Decision-theoretic satellite communications system
First Claim
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1. A communications system, comprising:
- a ground node receiving calls; and
a control unit maximizing a communication system expected utility function and allocating communication resources to received calls based on the communication system expected utility function;
wherein, preferably, the control unit allocates communication system resources by performing at least one ofassigning communication resources to calls, the communication resources including communication bandwidth,blocking calls, andpreempting calls in progress;
wherein the control unit maximizes the expected utility function of the communication system byidentifying decisions relating to communication resource allocation, each decision di being a different communication resource allocation decision;
determining a maximum expected utility function E as;
##EQU4## wherein sj is a possible configuration of communication bandwidth assigned to individual calls,wherein C is a system context based on at least one of a present network state and a past network state,wherein p(sj |dj, C) represents a probability of achieving state sj given a decision di and the system context C,wherein u(sj, di) represents a utility function based on a weighted combination of network performance characteristics; and
selecting the resource allocation decision di that maximizes the expected utility E of the communication system.
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Abstract
A communications system allocates communication bandwidth to calls in such a manner for optimizing network system performance. The system uses knowledge about the state of the past and present network demand, and network resources. Predictions of future demand and future network resources are used to calculate future network performance. Allocation decisions are chosen based on network performance calculations and probabilities of achieving future network states.
102 Citations
29 Claims
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1. A communications system, comprising:
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a ground node receiving calls; and a control unit maximizing a communication system expected utility function and allocating communication resources to received calls based on the communication system expected utility function; wherein, preferably, the control unit allocates communication system resources by performing at least one of assigning communication resources to calls, the communication resources including communication bandwidth, blocking calls, and preempting calls in progress; wherein the control unit maximizes the expected utility function of the communication system by identifying decisions relating to communication resource allocation, each decision di being a different communication resource allocation decision; determining a maximum expected utility function E as;
##EQU4## wherein sj is a possible configuration of communication bandwidth assigned to individual calls,wherein C is a system context based on at least one of a present network state and a past network state, wherein p(sj |dj, C) represents a probability of achieving state sj given a decision di and the system context C, wherein u(sj, di) represents a utility function based on a weighted combination of network performance characteristics; and selecting the resource allocation decision di that maximizes the expected utility E of the communication system. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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16. A method for allocating communication resources, the method comprising the steps of:
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receiving call requests from a plurality of communication units; identifying possible communication resource configurations for each call request, each communication resource configuration including a communication bandwidth; determining an optimal communication resource allocation configuration by maximizing an expected utility function of the communications system; wherein the step of identifying possible communication resource configurations to each call request includes at least one of assigning unused communication bandwidth, blocking calls, and preempting calls in progress; wherein the step of determining the optimal resource allocation configuration includes the step of maximizing the following expected utility equation;
##EQU5## wherein sj is a possible configuration of communication bandwidth assigned to individual calls,wherein C is a system context of at least one of a present network state and a past network state, wherein p(sj |dj, C) represents a probability of achieving state sj given a decision di and the system context C, wherein u(sj,di) represents a utility function based on a weighted combination of network performance characteristics; and selecting the resource allocation decision di that maximizes the expected utility E of the communication system. - View Dependent Claims (17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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Specification