Parameterized quality of service for multimedia in a coaxial network

• US 8,787,165 B2
• Filed: 04/28/2010
• Issued: 07/22/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2010
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cox Communications Incorporated (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Cox Communications Incorporated (Cox Enterprises Incorporated)
• Inventors: Shrum, Edgar V. Jr.
• Primary Examiner(s): SMITH, MARCUS
• Application Number:
  US12/769,034
• Publication Number:
  US 20110267945A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,546 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 370/232
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5022 by giving priorities, e.g. assigning classes of service
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2433 Allocation of priorities to traffic types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2441 relying on flow classification, e.g. using integrated services [IntServ]

Abstract

Parameterized Quality of Service (QoS) may be provided. In response to receiving a registration request from a device, a determination of resource availability may be made. If resources are available to satisfy data flows to the device, a flow priority may be established and the device may be added to the priority queue configuration. If the device later requests establishment of a data flow, the data flow may be transmitted at the established flow priority.

Claims

1. A method for providing a parameterized quality of service (QoS) flow, the method comprising:

receiving a registration request comprising a resource requirement from a device, the registration request being associated with one or more priority levels;

determining whether an entry in a priority queue configuration is associated with the registration request;

determining whether at least one resource is available to fulfill the resource requirement based on a priority level associated with the registration request;

in response to determining that the at least one resource is available to fulfill the resource requirement;

establishing a flow priority based on the priority level associated with the registration request and the highest available priority as determined by the at least one resource available to fulfill the resource requirement, and

adding the device to the priority queue configuration;

in response to determining that the at least one resource is not available to fulfill the resource requirement;

lowering the priority level associated with the registration request and adding the device to the priority queue configuration; and

updating the parameterized QoS flow based upon a capacity change to a bandwidth for the at least one resource available to fulfill the resource requirement based on the priority level associated with the registration request.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the device comprises at least one of the following:

a computer, a portable media player, a set-top box, a television, a digital video recorder, and a cellular phone.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the at least one resource comprises at least one of the following:

the bandwidth, a nominal data rate, a peak data rate, a max burst size, a max packet size, a max delay, a max jitter/delay variation, and a max packet loss.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein establishing the flow priority comprises:

identifying a video quality associated with the device; and

assigning a quality of service priority level based on the identified video quality.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the device comprises a Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) compliant chipset.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising processing the registration request via an OpenCable Application Platform Application Programming Interface.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the registration request comprises a source MAC address associated with a source device and a destination MAC address associated with a destination device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein in response to determining that the at least one resource is not available to fulfill the resource requirement, comprising:

determining whether the at least one resource is configured for oversubscription; and

in response to determining that the at least one resource is configured for over-subscription, adding the device to the priority queue configuration.

9. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a request associated with a video flow from the device;

retrieving the established flow priority; and

transmitting the video flow at the established flow priority.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the established flow priority is retrieved from the priority queue configuration.

11. A system for providing a parameterized quality of service (QoS) flow, the system comprising:

a memory storage; and

a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to;

receive a request to establish a traffic flow from a source device to a destination device, the request including a resource requirement, the registration request being associated with one or more priority levels,

determine whether a priority queue configuration comprises an entry associated with the source device and the destination device,

in response to determining that the priority queue configuration comprises the entry associated with the source device and the destination device, retrieve a priority level associated with the entry, establish the traffic flow from the source device to the destination device based on the priority level associated with the registration request and the highest available priority as determined by at least one resource available to fulfill the resource requirement,

in response to determining that the at least one resource is not available to fulfill the resource requirement, lower the priority level associated with the registration request and add the source device to the priority queue configuration; and

updating the parameterized QoS flow based upon a capacity change to a bandwidth for the at least one resource available to fulfill the resource requirement based on the priority level associated with the registration request.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the processing unit is further operative to:

in response to determining that the priority queue configuration does not comprise the entry associated with the source device and the destination device, determine whether a network communicatively connected to the source device and the destination device comprises sufficient resources to support the traffic flow; and

in response to determining that the network comprises sufficient resources to support the traffic flow, establish the traffic flow according to at least one parameter associated with the request to establish the traffic flow.

13. The system of claim 12, wherein the processing unit is further operative to establish the traffic flow at the priority level associated with the request to establish the traffic flow.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the processing unit is further operative to create a new entry in the priority queue configuration comprising the source device, the destination device, the at least one parameter, and the priority level associated with the request to establish the traffic flow.

15. The system of claim 14, wherein the new entry further comprises a source MAC address associated with the source device and a destination MAC address associated with the destination device.

16. A method for providing a parameterized quality of service flow, the method executed by the set of instructions comprising:

receiving a request to establish a traffic flow between a source device and a destination device, wherein the request comprises a resource requirement, one or more parameters, one or more priority levels, a source MAC address associated with the source device and a destination MAC address associated with the destination device, wherein the one or more parameters include information relating to one or more of a nominal data rate, a peak data rate, a max burst size, a max packet size, a max delay, a max jitter/delay variation, and a max packet loss;

determining whether a traffic specification entry associated with the source device and the destination device exists in a device list table, wherein the device list table comprises an index associated with at least one of the following;

the source MAC address and the destination MAC address;

in response to determining that the traffic specification entry associated with the source device and the destination device exists in the device list table, establishing the traffic flow between the source device and the destination device according to at least one attribute associated with the traffic specification entry and based on a priority level associated with the registration request and the highest available priority as determined by the at least one resource available to fulfill the resource requirement;

in response to determining that the at least one resource is not available to fulfill the resource requirement, lowering the priority level associated with the registration request and adding the source device to a priority queue configuration; and

updating the traffic flow based upon a capacity change to a bandwidth for the at least one resource available to fulfill the resource requirement based on the priority level associated with the registration request.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

in response to determining that the traffic specification entry associated with the source device and the destination device does not exist in the device list table;

determining a maximum video output quality associated with the destination device; and

creating a new traffic specification entry associated with the source device and the destination device according to the maximum video output quality.

18. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

in response to determining that the traffic specification entry associated with the source device and the destination device does not exist in the device list table;

determining whether resources are available to establish the traffic flow between the source device and the destination device for a duration associated with the request at a quality of service priority associated with the request; and

in response to determining that resources are available to establish the traffic flow between the source device and the destination device for the duration associated with the request at the quality of service priority associated with the request, reserving the resources associated with establishing the traffic flow between the source device and the destination device for the duration associated with the request at the quality of service priority associated with the request.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

in response to determining that resources are not available to establish the traffic flow between the source device and the destination device for the duration associated with the request at the quality of service priority associated with the request, establishing the traffic flow between the source device and the destination device for the duration associated with the request at a lower quality of service priority than the quality of service priority associated with the request.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the at least one resource comprises at least one of the following:

the bandwidth, a nominal data rate, a peak data rate, a max burst size, a max packet size, a max delay, a max jitter/delay variation, and a max packet loss.