Home-based router with traffic prioritization

• US 9,979,667 B2
• Filed: 09/30/2015
• Issued: 05/22/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Original Assignee: T-Mobile USA, Inc. (Deutsche Telekom AG)
• Inventors: Hodroj, Samir, Antzev, Boris, Zait, Hichem
• Primary Examiner(s): Louis, Vinncelas
• Application Number:
  US14/872,029
• Publication Number:
  US 20160095132A1
• Time in Patent Office: 965 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/2433 Allocation of priorities to traffic types
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/522 Dynamic queue service slot or variable bandwidth allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/6215 Individual queue per QOS, rate or priority
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/0967 Quality of Service [QoS] parameters

Abstract

Systems and methods provide for traffic prioritization in a Wi-Fi router which may have separate private and public networks. A software prioritization engine component may inspect incoming data packets, may assign a priority value to each packet according to prioritization rules, and may distribute each packet into an output queue accordingly. A probing functionality may measure router uplink. A rate limiter may dynamically allocate bandwidth to output queues according to bandwidth allocation rules. The prioritization rules and bandwidth allocation rules may favor emergency data, voice call data, private Wi-Fi network data, and data relating to a particular cellular network.

Claims

1. A system for prioritizing router traffic comprising:

a processor;

a memory communicatively coupled to the processor;

an unlicensed radio that supports an unlicensed data communications channel;

an alternative communications interface that supports an alternative communications channel;

a plurality of queue components that include a plurality of output queues and an overflow queue, wherein individual output queues of the plurality of output queues have corresponding bandwidth allocations, and

wherein the overflow queue is configured to buffer one or more data packets from the plurality of output queues in response to a current throughput of the individual output queues exceeding the corresponding bandwidth allocations; and

a software prioritization engine that is resident in the memory that is communicatively coupled to the unlicensed radio via an unlicensed radio driver in the memory and communicatively coupled to the alternative communications interface via an alternative communications interface driver resident in the memory, the software prioritization engine configured to;

assign a priority value to a data packet, based on at least one prioritization rule,

determine an order of transmission of the data packet relative to additional data packets via an output queue of the plurality of output queues, based at least in part on the priority value, and

distribute the data packet into the overflow queue in an order ahead of any data packet with an assigned priority value less than the priority value of the data packet, based at least in part on the output queue exceeding the corresponding bandwidth allocations.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the unlicensed radio additionally supports an additional unlicensed data communications channel and the at least one prioritization rule is based at least on whether the data packet is related to the unlicensed data communications channel or to the additional unlicensed data communications channel.

3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a router settings application resident in the memory configured to allow a user to make a change to the at least one prioritization rule or to at least one bandwidth allocation rule.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the unlicensed data communications channel is a first unlicensed data communications channel, wherein the first unlicensed data communications channel corresponds to a private Wi-Fi channel, and further comprising:

a second unlicensed radio that corresponds to a guest Wi-Fi channel, the second unlicensed radio supporting an additional unlicensed data communications channel, wherein the second unlicensed radio is communicatively coupled to the software prioritization engine via an additional unlicensed radio driver resident in the memory,

wherein the software prioritization engine assigns a first priority value to the data packet that is associated with the private Wi-Fi channel and assigns a second priority value to an additional data packet that is associated with the guest Wi-Fi channel, the first priority value being higher than the second priority value.

5. The system of claim 4, wherein the data packet is for a specific voice data type, a particular cellular network, an emergency call, or a private Wi-Fi network,

and wherein the additional data packet is for a different voice data type, a different

cellular network, a non-emergency call, or a guest Wi-Fi network.

6. The system of claim 4, further comprising:

a probing functionality that is resident in the software prioritization engine, wherein the probing functionality measures a maximum uplink speed of a router associated with the router traffic;

a rate limiter that is resident in the software prioritization engine; and

at least one bandwidth allocation rule that is resident in the memory,

wherein the rate limiter dynamically adjusts the corresponding bandwidth allocations of the output queue depending at least upon the maximum uplink speed and the at least one bandwidth allocation rule.

