System and method for prioritizing individual streams within a multimedia flow

• US 7,684,324 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2005
• Issued: 03/23/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Telchemy Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Telchemy Incorporated
• Inventors: Clark, Alan D.
• Primary Examiner(s): Shah; Chirag G
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen; Minh-Trang
• Application Number:
  US11/314,720
• Publication Number:
  US 20060268701A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,554 Days
• Field of Search: 370/395.21, 370/395.41, 370/395.42, 370/493, 370/468
• US Class Current: 370/230
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2416 Real-time traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2433 Allocation of priorities to traffic types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2458 Modification of priorities while in transit
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/283 in response to processing delays, e.g. caused by jitter or round trip time [RTT]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/50 Queue scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/564 Attaching a deadline to packets, e.g. earliest due date first
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/1101 Session protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/80 Responding to QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2381 Adapting the multiplex stream to a specific network, e.g. an Internet Protocol [IP] network transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4363 Adapting the video stream to a specific local network, e.g. a Bluetooth® network
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/4381 Recovering the multiplex stream from a specific network, e.g. recovering MPEG packets from ATM cells transmission of MPEG streams over ATM H04L12/5601

Abstract

The present invention provides a system and method for prioritizing delay-sensitive packets relative to each other for transmission from a router in a network, based on a delay variation estimated for each delay-sensitive packet by a quality of service monitor. In accordance with the present invention, late delay-sensitive packets are assigned a higher priority than, and are transmitted before, other delay-sensitive packets, thereby reducing the level of jitter and improving the quality of the packet streams that comprise late delay-sensitive packets.

Claims

1. A method for prioritizing a packet received at a router in a network, the method comprising the steps of:

a. determining whether the packet is delay-sensitive;

b. if the packet is delay-sensitive, estimating a delay variation of the packet by steps comprising;

i. determining an actual arrival time for the packet at the router;

ii. extracting a sending timestamp from the packet;

iii. determining an actual arrival time for a preceding packet at the router;

iv. extracting a sending timestamp from the preceding packet;

v. subtracting the sending timestamp of step (iv) from the sending timestamp of step (ii);

vi. estimating an ideal arrival time for said packet by adding the result of step (v) to the actual arrival time of step (iii); and

vii. estimating the delay variation of the packet by comparing the actual arrival time of step (i) with the ideal arrival time of step (vi); and

c. if the packet is delay-sensitive, using the delay variation of the packet to prioritize the packet for transmission from the router.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the using the delay variation of the packet to prioritize the packet for transmission from the router includes:

a. assigning the packet a weight, wherein the weight is associated with the delay variation of the packet;

b. passing the packet to a sub-class queue, wherein the sub-class queue is associated with the weight; and

c. assigning a priority to the sub-class queue relative to a second sub-class queue, wherein the second sub-class queue is associated with a different weight.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the using the delay variation of the packet to prioritize the packet for transmission from the router includes inserting the packet into an insert queue for transmission before a second delay-sensitive packet in the insert queue, wherein the second delay-sensitive packet has a lower estimated delay variation than the estimated delay variation of the packet.

4. A system for prioritizing a packet received at a router in a network comprising:

a. a monitor for determining whether the packet is delay-sensitive and, if the packet is delay-sensitive, estimating a delay variation of the packet; and

b. a priority management component for using the delay variation of the packet to prioritize the packet for transmission from the router if the packet is delay-sensitive;

wherein the monitor is configured to;

i. determine an actual arrival time for the packet at the router;

ii. extract a sending timestamp from the packet;

iii. determine an actual arrival time for a preceding packet at the router;

iv. extract a sending timestamp from the preceding packet;

v. subtract the sending timestamp of step (iv) from the sending timestamp of step (ii);

vi. estimate an ideal arrival time for said packet by adding the result of step (v) to the actual arrival time of step (iii); and

vii. estimate the delay variation of the packet by comparing the actual arrival time of step (i) with the ideal arrival time of step (vi).

5. The system of claim 4 wherein the priority management component is configured to:

a. assign the packet a weight, wherein the weight is associated with the delay variation of the packet;

b. pass the packet to a sub-class queue, wherein the sub-class queue is associated with the weight; and

c. assign a priority to the sub-class queue relative to a second sub-class queue, wherein the second sub-class queue is associated with a different weight.

6. The system of claim 4 wherein the priority management component is configured to insert the packet into an insert queue for transmission before a second delay-sensitive packet in the insert queue, wherein the second delay-sensitive packet has a lower estimated delay variation than the estimated delay variation of the packet.