Method and system for wireless QOS agent for all-IP network

• US 6,631,122 B1
• Filed: 06/11/1999
• Issued: 10/07/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 06/11/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Blackberry Limited
• Original Assignee: Nortel Networks Limited (Nortel Networks Corporation)
• Inventors: Arunachalam, Vaidhyanathan, Basu, Kalyan, Sen, Sanjoy K.
• Primary Examiner(s): Yao, Kwang Bin
• Assistant Examiner(s): Emdadi, Kamran
• Application Number:
  US09/330,915
• Time in Patent Office: 1,579 Days
• Field of Search: 370/233, 370/293, 370/277, 370/310.1, 370/310.2, 370/352, 370/338, 370/354, 370/355, 370/306, 370/401, 370/465, 370/466, 455/3.01, 455/3.05, 455/3.06, 709/202
• US Class Current: 370/332
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/046 comprising network management agents or mobile agents therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/781 Centralised allocation of resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/785 among multiple network domains, e.g. multilateral agreements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/801 Real time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/805 QOS or priority aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/822 Collecting or measuring resource availability data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/824 Applicable to portable or mobile terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/83 based on usage prediction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• 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 28/0273 adapting protocols for flow control or congestion control to wireless environment, e.g. adapting transmission control protocol [TCP] wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation, e.g. wireless application protocol H04W80/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/18 Negotiating wireless communication parameters
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/24 Negotiating SLA [Service Level Agreement]; Negotiating QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/00 : Wireless network protocols or protocol adaptations to wireless operation

Abstract

A wireless quality of service (QoS) agent for an all-Internet Protocol (IP) network. The QoS agent couples to an all-IP network. The coupling means includes communication means for transfer of information between the agent and a QoS manager of the all-IP network. The agent is also able to seamlessly extend QoS support for multimedia applications from wireline to wireless and control QoS of the multimedia applications sent over wireless connections on the all-IP network.

Claims

1. A wireless quality of service (QoS) agent for an Internet Protocol (IP) network, said QoS agent comprising:

means for coupling said agent to said IP network, said coupling means including communication means for flow of information between said agent, a QoS manager of said IP network, and a network element;

means for seamlessly extending QoS support for multimedia applications from a wireline EP medium to a wireless medium, said multimedia applications including voice, data, and multimedia video applications; and

means for controlling QoS of said multimedia applications on said wireless medium to said IP network, said controlling means further comprising;

means for mapping application QoS requirements to wireless QoS objectives;

means for computing a wireless QoS parameter utilizing said objectives and an algorithm;

means for determining a type of channel resource and modules to allocate to a service and to estimate a portion of a plurality of radio resource management (RRM) parameters, said determining means utilizing said wireless QoS parameter;

means for controlling an external environment within (set boundaries assigned to a resource utilizing call admission control, wherein said controlling means admits a new call depending on a current systems QoS and a RRM parameter requirements of said call;

means for monitoring a global QoS parameter affecting system performance, said performance including loading (interference) in a CDMA call, and a number of hand-off drops; and

means for reporting a result of said monitoring means to a QoS agent.

2. The QoS agent of claim 1, wherein, said mapping means includes:

means for mapping end-to-end network delay and jitter to radio link delay and jitter; and

means for mapping application bit error rate to wireless frame error rate.

3. The wireless QoS agent of claim 1, wherein said agent is an autonomous body comprising means for providing local QoS guarantees within a wireless network.

4. A wireless quality of service (QoS) agent for an Internet Protocol (IP) network, said QoS agent comprising:

means for coupling said agent to said IP network, said coupling means including communication means for flow of information between said agent, a QoS manager of said IP network, and a network element;

means for seamlessly extending QoS support for multimedia applications from a wireline IP medium to a wireless medium, said multimedia applications including voice, data, and multimedia video; and

means for controlling QoS of said multimedia applications on said wireless medium to said IP network, wherein said controlling means further includes;

means for enhancing static radio resource manager (RRM) functions to provide dynamic capabilities;

means for expanding radio resource usage policies; and

means for enforcing radio resource usage policies.

