Apparatus and method for configuring network connection parameters of a mobile device

• US 8,971,908 B1
• Filed: 01/18/2013
• Issued: 03/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/11/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Google LLC (Alphabet Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Google Inc. (Alphabet Inc.)
• Inventors: Kirkpatrick, Ficus, Mahbod, Aurash
• Primary Examiner(s): Bhattacharya, Sam
• Application Number:
  US13/745,019
• Time in Patent Office: 774 Days
• Field of Search: 455/452.1, 455/452.2, 370/229, 370/232, 370/412, 370/462
• US Class Current: 455/452.1
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/38 triggered by timers

Abstract

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, techniques for determining a timeout value for a mobile device are disclosed. The techniques include receiving a request for a timeout value from a mobile device. The request includes a current network provider identifier and a first current connection type identifier. The techniques further include accessing an analytics database that stores a plurality of realized latency values, each realized latency value corresponding to a different previously performed network operation. Each realized latency value has a network provider identifier indicating a network provider and a connection type identifier indicating a type of associated therewith. The techniques further include retrieving one or more of the plurality of realized latency values from the analytics database based on the current network provider identifier and the first connection type identifier. The techniques also include determining the timeout value based on the retrieved realized latency.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method comprising:

receiving, at a processing device of a computing device, a request for a timeout value from a mobile device, the request including a current network provider identifier indicating a current network provider of the mobile device and a first current connection type identifier indicating a first type of connection used by the mobile device to access a communication network, the timeout value being indicative of an amount of time that the mobile device waits for a response to a network operation before timing out the network operation when using the first type of connection to access the communication network;

accessing, at the computing device, an analytics database, the analytics database storing a plurality of realized latency values, each realized latency value corresponding to a different previously performed network operation performed by one of a plurality of reporting mobile devices and defining a realized latency value of the previously performed network operation, each realized latency value having associated therewith a network provider identifier indicating a network provider of the reporting mobile device used to perform the previously performed network operation and a connection type identifier indicating a type of connection used by the reporting mobile device to perform the previously performed network operation;

retrieving, at the computing device, one or more of the plurality of realized latency values from the analytics database based on the current network provider identifier and the first connection type identifier, each of the one or more retrieved realized latency values having the current network provider identifier and the first current connection type identifier associated therewith;

determining, at the computing device, the timeout value based on the one or more retrieved realized latency values; and

providing, at the computing device, the timeout value to the mobile device.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, at the computing device, a new realized latency value, a new network provider identifier, and a new connection type identifier from one of the plurality of reporting mobile devices;

storing, at the computing device, the new realized latency value, the new network provider identifier, and the new connection type identifier in the analytics database; and

associating, at the computing device, the new network provider identifier and the new connection type identifier with the new realized latency value.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein each one of the plurality of realized latency values stored in the analytics database has a device type identifier associated therewith, the device type identifier indicating a make and model of the one reporting mobile device that performed the previously performed network operation to which the realized latency value corresponds.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein:

the request for the timeout value includes a current device type identifier of the mobile device indicating a current make and model of the mobile device, and

each of the one or more retrieved realized latency values have the current device type identifier associated therewith.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the request includes a request for a second timeout value and a second current connection type identifier indicating a second type of connection used by the mobile device to access the communication network, the second timeout value being indicative of a second amount of time that the mobile device waits for a response to a second network operation before timing out the second network operation when using the second type of connection to access the communication network.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising:

retrieving, at the computing device, one or more other realized latency values from the analytics database based on the current network provider identifier and the second current connection type identifier, each of the one or more other realized latency values having the current network provider identifier and the second current connection type identifier associated therewith;

determining, at the computing device, the second timeout value based on the other realized latency values; and

providing, at the computing device, the second timeout value to the mobile device.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein each one of the plurality of realized latency values stored in the analytics database has a geographic area identifier associated therewith, the geographic area identifier indicating a geographic area from which the one reporting mobile device performed the previously performed network operation to which the realized latency value corresponds.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein:

the request for the timeout value includes a current geographic area identifier of the mobile device indicating a geographic area where the mobile device most frequently performs network operations, and

each of the one or more retrieved realized latency values have the current geographic area identifier associated therewith.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the timeout value further includes selecting the timeout such that a specific percentage of responses corresponding to the retrieved realized latency values would have been received before network operations corresponding to the retrieved realized latency value would have been timed by the reporting mobile device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the computing device is one of the mobile device and an update server.

