Resource controllers for use in a non-unitary service system

• US 6,282,424 B1
• Filed: 07/01/1997
• Issued: 08/28/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 07/01/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Opuswave Networks, Inc.
• Original Assignee: Opuswave Networks, Inc.
• Inventors: Mansfield, Carl, Wright, Andrew S., Newton, Helen R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Trost, William
• Assistant Examiner(s): SOBUTKA, PHILIP
• Application Number:
  US08/886,853
• Time in Patent Office: 1,519 Days
• Field of Search: 455/445, 455/446, 455/528, 455/453, 455/454, 455/450, 455/451, 455/452, 455/466, 370/336, 370/329, 370/337, 370/345, 370/468
• US Class Current: 455/450
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 3/36 Statistical metering, e.g. recording occasions when traffic exceeds capacity of trunks
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 7/12 for working between exchanges having different types of switching equipment, e.g. power-driven and step by step or decimal and non-decimal
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 3/0091 Congestion or overload control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/16 Central resource management; Negotiation of resources or communication parameters, e.g. negotiating bandwidth or QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/14 Backbone network devices

Abstract

Apparatus for controlling the blocking of a network-supported primary service by a network-supported secondary service sharing the same network router/switch.

A controller included in the network'"'"'s switch/router operates by identifying for each secondary service connection request the likelihood that if it is allocated a router/switch server, a subsequent primary service connection request will be blocked, i.e., denied a server allocation of its own. If the controller determines it is unlikely that allocating a secondary service connection request a server will cause a subsequent primary service connection request to be blocked, it allocates an idle server to a currently pending secondary service connection request at the router/switch. If, however, the controller determines that it is likely that allocating a secondary service connection request a server will cause a subsequent primary service connection request to be blocked, it blocks any pending secondary service connection requests at the router/switch from being allocated a server at that time.

Claims

1. A resource controller, said resource controller comprising:

a resource identifier, said resource identifier comprising an input, said input comprising a first set of status information from a hardware interface, said resource identifier comprising determining the number of primary service connections in progress, and determining the number of secondary service connections in progress, said resource identifier comprising a first output and a second output;

a resource monitor, said resource monitor comprising a first input, said first input comprising a plurality of queues, said resource monitor comprising a second input, said second input comprising a second set of status information from said hardware interface, said resource monitor comprising an output;

a resource estimator, said resource estimator comprising a first input, said first input comprising said first output of said resource identifier, said resource estimator comprising a second input, said second input comprising said output of said resource monitor, said resource estimator comprising an output; and

a resource allocator, said resource allocator comprising a first input, said first input comprising said plurality of queues, said resource allocator comprising a second input, said second input comprising said output of said resource estimator, said resource allocator comprising a third input, said third input comprising said second output of said resource identifier, said resource allocator comprising an output, said output comprising control information for said hardware interface.

2. The resource controller of claim 1, wherein said resource identifier further comprises:

determining a parameter value to address a resource of said hardware interface that is not allocated, if there is a resource of said hardware interface that is not allocated.

3. The resource controller of claim 2, wherein said resource monitor further comprises:

computing an average arrival rate of primary service connection requests;

computing an average arrival rate of secondary service connection requests;

assessing an average time that a primary service connection in progress is allocated a resource; and

assessing an average time that a secondary service connection in progress is allocated a resource.

4. The resource controller of claim 3, wherein said resource estimator further comprises computing a threshold value.

5. The resource controller of claim 4, wherein said resource allocator further comprises:

allocating a resource for a secondary service connection if the number of resources available after said allocation is equal to or greater than said threshold value, and

not allocating a resource for a secondary service connection if the number of resources available after said allocation will be less than said threshold value.

6. The resource controller of claim 5 wherein said resource estimator is a tabulation estimator comprising:

computing a threshold value for each possible combination of primary service connections in progress and secondary service connections in progress, and

storing each said threshold value in an appropriate table entry.

7. The resource controller of claim 6, wherein said resource monitor is an adaptive monitor comprising monitoring the rate at which primary service connection requests are not allocated a resource.

