System and method for wireless interface selection and for communication and access control of subsystems, devices, and data in a vehicular environment

• US 8,848,608 B1
• Filed: 03/24/2011
• Issued: 09/30/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 01/14/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Cisco Technology, Inc. (Cisco Systems, Inc.)
• Inventors: Addepalli, Sateesh K., Dai, Lillian Lei, Zhu, Xiaoqing, Pan, Rong, Natarajan, Preethi
• Primary Examiner(s): Yao, Kwang B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Duda, Adam
• Application Number:
  US13/071,367
• Time in Patent Office: 1,286 Days
• Field of Search: 370/328, 370/338, 370/401, 370/310, 370/313, 370/329, 370/331, 370/335, 370/349, 370/355, 370/395.54, 370/502, 709/223, 709/229, 709/220, 709/203, 709/215, 709/221, 709/227, 709/228, 709/230, 709/246, 709/249, 455/411, 455/418, 455/432.1, 455/408, 455/435.1, 455/455, 455/500, 455/512
• US Class Current: 370/328
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 16/023 for transmission of signals between vehicle parts or subsystems
• CPC Class Codes: B60W 50/10 Interpretation of driver requests or demands
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 21/45 Structures or tools for the administration of authentication
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/017 Gesture based interaction, e.g. based on a set of recognized hand gestures interaction based on gestures traced on a digitiser G06F3/04883
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/167 Audio in a user interface, e.g. using voice commands for navigating, audio feedback
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 9/542 Event management; Broadcasting; Multicasting; Notifications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 1/008 where the control data relates to payload of a different packet
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0858 One way delays
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 45/12 Shortest path evaluation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 51/02 using automatic reactions or user delegation, e.g. automatic replies or chatbot-generated messages
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/2592 using tunnelling or encapsulation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0227 Filtering policies mail message filtering H04L51/212
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/60 Scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests, e.g. requests for application data transmissions using the analysis and optimisation of the required network resources admission control or resource allocation H04L47/70
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04Q 9/00 Arrangements in telecontrol or telemetry systems for selectively calling a substation from a main station, in which substation desired apparatus is selected for applying a control signal thereto or for obtaining measured values therefrom
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/03 Protecting confidentiality, e.g. by encryption
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0215 based on user or device properties, e.g. MTC-capable devices services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC] H04W4/70; wireless resource selection or allocation plan definition based on terminal or device properties H04W72/51
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/06 : Optimizing the usage of the radio link, e.g. header compression, information sizing , discarding information system modifying transmission characteristic according to link quality by modifying frame length H04L1/0007; dynamic adaptation of the packet size for flow control or congestion control H04L47/365
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0009 : for a plurality of users or terminals, e.g. group communication or moving wireless networks user group management H04W4/08; processing of subscriber group data H04W8/186
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/08 : Reselecting an access point
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/00 : Services specially adapted for wireless communication networks; Facilities therefor
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/10 : Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-On-Call services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/40 : for vehicles, e.g. vehicle-to-pedestrians [V2P]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/02 : Communication route or path selection, e.g. power-based or shortest path routing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 40/20 : based on geographic position or location
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/02 : Access restriction performed under specific conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/06 : based on traffic conditions
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/16 : Discovering, processing access restriction or access information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/18 : Selecting a network or a communication service
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0206 : in access points, e.g. base stations access point devices per se H04W88/08
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0219 : where the power saving management affects multiple terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0264 : by selectively disabling software applications
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/12 : Outer and inner loops
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/143 : Downlink power control
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/225 : Calculation of statistics, e.g. average, variance
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/241 : taking into account channel quality metrics, e.g. SIR, SNR, CIR, Eb/lo
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/346 : distributing total power among users or channels
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/20 : Control channels or signalling for resource management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/23 : in the downlink direction of a wireless link, i.e. towards a terminal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/53 : based on regulatory allocation policies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/45 : for Push-to-Talk [PTT] or Push-to-Talk over cellular [PoC] services
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/06 : Registration at serving network Location Register, VLR or user mobility server
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/08 : Mobility data transfer
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/26 : Network addressing or numbering for mobility support
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/02 : Data link layer protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/005 : Moving wireless networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 84/12 : WLAN [Wireless Local Area Networks]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 92/18 : between terminal devices
• CPC Class Codes: Y02A 30/60 : Planning or developing urban green infrastructure
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 : in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A method in one embodiment includes detecting a trigger on an electronic device and identifying an interface usage policy for an agent and a corresponding application on the electronic device. The method also includes selecting a first wireless interface of a plurality of wireless interfaces on the electronic device for a network session between an application process of the application and a remote node, with the first wireless interface being selected based on one or more criteria in the interface usage policy. In specific embodiments the electronic device is an on-board unit of a vehicle. In more specific embodiments a second wireless interface is selected based on the interface usage policy, the first and second wireless interfaces are different physical interfaces on the electronic device. In other specific embodiments, the first and second wireless interfaces are virtual interfaces of a single physical interface on the electronic device.

