Dynamic adjustment of keep-alive messages for efficient battery usage in a mobile network

• US 9,007,976 B2
• Filed: 05/20/2014
• Issued: 04/14/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/11/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Seven Networks LLC (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Seven Networks Inc
• Inventors: Backholm, Ari
• Primary Examiner(s): Batista, Marcos
• Application Number:
  US14/283,193
• Publication Number:
  US 20140254447A1
• Time in Patent Office: 329 Days
• Field of Search: 455/466, 370/311
• US Class Current: 370/311
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0811 by checking connectivity
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/103 with adaptive polling, i.e. dynamically adapting the polling rate
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/14 Session management for real-time applications in data packet communications networks H04L65/1066
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/145 avoiding end of session, e.g. keep-alive, heartbeats, resumption message or wake-up for inactive or interrupted session
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/00 Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 48/08 Access restriction or access information delivery, e.g. discovery data delivery signalling during connection H04W76/00
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0212 managed by the network, e.g. network or access point is master and terminal is slave
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0229 where the received signal is a wanted signal
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/44 in connection with interruption of transmission
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 72/12 Wireless traffic scheduling
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/11 Allocation or use of connection identifiers
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 76/25 Maintenance of established connections
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 80/04 Network layer protocols, e.g. mobile IP [Internet Protocol]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02B 70/30 Systems integrating technologies related to power network operation and communication or information technologies for improving the carbon footprint of the management of residential or tertiary loads, i.e. smart grids as climate change mitigation technology in the buildings sector, including also the last stages of power distribution and the control, monitoring or operating management systems at local level
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

Systems and methods for dynamic adjustment of keep-alive message intervals in a mobile network are disclosed. One embodiment of maintaining an IP connection between a mobile terminal and a network node over a network includes, detecting a rate with which the client-slide request are made from the mobile terminal, detecting a rate with which the client-slide request are made from the mobile terminal, sending, by the network node, keep-alive messages to the mobile terminal in an absence of network traffic through the IP connection between the mobile terminal and the network node, and/or further optimizing the time intervals between the keep-alive messages based on a cost to send the keep-alive messages in the network.

Claims

1. A method of maintaining communication between a mobile terminal and a network node over a network, the method comprising:

detecting a rate with which requests are made to or from the mobile terminal;

dynamically adjusting time intervals between the keep-alive messages sent to or from the mobile terminal based on the rate with which the requests are made;

sending, keep-alive messages to or from the mobile terminal in an absence of network traffic between the mobile terminal and the network node;

monitoring the lengths of several periods of communication inactivity between the mobile terminal and the network node;

determining a maximum interval between keep-alive messages based on the several monitored lengths of periods of inactivity such that the maximum interval meets a criterion of statistical confidence; and

setting at least one interval between keep-alive messages to the maximum determined interval.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein detecting the rate with which requests are made includes at least one of:

detecting a rate with which client-side requests are made from the mobile terminal; and

detecting a rate with which server-side requests are made to the mobile terminal.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the network node comprises a node in a mobile radio network.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein maintaining communication between the mobile terminal and the network node includes routing Internet protocol (IP) packets between the mobile terminal and the network node.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein maintaining communication between the mobile terminal and the network node includes maintaining a transmission control protocol (TCP) connection between the mobile terminal and the network node.

6. The method of claim 1, comprising, in response to detecting a period of communication inactivity, sending keep-alive messages at predetermined and variable intervals.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein the keep-alive messages are sent from the mobile terminal.

8. The method of claim 6, wherein the keep-alive messages are sent from the network node.

9. The method of claim 1, comprising storing the maximum determined interval at the mobile terminal.

10. The method of claim 9, comprising storing the maximum determined interval in association with an identifier of the network.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the identifier of the network comprises an identifier of a mobile radio network.

12. The method of claim 1, comprising sending the maximum determined interval in association with the identifier of the network to a home network of the mobile terminal for storage and future inquiry.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein meeting a predetermined criterion of statistical confidence includes subtracting a safety margin from the detected maximum inactivity period.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the safety margin is expressed as a duration of time.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the safety margin is expressed as a percentage.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the safety margin is proportional to a predictability of behavior of the mobile radio network.

17. The method of claim 13, wherein the safety margin corresponds to a cost associated with the mobile terminal.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the cost corresponds to battery life of the mobile terminal.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the cost corresponds to a tariff for sending keep-alive messages from the mobile terminal.

20. A method for maintaining communication between a mobile terminal and a network node over a network, the method comprising:

observe periods of inactivity between messages that are communicated between a mobile terminal and a network node via a network and observe whether a connection between the mobile terminal and the network node was dropped;

determine, based on the observed information, a maximum delay between messages that does not result in the connection being dropped;

in response to detecting an absence of observed traffic for a period greater than or equal to the determined maximum delay, sending a keep-alive message to prevent the connection from being dropped,

wherein determining a maximum delay that does not result in a dropped connection includes determining a maximum delay that meets a predetermined criterion of statistical confidence that the connection will not be dropped.

21. The method of claim 20, comprising observing whether a sent keep-alive message failed to prevent the connection from being dropped, and in response to a determination that the connection was dropped, reducing the maximum delay until a sent keep-alive message succeeds in preventing the connection from being dropped.

22. The method of claim 21, comprising observing whether a sent keep-alive message failed to prevent the connection from being dropped, and in response to a determination that the connection was not dropped, increasing the maximum delay until a sent keep-alive message fails to prevent the connection from being dropped and then reducing the maximum delay until a sent keep-alive message succeeds in preventing the connection from being dropped.

23. A method for maintaining communication between a mobile terminal and a network node over a network, the method comprising:

defining a maximum allowed period of inactivity between messages that are communicated between a mobile terminal and a network node via a network;

in response to detecting an absence of observed traffic for a period greater than or equal to the determined maximum delay, sending a keep-alive message to prevent a connection from being dropped;

adjusting the maximum allowed period of inactivity based on an observation of whether the keep-alive message succeeded or failed to prevent the connection from being dropped,

wherein adjusting the maximum allowed period of inactivity based on an observation of whether the keep-alive message succeeded or failed to prevent the connection from being dropped includes adjusting the maximum allowed period based on a predetermined criterion of statistical confidence that the connection will not be dropped.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein adjusting the maximum allowed period of inactivity includes reducing the maximum allowed period in response to determining that the keep-alive message failed to prevent the connection from being dropped.

25. The method of claim 23, wherein adjusting the maximum allowed period of inactivity includes increasing the maximum allowed period in response to determining that the keep-alive message succeeded in preventing the connection from being dropped.