8. A probabilistic resource controller, said probabilistic resource controller comprising:

an idle controller state, said probabilistic resource controller transitioning to said idle controller state when there are no pending connection requests;

an examine OTA resource state, said probabilistic resource controller transitioning to said examine OTA resource state from said idle controller state upon a pending connection request, said probabilistic resource controller transitioning from said examine OTA resource state to said idle controller state if there are no resources available to allocate to said pending connection request;

an examine connection requests state, said probabilistic resource controller transitioning to said examine connection requests state from said examine OTA resource state if there is a resource available to allocate to said pending connection request, said probabilistic resource controller transitioning from said examine connection requests state to said idle controller state if there are no pending connection requests;

an allocate OTA resource to primary service state, said probabilistic resource controller transitioning to said allocate OTA resource to primary service state from said examine connection requests state if said pending connection request is a pending primary service connection request, said probabilistic resource controller transitioning from said allocate OTA resource to primary service state to said idle controller state when said probabilistic resource controller allocates a resource in response to said pending primary service connection request;

an examine reserved headroom state, said probabilistic resource controller transitioning to said examine reserved headroom state from said examine connection requests state if said pending connection request is a pending second service connection request, said probabilistic resource controller transitioning from said examine reserved headroom state to said idle controller state if an allocation of a resource in response to said pending secondary service connection request will result in the number of available resources falling below a threshold value; and

an allocate OTA resource to secondary service state, said probabilistic resource controller transitioning to said allocate OTA resource to secondary service state from said examine reserved headroom state if said allocation of a resource in response to said pending secondary service connection request will not result in the number of available resources falling below said threshold value, said probabilistic resource controller transitioning from said allocate OTA resource to secondary service state to said idle controller state when said probabilistic resource controller allocates a resource in response to said pending secondary service connection request.

9. The probabilistic resource controller of claim 8 further comprising an allocate OTA resource to signaling state, said probabilistic resource controller transitioning to said allocate OTA resource to signaling state from said examine connection requests state if said pending connection request is a pending signaling connection request, said probabilistic resource controller transitioning from said allocate OTA resource to signaling state to said idle controller state when said probabilistic resource controller allocates a resource in response to said pending signaling connection request.

10. The probabilistic resource controller of claim 9, further comprising:

said probabilistic resource controller transitioning to said allocate OTA resource to primary service state from said examine connection requests state if said pending connection request is a pending primary service connection request and there are no pending signaling connection requests, and,

said probabilistic resource controller transitioning to said examine reserved headroom state from said examine connection requests state if said pending connection request is a pending secondary service connection request and there are no pending signaling connection requests and there are no pending primary service connection requests.

11. A machine readable medium comprising a computer program, said computer program comprising code to accomplish:

allocating a resource for a secondary service connection if the number of resources available after said allocation is equal to or greater than a threshold;

not allocating a resource for a secondary service connection if the number of resources available after said allocation will be less than said threshold; and

adaptively controlling the value of said threshold by;

monitoring the rate at which primary service connection requests are not allocated a resource;

decreasing the value of said threshold if said rate is less than a set rate; and

increasing the value of said threshold if said rate is greater than said set rate.

12. The computer program of claim 11, wherein a value of said threshold maximizes the allocation of resources in response to primary service connection requests and minimizes the number of secondary service connections requests for which a resource is not allocated.

13. The computer program of claim 11, wherein a value of said threshold is determined by the number of primary service connections allocated a resource and the number of secondary service connections allocated a resource.

14. The computer program of claim 11, wherein said set rate is determined by an operator input.

15. The computer program of claim 11, further comprising code to accomplish accessing a table in a database to determine whether to allocate a resource for a secondary service connection, said table comprising a plurality of entries, each said entry representing a value of said threshold.

16. The computer program of claim 15, further comprising code to accomplish updating said entries of said table.

17. A machine readable medium comprising a computer program, said computer program comprising code to accomplish:

allocating a resource for a secondary service connection if the number of resources available after said allocation is equal to or greater than a threshold;

not allocating a resource for a secondary service connection if the number of resources available after said allocation will be less than said threshold; and

adaptively controlling the value of said threshold by;

accessing a table in a database to determine whether to allocate a resource for a secondary service connection, said table comprising a plurality of entries, each said entry representing a value of said threshold; and

updating said entries of said table.

18. The computer program of claim 17, wherein a value of said threshold maximizes the allocation of resources in response to primary service connection requests and minimizes the number of secondary service connections requests for which a resource is not allocated.

19. The computer program of claim 17, wherein a value of said threshold is determined by the number of primary service connections allocated a resource and the number of secondary service connections allocated a resource.

20. The computer program of claim 17, further comprising code to accomplish:

monitoring the rate at which primary service connection requests are not allocated a resource;

decreasing the value of said threshold if said rate is less than a set rate; and

increasing the value of said threshold if said rate is greater than said set rate.

21. The computer program of claim 20, wherein said set rate is determined by an operator input.