Apparatus and methods for incorporating bandwidth forecasting and dynamic bandwidth allocation into a broadband communication system
First Claim
1. A method for providing network access to a shared access communications medium for a plurality of users, the method comprising the steps of:
- conducting lookahead scheduling for use in making user channel assignments by forecasting schedule transmission opportunities on one or more channels of the shared medium;
conducting predictive admission control by arbitrating user requests for access to the shared medium based on predicted aggregate demands, wherein the step of conducting predictive admission control based on predicted aggregate demands comprises the steps of;
receiving a request for a service flow from a communication device;
comparing the demands of the request to the anticipated resources of the channel;
based on the comparing step, determining whether the request is to be granted or whether the request is to be modified; and
based on the step of determining whether to grant or modify the request, modifying the service flow of one or more communication devices to allow connectivity; and
balancing load by making channel assignments such that a plurality of users are each assigned a respective channel of the shared medium based upon a predicted need.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A method for providing network access to a shared access communications medium for a plurality of users includes the steps of conducting predictive admission control by arbitrating user requests for access to the shared medium based on predicted aggregate demands, conducting lookahead scheduling for use in making user channel assignments by forecasting schedule transmission opportunities one or more channels of the shared medium, and balancing load by making channel assignments such that a plurality users are each assigned a respective channel of the shared medium based upon a predicted need. Congestion parameters can predicted for each channel of the shared medium and mapped to a congestion measure using a mathematical function that takes into account packet loss rate, packet delay, packet delay jitter, and available capacity.
155 Citations
24 Claims
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1. A method for providing network access to a shared access communications medium for a plurality of users, the method comprising the steps of:
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conducting lookahead scheduling for use in making user channel assignments by forecasting schedule transmission opportunities on one or more channels of the shared medium; conducting predictive admission control by arbitrating user requests for access to the shared medium based on predicted aggregate demands, wherein the step of conducting predictive admission control based on predicted aggregate demands comprises the steps of; receiving a request for a service flow from a communication device; comparing the demands of the request to the anticipated resources of the channel; based on the comparing step, determining whether the request is to be granted or whether the request is to be modified; and based on the step of determining whether to grant or modify the request, modifying the service flow of one or more communication devices to allow connectivity; and balancing load by making channel assignments such that a plurality of users are each assigned a respective channel of the shared medium based upon a predicted need. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for providing network access to a shared access communications medium for a plurality of users, the method comprising the steps of:
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conducting lookahead scheduling for use in making user channel assignments by forecasting schedule transmission opportunities on one or more channels of the shared medium; conducting predictive admission control by arbitrating user requests for access to the shared medium based on predicted aggregate demands, wherein the step of conducting predictive admission control based on predicted aggregate demands comprises the steps of; obtaining forecasts from a prediction cache for devices on a predetermined channel that are valid for a time interval; determining the sum of the forecasted usage of devices connected to the network; if the sum of the forecasted usage is less than a predetermined capacity of the channel, as adjusted to compensate for a reserve in anticipation of unexpected requests, populating a quality of service flow table populated with the values of the forecasted usage by the devices; and if the sum of the forecasted usage is not less than the capacity of the channel, determining whether a service flow should be admitted; and balancing load by making channel assignments such that a plurality of users are each assigned a respective channel of the shared medium based upon a predicted need. - View Dependent Claims (12)
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13. A system for controlling network access to a shared communications medium between a plurality of users, comprising:
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a load balancer operative for allocating the plurality of users between channels of the shared communications medium based upon a predicted need; a predictive admission control component operative for arbitrating user requests for access to the shared communications medium in response to predicted aggregate demands, wherein the predictive admission control component responsive to predicted aggregate demands comprises; an input responsive to a request for a service flow from a communication device; a comparator for comparing the demands of the request to the anticipated resources of the channel; a component for determining, based on the comparator, whether the request is to be granted or whether the request is to be modified; and a component operative for granting or modifying the request; and a lookahead scheduler operative for forecasting schedule transmission opportunities on a given channel. - View Dependent Claims (14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A system for controlling network access to a shared communications medium between a plurality of users, comprising:
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a load balancer operative for allocating the plurality of users between channels of the shared communications medium based upon a predicted need; a predictive admission control component operative for arbitrating user requests for access to the shared communications medium in response to predicted aggregate demands, wherein the predictive admission control component comprises; a component responsive to forecasts from a prediction cache for devices on a predetermined channel that are valid for a time interval; a component for determining the sum of the forecasted usage of devices connected to the network; and a component responsive to the sum of the forecasted usage being less than the capacity of the channel, as adjusted to compensate for a reserve in anticipation of unexpected requests, for populating a quality of service flow table populated with the values of the forecasted usage by the devices, and further responsive to the sum of the forecasted usage being not less than the capacity of the channel, for determining whether a service flow from user requests should be admitted; and a lookahead scheduler operative for forecasting schedule transmission opportunities on a given channel. - View Dependent Claims (24)
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Specification