Allocating bandwidth between bandwidth zones according to user load

• US 10,721,176 B2
• Filed: 12/07/2017
• Issued: 07/21/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/24/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Guest-tek Interactive Entertainment Ltd.
• Original Assignee: Guest-tek Interactive Entertainment Ltd.
• Inventors: Ong, David T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Lai, Andrew
• Assistant Examiner(s): Ganguly, Sumitra
• Application Number:
  US15/835,091
• Publication Number:
  US 20180159788A1
• Time in Patent Office: 957 Days
• 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 47/2441 relying on flow classification, e.g. using integrated services [IntServ]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/522 Dynamic queue service slot or variable bandwidth allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/527 Quantum based scheduling, e.g. credit or deficit based scheduling or token bank
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/6235 Variable service order
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/6255 queue load conditions, e.g. longest queue first
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/781 Centralised allocation of resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/808 User-type aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/828 Allocation of resources per group of connections, e.g. per group of users
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/08 for authentication of entities cryptographic mechanisms or cryptographic arrangements for entity authentication H04L9/32

Abstract

A bandwidth management system includes a plurality of queues respectively corresponding to a plurality of zones. An enqueuing module receives network traffic from one or more incoming network interfaces, determines a belonging zone to which the network traffic belongs, and enqueues the network traffic on a queue corresponding to the belonging zone. A dequeuing module selectively dequeues data from the queues and passes the data to one or more outgoing network interfaces. When dequeuing data from the queues the dequeuing module dequeues an amount of data from a selected queue, and the amount of data dequeued from the selected queue is determined according to user load of a zone to which the selected queue corresponds.

Claims

1. A bandwidth management system for allocating bandwidth between a plurality of bandwidth zones at an establishment serving a plurality of users, each of the plurality of bandwidth zones having one or more of the plurality of users competing for bandwidth allocated thereto, the bandwidth management system comprising:

a computer server providing a first queue and a second queue, wherein the first queue queues first data associated with a first bandwidth zone of the plurality of bandwidth zones, and the second queue queues second data associated with a second bandwidth zone of the plurality of bandwidth zones; and

a computer readable medium storing a plurality of software instructions for execution by the computer server;

wherein, by the computer server executing the plurality of software instructions loaded from the computer readable medium, the computer server is operable to repeatedly dequeue a first amount of the first data from the first queue and a second amount of the second data from the second queue, and pass the first amount of the first data and the second amount of the second data to one or more outgoing network interfaces;

the computer server is further operable to dynamically determine a first user load of the first bandwidth zone by summing a first characteristic of the plurality of users that are competing for bandwidth in the first bandwidth zone, and to dynamically determine a second user load of the second bandwidth zone by summing a second characteristic of the plurality of users that are competing for bandwidth in the second bandwidth zone; and

the computer server is further operable to automatically adjust the first amount and the second amount over time such that the first amount is larger than the second amount while the first user load is higher than the second user load, and such that the first amount is smaller than the second amount while the first user load is lower than the second user load.

2. The bandwidth management system of claim 1, wherein:

at least one of the first bandwidth zone and the second bandwidth zone is a first-level zone that includes a plurality of second-level zones; and

the computer server is further operable to determine a user load of the first-level zone by accumulating a plurality of user loads of the plurality of second-level zones.

3. The bandwidth management system of claim 1, wherein:

the first characteristic is a number of current users in the first bandwidth zone; and

the second characteristic is a number of current users in the second bandwidth zone.

4. The bandwidth management system of claim 3, further comprising:

an authentication server for managing logged in users;

wherein the number of current users in a particular one of the plurality of bandwidth zones are the logged in users of the particular one of the plurality of bandwidth zones.

5. The bandwidth management system of claim 3, further comprising:

a log for logging network traffic activity;

wherein the number of current users in a particular one of the plurality of bandwidth zones are users who have received or sent network traffic during a last predetermined time period according to the log.

6. The bandwidth management system of claim 3, further comprising:

a user monitor for sending a ping to users;

wherein the number of current users in a particular one of the plurality of bandwidth zones are users who replied to the ping.

7. The bandwidth management system of claim 1, wherein:

the first characteristic is one or more individual bandwidth caps assigned to the plurality of users in the first bandwidth zone; and

the second characteristic is one or more individual bandwidth caps assigned to the plurality of users in the second bandwidth zone.

