Low-latency quality of service

• US 9,270,616 B1
• Filed: 02/21/2013
• Issued: 02/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/21/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Original Assignee: ARRIS Enterprises LLC (CommScope Holding Company, Inc.)
• Inventors: Cotter, Anthony
• Primary Examiner(s): Sheikh, Ayaz
• Assistant Examiner(s): Chau, Peter
• Application Number:
  US13/772,486
• Time in Patent Office: 1,097 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/821 Prioritising resource allocation or reservation requests

Abstract

Systems, methods and computer readable media can be operable to apportion a transmission medium'"'"'s available resources between multiple subscribers and to allocate a subscriber'"'"'s apportioned resources between a plurality of sub-flows. The available resources of a transmission medium can be apportioned between subscribers receiving data through the transmission medium and the resources apportioned to a subscriber can be allocated to different data flows by giving priority to low-latency data packets over normal-latency data packets.

Claims

1. A computer-implemented method, comprising:

assigning one or more data packets to a respective one of a plurality of data flows, wherein each data flow is associated with a subscriber accessing a transmission medium;

determining a latency treatment associated with each of the one or more data packets;

modifying a single header bit of each respective one of the one or more data packets, wherein the modified header bit provides an indication of the latency treatment associated with the respective data packet;

assigning each respective one of the one or more data packets assigned to the respective data flow to a respective one sub-flow of one or more sub-flows, wherein the assignment of each respective one data packet of the one or more data packets to the respective one sub-flow is based upon the latency treatment indicated by the modified header bit associated with the respective data packet such that each of the one or more data packets assigned to the respective sub-flow are associated with the same one or more modified header bit;

associating each sub-flow with a priority level, wherein the priority level associated with each respective sub-flow is based upon the latency treatment indicated by the modified header bit associated with each of the one or more data packets that are assigned to the respective sub-flow;

apportioning resources associated with the transmission medium between subscribers accessing the transmission medium; and

when the respective one data flow requires consumption of more resources than are apportioned to the subscriber associated with the respective one data flow, dedicating resources apportioned to the subscriber to transmit, to the subscriber, one or more data packets assigned to a first sub-flow comprising one or more data packets associated with a first latency treatment and delaying a transmission, to the subscriber, of one or more data packets assigned to a second sub-flow comprising one or more data packets associated with a second latency treatment, wherein the first sub-flow is associated with a higher priority level than the second sub-flow when the first latency treatment comprises a lower latency level than the second latency treatment.

2. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the one or more data packets are assigned to the respective one data flow based on a destination associated with the one or more data packets that are assigned to the respective one data flow.

3. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the latency treatment associated with each respective one of the one or more data packets is based on a type of application generating the respective data packet.

4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the latency treatment associated with each respective one of the one or more data packets is based on a level of service subscribed to by a subscriber addressed by the respective data packet.

5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the first sub-flow comprises data packets that are to be treated as requiring low-latency, and the first sub-flow is associated with a high priority level;

and the second sub-flow comprises data packets that are to be treated as allowing higher latency, relative to the low-latency associated with the data packets of the first sub-flow, the data packets of the second sub-flow being associated with a lower priority level, relative to the high priority level associated with the first sub-flow.

6. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting one or more data packets from a sub-flow associated with the highest priority level and delaying transmitting one or more data packets from one or more sub-flows associated with lower priority levels, wherein the one or more data packets from the sub-flow associated with the highest priority level are transmitted at a predetermined bitrate, the predetermined bitrate being a percentage of the total bitrate allocated to the subscriber associated with the respective one data flow.

7. A system, comprising:

one or more interfaces configured to receive one or more data packets and to transmit the one or more data packets within one or more data flows or sub-flows to one or more devices;

storage configured to store computer program instructions; and

a processor configured to execute said computer program instructions, the computer program instructions being configured to cause the processor to;

assign one or more data packets to a data flow to be subdivided into two or more sub-flows, wherein the data flow is associated with a subscriber accessing a transmission medium;

determine a latency treatment associated with each of the one or more data packets assigned to the data flow;

modify a single header bit of each respective one of the one or more data packets assigned to the data flow, wherein the modified header bit provides an indication of the latency treatment associated with the respective data packet;

assign each respective one of the one or more data packets assigned to the data flow to a respective one of two or more sub-flows, wherein the assignment of each respective data packet of the one or more data packets assigned to the data flow to the respective sub-flow is based upon the latency treatment indicated by the modified header bit associated with the respective data packet such that each of the one or more data packets assigned to the respective sub-flow are associated with the same modified header bit;