11. A computing device, comprising:

an analytics database that stores a plurality of realized latency values, each realized latency value corresponding to a different previously performed network operation performed by one of a plurality of reporting mobile devices and defining a realized latency value of the previously performed network operation, each realized latency value having associated therewith a network provider identifier indicating a network provider of the reporting mobile device used to perform the previously performed network operation and a connection type identifier indicating a type of connection used by the reporting mobile device to perform the previously performed network operation;

a processing device configured to;

receive a request for a timeout value from a mobile device, the request including a current network provider identifier indicating a current network provider of the mobile device and a first current connection type identifier indicating a first type of connection used by the mobile device to access a communication network, the timeout value being indicative of an amount of time that the mobile device waits for a response to a network operation before timing out the network operation when using the first type of connection to access the communication network;

access the analytics database;

retrieve one or more of the plurality of realized latency values from the analytics database based on the current network provider identifier and the first connection type identifier, each of the one or more retrieved realized latency values having the current network provider identifier and the first current connection type identifier associated therewith;

determine the timeout value based on the one or more retrieved realized latency values; and

provide the timeout value to the mobile device.

12. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the processing device is further configured to:

receive a new realized latency value, a new network provider identifier, and a new connection type identifier from one of the plurality of reporting mobile devices;

store the new realized latency value, the new network provider identifier, and the new connection type identifier in the analytics database; and

associate the new network provider identifier and the new connection type identifier with the new realized latency value.

13. The computing device of claim 11, wherein each one of the plurality of realized latency values stored in the analytics database has a device type identifier associated therewith, the device type identifier indicating a make and model of the one reporting mobile device that performed the previously performed network operation to which the realized latency value corresponds.

14. The computing device of claim 13, wherein:

the request for the timeout value includes a current device type identifier of the mobile device indicating a current make and model of the mobile device, and

each of the one or more retrieved realized latency values have the current device type identifier associated therewith.

15. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the request includes a request for a second timeout value and a second current connection type identifier indicating a second type of connection used by the mobile device to access the communication network, the second timeout value indicating a second maximum amount of time that the mobile device waits for a response to a second network operation before timing out the second network operation when using the second type of connection to access the communication network.

16. The computing device of claim 15, wherein the processing device is further configured to:

retrieve one or more other realized latency values from the analytics database based on the current network provider identifier and the second current connection type identifier, each of the one or more other realized latency values having the current network provider identifier and the second current connection type identifier associated therewith;

determine the second timeout value based on the other realized latency values; and

provide the second timeout value to the mobile device.

17. The computing device of claim 11, wherein each one of the plurality of realized latency values stored in the analytics database has a geographic area identifier associated therewith, the geographic area identifier indicating a geographic area from which the one reporting mobile device performed the previously performed network operation to which the realized latency value corresponds.

18. The computing device of claim 17, wherein:

the request for the timeout value includes a current geographic area identifier of the mobile device indicating a geographic area where the mobile device most frequently performs network operations, and

each of the one or more retrieved realized latency values have the current geographic area identifier associated therewith.

19. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the processing device is configured to determine the timeout value by selecting the timeout such that a specific percentage of responses corresponding to the retrieved realized latency values would have been received before network operations corresponding to the retrieved realized latency value would have been timed by the reporting mobile device.

20. The computing device of claim 11, wherein the computing device is one of the mobile device and an update server.