Data caching in a communication network

• US 9,591,540 B2
• Filed: 06/11/2012
• Issued: 03/07/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 06/13/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Honor Device Company Limited, Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, VIB VZW
• Original Assignee: Neul Ltd (Huawei Investment & Holding Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Webb, William, MacMullen, Neil
• Primary Examiner(s): Yao, Kwang B
• Assistant Examiner(s): Bokhari, Syed M
• Application Number:
  US14/126,073
• Publication Number:
  US 20140219187A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,730 Days
• Field of Search: 370/329, 370/252, 370/468
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 1/713 using frequency hopping
• CPC Class Codes: H04B 7/2656 for structure of frame, burst
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 25/061 providing hard decisions only; arrangements for tracking or suppressing unwanted low frequency components, e.g. removal of dc offset removal of dc offset in coupling arrangements H04L25/029, H04L25/0296
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0032 Distributed allocation, i.e. involving a plurality of allocating devices, each making partial allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/56 Provisioning of proxy services store-and-forward switching systems in data switching networks H04L12/54
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/18 Multiprotocol handlers, e.g. single devices capable of handling multiple protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 7/041 using special codes as synchronising signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 12/06 Authentication
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 16/14 Spectrum sharing arrangements between different networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/02 Arrangements for optimising operational condition
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/065 using assembly or disassembly of packets
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/0066 of control information between different types of networks in order to establish a new radio link in the target network
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 36/22 for handling the traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/70 Services for machine-to-machine communication [M2M] or machine type communication [MTC]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/001 Synchronization between nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 56/0015 one node acting as a reference for the others
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 64/00 Locating users or terminals or network equipment for network management purposes, e.g. mobility management
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/1215 for collaboration of different radio technologies
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/51 based on terminal or device properties
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/569 : of the traffic information
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/18 : Processing of user or subscriber data, e.g. subscribed services, user preferences or user profiles; Transfer of user or subscriber data
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 88/10 : adapted for operation in multiple networks, e.g. multi-mode access points
• CPC Class Codes: Y04S 40/20 : Information technology specific aspects, e.g. CAD, simulation, modelling, system security

Abstract

A communications network comprising: multiple base stations, each capable of communicating wirelessly with one or more wireless terminals; and a network core communicatively coupled to the base stations, the network core comprising: a data cache to which base stations can write data received from terminals, accessible from outside the network core in such a way that users external to the network core can write data to the data cache at times that are not scheduled by the network core; and a network controller capable of controlling the operation of the base stations, the network controller being configured to schedule the propagation to the terminals of data stored in the data cache by allocating base station transmission bandwidth for the transmission of the data to one or more of the terminals.

Claims

1. A communications network comprising:

multiple base stations, each capable of communicating wirelessly with one or more wireless terminals; and

a network core communicatively coupled to the base stations, the network core comprising;

a data cache to which base stations can write data received from terminals, the data cache being accessible from outside the network core in such a way that users external to the network core can write data to the data cache at times that are not scheduled by the network core; and

a network controller capable of controlling the operation of the base stations, the network controller being configured to schedule a propagation to the terminals of data stored in the data cache by allocating base station transmission bandwidth for the transmission of the data to one or more of the terminals, the network controller being further configured to allocate the transmission bandwidth in dependence on a loading associated with the base station to which the one or more terminals are attached relative to a loading associated with others of the multiple base stations.

2. A communications network as claimed in claim 1, wherein:

the data cache is further configured to store control data written to it by a user external to the network core; and

the communications network, by propagating the control data from the data cache to the one or more terminals, is further configured to facilitate control of the one or more terminals by the user external to the network core.

3. A communications network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the data cache is accessible from outside the network core in such a way that users external to the network core can read data from the data cache at times that are not scheduled by the network core.

4. A communications network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network core further comprises a cache controller configured to schedule updates to the data cache in such a way that base stations can write data received from terminals to the data cache immediately on receiving that data but a user external to the network core can only read that data at a time scheduled by the cache controller.

5. A communications network as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cache controller is further configured to schedule the time at which the data can be read by the external user in dependence on a predetermined update frequency associated with that data.

6. A communications network as claimed in claim 5, wherein the cache controller is further configured to schedule the time at which the external user can read the data so that there is a delay between the base stations writing that data to the data cache and that data being available to be read by the external user.

7. A communications network as claimed in claim 6, wherein the network further comprises an authentication unit, and wherein the cache controller is further configured to pass the data to the authentication unit for authentication during the delay, the authentication unit being configured to authenticate the data as having originated from one of the terminals.

8. A communications network as claimed in claim 6, wherein the communication network further comprises a billing entity configured to generate a billing record associated with the data during the delay.

9. A communications network as claimed in claim 4, wherein the cache controller is further configured to schedule the time at which the data can be read by the external user in dependence on a predetermined update frequency associated with that user.

10. A communications network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network controller is capable of controlling the operation of the base stations and is further configured to control the base stations in accordance with a protocol for machine-to-machine communications.

11. A communications network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network controller is capable of controlling the operation of the base stations and is further configured to control the base stations in accordance with the Weightless protocol.

12. A communications network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network controller is further configured to format data for transmission by the base stations into a series of frames in which a duration of each frame is at least one second.

13. A communications network as claimed in claim 1, wherein the network core further comprises an authentication unit configured to authenticate any user eternal to the network core that attempts to access the data cache before permitting the user to read and/or write data to the data cache.

14. A communications network comprising:

multiple base stations, each capable of communicating wirelessly with one or more wireless terminals;

a network core communicatively coupled to the base stations, the network core comprising;

a data cache to which base stations can write data received from terminals, the data cache being accessible from outside the network core in such a way that users external to the network core can write data to the data cache at times that are not scheduled by the network core; and

a network controller capable of controlling the operation of the base stations, the network controller being configured to schedule a propagation to the terminals of data stored in the data cache by allocating base station transmission bandwidth for the transmission of the data to one or more of the terminals, the network controller being further configured to allocate the transmission bandwidth in dependence on a loading associated with the base station to which the one or more terminals are attached relative to a loading associated with others of the multiple base stations;

a cache controller configured to schedule updates to the data cache in such a way that base stations can write data received from terminals to the data cache immediately on receiving that data but a user external to the network core can only read that data at a time, wherein the cache controller is further configured to schedule the time at which the external user can read the data so that there is a delay between the base stations writing that data to the data cache and that data being available to be read by the external user; and

an authentication unit, wherein the cache controller is further configured to pass the data to the authentication unit for authentication during the delay, the authentication unit being configured to authenticate the data as having originated from one of the terminals.

15. A communications network comprising:

multiple base stations, each capable of communicating wirelessly with one or more wireless terminals; and

a network core communicatively coupled to the base stations, the network core comprising;

a data cache to which base stations can write data received from terminals, the data cache being accessible from outside the network core in such a way that users external to the network core can write data to the data cache at times that are not scheduled by the network core; and

a network controller capable of controlling the operation of the base stations, the network controller being configured to schedule a propagation to the terminals of data stored in the data cache by allocating base station transmission bandwidth for the transmission of the data to one or more of the terminals, the network controller being further configured to allocate the transmission bandwidth in dependence on a loading associated with the base station to which the one or more terminals are attached relative to a loading associated with others of the multiple base stations;

a cache controller configured to schedule updates to the data cache in such a way that base stations can write data received from terminals to the data cache immediately on receiving that data but a user external to the network core can only read that data at a time, wherein the cache controller is further configured to schedule the time at which the external user can read the data so that there is a delay between the base stations writing that data to the data cache and that data being available to be read by the external user; and

a billing entity configured to generate a billing record associated with the data during the delay.