Using the maintenance channel in a mobile data network to provide subscriber data when a cache miss occurs

• US 8,559,941 B1
• Filed: 12/03/2012
• Issued: 10/15/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/18/2012
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Original Assignee: International Business Machines Corporation
• Inventors: Billau, Ronald L., Cillis, Canio, Di Luoffo, Vincenzo V., Leschke, Ekkart
• Primary Examiner(s): TAYLOR, BARRY W
• Application Number:
  US13/692,049
• Time in Patent Office: 316 Days
• Field of Search: 455/424, 455/509, 455/516, 455/517, 455/445
• US Class Current: 455/424
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0289 Congestion control load shedding arrangements in network planning H04W16/08; performing reselection for handling the traffic H04W36/22; wireless traffic scheduling H04W72/12
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/082 for traffic bypassing of mobility servers, e.g. location registers, home PLMNs or home agents

Abstract

A mobile data network includes a radio access network and a core network. A first service mechanism in the radio access network breaks out data coming from a basestation. When data is broken out by the first service mechanism, the data is delivered at the edge, which means the true activity of the channel is not visible to the core network. In order to maintain the high-speed channel, channel maintenance data packets are sent to and from the radio network controller on the network tunnel. The maintenance channel is also used to send cache miss data to a subscriber when a cache miss occurs at the edge of the mobile data network, without regard to a need for channel maintenance data packets.

Claims

1. A method for processing data packets in a mobile data network that includes a radio access network coupled to a core network, the method comprising the steps of:

(A) providing a plurality of antennas sending and receiving network messages between user equipment and a plurality of basestations in the radio access network, each basestation communicating with a corresponding one of the plurality of antennas;

(B) providing a first service mechanism in the radio access network that performs the steps of;

defining an existing first data path in the radio access network for non-broken out data;

defining a second data path for broken out data;

identifying first data received from a corresponding basestation as data to be broken out;

sending the first data on the second data path; and

forwarding other data that is not broken out on the first data path;

performing a first service for network messages in the radio access network based on the first data; and

injecting a first plurality of channel maintenance data packets into an uplink data stream in the radio access network on a network tunnel;

(C) providing a second service mechanism in the core network that performs the steps of;

monitoring network messages in the core network; and

providing a second service for the network messages in the mobile data network; and

injecting a second plurality of channel maintenance data packets into a downlink data stream in the core network on the network tunnel;

(D) providing an edge cache mechanism that performs the steps of;

indicating when a cache miss occurs; and

in response to the cache miss, receiving data corresponding to the cache miss on the network tunnel without regard to a need for channel maintenance data packets.

2. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

measuring average data rate for uplink and downlink for a selected channel; and

when the average data rate is less than a first defined threshold, injecting the first plurality of channel maintenance data packets for the selected channel into the uplink data stream in the radio access network.

3. The method of claim 2 further comprising the steps of:

when the average data rate is less than a second defined threshold, injecting the second plurality of channel maintenance data packets for the selected channel into the downlink data stream in the core network.

4. The method of claim 2 wherein the step of determining the first defined threshold comprises the steps of:

measuring average data rate for uplink and downlink for the selected channel;

determining a lower bound for a current data rate allocation; and

determining the first threshold is equal to the lower bound plus a fixed value.

5. The method of claim 2 further comprising the step of sending the second defined threshold from the first service mechanism to the second service mechanism.

6. The method of claim 1 further comprising the steps of:

measuring average data rate for uplink and downlink for a selected channel; and

when the average data rate is less than a defined threshold, injecting the second plurality of channel maintenance data packets for the selected channel into the downlink data stream in the core network.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the first plurality of channel maintenance data packets comprise a dummy header and valid data that needs to be communicated from the first service mechanism to the second service mechanism.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein at least one of the second plurality of channel maintenance data packets comprise a dummy header and valid data that needs to be communicated from the second service mechanism to the first service mechanism.