Apparatus and method for providing quality of service for a network data connection
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method comprising:
- receiving a request for a generic quality of service level associated with a network connection, wherein the requested generic quality of service level is directed to a generic quality of service application program interface that is coupled to a unified access driver interface, wherein the unified access driver interface and the generic quality of service application program interface operate together to abstract communications access technologies within an apparatus and provide a set of common functions to higher layers regardless of which of a plurality of wireless access protocols is used by lower level layers of a network access architecture of the apparatus;
selecting a specific network access driver and a specific quality of service parameter associated with the specific network access driver and based on the generic quality of service parameter;
applying the specific quality of service parameter to the network connection via the unified access driver interface; and
in response to a system event that necessitates a change to the network connection in accordance with a quality of service policy, modifying the network connection by applying a different specific quality of service parameter to the network connection, wherein the quality of service policy governs the selection of the requested generic quality of service level based on any combination of the requested quality of service level, availability of the requested quality of service level, and a service billing rate associated with the requested generic quality of service level.
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Abstract
A system, apparatus, and method are disclosed for providing quality of service (QoS) for a network data connection. The network data connection uses a network protocol selectable from a plurality of network protocols. A QoS module can receive a request for a generic QoS and apply this to the network protocol using a specific QoS associated with the protocol. The QoS module may include features for automatic management of QoS and a user interface for changing data connection parameters.
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Citations
31 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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receiving a request for a generic quality of service level associated with a network connection, wherein the requested generic quality of service level is directed to a generic quality of service application program interface that is coupled to a unified access driver interface, wherein the unified access driver interface and the generic quality of service application program interface operate together to abstract communications access technologies within an apparatus and provide a set of common functions to higher layers regardless of which of a plurality of wireless access protocols is used by lower level layers of a network access architecture of the apparatus; selecting a specific network access driver and a specific quality of service parameter associated with the specific network access driver and based on the generic quality of service parameter; applying the specific quality of service parameter to the network connection via the unified access driver interface; and in response to a system event that necessitates a change to the network connection in accordance with a quality of service policy, modifying the network connection by applying a different specific quality of service parameter to the network connection, wherein the quality of service policy governs the selection of the requested generic quality of service level based on any combination of the requested quality of service level, availability of the requested quality of service level, and a service billing rate associated with the requested generic quality of service level. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. An apparatus comprising:
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at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to; receive a request for a generic quality of service level associated with a network connection, and wherein the requested generic quality of service level is directed to a generic quality of service application program interface that is coupled to a unified access driver interface, wherein the unified access driver interface and the generic quality of service application program interface operate together to abstract communications access technologies within the apparatus and provide a set of common functions to higher layers regardless of which of a plurality of wireless access protocols is used by lower level layers of a network access architecture of the apparatus; select a specific network access driver and a specific quality of service parameter associated with the specific network access driver and based on the generic quality of service parameter; apply the specific quality of service parameter and the specific network access driver to the network connection via the unified access driver interface; and in response to a system event that necessitates a change to the network connection in accordance with a quality of service policy, modify the network connection by applying a different specific quality of service parameter to the network connection, wherein the quality of service policy governs the selection of the requested generic quality of service level based on any combination of the requested quality of service level, availability of the requested quality of service level, and a service billing rate associated with the requested generic quality of service level. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A non-transitory computer-usable storage medium configured with stored instructions for causing a computing device to perform:
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receiving a request for a generic quality of service level associated with a network connection, wherein the requested generic quality of service level is directed to a generic quality of service application program interface that is coupled to a unified access driver interface, wherein the unified access driver interface and the generic quality of service application program interface operate together to abstract communications access technologies within the computing device and provide a set of common functions to higher layers regardless of which of a plurality of wireless access protocols is used by lower level layers of a network access architecture of the computing device; selecting a specific network access driver and a specific quality of service parameter associated with the specific network access driver and based on the generic quality of service parameter; applying the specific quality of service parameter to the network connection via the unified access driver interface; and in response to a system event that necessitates a change to the network connection in accordance with a quality of service policy, modify the network connection by applying a different specific quality of service parameter to the network connection, wherein the quality of service policy governs the selection of the requested generic quality of service level based on any combination of the requested quality of service level, availability of the requested quality of service level, and a service billing rate associated with the requested generic quality of service level. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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21. An apparatus comprising:
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at least one processor coupled to memory comprising computer code; a program operable by the processor to at least facilitate establishing a network connection in response to user requests at the apparatus; a unified access driver interface operable by the processor to facilitate access to a plurality of specific network access drivers for establishing the network connection; and a quality of service module comprising a generic quality of service application program interface that receives requested generic quality of service levels from the program, wherein the quality of service module is coupled to the unified access interface, and wherein the unified access driver interface and the generic quality of service application program interface operate together to abstract communications access technologies within the apparatus and provide a set of common functions to higher layers regardless of which of a plurality of wireless access protocols is used by lower level layers of a network access architecture of the apparatus; wherein the processor is operable via the computer code to cause the apparatus to; select a specific quality of service parameter associated with at least one of the specific network access drivers based on the requested generic quality of service parameters; and apply the specific quality of service parameter to the network connection via the unified access driver interface; and in response to a system event that necessitates a change to the network connection in accordance with one or more quality of service policies, modify the network connection by applying a different specific quality of service parameter to the network connection, wherein the quality of service policies govern the selection of the requested generic quality of service level based on any combination of the requested quality of service level, availability of the requested quality of service level, and a service billing rate associated with the requested generic quality of service level. - View Dependent Claims (22, 23, 24, 25)
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26. An apparatus comprising:
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means for receiving a request for a generic quality of service level associated with a network connection, wherein the requested generic quality of service level is directed to a generic quality of service application program interface that is coupled to a unified access driver interface, wherein the unified access driver interface and the generic quality of service application program interface operate together to abstract communications access technologies within the apparatus and provide a set of common functions to higher layers regardless of which of a plurality of wireless access protocols is used by lower level layers of a network access architecture of the apparatus; means for selecting a specific network access driver and a specific quality of service parameter associated with the specific network access driver and the generic quality of service parameter; means for applying the specific quality of service parameter to the network connection via the unified access driver interface; and means for, in response to a system event that necessitates a change to the network connection in accordance with a quality of service policy, modifying the network connection by applying a different specific quality of service parameter to the network connection, wherein the quality of service policy governs the selection of the requested generic quality of service level based on any combination of the requested quality of service level, availability of the requested quality of service level, and a service billing rate associated with the requested generic quality of service level. - View Dependent Claims (27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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Specification