associate each sub-flow with a priority level, wherein the priority level associated with each respective sub-flow is based upon the latency treatment indicated by the modified header bit associated with each of the one or more data packets that are assigned to the respective sub-flow; and

when the data flow requires consumption of more resources than are apportioned to the subscriber associated with the data flow, dedicating resources apportioned to the subscriber to transmit one or more data packets assigned to a first sub-flow comprising one or more data packets associated with a first latency treatment and delaying a transmission of one or more data packets assigned to a second sub-flow comprising one or more data packets associated with a second latency treatment, wherein the first sub-flow is associated with a higher priority level than the second sub-flow when the first latency treatment comprises a lower latency level than the second latency treatment.

8. The system of claim 7, wherein the one or more data packets are assigned to the data flow based on a destination associated with the one or more data packets that are assigned to the data flow.

9. The system of claim 7, wherein the latency treatment associated with each respective one of the one or more data packets assigned to the data flow is based on a type of application generating the respective data packet or on a level of service subscribed to by a subscriber addressed by the respective data packet.

10. The system of claim 7, wherein the first sub-flow comprises data packets that are to be treated as requiring low-latency, and the first sub-flow is associated with a high priority level;

and the second sub-flow comprises data packets that allow higher latency, relative to the low-latency associated with the data packets of the first sub-flow, the second sub-flow being associated with a lower priority level, relative to the high priority level associated with the first sub-flow.

11. The system of claim 7, wherein the computer program instructions are further configured to cause the processor to:

apportion resources associated with the transmission medium between subscribers accessing the transmission medium; and

transmit one or more data packets from a sub-flow associated with the highest priority level and delay a transmission of one or more data packets from one or more sub-flows associated with lower priority levels, wherein the one or more data packets from the sub-flow associated with the highest priority level are transmitted at a predetermined bitrate, the predetermined bitrate being a percentage of the total bitrate allocated to the subscriber associated with the data flow.

12. One or more non-transitory computer readable media comprising code configured to execute on one or more processors, the one or more non-transitory computer readable media being configured to cause the one or more processors to perform operations comprising:

assigning one or more data packets to one of a plurality of data flows;

determining a latency treatment associated with each of the one or more data packets;

modifying a single header bit of each respective one of the one or more data packets, wherein the modified header bit provides an indication of the latency treatment associated with the respective data packet;

assigning each respective data packet of the one or more data packets to a respective one of two or more sub-flows associated with the data flow to which the one or more data packets are assigned, wherein the assignment of each respective data packet of the one or more data packets to the respective one sub-flow is based upon the latency treatment indicated by the modified header bit associated with the respective data packet such that each of the one or more data packets assigned to the respective sub-flow are associated with the same modified header bit;

associating each of the two or more sub-flows with a priority level, wherein the priority level associated with each respective sub-flow is based upon the latency treatment indicated by the modified header bit associated with each of the one or more data packets that are assigned to the respective sub-flow;

transmitting each of the one or more data packets in an order based on the priority level associated with the respective sub-flow to which each respective data packet of the one or more data packets is assigned;

limiting the transmitting of the one or more data packets based on an allowed bitrate associated with the data flow to which the one or more data packets are assigned, wherein, the allowed bitrate is determined based on a configured bitrate associated with the data flow and on a current level of congestion associated with a transmission medium used by the plurality of data flows; and

dropping data packets from a sub-flow associated with a low priority level.

13. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the one or more data packets are assigned to the data flow based on a destination associated with the one or more data packets that are assigned to the data flow.

14. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the latency treatment given to each respective one data packet of the one or more data packets is based on a type of application generating the respective one data packet or on a level of service subscribed to by a subscriber addressed by the respective one data packet.

15. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein a first sub-flow comprises data packets that receive low-latency treatment and is associated with a high priority level and a second sub-flow comprises data packets that allow higher latency, relative to the low-latency associated with the data packets of the first sub-flow, the second sub-flow being associated with a lower priority level, relative to the high priority level associated with the first sub-flow.

16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable media of claim 12, further comprising:

apportioning resources associated with the transmission medium between subscribers accessing the transmission medium; and

transmitting one or more data packets from a sub-flow associated with the highest priority level and delaying transmitting one or more data packets from one or more sub-flows associated with lower priority levels, wherein the one or more data packets from the sub-flow associated with the highest priority level are transmitted at a predetermined bitrate, the predetermined bitrate being a percentage of the total bitrate allocated to a subscriber associated with the data flow.