Handling traffic flows in a mobile communications network
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A method, comprising:
- receiving, from a user terminal, at a node of a network, a request to establish a communication pathway over the network;
establishing the communication pathway in the network, the communication pathway includes a radio communication channel and a packet communication channel, and the request associates with at least one traffic flow, wherein the at least one traffic flow is associated with at least one flow treatment attribute determining the flow treatment requirement for the at least one traffic flow;
identifying at least another traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow associated with the request which requires a different flow treatment across the network from other traffic flows; and
initiating another request, by at least one packet network node rather than the user terminal, to establish at least another communication pathway over the network, the another request identifying flow attributes of the at least another traffic flow associated with the request that requires the different flow treatment, and establishing the at least another communication pathway in the network, the at least another communication pathway providing the different flow treatment to the at least another traffic flow associated with the request that requires the different flow treatment, wherein the request comprises a bearer request, and the another request comprises a secondary bearer activation.
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Abstract
A method and system of handling traffic flows across a network is disclosed. The method includes issuing a request for establishing a first communication pathway end to end over the network, the communications pathway including the radio communication channel and the packet communication channel, the request identifying multiple traffic flows with their associated attributes. The method further includes identifying any of the traffic flows which require a different flow treatment across the network, and establishing the first communication pathway, and at least one second communication pathway end to end over the network, the second communication pathway providing a different flow treatment.
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Citations
38 Claims
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1. A method, comprising:
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receiving, from a user terminal, at a node of a network, a request to establish a communication pathway over the network; establishing the communication pathway in the network, the communication pathway includes a radio communication channel and a packet communication channel, and the request associates with at least one traffic flow, wherein the at least one traffic flow is associated with at least one flow treatment attribute determining the flow treatment requirement for the at least one traffic flow; identifying at least another traffic flow of the at least one traffic flow associated with the request which requires a different flow treatment across the network from other traffic flows; and initiating another request, by at least one packet network node rather than the user terminal, to establish at least another communication pathway over the network, the another request identifying flow attributes of the at least another traffic flow associated with the request that requires the different flow treatment, and establishing the at least another communication pathway in the network, the at least another communication pathway providing the different flow treatment to the at least another traffic flow associated with the request that requires the different flow treatment, wherein the request comprises a bearer request, and the another request comprises a secondary bearer activation. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A system, comprising:
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at least one user terminal; at least one radio network node comprising an establishing unit configured to establish a radio communication channel between the at least one user terminal and the at least one radio network node; at least one packet network node comprising an establishing unit configured to establish a packet communication channel, wherein at least one traffic flow is associated with at least one flow treatment attribute determining the flow treatment requirement for the at least one traffic flow, and the user terminal or the packet network node is configured to issue a request to establish a communication pathway over the network, the communication pathway including the radio communication channel and the packet communication channel, the request identifies the at least one traffic flow; an identifier configured to identify at least another traffic flow associated with the request which requires a different flow treatment across the network from the other traffic flows; an initiating unit configured to initiate another request, by at least one packet network node rather than the at least one user terminal, to establish at least another communication pathway over the network, the another request comprising a bearer activation and identifying flow attributes of the at least another traffic flow associated with the request that requires the different flow treatment; and an establishing unit configured to establish the communication pathway, and the at least another communication pathway over the network, the at least another communication pathway providing the different flow treatment to the at least another traffic flow associated with the request. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. A system comprising:
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at least one user terminal; at least one radio network node comprising an establishing unit configured to establish a radio communication channel between the at least one user terminal and the at least one radio network node; at least one packet network node comprising another establishing unit configured to establish a packet communication channel, wherein at least one traffic flow is associated with at least one flow treatment attribute determining the flow treatment requirement for the at least one traffic flow, and the at least one user terminal or the at least one packet network node is configured to issue a request to establish a communication pathway over the network, the communication pathway including the radio communication channel and the packet communication channel, wherein the request identifies the at least one traffic flow; an identifier configured to identify at least another traffic flow associated with the request which requires a different flow treatment across the network from other traffic flows; an initiating unit configured to initiate another request, by the at least one packet network node rather than by the at least one user terminal, to establish at least another communication pathway over the network, the another request comprising a bearer activation and identifying flow attributes of the at least another traffic flow associated with the request that requires the different flow treatment; and a further establishing unit configured to establish the communication pathway, and the at least another communication pathway over the network, the another communication pathway providing the different flow treatment to the at least another traffic flow associated with the request.
