Methods and apparatuses for recovering data packet flow control against radio base station buffer run away
First Claim
1. A method of operation at a radio network controller, the method comprising:
- sending data over a transport network to a radio base station for transmission over a radio interface to a user equipment, the data belonging to a data flow targeting the user equipment and accumulating in a buffer at the radio base station in dependence on a difference between a first transmit rate used by the radio network controller for sending data belonging to the data flow to the radio base station over the transport network and a second transmit rate used by the radio base station for transmitting data from the buffer over the radio interface to the user equipment;
activating and maintaining a recovery flow control mode at the radio network controller for the data flow responsive to receiving measurement signaling from the radio base station for the data flow, the radio base station being configured to begin sending and continue sending the measurement signaling responsive to the accumulated data exceeding a first defined threshold, each instance of the measurement signaling indicating a current buffered data volume and a current buffer dwell time for the accumulated data in the buffer, and a current value of the second transmit rate; and
deactivating the recovery flow control mode at the radio network controller for the data flow responsive to cessation of the measurement signaling from the radio base station for the data flow, or upon receiving an explicit indication from the radio base station that the current buffered data volume at the radio base station for the data flow is below a second defined threshold;
wherein the recovery flow control mode includes controlling the first transmit rate via a control algorithm that, for each control cycle, which includes receiving a new instance of the measurement signaling from the radio base station, computes a new value for the first transmit rate in dependence on a difference between the current buffered data volume and a reference data volume that is computed by the radio network controller from a defined target buffer dwell time and a difference between the current value of the first transmit rate and the current value of the second transmit rate.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Recovery control is provided for recovering data packet flow control between a network node and a radio base station over a radio network interface. The base station communicates with at least one user equipment, UE, over a radio interface and measures information relating to a data transmission rate over the radio interface and an amount of a downlink packet queue in the base station associated with the UE communication. In one embodiment, the base station sends at least some of the measurement information to the network node. A process controller in the network node processes the measurement information to determine a desired amount to be stored in the downlink packet queue. The process controller determines a commanded bit rate to transmit data from the network node to the downlink packet queue based on the determined desired amount and transmits data to the radio base station in accordance with the commanded bit rate.
7 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A method of operation at a radio network controller, the method comprising:
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sending data over a transport network to a radio base station for transmission over a radio interface to a user equipment, the data belonging to a data flow targeting the user equipment and accumulating in a buffer at the radio base station in dependence on a difference between a first transmit rate used by the radio network controller for sending data belonging to the data flow to the radio base station over the transport network and a second transmit rate used by the radio base station for transmitting data from the buffer over the radio interface to the user equipment; activating and maintaining a recovery flow control mode at the radio network controller for the data flow responsive to receiving measurement signaling from the radio base station for the data flow, the radio base station being configured to begin sending and continue sending the measurement signaling responsive to the accumulated data exceeding a first defined threshold, each instance of the measurement signaling indicating a current buffered data volume and a current buffer dwell time for the accumulated data in the buffer, and a current value of the second transmit rate; and deactivating the recovery flow control mode at the radio network controller for the data flow responsive to cessation of the measurement signaling from the radio base station for the data flow, or upon receiving an explicit indication from the radio base station that the current buffered data volume at the radio base station for the data flow is below a second defined threshold; wherein the recovery flow control mode includes controlling the first transmit rate via a control algorithm that, for each control cycle, which includes receiving a new instance of the measurement signaling from the radio base station, computes a new value for the first transmit rate in dependence on a difference between the current buffered data volume and a reference data volume that is computed by the radio network controller from a defined target buffer dwell time and a difference between the current value of the first transmit rate and the current value of the second transmit rate. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A method of operation in a radio base station, the method comprising:
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receiving data sent by a radio network controller at a first transmit rate over a transport network coupling the radio base station to the radio network controller, the data belonging to a data flow between the radio network controller and a user equipment; transmitting data for the data flow over a radio interface to the user equipment at a second transmit rate, including accumulating data for the data flow in a buffer at the radio base station in dependence on a difference between the first transmit rate and the second transmit rate; and responsive to a buffered data volume for the buffer exceeding a defined first threshold, activating measurement signaling reporting to the radio network controller, the radio network controller being configured to activate recovery flow control for the data flow in response to receiving the measurement signaling, wherein the radio network controller controls the first transmit rate to drive the buffered data volume towards a reference data volume; wherein the measurement signaling reporting includes sending measurement signaling at successive instances while a buffer dwell time of accumulated data in the buffer exceeds a target buffer dwell time or the buffered data volume exceeds a second defined threshold lower than the first defined threshold, the measurement signaling indicating, for each reporting instance, a current value of the second transmit rate, the current buffer dwell time, and the current buffered data volume; and wherein the method further includes ceasing the measurement signaling reporting responsive to the buffered data volume falling below the second defined threshold or the buffer dwell time falling below the target buffer dwell time. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
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11. A radio network controller configured for operation in a wireless communication network and comprising:
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communication circuitry configured to send data over a transport network to a radio base station for transmission over a radio interface to a user equipment, the data belonging to a data flow targeting the user equipment and accumulating in a buffer at the radio base station in dependence on a difference between a first transmit rate used by the radio network controller for sending data belonging to the data flow to the radio base station over the transport network and a second transmit rate used by the radio base station for transmitting data from the buffer over the radio interface to the user equipment; and processing circuitry configured to; activate and maintain a recovery flow control mode at the radio network controller for the data flow responsive to receiving measurement signaling from the radio base station for the data flow, the radio base station being configured to begin sending and continue sending the measurement signaling responsive to the accumulated data exceeding a first defined threshold, each instance of the measurement signaling indicating a current buffered data volume and a current buffer dwell time for the accumulated data in the buffer, and a current value of the second transmit rate; and deactivate the recovery flow control mode at the radio network controller for the data flow responsive to cessation of the measurement signaling from the radio base station for the data flow, or upon receiving an explicit indication from the radio base station that the current buffered data volume at the radio base station for the data flow is below a second defined threshold; wherein the recovery flow control mode includes the processing circuitry controlling the first transmit rate via a control algorithm that, for each control cycle, which includes receiving a new instance of the measurement signaling from the radio base station, computes a new value for the first transmit rate in dependence on a difference between the current buffered data volume and a reference data volume that is computed by the radio network controller from a defined target buffer dwell time and a difference between the current value of the first transmit rate and the current value of the second transmit rate. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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18. A radio base station configured for operation in a wireless communication network, the radio base station comprising:
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first communication circuitry configured to receive data sent by a radio network controller at a first transmit rate over a transport network coupling the radio base station to the radio network controller, the data belonging to a data flow between the radio network controller and a user equipment; second communication circuitry configured to transmit data for the data flow over a radio interface to the user equipment at a second transmit rate, the radio base station configured to accumulate data for the data flow in a buffer at the radio base station in dependence on a difference between the first transmit rate and the second transmit rate; and processing circuitry configured to, in response to a buffered data volume for the buffer exceeding a defined first threshold, activate measurement signaling reporting to the radio network controller, the radio network controller being configured to activate recovery flow control for the data flow in response to receiving the measurement signaling, wherein the radio network controller controls the first transmit rate to drive the buffered data volume towards a reference data volume; wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to; carry out the measurement signaling reporting by sending measurement signaling at successive instances while a buffer dwell time of accumulated data in the buffer exceeds a target buffer dwell time or the buffered data volume exceeds a second defined threshold lower than the first defined threshold, the measurement signaling indicating, for each reporting instance, a current value of the second transmit rate, the current buffer dwell time, and the current buffered data volume; and cease the measurement signaling reporting responsive to the buffered data volume falling below the second defined threshold or the buffer dwell time falling below the target buffer dwell time. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20)
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Specification