Large packet concatenation in satellite communication system
First Claim
1. A method for scheduling upstream information arriving through a user terminal to a gateway in a satellite communication link, the method comprising:
- concatenating data packets arriving at a first queue at the user terminal to form a concatenated frame larger than a conventional frame for transmission;
logging the number of data packets dumped from the first queue to the second queue in a virtual queue;
issuing from the user terminal a piggyback request replacing a conventional DAMA contention request, to request bandwidth allocation for use by the concatenated frame during a subsequent communication cycle via the satellite link;
thereafterdumping data packets from the first queue to a second queue wherein the second queue distinguishes between concatenated frames and unconcatenated frames; and
thereafterclearing entries in the virtual queue as transmissions of concatenated frames and of unconcatenated frames are completed in order to free queue space in the first queue.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Upstream information arriving through a gateway from a user terminal in a satellite link subject to propagation delay is efficiently scheduled through a modified Demand Assigned Multiple Access (DAMA) algorithm such that arriving data packets arriving at the software queue at the user terminal are concatenated to form a large frame for transmission to improve efficiency. A piggyback request replacing a conventional DAMA contention request for the succeeding packet is issued to request bandwidth allocation for the succeeding concatenated packet. In a specific embodiment, all packets up to the physical request limit arriving at the user terminal since a prior piggyback request or contention request are concatenated so that all currently known packets (up to that limit) are accounted for by the next piggyback request.
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Citations
12 Claims
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1. A method for scheduling upstream information arriving through a user terminal to a gateway in a satellite communication link, the method comprising:
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concatenating data packets arriving at a first queue at the user terminal to form a concatenated frame larger than a conventional frame for transmission; logging the number of data packets dumped from the first queue to the second queue in a virtual queue; issuing from the user terminal a piggyback request replacing a conventional DAMA contention request, to request bandwidth allocation for use by the concatenated frame during a subsequent communication cycle via the satellite link;
thereafterdumping data packets from the first queue to a second queue wherein the second queue distinguishes between concatenated frames and unconcatenated frames; and
thereafterclearing entries in the virtual queue as transmissions of concatenated frames and of unconcatenated frames are completed in order to free queue space in the first queue. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5)
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6. A satellite user terminal for grouping packets arriving at a user terminal for transmission via a satellite communication link, the satellite user terminal comprising:
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a processor with at least one queue configured to concatenate a plurality of data packets arriving at said first queue at the user terminal to form a concatenated frame that is larger than a frame formed without concatenating data packets;
to dump data packets from the first queue to a second queue wherein the second queue distinguishes between concatenated frames and unconcatenated frames;
to log the number of data packets dumped from the first queue to the second queue in a virtual queue; and
to clear entries in the virtual queue as transmissions of concatenated frames and of unconcatenated frames are completed in order to free queue space in the first queue; anda transmitter, communicatively coupled to the processor, configured to issue a piggyback request via the satellite communication link that replaces a conventional DAMA contention request to request bandwidth allocation for a frame during a succeeding communication cycle.
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7. A system for scheduling upstream information arriving through a user satellite modem to a gateway in a satellite communication link, wherein the system employs a conventional DAMA request at least in part to request bandwidth allocation, the system comprising:
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a processor for concatenating data packets arriving at a first queue at the users satellite modem to form a larger frame for transmission, the processor having at least one queue configured to concatenate a plurality of data packets arriving at said first queue at the user terminal to form a concatenated frame that is larger than a frame formed without concatenating data packets;
to dump data packets from the first queue to a second queue wherein the second queue distinguishes between concatenated frames and unconcatenated frames;
to log the number of data packets dumped from the first queue to the second queue in a virtual queue; and
to clear entries in the virtual queue as transmissions of concatenated frames and of unconcatenated frames are completed in order to free queue space in the first queue; anda transmitter for issuing a piggyback request to request bandwidth allocation for the succeeding concatenated frame via the satellite link to allow a scheduler to meter the upstream transmission of various associated said subscriber terminals. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12)
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Specification