System and method for monitoring and optimizing network performance to a wireless device

• US 8,520,603 B2
• Filed: 05/23/2012
• Issued: 08/27/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/22/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: CenturyLink Intellectual Property LLC (Lumen Technologies, Inc.)
• Inventors: Kozisek, Steven E., Coppage, Carl M., Morrill, Robert J.
• Primary Examiner(s): MATHARU, MANPREET S
• Application Number:
  US13/478,180
• Publication Number:
  US 20120230214A1
• Time in Patent Office: 461 Days
• Field of Search: 370/328, 370/220, 370/219, 370/252, 455/423, 455/424, 455/425, 455/445, 455/67.11, 709/224, 709/228, 709/229
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0823 characterised by the purposes of a change of settings, e.g. optimising configuration for enhancing reliability for optimising operational conditions of wireless networks H04W24/02
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/142 using statistical or mathematical methods
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0852 Delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0894 Packet rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/16 Threshold monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/06 Transport layer protocols, e.g. TCP [Transport Control Protocol] over wireless transmission control protocol/Internet protocol [TCP/IP] or user datagram protocol [UDP] H04L69/16

Abstract

The disclosed embodiments include a method for monitoring and optimizing network performance to a wireless device that includes determining network performance information of a wireless router and communicating data packets containing the network performance information to a network management device. The network management device is configured to transmit instructional data packets to the wireless router that include instructions for optimizing network performance to said wireless device in response to identify a network performance problem associated with the wireless router.

Claims

1. A system for monitoring and optimizing network performance to a wireless device comprising:

a first wireless router in direct communication with said wireless device for transmitting and receiving RF signals between said first wireless router and said wireless device, said wireless router configured to;

count the total of said data packets being communicated via said wireless router during a time period;

count said data packets including real-time content being communicated via said wireless router during said time period;

determine bandwidth of said data packets being communicated via said wireless router;

determine bandwidth of said data packets including real-time content being communicated via said wireless router;

determine network performance information associated with data packets communicated over said wireless router; and

a packet network switch in network communication with said first wireless router for communicating said data packets between said first wireless router and said packet network switch; and

a network management device in communication with said packet network switch for instructing said packet network switch to route the network performance information to said network management device, said network management device utilizing said network performance information to;

identify network performance problems associated with the first wireless router; and

transmit instructional data packets to the first wireless router that include instructions for optimizing network performance to said wireless device in response to identify a network performance problem associated with the first wireless router.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the network management device further comprises:

an input/output (I/O) unit configured to communicate over said network;

a memory unit configured to store said network performance information indicative of bandwidth of said data packets including real-time content and total data packets communicated over said network by one of said wireless router.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

a second wireless router in direct communication range with said wireless device, the second wireless router also in network communication with said packet network switch.

4. The system of claim 3, wherein the instructions for optimizing instructs the wireless device to disconnect from the first wireless router and connect the second wireless router for communicating data packets.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein said network management device is configured to:

determine whether at least one network performance information value of said wireless router exceeds a predetermined threshold value; and

communicate a switching instruction to said packet network switch to switch a flow of said data packets from a first data packet network to a second data packet network.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein said network management device is configured to communicate a request for network performance data to said wireless router located on the packet network requesting said network performance information concatenated in said data packets at said wireless router.

7. The system of claim 5, wherein said network management device is configured to communicate a request to said wireless device to switch communication from one of said first and second data packet network to the other of said first and second data packet network.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein one of said network management device includes a ITU-T Y.1731 module configured to separately count total data packets and data packets including real-time content.

9. The system of claim 3, wherein instructing the wireless device to disconnect from the first wireless router and connect the second wireless router for communicating data packets is performed in spite of the wireless device receiving a better signal strength from the first wireless router as compared to a signal strength received from the second wireless router.

10. The system of claim 1 wherein said network management device is further configured to adjust one of encoding/decoding rates and adjust power amounts to optimize said network performance to said wireless device.

11. A method for monitoring and optimizing network performance to a wireless device comprising:

determining network performance information of a wireless router, said wireless router in communication with said wireless device and a packet network switch;

wherein determining the network performance information includes;

counting the total of said data packets being communicated via said wireless router during a time period;

counting said data packets including real-time content being communicated via said wireless router during said time period;

determining bandwidth of said data packets being communicated via said wireless router; and

determining bandwidth of said data packets including real-time content being communicated via said wireless router;

communicating data packets containing the network performance information between said wireless router and said packet network switch; and

communicating said data packets from said packet network switch to a network management device in communication with said packet network switch.

12. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

adjusting, by said packet network switch, at least one of encoding/decoding rate and power amount to optimize said network performance to said wireless device,

storing said network performance information indicative of bandwidth of said data packets including real-time content and total data packets communicated over said network by said wireless router.

13. The method of claim 11 wherein said network performance information is contained in IEEE standard 802.1AG data packets.

14. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

determining whether at least one network performance information value of said wireless router exceeds a predetermined threshold value;

communicating a switching instruction to said packet network switch to switch a flow of said data packets from a first data packet network to a second data packet network.

15. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

communicating via said network management device a request for network performance data to said wireless router located on the packet network requesting said network performance information concatenated in said data packets at said wireless router.

16. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

communicating via said network management device a request to said wireless device to switch communication from one of said first and second data packet network to the other of said first and second data packet network.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein one of said network management device includes an ITU-T Y.1731 module configured to separately count total data packets and data packets including real-time content.