Methods of allocating access across a shared communications medium

• US 7,957,417 B2
• Filed: 02/14/2006
• Issued: 06/07/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 05/19/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Scientific-Atlanta LLC (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: McKinnon, Martin W. III, Ehrley, John Joseph, Sotack, Timothy Sean, Subramanian, Mani M.
• Primary Examiner(s): Pham; Chi H
• Assistant Examiner(s): Huang; Weibin
• Application Number:
  US11/275,208
• Publication Number:
  US 20060114926A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,939 Days
• Field of Search: 370/431, 370/442, 370/443, 370/241, 370/252, 370/229, 370/230, 370/235, 370/310, 370/328, 370/464, 370/477, 455/403, 455/422.1, 455/450, 455/462, 455/464, 379/90.01, 379/90.02, 709/223, 709/224, 709/225, 709/226
• US Class Current: 370/468
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2801 Broadband local area networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2856 Access arrangements, e.g. Internet access asynchronous transfer mode networks H04L12/5601; broadband local area networks H04L12/2801; optical access or distribution networks H04Q11/0067; access to open networks H04L12/5691; digital subscriber line end-user equipment and bit-level processing of data on a PSTN-based network H04M11/00; home network gateways H04L12/2834; wireless access networks H04W
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2861 Point-to-multipoint connection from the data network to the subscribers
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/2876 Handling of subscriber policies group policies management H04L41/0893
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/147 for predicting network behaviour
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5003 Managing SLA; Interaction between SLA and QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5009 Determining service level performance parameters or violations of service level contracts, e.g. violations of agreed response time or mean time between failures [MTBF]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5019 Ensuring fulfilment of SLA
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5022 by giving priorities, e.g. assigning classes of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5029 Service quality level-based billing, e.g. dependent on measured service level customer is charged more or less
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5067 Customer-centric QoS measurements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5087 wherein the managed service relates to voice services management of VoIP services H04M7/0081
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/509 wherein the managed service relates to media content delivery, e.g. audio, video or TV
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/045 for graphical visualisation of monitoring data
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/06 Generation of reports
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/062 related to network traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/067 using time frame reporting
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0829 Packet loss
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 : Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0882 : Utilisation of link capacity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 : Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/106 : using time related information in packets, e.g. by adding timestamps
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/12 : Network monitoring probes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 : Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 : Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/11 : Identifying congestion
• 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 47/20 : Traffic policing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/24 : Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/263 : Rate modification at the source after receiving feedback
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/29 : using a combination of thresholds
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 : Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/762 : triggered by the network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/788 : Autonomous allocation of resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/805 : QOS or priority aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/808 : User-type aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/824 : Applicable to portable or mobile terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/826 : Involving periods of time
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/828 : Allocation of resources per group of connections, e.g. per group of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/83 : based on usage prediction
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2385 : Channel allocation H04N21/266 takes precedence; Bandwidth allocation H04N21/24 takes precedence ; allocation of channels according to the instantaneous demands of the users in time-division multiplex systems H04J3/1682; admission control, resource allocation in open networks H04L12/5692; arrangements for maintenance or administration in data switching networks involving bandwidth and capacity management H04L41/0896; negotiating bandwidth in wireless networks H04W28/16
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/2408 : Monitoring of the upstream path of the transmission network, e.g. client requests monitoring data switching networks utilization H04L43/0876; scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/6118 : involving cable transmission, e.g. using a cable modem
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 21/64738 : Monitoring network characteristics, e.g. bandwidth, congestion level data switched network analysis H04L41/14; monitoring functioning in data switched networks H04L43/0817; flow control in packet networks H04L47/10
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 7/17309 : Transmission or handling of upstream communications
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/50 : in wire-line communication networks, e.g. low power modes or reduced link rate

Abstract

A method of providing network access across a shared communications medium between competing users includes the steps of monitoring network access usage by each user for a past time interval and, based on the monitored network access usage, allocating network access for each user during a future time interval. Features include forecasting network access that will be utilized or requested by users in a future time interval, and prioritizing the users for allocating network access to the users.

Claims

1. A method of providing network access across a shared communications medium between competing users, comprising the steps of:

a monitoring, by a network access manager, network access usage by each user during a time interval;

(b) based on said monitoring, forecasting, by the network access manager, network access usage by each user over a future time interval; and

(c) allocating, by the network access manager, network access available to each user during the future time interval, each user'"'"'s allocation of network access being equal to each user'"'"'s forecasted network access usage multiplied by a ratio of the total available network access to the total forecasted network access usage of all the users, wherein the network access allocation to each user may not exceed a predetermined maximum value and may not exceed network capacity available for allocation to a respective network user.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein network access comprises bandwidth across the shared communications medium for consumption by each user in conveying data of the user.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of monitoring comprises monitoring network access usage by the users in an upstream direction at time intervals of one minute to fifteen minutes.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of monitoring comprises monitoring network access usage by the users in a downstream direction at time intervals of fifteen minutes to sixty minutes.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the time interval for which network access usage is monitored and the future time interval are equal in length.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the time interval for which network access usage is monitored and the future time interval each is approximately one minute to sixty minutes in length.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of monitoring network access includes collecting data representative of the logical data units transmitted from and to each user during a time interval.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of monitoring network access usage includes collecting data representative of the number of bytes and data packets transmitted from and to each user during a time interval.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of monitoring network access usage includes collecting data representative of the number of logical data units of the user that are dropped during a time interval.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of monitoring network access usage includes collecting data representative of the number of bytes and data packets of the user that are dropped during a time interval.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said step of monitoring network access usage includes collecting data representative of the number of logical data units of the user that are requested to be transmitted in the upstream direction during a time interval.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein the shared communications medium is part of a Shared Access Carrier Network.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the Shared Access Carrier Network comprises a Cable Network and the shared communications medium comprises a coaxial cable.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the Shared Access Carrier Network comprises a wireless network.