Claims

1. A method performed by at least one processor, the method comprising:

detecting a trigger on an electronic device;

identifying, by the at least one processor, a predefined interface usage policy for an agent and a corresponding application on the electronic device;

selecting a first wireless interface of a plurality of wireless interfaces on the electronic device for a network session between an application process of the corresponding application and a remote node, wherein the first wireless interface is selected based, at least in part, on one or more criteria in the predefined interface usage policy; and

selecting a second wireless interface of the plurality of wireless interfaces for the network session, the second wireless interface selected based, at least in part, on the one or more criteria of the predefined interface usage policy, wherein traffic flow of the network session is to be divided between the first and second wireless interfaces according to a predetermined allocation.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the electronic device is an on-board unit of a vehicle.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria specify bi-directional interface selection, the first wireless interface being selected for incoming traffic flow of the network session, the second wireless interface being selected for outgoing traffic flow of the network session.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein wherein the predetermined allocation includes first and second bandwidth-based allocations of the first and second wireless interfaces, respectively, wherein the first and second bandwidth-based allocations are calculated as percentages of a total amount of bandwidth of the first wireless interface and the second wireless interface.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria specify a particular wireless technology type for the corresponding application.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the corresponding application is one of a group of applications, the one or more criteria specifying a particular wireless technology type for the group of applications.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

identifying one or more application requirements of the corresponding application;

determining whether the one or more application requirements are met by the first wireless interface;

determining if third wireless interface is available if the first wireless interface does not meet the one or more application requirements; and

selecting the third wireless interface for the network session if the third wireless interface is available and meets the one or more application requirements.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more criteria specify an interface selection granularity, the interface selection granularity selected from a group consisting of:

a session, packets of a session, bytes of a session, and bits of a session.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the selecting the first wireless interface includes:

determining a first total expected cost of a first wireless option for the network session;

determining one or more other total expected costs for one or more other wireless options, respectively, for the network session; and

comparing the first total expected cost to each of the one or more other total expected costs, wherein the first wireless interface is selected when the first total expected cost of the first wireless option is less than each of the one or more other total expected costs of the one or more other wireless options, wherein at least a portion of the first wireless option corresponds to the first wireless interface.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the first wireless option includes a first sequence of wireless connectivity segments for a predefined period in a route from a first location to a second location, wherein the one or more other wireless options include, respectively, one or more other sequences of wireless connectivity segments for the predefined period, and wherein each of the sequences of wireless connectivity segments is unique.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the determining the first total expected cost of using the first wireless option comprises:

calculating a monetary cost of the first wireless option;

calculating a switching cost of the first wireless option;

calculating a performance cost of the first wireless option; and

calculating the first total expected cost by totaling the monetary cost, the switching cost, and the performance cost.

12. One or more non-transitory media encoded with instructions capable of being executed by at least one processor, and when executed, the at least one processor is operable to perform operations comprising:

detecting a trigger on an electronic device;

identifying a predefined interface usage policy for an agent and a corresponding application on the electronic device; and

selecting a first wireless interface of a plurality of wireless interfaces on the electronic device for a network session between an application process of the corresponding application and a remote node, wherein the first wireless interface is selected based, at least in part, on one or more criteria in the predefined interface usage policy, wherein the selecting the first wireless interface includes;

determining a first total expected cost of a first wireless option for the network session;

determining one or more other total expected costs for one or more other wireless options, respectively, for the network session; and

comparing the first total expected cost to each of the one or more other total expected costs, wherein the first wireless interface is selected when the first total expected cost of the first wireless option is less than each of the other total expected costs of the one or more other wireless options, wherein at least a portion of the first wireless option corresponds to the first wireless interface.

13. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 12, wherein the electronic device is an on-board unit of a vehicle.

14. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 12, wherein the one or more criteria specify a particular wireless technology type for the corresponding application.

15. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 12, wherein the first wireless option includes a first sequence of wireless connectivity segments for a predefined period in a route from a first location to a second location, wherein the one or more other wireless options include, respectively, one or more other sequences of wireless connectivity segments for the predefined period, and wherein each of the sequences of wireless connectivity segments is unique.

16. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 12, wherein the determining the first total expected cost of selecting the first wireless option comprises:

calculating a monetary cost of the first wireless option;

calculating a switching cost of the first wireless option;

calculating a performance cost of the first wireless option; and

calculating the first total expected cost by totaling the monetary cost, the switching cost, and the performance cost.

17. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 16, wherein a monetary weighting factor, a switching cost weighting factor, and a performance cost weighting factor are applied, respectively, to the monetary cost, the switching cost, and the performance cost.

18. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory element configured to store data;

an interface selection module;

a plurality of wireless interfaces; and

a processor operable to execute instructions associated with the data, wherein the processor, the memory element, and the interface selection module cooperate such that the apparatus is configured for;

detecting a trigger;

identifying a predefined interface usage policy in the memory element, the predefined interface usage policy associated with an agent and a corresponding application being executed by the processor;

selecting a first wireless interface of the plurality of wireless interfaces for a network session between an application process of the corresponding application and a remote node, wherein the first wireless interface is selected based, at least in part, on one or more criteria in the predefined interface usage policy;

identifying one or more application requirements of the corresponding application;

determining whether the one or more application requirements are met by the first wireless interface;

determining if a second wireless interface is available if the first wireless interface does not meet the one or more application requirements; and

selecting the second wireless interface for the network session if the second wireless interface is available and meets the one or more application requirements.

19. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the apparatus is an on-board unit of a vehicle.

20. The apparatus of claim 18, the apparatus further configured for:

selecting a third wireless interface of the plurality of wireless interfaces for the network session, the third wireless interface selected based, at least in part, on the one or more criteria of the predefined interface usage policy.

21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the one or more criteria specify bi-directional interface selection, the third wireless interface being selected for incoming traffic flow of the network session, the second wireless interface being selected for outgoing traffic flow of the network session.

22. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein traffic flow of the network session is to be divided between the third and second wireless interfaces according to a predetermined allocation.

23. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more criteria specify a particular wireless technology type for the corresponding application.

24. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the one or more criteria specify an interface selection granularity, the interface selection granularity selected from a group consisting of:

a session, packets of a session, bytes of a session, and bits of a session.

25. The apparatus of claim 18, wherein the corresponding application is one of a group of applications, the one or more criteria specifying a particular wireless technology type for the group of applications.

26. One or more non-transitory media encoded with instructions capable of being executed by at least one processor, and when executed, the at least one processor is operable to perform operations comprising:

detecting a trigger on an electronic device;

identifying a predefined interface usage policy for an agent and a corresponding application on the electronic device;

selecting a first wireless interface of a plurality of wireless interfaces on the electronic device for a network session between an application process of the corresponding application and a remote node, wherein the first wireless interface is selected based, at least in part, on one or more criteria in the predefined interface usage policy; and

selecting a second wireless interface of the plurality of wireless interfaces for the network session, the second wireless interface selected based, at least in part, on the one or more criteria of the predefined interface usage policy, wherein traffic flow of the network session is to be divided between the first and second wireless interfaces according to a predetermined allocation.

27. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 26, wherein the electronic device is an on-board unit of a vehicle.

28. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 26, wherein the predetermined allocation includes first and second bandwidth-based allocations of the first and second wireless interfaces, respectively, wherein the first and second bandwidth-based allocations are calculated as percentages of a total amount of bandwidth of the first wireless interface and the second wireless interface.

29. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 26, wherein the one or more criteria specify a particular wireless technology type for the corresponding application.

30. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 26, wherein the corresponding application is one of a group of applications, the one or more criteria specifying a particular wireless technology type for the group of applications.

31. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 26, the operations further comprising:

identifying one or more application requirements of the corresponding application;

determining whether the one or more application requirements are met by the first wireless interface;

determining if a third wireless interface is available if the first wireless interface does not meet the one or more application requirements; and

selecting the third wireless interface for the network session if the third wireless interface is available and meets the one or more application requirements.

32. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 26, wherein the one or more criteria specify an interface selection granularity, the interface selection granularity selected from a group consisting of:

a session, packets of a session, bytes of a session, and bits of a session.

33. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 26, wherein the selecting the first wireless interface includes:

determining a first total expected cost of a first wireless option for the network session;

determining one or more other total expected costs for one or more other wireless options, respectively, for the network session; and

comparing the first total expected cost to each of the one or more other total expected costs, wherein the first wireless interface is selected when the first total expected cost of the first wireless option is less than each of the one or more other total expected costs of the one or more other wireless options, wherein at least a portion of the first wireless option corresponds to the first wireless interface.

34. A method performed by at least one processor, the method comprising:

detecting a trigger on an electronic device;

identifying, by the at least one processor, a predefined interface usage policy for an agent and a corresponding application on the electronic device; and

selecting a first wireless interface of a plurality of wireless interfaces on the electronic device for a network session between an application process of the corresponding application and a remote node, wherein the first wireless interface is selected based, at least in part, on one or more criteria in the predefined interface usage policy, wherein the selecting the first wireless interface includes;

determining a first total expected cost of a first wireless option for the network session;

determining one or more other total expected costs for one or more other wireless options, respectively, for the network session; and

comparing the first total expected cost to each of the one or more other total expected costs, wherein the first wireless interface is selected when the first total expected cost of the first wireless option is less than each of the other total expected costs of the one or more other wireless options, wherein at least a portion of the first wireless option corresponds to the first wireless interface.

35. The method of claim 34, wherein the electronic device is an on-board unit of a vehicle.

36. The method of claim 34, further comprising:

selecting a second wireless interface of the plurality of wireless interfaces for the network session, the second wireless interface selected based, at least in part, on the one or more criteria of the predefined interface usage policy.

37. The method of claim 34, wherein the one or more criteria specify a particular wireless technology type for the corresponding application.

38. The method of claim 34, wherein the corresponding application is one of a group of applications, the one or more criteria specifying a particular wireless technology type for the group of applications.

39. The method of claim 34, wherein the one or more criteria specify an interface selection granularity, the interface selection granularity selected from a group consisting of:

a session, packets of a session, bytes of a session, and bits of a session.

40. The method of claim 34, wherein the first wireless option includes a first sequence of wireless connectivity segments for a predefined period in a route from a first location to a second location, wherein the one or more other wireless options include, respectively, one or more other sequences of wireless connectivity segments for the predefined period, and wherein each of the sequences of wireless connectivity segments is unique.

41. The method of claim 34, wherein the determining the first total expected cost of using the first wireless option comprises:

calculating a monetary cost of the first wireless option;

calculating a switching cost of the first wireless option;

calculating a performance cost of the first wireless option; and

calculating the first total expected cost by totaling the monetary cost, the switching cost, and the performance cost.

42. The method of claim 41, wherein a monetary weighting factor, a switching cost weighting factor, and a performance cost weighting factor are applied, respectively, to the monetary cost, the switching cost, and the performance cost.

43. One or more non-transitory media encoded with instructions capable of being executed by at least one processor, and when executed, the at least one processor is operable to perform operations comprising:

detecting a trigger on an electronic device;

identifying a predefined interface usage policy for an agent and a corresponding application on the electronic device;

selecting a first wireless interface of a plurality of wireless interfaces on the electronic device for a network session between an application process of the corresponding application and a remote node, wherein the first wireless interface is selected based, at least in part, on one or more criteria in the predefined interface usage policy; and

selecting a second wireless interface of the plurality of wireless interfaces for the network session, the second wireless interface selected based, at least in part, on the one or more criteria of the predefined interface usage policy, wherein the one or more criteria specify bi-directional interface selection, the first wireless interface being selected for incoming traffic flow of the network session, the second wireless interface being selected for outgoing traffic flow of the network session.

44. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 43 wherein the electronic device is an on-board unit of a vehicle.

45. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 43, wherein the one or more criteria specify a particular wireless technology type for the corresponding application.

46. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 43, wherein the corresponding application is one of a group of applications, the one or more criteria specifying a particular wireless technology type for the group of applications.

47. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 43, the operations further comprising:

identifying one or more application requirements of the corresponding application;

determining whether the one or more application requirements are met by the first wireless interface;

determining if a third wireless interface is available if the first wireless interface does not meet the one or more application requirements; and

selecting the third wireless interface for the network session if the third wireless interface is available and meets the one or more application requirements.

48. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 43, wherein the one or more criteria specify an interface selection granularity, the interface selection granularity selected from a group consisting of:

a session, packets of a session, bytes of a session, and bits of a session.