7. The system of claim 4, further comprising a router settings application resident in the memory that receives a change to the at least one prioritization rule or to at least one bandwidth allocation rule.

8. The system of claim 4, further comprising a LTE communications interface that supports a LTE communications channel, and that is communicatively coupled to the software prioritization engine via a LTE communications driver resident in the memory.

9. The system of claim 4, wherein the alternative communications channel is provided by an internet service provider.

10. The system of claim 1, wherein the individual output queues of the plurality of output queues are further provisioned with a corresponding priority value.

11. The system of claim 1, wherein the software prioritization engine is further configured to:

determine a maximum uplink speed of a router associated with the router traffic, and

wherein, to distribute the data packet into the overflow queue is further based at least in part on that the maximum uplink speed having been exceeded.

12. The system of claim 1, wherein the software prioritization engine is further configured to assign the priority value to the data packet according to the at least one prioritization rule based at least in part on at least one of a data type, a packet size, a port number, a service set identifier (SSID), a source, or a destination.

13. A method for prioritizing router traffic comprising:

receiving, at a router, a data packet via a communications channel;

inspecting the data packet according to a prioritization rule to assign a priority value to the data packet;

transferring the data packet into an output queue, the output queue having a predetermined bandwidth allocation;

measuring a current throughput of the output queue;

determining that the current throughput of the output queue exceeds the predetermined bandwidth allocation of the output queue; and

distributing the data packet to an overflow queue in an order ahead of other data packets in the overflow queue, based at least in part on the priority value of the data packet being greater than other priority values associated with other data packets in the overflow queue and the current throughput of the output queue having exceeded the predetermined bandwidth allocation.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the prioritization rule is configured to assign a highest priority value to data packets that relate to emergency voice calls.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the priority value of the data packet is a first priority value, the data packet is a first data packet, and wherein the prioritization rule is configured to assign to the first data packet the first priority value that is higher than a second priority value of a second data packet based on any one of the following:

the first data packet is related to a preferred carrier and the second data packet is not;

the first data packet is related to a voice call and the second data packet is related to media; and

the first data packet is related to video call audio and the second data packet is not.

16. A method for prioritizing router traffic comprising:

receiving, at a router, a data packet;

assigning a first priority value to the data packet according to a prioritization rule;

measuring a maximum uplink speed;

determining a second priority value associated with an output queue;

transfer the data packet into the output queue, the output queue having a predetermined bandwidth allocation;

determining that a current throughput of the output queue exceeds the predetermined bandwidth allocation;

adjusting the predetermined bandwidth allocation of the output queue, based at least in part on a bandwidth allocation rule and the second priority value;

determining an order of transmission of the data packet relative to additional data packets via an output queue, based at least in part on the first priority value;

distributing the data packet into the output queue, based at least in part on the order of transmission; and

in response to determining that the maximum uplink speed is exceeded, placing the data packet into an overflow queue in an order ahead of all other data packets having priority values less than the first priority value of the data packet.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising:

detecting a quantity of active sessions for a service related to the output queue or related to another output queue, wherein the predetermined bandwidth allocation is adjusted according to the quantity of active sessions.

18. The method of claim 16, wherein the assigning the first priority value to the data packet according to the prioritization rule is based at least in part on at least one data packet characteristic that includes:

a data type;

a packet size;

a port number;

a service set identifier (SSID);

a source;

or a destination.

19. The method of claim 16, wherein the prioritization rule is configured to assign a highest priority value to data packets that relate to emergency voice calls.

20. The method of claim 16, wherein the prioritization rule is configured to assign to a first data packet the first priority value that is higher than an additional priority value of a second data packet based on any one of the following:

the first data packet is related to a preferred carrier and the second data packet is not;

the first data packet is related to a voice call and the second data packet is related to media; and

the first data packet is related to video call audio and the second data packet is not.