8. The bandwidth management system of claim 1, wherein the computer server is further operable to scale the first amount and the second amount relative to one another such that a smallest of the first amount and the second amount corresponds to a maximum transmission unit (MTU) of the one or more outgoing network interfaces.

9. The bandwidth management system of claim 1, wherein the computer server is further operable to scale the first amount and the second amount relative to one another such that a largest of the first amount and the second amount corresponds to a multiple of a maximum transmission unit (MTU) of the one or more outgoing network interfaces.

10. The bandwidth management system of claim 1, wherein the computer server is further operable to round each of the first amount and the second amount to a multiple of a maximum transmission unit (MTU) of the one or more outgoing network interfaces.

11. A method of allocating bandwidth between a plurality of bandwidth zones at an establishment serving a plurality of users, each of the plurality of bandwidth zones having one or more of the plurality of users competing for bandwidth allocated thereto, the method comprising:

providing a first queue and a second queue, wherein the first queue queues first data associated with a first bandwidth zone of the plurality of bandwidth zones, and the second queue queues second data associated with a second bandwidth zone of the plurality of bandwidth zones;

repeatedly dequeuing a first amount of the first data from the first queue and a second amount of the second data from the second queue, and passing the first amount of the first data and the second amount of the second data to one or more outgoing network interfaces;

dynamically determining a first user load of the first bandwidth zone by summing a first characteristic of the plurality of users that are competing for bandwidth in the first bandwidth zone;

dynamically determining a second user load of the second bandwidth zone by summing a second characteristic of the plurality of users that are competing for bandwidth in the second bandwidth zone; and

automatically adjusting the first amount and the second amount over time such that the first amount is larger than the second amount while the first user load is higher than the second user load, and such that the first amount is smaller than the second amount while the first user load is lower than the second user load.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein:

at least one of the first bandwidth zone and the second bandwidth zone is a first-level zone that includes a plurality of second-level zones; and

the method further comprises calculating a user load of the first-level zone by accumulating a plurality of user loads of the plurality of second-level zones.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the first characteristic is a number of current users in the first bandwidth zone; and

the second characteristic is a number of current users in the second bandwidth zone.

14. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

providing an authentication server for managing logged in users;

wherein the number of current users in a particular one of the plurality of bandwidth zones are the logged in users of the particular one of the plurality of bandwidth zones.

15. The method of claim 13, further comprising:

logging network traffic activity in a log;

wherein the number of current users in a particular one of the plurality of bandwidth zones are users who have received or sent network traffic during a last predetermined time period according to the log.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein:

the first characteristic is one or more individual bandwidth caps assigned to the plurality of users in the first bandwidth zone; and

the second characteristic is one or more individual bandwidth caps assigned to the plurality of users in the second bandwidth zone.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising scaling the first amount and the second amount relative to one another such that a smallest of the first amount and the second amount corresponds to a maximum transmission unit (MTU) of the one or more outgoing network interfaces.

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising scaling the first amount and the second amount relative to one another such that a largest of the first amount and the second amount corresponds to a multiple of a maximum transmission unit (MTU) of the one or more outgoing network interfaces.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising rounding each of the first amount and the second amount to a multiple of a maximum transmission unit (MTU) of the one or more outgoing network interfaces.

20. An apparatus for allocating bandwidth between a plurality of bandwidth zones at an establishment serving a plurality of users, each of the plurality of bandwidth zones having one or more of the plurality of users competing for bandwidth allocated thereto, the apparatus comprising:

a storage device;

a network interface; and

a processor coupled to the storage device and the network interface;

wherein, by the processor executing software instructions loaded from the storage device, the processor is operable to;

provide a first queue and a second queue, wherein the first queue queues first data associated with a first bandwidth zone of the plurality of bandwidth zones, and the second queue queues second data associated with a second bandwidth zone of the plurality of bandwidth zones;

repeatedly dequeue a first amount of the first data from the first queue and a second amount of the second data from the second queue, and pass the first amount of the first data and the second amount of the second data to the network interface;

dynamically determine a first user load of the first bandwidth zone by summing a first characteristic of the plurality of users that are competing for bandwidth in the first bandwidth zone;

dynamically determine a second user load of the second bandwidth zone by summing a second characteristic of the plurality of users that are competing for bandwidth in the second bandwidth zone; and

automatically adjust the first amount and the second amount over time such that the first amount is larger than the second amount while the first user load is higher than the second user load, and such that the first amount is smaller than the second amount while the first user load is lower than the second user load.