reach each of said other nodes as a destination node during a time interval to determine source-destination arrival rates for said interval, and to send said source-destination arrival rates to said network control center;
a routing topology comprising a set of a priori defined routes from each node as a source to every other node as a destination, each route having one or more links between nodes in said network;
means to predict source-destination arrival rates for a succeeding time interval based on the actual arrival rates during a current time interval;
means to predict trunk group occupancy on each link of said network at the end of a next succeeding time interval using as inputs said instantaneous link occupancy measurements, said predicted source-destination arrival rates, said network topology, and said routing topology;
means to calculate traffic control variables for each source-destination pair of nodes wherein said traffic control variables specify a percentage of incoming traffic to be offered to each route of each source-destination pair for the next time interval;
means to transmit said traffic control variables to said intelligent switches for use during the next time interval; and
said intelligent switches updating said routing tables and allocating arriving traffic among said source-destination routes according to said traffic control parameters for the next time interval.
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Abstract
A predictive access-control and routing system for a telecommunications network operating in uncertain environments and capble of handling heterogeneous traffic. The system is a real-time, state-dependent network traffic control system in which the control strategy is a function of both real-time congestion levels and real-time traffic profiles. At specific time epochs, the system, using real-time measurements of source-destination arrival dates and trunk group link occupancies, generates predictions of all network trunk group occupancy levels for the next epoch as a function of routing and access control. It then minimizes a projected cost function, such as blocking, to generate a traffic control policy to be implemented during the next time interval.
314 Citations
31 Claims
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1. A predictive system for controlling access to and for routing traffic through a network comprising nodes wherein each node is adapted to communicate with each of the other nodes, an interconnection of said nodes constituting a network topology, said system comprising:
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a network control center having a central computer; a plurality of nodes in said network, each of said nodes being an intelligent, software controlled switch having a routing table; each node having outgoing trunk groups connected thereto and being connected via a data link to said computer in said network control center; each of said nodes comprising; (a) means to measure a current occupancy state of each of said nodes outgoing trunk groups to determine instantaneous node-to-node link occupancies and to transmit said current state of link occupancies to said network control center; (b) means to count each of said nodes number of attempts as source node to reach each of said other nodes as a destination node during a time interval to determine source-destination arrival rates for said interval, and to send said source-destination arrival rates to said network control center; a routing topology comprising a set of a priori defined routes from each node as a source to every other node as a destination, each route having one or more links between nodes in said network; means to predict source-destination arrival rates for a succeeding time interval based on the actual arrival rates during a current time interval; means to predict trunk group occupancy on each link of said network at the end of a next succeeding time interval using as inputs said instantaneous link occupancy measurements, said predicted source-destination arrival rates, said network topology, and said routing topology; means to calculate traffic control variables for each source-destination pair of nodes wherein said traffic control variables specify a percentage of incoming traffic to be offered to each route of each source-destination pair for the next time interval; means to transmit said traffic control variables to said intelligent switches for use during the next time interval; and said intelligent switches updating said routing tables and allocating arriving traffic among said source-destination routes according to said traffic control parameters for the next time interval. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4)
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5. A predictive access control and routing system for real time management of a communication network comprising:
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a set of nodes, each node comprising an intelligent software-controlled switch having outgoing trunks connected thereto and being adapted to communicate with every other node whereby each node can serve as a source or as a destination, each node to node connection constituting a link, said connections forming a network topology; a network control center comprising a centralized computer system; a data link connecting each node to said control center; a routing topology comprising a set of a priori defined routes between any node of said network as a source node and any other of said nodes as a destination node, each route comprising one or more links; means to divide an operational time of said network into time intervals, a length of said intervals being a function of holding times of said network traffic; each intelligent switch having means to determine an instantaneous link occupancy state of each of said intelligent switches outgoing trunks at a specified time within a present time interval; means to report said link occupancies to said control center; means to count a number of attempts from each source node to each destination node during said specified time interval; means to report said number of source-destination attempts to said control center; said control center having means to predict an arrival rate for each source-destination pair for a succeeding time interval based on said rates for a preceding interval; said control center having means to predict a link occupancy for each link of said network at a specified time in a next succeeding time interval based on link occupancy measurements of prior time interval;
actual and predicted source-destination arrival rates;
network topology; and
routing topology;means to establish traffic control variables for each pair of source-destination nodes for the succeeding time interval, wherein said traffic control variables specify an allocation of a percentage of incoming traffic to each route for each source-destination pair, and wherein said traffic control variables need not sum to 1, thereby controlling access to said network; means to transmit said traffic control variables to said nodes; and means to effect said allocation within said node. - View Dependent Claims (6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A predictive access-control and routing system for a network comprising a control center and a plurality of interconnected nodes wherein each of said nodes is adapted to communicate with each of the other nodes, said system comprising:
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a central computer at said network control center; each node comprising a software-controlled intelligent switch controlling a plurality of trunk groups connected to at least one other node in said network to form links in said network constituting a network topology; data link connecting said nodes to said central computer; said network having a routing topology comprising a set of defined routes having one or more links between any two nodes of said network; means to divide the operations of said network into time intervals; each node having means to measure each of said nodes outgoing trunk group occupancy at the end of each time interval; each node having means to measure each of said nodes arrivals for the duration of said time interval; means to predict trunk occupancies of said network for a next succeeding time interval based on the trunk occupancies at the end of a preceding interval, the arrival rate of the preceding interval, the predicted arrival and departure rates for the next succeeding time interval, and said network topology; means to calculate traffic control variables to allocate a percentage of predicted incoming traffic to each of said specified routes; and means to minimize blocked traffic in the event of predicted overloads, thereby effecting an access and control policy for said network. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. A method for controlling access to and routing traffic through a network comprising a network control center and a plurality of nodes having a topology in which each node is connected to at least one other node by a link and is adapted to communicate via at least one link with each of the other nodes and with said network control center, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating a routing topology comprising a set of defined routes of one or more links between each source-destination pair of said nodes; dividing a period of operation of said network into time intervals; controlling the selection of routes between each source-destination pair of nodes from said set of corresponding defined routes, wherein the step of controlling said selection comprises the steps of; measuring a source-destination arrival rates for all of said routes during a first time interval; measuring the link occupancies for all of said links at the end of said first time interval; predicting the source-destination arrival rates for the next succeeding time interval; predicting link occupancies for all of said links at the end of the next succeeding time interval; specifying the percentage of incoming traffic to be offered to each defined route for each source-destination pair; and minimizing the percentage of traffic to be blocked from access to said network.
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27. In a method for controlling access to and routing traffic through a network comprising a network control center and a plurality of nodes wherein each node is adapted to communicate via at least one link with each of the other nodes and with said network control center, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating a routing topology comprising a set of defined routes between each source-destination pair of said nodes; dividing the period of operation of said network into time intervals; controlling the selection of routes between each source-destination pair of nodes from said set of corresponding defined routes by using calculated traffic control variables for said selection in response to current usage of said routes, the improvement in the calculation of said traffic control variables comprising the steps of; predicting the coming arrival rates for the succeeding interval for all source-destination pairs in said network; predicting the link occupancy level for all links in said network at a specified time in the succeeding interval; and formulating a routing for all incoming traffic in the succeeding time interval. - View Dependent Claims (28)
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29. An improved method for controlling access to and routing a call through a network switching system comprising a plurality of interconnected intelligent switches having a network topology and a network control center, wherein each switch is arranged to communicate via links with each of the other switches and with said control center, said method including the steps of:
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generating a set of defined routes between each pair of switches, each route having at least one link; controlling the selection of call routes between pairs of said switches from said sets as a function of current usage of the links of said routes, predictions of future arrivals on said links, and minimization of future blockings; wherein for the improved method the step of controlling said selection comprises the steps of; predicting occupancy factors for each link of each route of said sets of routes for an upcoming time interval based upon actual occupancy factors in the present time interval, actual arrivals during the present interval and predicted arrivals and departures for said upcoming time interval; formulating an optimal routing strategy whereby predicted future traffic is allocated in calculated proportions to each route between said pairs of switches, while minimizing blocking of traffic.
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30. A method for controlling access to and routing offered traffic through a network comprising a network control center and a plurality of intelligent switching nodes interconnected by links according to a defined topology, wherein each node is arranged to communicate with said center and said other nodes, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating for use at preselected intervals a routing topology comprising sets of defined routes, each route composed of at least one link and each set including at least one route between each source-destination pair of nodes; generating, at predetermined intervals, traffic control variables as a function of network topology, predictions of incoming traffic for the next interval based on actual traffic for the present interval, predictions of link occupancy for the next interval based on link occupancy for the first interval, and minimizing blocking based on blocking patterns of the present interval;
whereby said traffic control variables include an allocation of traffic among alternate routes between all source-destination pairs;controlling the selection of routes between each source-destination pair of nodes from said set of corresponding defined routes by using said generated traffic control variables for said selection in response to current usage of said routes; said step of generating traffic control variables including the steps of predicting the coming arrival rates for all source-destination pairs in said network using a second order linear predictor of the form ##EQU31## λ
(t) is the predicted arrival rate and γ
(t) is the measured arrival rate, such that the new predicted arrival rate for the upcoming interval is a weighted sum of the prior predicted arrival rate for the preceding interval and the arrival rate measured during the preceding interval; andpredicting the link occupancy level for each link of said network at the end of next interval by measuring said link'"'"'s present occupancy level, adding the predicted future arrivals on the link and subtracting the predicted future departures from the link. - View Dependent Claims (31)
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Specification