Systems and methods for dynamic data transfer management on a per subscriber basis in a communications network

• US 9,160,674 B2
• Filed: 01/03/2014
• Issued: 10/13/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Nomadix, Inc. (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nomadix, Inc. (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Short, Joel E., Delley, Frederic, Logan, Mark F., Toomey, Daniel
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, LIANG CHE A
• Application Number:
  US14/146,971
• Publication Number:
  US 20140215089A1
• Time in Patent Office: 648 Days
• Field of Search: 709/226, 709/227, 709/232, 709/240, 370/348, 370/352
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1403 Architecture for metering, charging or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1439 time-based
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0809 Plug-and-play configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0886 Fully automatic configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0896 Bandwidth or capacity management, i.e. automatically increasing or decreasing capacities flow or congestion control using dynamic resource allocation, e.g. in-call renegotiation, H04L47/76
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/5019 Ensuring fulfilment of SLA
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0894 Packet rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/20 Traffic policing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/30 in combination with information about buffer occupancy at either end or at transit nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/32 by discarding or delaying data units, e.g. packets or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/765 triggered by the end-points
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/808 User-type aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/824 Applicable to portable or mobile terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0892 by using authentication-authorization-accounting [AAA] servers or protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 : based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• 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 67/306 : User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 : Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]

Abstract

A method of dynamically managing transmission of packets is disclosed. The method, in some embodiments, may comprise establishing a network session over a communication link between a network and a user device of a user and associating a data transmission parameter with the user device. The method may further comprise receiving a packet and calculating a delay period associated with the packet based on the data transmission parameter and delaying transmission of the packet based on the delay period.

Claims

1. A network connection and control system which provides network connection options to a user, the system comprising:

at least one hardware processor; and

computer network communication hardware configured to provide a communication path between the at least one hardware processor and a user'"'"'s network enabled device;

the at least one hardware processor configured to;

present to a user'"'"'s network enabled device display content that enables the user to select one of a plurality of network connection parameters including a bandwidth parameter amongst two or more available bandwidth parameters, and

dynamically set a user'"'"'s selected bandwidth parameter from the two or more available bandwidth parameters;

wherein said dynamically setting the user'"'"'s selected bandwidth parameter comprises delaying transmission of packets to prevent the user'"'"'s network enabled device from achieving a connection speed greater than a connection speed corresponding to the user'"'"'s selected bandwidth parameter.

2. The network connection and control system of claim 1, wherein the display content is a home page.

3. The network connection and control system of claim 1, wherein the display content is a control panel.

4. The network connection and control system of claim 1, wherein the bandwidth parameter can be reset by the user during a network connection.

5. The network connection and control system of claim 4, wherein resetting the bandwidth is performed substantially in real-time and without requiring hardware reconfiguration of any component in the network.

6. A method of providing a user'"'"'s device with a bandwidth rate associated with a network connection, the method comprising:

presenting the user with display content on a user'"'"'s device, the display content providing network connection parameter options which enables a user of the user'"'"'s device to select network connection parameters associated with the user'"'"'s device'"'"'s connection to a network;

receiving the user'"'"'s network connection parameter selection, wherein the network connection parameter selection includes an indication of a desired bandwidth amongst two or more available bandwidth to be associated with the user'"'"'s device'"'"'s network connection;

dynamically setting the desired bandwidth with the user'"'"'s device'"'"'s connection to the network,

wherein said dynamically setting the desired bandwidth comprises delaying transmission of packets to prevent the user device from achieving a bandwidth greater than the corresponding user'"'"'s network connection parameter selection.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the display content is a home page.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the display content is a control panel.

9. The method of claim 6, further comprising resetting the bandwidth rate based on an updated bandwidth parameter selection made by the user on the user'"'"'s device.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein resetting the bandwidth is performed substantially in real-time and without requiring hardware reconfiguration of any component in the network.

11. The method of claim 6, wherein a bandwidth provided to the user'"'"'s device is set by adjusting packet delays associated with network packets sent to the user'"'"'s device.

12. A network connection and control system which provides network connection options to a user, the system comprising:

at least one hardware processor; and

computer network communication hardware configured to provide a communication path between the at least one hardware processor and a user'"'"'s network enabled device, said communication path having a first bandwidth parameter;

the at least one hardware processor configured to present to a user'"'"'s network enabled device a portal that enables the user to change the first bandwidth parameter of the communication path to a second bandwidth parameter, said second bandwidth parameter corresponding to a higher connection speed than the first bandwidth parameter, and

wherein the at least one hardware processor is configured to delay transmission of packets to prevent the user'"'"'s network enabled device from achieving a connection speed greater than a connection speed corresponding to a selected bandwidth parameter.

13. The network connection and control system of claim 12, wherein the first bandwidth parameter is based on an authorization code.

14. The network connection and control system of claim 12, wherein the first bandwidth parameter is based on a predetermined bandwidth parameter associated with a user.

15. The network connection and control system of claim 12, wherein the portal is a home page.

16. The network connection and control system of claim 12, wherein the portal is a control panel.

17. The network connection and control system of claim 12, wherein the at least one hardware processor is further configured to determine a cost of network access based at least in part on the selected bandwidth parameter.

18. The network connection and control system of claim 12, wherein the at least one hardware processor is further configured to dynamically change from the first bandwidth to the second bandwidth substantially in real-time and without requiring hardware reconfiguration of any component in the network.