Network traffic regulation

• US 7,126,915 B1
• Filed: 12/28/1999
• Issued: 10/24/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: AT&T Corporation (AT&T, Inc.)
• Inventors: Qiu, Xiaoxin, Lu, Xiaolin
• Primary Examiner(s): Patel, Ajit
• Application Number:
  US09/474,032
• Time in Patent Office: 2,492 Days
• Field of Search: 370/252, 370/256, 370/265, 370/268, 370/465, 370/468, 370/437, 370/477, 370/235, 370/230, 370/230.1, 370/395.2, 370/395.21, 370/395.4, 370/395.41, 370/348, 370/431, 370/236, 370/445, 370/447, 370/448
• US Class Current: 370/235
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/16 Arrangements for providing special services to substations

Abstract

The invention provides a traffic regulation technique for media that functions within access protocols by making a percentage of total communication capacity of the media unavailable to end-users as reserve capacity. This reserve capacity is released when appropriate to regulate network traffic. Thus, the traffic regulation technique regulates the traffic by adjusting the percentage of reserve capacity. The reserve capacity may be targeted to a specific type of traffic. In this way, the traffic of the communication system 10 may be regulated so that desired quality of service may be provided for specific end users.

Claims

1. A method for regulating traffic in a network, the network including media access protocols having contention signals used to indicate that a particular user seeks access to the network, the method comprising:

making unavailable an amount of network transmission capacity as reserve capacity, by blocking end-users from gaining access to the network by asserting the contention signal in a channel of the network, while no particular user seeks access to the media; and

adjusting the amount of reserve capacity based on a desired network performance.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the contention signal blocks all end-users or end users of a specific class, the class being defined by one or more of priority, quality of service, or privilege.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the network has a protocol controlling access to the network, the contention signal being consistent with the protocol.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the protocol uses one of in-band signals, out-of-band signals or independent channel signals to control access to the network.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the adjusting comprises:

monitoring an amount of unused capacity on the network; and

asserting a contention signal in the network if the amount of unused capacity is less than a desired amount.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the monitoring is performed by media access controllers (MACs) for each media of the network that requires access control, the media access controllers controlling a local reserve capacity of each respective media based on system parameters and monitoring data generated by each of the MACs.

7. The method of claim 6, further comprising:

exchanging the monitoring data among the MACs; and

asserting the contention signals in each of the media to achieve network performance requirements.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein a central regulation controller controls network traffic regulation, the method further comprising:

receiving in the central traffic regulation controller the monitoring data generated by the MACs, and

issuing traffic regulation commands from the central traffic regulation controller to the MACs to regulate traffic in each of the media to achieve network performance requirements.

9. The method of claim 6, wherein each of the MACs is one of a dedicated media access controller of an end-user that includes a media access function.

10. A network traffic regulation system, comprising:

a network that includes media;

said media having at least one protocol including a contention signal used to indicate that a particular user seeks access to the media;

media access controllers (MACs);

each of the MACs controlling one of more media of the network, each of the MACs

(1) making unavailable an amount of media transmission capacity as reserve capacity, by blocking end-users from gaining access to the network by asserting the contention signal in a channel of the media controlled by each of the MACs, while no particular user seeks access to the media, and

(2) adjusting the amount of reserve capacity based on a desired network performance.

11. The system of claim 10, wherein the contention signal blocks all end-users of the media or end-users of a specific class of the media, the class being defined by one or more of priority, quality of service, or privilege.

12. The system of claim 10, wherein the media has a protocol controlling access to the network, the contention signal being consistent with the protocol.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the protocol uses one of in-band signals, out-of-band signals or independent channel signals to control access to the media.

14. The system of claim 10, wherein each of the MACs monitors an amount of unused capacity of a media controlled by each of the MACs, and asserts a contention signal in the media if the amount of unused capacity is less than a desired amount.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein each of the MACs controls a local reserve capacity based on system parameters and monitoring data generated by one of more of the MACs.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein each of the MACs exchanges the monitoring data with other ones of the MACs and asserts the contention signals in reach of the media to achieve network performance requirements.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising a central traffic regulation controller that controls network traffic regulation, the central traffic regulation controller receives the monitoring data generated by the MACs, and issues traffic regulation commands to the MACs to regulate traffic in each of the media to achieve network performance requirements.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein each of the MACs is one of a dedicated media access controller or an end-user that includes a media access function.