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23. An apparatus, comprising:
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an establishing unit configured to establish a packet communication channel in a network, wherein at least one traffic flow in the network is associated with at least one flow treatment attribute determining the flow treatment requirement for the at least one traffic flow, and wherein the apparatus is configured to establish a communication pathway over the network, the communication pathway including a radio communication channel and the packet communication channel; and an identifier configured to identify at least another traffic flow associated with the request which requires a different flow treatment across the network from other traffic flows, wherein the apparatus is further configured to initiate, at a packet network node, a secondary request comprising a bearer activation to establish at least another communication pathway over the network, the secondary request identifying flow attributes of the at least another traffic flow associated with the request that requires the different flow treatment, and to establish the at least another communication pathway in the network, the another communication pathway providing the different flow treatment to the at least another traffic flow associated with the request. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31)
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32. An apparatus, comprising:
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a transmitter configured to send a bearer request to a network node to establish a communication pathway, the request associates with at least one traffic flow wherein the at least one traffic flow is associated with at least one flow treatment attribute determining the flow treatment requirement for the at least one traffic flow; a receiver configured to receive a bearer response from the network node; an acceptance message transmitter configured to transmit the bearer acceptance message to a user equipment; and an initiator configured to initiate another request to activate a another communication pathway by sending a bearer activation message to the user equipment, the another request comprising a bearer activation and identifying flow attributes of at least another traffic flow associated with the request that requires a different flow treatment from other traffic flows, the initiator further being configured to establish the another communication pathway that provides the different flow treatment to the at least another traffic flow associated with the request. - View Dependent Claims (33, 34)
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35. An apparatus, comprising:
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a requester configured to issue a request to establish a communication pathway over a network, the communication pathway including a radio communication channel and a packet communication channel; a receiver configured to receive a response indicating acceptance of the request to establish a communication pathway; an initiator configured to initiate a procedure to establish the communication pathway; and a communication requester, at one or more packet network nodes, configured to make another request to establish a another communication pathway when an active message is received from the network, the another request comprising a bearer activation and identifying flow attributes of at least one traffic flow of the communication pathway that requires a different flow treatment from other traffic flows of the communication pathway, the communication requester further being configured to establish the another communication pathway that provides the different flow treatment to the at least one traffic flow.
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36. A method, comprising:
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establishing a packet communication channel in a network, wherein at least one traffic flow in the network is associated with at least one flow treatment attribute determining the flow treatment requirement for the at least one traffic flow; establishing a communication pathway over the network, the communication pathway including a radio communication channel and the packet communication channel; identifying at least another traffic flow associated with the request which requires a different flow treatment across the network from other traffic flows; initiating, at a packet network node rather than a user terminal, another request to establish at least another communication pathway over the network, the secondary request comprising a bearer activation and identifying flow attributes of the at least another traffic flow associated with the request that requires the different flow treatment; and establishing the another communication pathway in the network, the another communication pathway providing the different flow treatment to the at least another traffic flow associated with the request.
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37. A non-transitory computer readable medium on which a computer program is embodied, and when the computer program is executed, a processor provides operations comprising:
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receiving, at a node of a network, a request to establish a communication pathway over the network and establishing the communication pathway in the network, the communications pathway includes a radio communication channel and a packet communication channel, and the request associates with at least one traffic flow, wherein the at least one traffic flow is associated with at least one flow treatment attribute determining the flow treatment requirement for the at least one traffic flow; identifying at least another traffic flow associated with the request which requires a different flow treatment across the network from the at least one traffic flow; and initiating, by at least one packet network node rather than a user terminal, another request to establish at least another communication pathway over the network, the another request comprising a bearer activation, identifying flow attributes of the at least another traffic flow associated with the request that requires the different flow treatment, and establishing the at least another communication pathway in the network, the at least another communication pathway providing the different flow treatment to the at least another traffic flow associated with the request, wherein the first request comprises a bearer request.
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38. A non-transitory computer readable storage medium on which a computer program is embodied, and when the computer program is executed, a processor provides operations comprising:
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establishing a packet communication channel in a network, wherein at least one traffic flow in the network is associated with at least one flow treatment attribute determining the flow treatment requirement for the at least one traffic flow; establishing a communication pathway over the network, the communication pathway including a radio communication channel and the packet communication channel; identifying at least another traffic flow associated with the request which requires a different flow treatment across the network from other traffic flows; initiating, at a packet network node rather than a user terminal, a another request to establish at least another communication pathway over the network, the request comprising a bearer activation and identifying flow attributes of the at least another traffic flow associated with the request that requires the different flow treatment; and establishing the at least another communication pathway in the network, the another communication pathway providing the different flow treatment to the at least another traffic flow associated with the request, wherein the secondary request comprises another bearer request.
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Specification