Scheduling data across a shared communication link in a cellular communication system
First Claim
1. An apparatus for scheduling data from a Radio Network Controller (RNC) element of a cellular communication system to at least one base station, the apparatus comprising:
- a plurality of resource allocators, wherein each resource allocator is operable to schedule data across a shared communication link for use by a single cell sector of a plurality of cell sectors, the shared communication link configured to communicate data between the RNC and the at least one base station;
a resource determining processor for dynamically determining a resource requirement parameter for at least one cell sector of the plurality of cell sectors, wherein the resource requirement parameter is related to a measure of available resources of the shared communication link based on the resource requirement of each resource allocator; and
an assignment processor for dynamically assigning a resource availability of the shared communication link to at least one of the plurality of resource allocators in response to the resource requirement parameter, wherein each resource allocator is operable to schedule data for communication across the shared communication link based on its assigned resource availability.
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Abstract
A system is provided for scheduling data from a network element (101), such as an RNC (101), of a cellular communication system to at least one base station (103) across a shared communication link (105) shared between a plurality of cell sectors (107-111). The apparatus comprises resource allocators (113, 115, 117) each of which schedules data for a single cell sector (107-111). A resource determination processor (119) dynamically determines a resource requirement parameter for at least one of the cell sectors (107-111). The resource determination processor (119) is coupled to a resource assignment processor (121) which dynamically assigns a resource availability of the shared communication link (105) to each of the resource allocators (113, 115, 117) in response to the resource requirement parameter. The resource allocators (113, 115, 117) then schedule data for communication over the shared communication link in response to the resource availability. The invention provides improved utilisation of a shared communication link (105) while allowing independent scheduling by resource allocators associated with a single cell.
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Citations
35 Claims
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1. An apparatus for scheduling data from a Radio Network Controller (RNC) element of a cellular communication system to at least one base station, the apparatus comprising:
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a plurality of resource allocators, wherein each resource allocator is operable to schedule data across a shared communication link for use by a single cell sector of a plurality of cell sectors, the shared communication link configured to communicate data between the RNC and the at least one base station; a resource determining processor for dynamically determining a resource requirement parameter for at least one cell sector of the plurality of cell sectors, wherein the resource requirement parameter is related to a measure of available resources of the shared communication link based on the resource requirement of each resource allocator; and an assignment processor for dynamically assigning a resource availability of the shared communication link to at least one of the plurality of resource allocators in response to the resource requirement parameter, wherein each resource allocator is operable to schedule data for communication across the shared communication link based on its assigned resource availability. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 35)
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25. A method of scheduling data from a Radio Network Controller (RNC) element of a cellular communication system to at least one base station, the method comprising:
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dynamically determining a resource requirement parameter for at least one cell sector of a plurality of cell sectors, wherein the resource requirement parameter is related to a measure of available resources of a shared communication link configured to communicate data between the RNC and the at least one base station based on the resource requirement of each resource allocator; dynamically assigning a resource availability of the shared communication link to at least one of the plurality of resource allocators in response to the resource requirement parameter; scheduling data for communication across the shared communication link based on the assigned resource availability for use by a single cell sector of the plurality of cell sectors. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A storage medium encoded with instructions, executable by a processor, for scheduling data from a Radio Network Controller (RNC) element of a cellular communication system to at least one base station, the instructions for:
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dynamically determining a resource requirement parameter for at least one cell sector of a plurality of cell sectors, wherein the resource requirement parameter is related to a measure of available resources of a shared communication link configured to communicate data between the RNC and the at least one base station based on the resource requirement of each resource allocator; dynamically assigning a resource availability of the shared communication link to at least one of the plurality of resource allocators in response to the resource requirement parameter; scheduling data for communication across the shared communication link based on the assigned resource availability for use by a single cell sector of the plurality of cell sectors. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34)
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Specification