5. The wireless QoS agent of claim 4, further comprising:

means for monitoring radio channel QoS to provide dynamic link adaptation, wherein said monitoring means monitors a plurality of parameters including bit error rate (BER) and delay jitter; and

means for controlling lower layer flow.

6. A system for providing seamless extension of IP QoS to air interface comprising:

a wireless QoS agent coupled to an IP QoS system of an all-IP network; and

means for controlling a behavior of a radio channel to ensure delivery of QoS to a wireless end user, wherein said means for controlling comprises means for mapping application QoS requirements to wireless QoS objectives;

means for computing a wireless QoS parameter utilizing said objectives and an algorithm;

means for determining a type of channel resource and modules to allocate to a service and to estimate a portion of a plurality of radio resource management (RRM) parameters, said determining means utilizing said wireless QoS parameter;

means for controlling an external environment within a set bound for resource by call admission control, wherein said controlling means admits a new call depending on a current systems QoS and a RRM parameter requirements of said call;

means for monitoring a global QoS parameter affecting system performance, said performance including loading (interference) in a CDMA call, and a number of hand-off drops; and

means for reporting a result of said monitoring means to a QoS agent.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising:

means for mapping multimedia IP QoS requirements to radio link specific requirements;

means for providing dynamic link adaptability and a plurality of wireless QoS functionalities, including;

capabilities for optimizing channel behavior by managing power, coding and modulation;

lower layer flow control; and

radio channel behavior monitoring.

8. A method for implementing wireless quality of service (QoS) for an Internet Protocol (IP) network, said method comprising the steps of:

coupling a wireless QoS agent to said IP network, said coupling means including communication means for flow of information between said QoS agent, a QoS manager of said IP network, and a network element;

seamlessly extending QoS support for multimedia applications from a wireline IP medium to a wireless medium, said multimedia applications including voice, data, and multimedia video applications; and

controlling QoS of said multimedia applications on said wireless medium to said IP network, said controlling step further comprising;

mapping application QoS requirements to wireless QoS objectives;

computing a wireless QoS parameter utilizing said objectives and an algorithm;

determining a type of channel resource and modules to allocate to a service and to estimate a portion of a plurality of radio resource management (RRM) parameters, said determining step utilizing said wireless QoS parameter;

controlling an external environment within a set bound for resource by call admission control, wherein said controlling means admits a new call depending on a current systems QoS and a RRM parameter requirements of said call;

monitoring a global QoS parameter affecting system performance, said performance including loading (interference) in a CDMA call, and a number of hand-off drops; and

reporting a result of said monitoring step to a QoS agent.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, said mapping step includes the steps of:

mapping end-to-end network delay and jitter to radio link delay and jitter; and

mapping application bit error rate to wireless frame error rate.

10. The method of claim 8, further comprising the steps of:

monitoring radio channel QoS to provide dynamic link adaptation, wherein said monitoring step monitors a plurality of parameters including bit error rate (BER) and delay jitter; and

controlling lower layer flow.

11. A method for implementing wireless quality of service (QoS) for an Internet Protocol (IP) network, said method comprising the steps of:

coupling a wireless QoS agent to said IP network, said coupling means including communication means for flow of information between said QoS agent, a QoS manager of said IP network, and a network element;

seamlessly extending QoS support for multimedia applications from a wireline IP medium to a wireless medium, said multimedia applications including voice, data, and multimedia video applications; and

controlling QoS of said multimedia applications on said wireless medium to said IP network, said controlling step further includes the steps of;

enhancing static radio resource manager (RRM) functions to provide dynamic capabilities;

expanding radio resource usage policies; and

enforcing radio resource usage policies.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said agent is an autonomous body which provides local QoS guarantees within a wireless network.