Systems and methods for dynamic data transfer management on a per subscriber basis in a communications network

• US 7,953,857 B2
• Filed: 04/30/2010
• Issued: 05/31/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/22/1999
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Nomadix, Inc. (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Nomadix, Inc. (Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation)
• Inventors: Logan, Mark F., Toomey, Daniel, Short, Joel E., Delley, Frederic
• Primary Examiner(s): WANG, LIANG CHE A
• Application Number:
  US12/771,915
• Publication Number:
  US 20100208743A1
• Time in Patent Office: 396 Days
• Field of Search: 709/226, 709/227, 709/232, 709/240, 370/348, 370/352
• US Class Current: 709/226
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/14 Charging , metering or billing arrangements for data wireline or wireless communications
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1403 Architecture for metering, charging or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1439 time-based
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0809 Plug-and-play configuration
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0886 Fully automatic configuration
• 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 41/5019 Ensuring fulfilment of SLA
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/00 Arrangements for monitoring or testing data switching networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0894 Packet rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/10 Flow control; Congestion control
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/15 in relation to multipoint traffic arrangements for broadcast or multicast in data networks H04L12/18
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/20 Traffic policing
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/30 in combination with information about buffer occupancy at either end or at transit nodes
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/32 by discarding or delaying data units, e.g. packets or frames
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/70 Admission control; Resource allocation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/765 triggered by the end-points
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/808 User-type aware
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/824 Applicable to portable or mobile terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/0892 by using authentication-authorization-accounting [AAA] servers or protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 63/10 for controlling access to devices or network resources
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/02 : based on web technology, e.g. hypertext transfer protocol [HTTP]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 : specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 : User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 69/329 : in the application layer [OSI layer 7]
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 9/40 : Network security protocols
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 : Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]

Abstract

A method of dynamically managing transmission of packets is disclosed. The method, in some embodiments, may comprise establishing a network session over a communication link between a network and a user device of a user and associating a data transmission parameter with the user device. The method may further comprise receiving a packet and calculating a delay period associated with the packet based on the data transmission parameter and delaying transmission of the packet based on the delay period.

Claims

1. A system for allowing a user to dynamically control an amount of bandwidth available to the user in a network, the system comprising:

a first network interface for communicating over a communication link with a user device during a network session;

a second network interface for communicating with one or more computer networks;

a data storage system including an indication of a network communication bandwidth associated with the user device and selected by the user; and

a processor configured to calculate a delay period associated with a received packet based on the network communication bandwidth associated with the user, and the processor further configured to delay transmission of the packet based on the delay period to prevent the user device from achieving a bandwidth greater than the network communication bandwidth associated with the user device and selected by the user.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the processor is further configured to adjust a billing rate charged to the user based on the network communication bandwidth.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the delay period is further calculated based on a size of the packet and a time associated with a previous packet.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the system comprises a gateway device.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the delaying is performed by placing the packet in a queue for the delay period.

6. The system of claim 1, wherein the packet is received from the first network interface.

7. The system of claim 6, wherein the packet is received from the second network interface.

8. The system of claim 1, wherein the delay period is further calculated such that the packet will not produce a bandwidth that exceeds the network communication bandwidth.

9. A method of dynamically managing transmission of packets, the method comprising:

establishing a network session over a communication link between a network and a user device of a user;

associating a data transmission parameter selected by the user with the user device;

receiving a packet and calculating a delay period associated with the packet based on the data transmission parameter; and

delaying transmission of the packet based on the delay period to prevent the user device from achieving a data transmission greater than the data transmission parameter associated with the user device and selected by the user.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the data transmission parameter comprises an upstream and a downstream data transmission parameter and wherein the upstream and downstream data transmission parameters are individually specifiable by the user.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the delay period is calculated independent of maximum bandwidth available.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the method of dynamically managing transmission of packets is performed by a gateway device.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the delay period is further calculated based on a size of the packet and a time associated with a previous packet.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the data transmission parameter is a bandwidth indication.

15. A system for allowing a user to dynamically control a data transmission parameter associated with the user in a network, the system comprising:

means for establishing a network session over a communication link between a network and a user device of a user;

means for associating a data transmission parameter selected by the user with the user device;

means for receiving a packet and calculating a delay period associated with the packet based on the data transmission parameter; and

means for delaying transmission of the packet based on the delay period without requiring hardware reconfiguration of any component in the network to prevent the user device from achieving a data transmission greater than the data transmission parameter associated with the user device and selected by the user.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the data transmission parameter comprises an upstream and a downstream data transmission parameter and wherein the upstream and downstream data transmission parameters are individually specifiable by the user.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising means for adjusting a billing rate charged to the user based on the data transmission parameter specified by the user.

18. The system of claim 15, wherein the system comprises a gateway device.

19. The system of claim 15, wherein the user device is a portable device.

20. The system of claim 15, wherein the data transmission parameter relates to bandwidth.