49. The one or more non-transitory media of claim 43, wherein the selecting the first wireless interface includes:

determining a first total expected cost of a first wireless option for the network session;

determining one or more other total expected costs for one or more other wireless options, respectively, for the network session; and

comparing the first total expected cost to each of the one or more other total expected costs, wherein the first wireless interface is selected when the first total expected cost of the first wireless option is less than each of the one or more other total expected costs of the one or more other wireless options, wherein at least a portion of the first wireless option corresponds to the first wireless interface.

50. An apparatus, comprising:

a memory element configured to store data;

an interface selection module;

a plurality of wireless interfaces; and

a processor operable to execute instructions associated with the data, wherein the processor, the memory element, and the interface selection module cooperate such that the apparatus is configured for;

detecting a trigger;

identifying a predefined interface usage policy in the memory element, the predefined interface usage policy associated with an agent and a corresponding application being executed by the processor;

selecting a first wireless interface of the plurality of wireless interfaces for a network session between an application process of the corresponding application and a remote node, wherein the first wireless interface is selected based, at least in part, on one or more criteria in the predefined interface usage policy; and

selecting a second wireless interface of the plurality of wireless interfaces for the network session, the second wireless interface selected based, at least in part, on the one or more criteria of the predefined interface usage policy, wherein the one or more criteria specify bi-directional interface selection, the first wireless interface being selected for incoming traffic flow of the network session, the second wireless interface being selected for outgoing traffic flow of the network session.

51. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the electronic device is an on-board unit of a vehicle.

52. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the one or more criteria specify a particular wireless technology type for the corresponding application.

53. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the corresponding application is one of a group of applications, the one or more criteria specifying a particular wireless technology type for the group of applications.

54. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the apparatus is further configured for:

identifying one or more application requirements of the corresponding application;

determining whether the one or more application requirements are met by the first wireless interface;

determining if a third wireless interface is available if the first wireless interface does not meet the one or more application requirements; and

selecting the third wireless interface for the network session if the third wireless interface is available and meets the one or more application requirements.

55. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the one or more criteria specify an interface selection granularity, the interface selection granularity selected from a group consisting of:

a session, packets of a session, bytes of a session, and bits of a session.

56. The apparatus of claim 50, wherein the selecting the first wireless interface includes:

determining a first total expected cost of a first wireless option for the network session;

determining one or more other total expected costs for one or more other wireless options, respectively, for the network session; and

comparing the first total expected cost to each of the one or more other total expected costs, wherein the first wireless interface is selected when the first total expected cost of the first wireless option is less than each of the one or more other total expected costs of the one or more other wireless options, wherein at least a portion of the first wireless option corresponds to the first wireless interface.

57. A method performed by at least one processor, the method comprising:

detecting a trigger on an electronic device;

identifying, by the at least one processor, a predefined interface usage policy for an agent and a corresponding application on the electronic device;

selecting a first wireless interface of a plurality of wireless interfaces on the electronic device for a network session between an application process of the corresponding application and a remote node, wherein the first wireless interface is selected based, at least in part, on one or more criteria in the predefined interface usage policy;

identifying one or more application requirements of the corresponding application;

determining whether the one or more application requirements are met by the first wireless interface;

determining if a second wireless interface is available if the first wireless interface does not meet the one or more application requirements; and

selecting the second wireless interface for the network session if the second wireless interface is available and meets the one or more application requirements.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the apparatus is an on-board unit of a vehicle.

59. The method of claim 57, further comprising:

selecting a third wireless interface of the plurality of wireless interfaces for the network session, the third wireless interface selected based, at least in part, on the one or more criteria of the predefined interface usage policy.

60. The method of claim 58, wherein the one or more criteria specify bi-directional interface selection, the second wireless interface being selected for incoming traffic flow of the network session, the third wireless interface being selected for outgoing traffic flow of the network session.

61. The method of claim 59, wherein traffic flow of the network session is to be divided between the second and third wireless interfaces according to a predetermined allocation.

62. The method of claim 57, wherein the one or more criteria specify a particular wireless technology type for the corresponding application.

63. The method of claim 57, wherein the corresponding application is one of a group of applications, the one or more criteria specifying a particular wireless technology type for the group of applications.

64. The method of claim 57, wherein the one or more criteria specify an interface selection granularity, the interface selection granularity selected from a group consisting of:

a session, packets of a session, bytes of a session, and bits of a session.