Service policy implementation for an end-user device having a control application or a proxy agent for routing an application traffic flow

• US 9,270,559 B2
• Filed: 12/05/2013
• Issued: 02/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 01/28/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Headwater Research LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Original Assignee: Headwater Partners I LLC (Greg Raleigh)
• Inventors: Raleigh, Gregory G., Green, Jeffrey, Lavine, James, Nguyen, Vien-Phuong
• Primary Examiner(s): RUDY, ANDREW J
• Application Number:
  US14/098,527
• Publication Number:
  US 20140140213A1
• Time in Patent Office: 810 Days
• Field of Search: 370/228, 370/235, 370/241, 370/242, 370/252, 370/254, 370/331, 370/338, 370/390, 370/395.1, 709/203, 709/217, 709/223, 709/224, 455/405, 455/406, 455/411, 455/414.1, 455/432.1, 455/432.3
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 12/1485 Tariff-related aspects
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0893 Assignment of logical groups to network elements
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 41/0894 Policy-based network configuration management
• 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 41/5029 Service quality level-based billing, e.g. dependent on measured service level customer is charged more or less
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/062 related to network traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0876 Network utilisation, e.g. volume of load or congestion level
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/0888 Throughput
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/19 at layers above the network layer network arrangements for networked applications for scheduling or organising the servicing of application requests H04L67/60
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/806 Broadcast or multicast traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 47/83 based on usage prediction
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/70 Media network packetisation
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/75 Media network packet handling
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 65/752 adapting media to network capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/561 Adding application-functional data or data for application control, e.g. adding metadata
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 24/08 Testing, supervising or monitoring using real traffic
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/24 Accounting or billing
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/04 Registration at HLR or HSS [Home Subscriber Server]

Abstract

A method performed by a network system communicatively coupled to a device over a wireless access network, the method comprising transmitting a traffic flow to, or receiving the traffic flow from, a software application on the device, the traffic flow comprising one or more related data transfers over the wireless access network, the traffic flow being routed between the software application and the network system through an assisting element comprising a control application or a proxy agent on the device, wherein the traffic flow has a characteristic associating the traffic flow with the first software application, the characteristic preserving the association between the traffic flow and the software application when the traffic flow is routed by the one or more assisting elements; identifying the characteristic; and implementing at least a portion of a control, accounting, or notification service policy based on the identified characteristic.

Claims

1. A method performed by a network system communicatively coupled to an end-user device over a wireless access network, the method comprising:

transmitting a first traffic flow to, or receiving the first traffic flow from, a first software application on the end-user device, the first traffic flow comprising a first set of one or more related data transfers over the wireless access network, the first traffic flow being routed between the first software application on the end-user device and the network system through one or more assisting elements, the one or more assisting elements comprising a control application on the end-user device or a proxy agent on the end-user device, wherein the first traffic flow has a characteristic associating the first traffic flow with the first software application, the characteristic preserving the association between the first traffic flow and the first software application when the first traffic flow is routed by the one or more assisting elements;

identifying the characteristic; and

implementing at least a portion of one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic, the one or more service policies at least for (i) controlling usage of the wireless access network by the end-user device, (ii) accounting for usage of the wireless access network associated with the end-user device, (iii) providing a notification to the end-user device about the usage of the wireless access network associated with the end-user device, or (iv) a combination of these.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic comprises a flow tag, an identifier, or a registration.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more assisting elements comprise an operating system (OS) function, a media service OS library, an Android.net library function, an Apache library function, a Java.net library function, a third-party proxy server client function, a tunneling protocol function, a proxy service manager, or a voice-over-IP (VoIP) manager.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein implementing at least a portion of one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises applying the at least a portion of the one or more service policies to the first software application or to the first traffic flow.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic comprises a literal tag.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the characteristic comprises inspecting one or more bit fields in a packet frame.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the characteristic comprises inserting the characteristic into one or more unused, unspecified, or available bit fields in a packet frame.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the characteristic comprises adding a header or trailer field to a packet or frame.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein identifying the characteristic comprises detecting an additional header or trailer field in a packet or frame.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic identifies an access point name (APN) or server.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic comprises a virtual tag.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the virtual tag comprises information to assist one or more agents on the end-user device that monitor, control, shape, throttle, observe, manipulate, or modify the first traffic flow.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising sending the virtual tag to the end-user device over a control channel between the end-user device and the network system.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising receiving the virtual tag from the end-user device over a control channel between the end-user device and the network system.

15. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic is a first characteristic, and further comprising:

transmitting a second traffic flow to, or receiving the second traffic flow from, a second software application on the end-user device, the second traffic flow comprising a second set of one or more related data transfers over the wireless access network, wherein the second traffic flow has a second characteristic associating the second traffic flow with the second software application.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the second characteristic comprises a flow tag, an identifier, or a registration.

17. The method of claim 15, wherein implementing the at least a portion of the one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises allowing the first traffic flow, and further comprising blocking the second traffic flow.

18. The method of claim 15, wherein implementing the at least a portion of the one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises blocking the first traffic flow, and further comprising allowing the second traffic flow.

19. The method of claim 15, wherein implementing the at least a portion of the one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises (a) allowing the first traffic flow and blocking the second traffic flow, or (b) allowing the second traffic flow and blocking the first traffic flow.

20. The method of claim 15, wherein the second traffic flow is routed between the second software application on the end-user device and the network system by at least a portion of the one or more assisting elements.

21. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

routing the first traffic flow to or through a first network destination; and

routing the second traffic flow to or through a second network destination.

22. The method of claim 15, wherein the one or more service policies are a first set of one or more service policies, and wherein implementing at least a portion of one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises applying the at least a portion of the one or more service policies to the first traffic flow, and further comprising:

applying at least a portion of a second set of one or more service policies to the second traffic flow.

23. The method of claim 15, further comprising:

assigning the first traffic flow to a first charging bucket; and

assigning the second traffic flow to a second charging bucket.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the first charging bucket or the second charging bucket is associated with a sponsored service.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic is a first characteristic, and further comprising:

transmitting a second traffic flow to, or receiving the second traffic flow from, the first software application on the end-user device, the second traffic flow comprising a second set of one or more related data transfers over the wireless access network, wherein the second traffic flow has a second characteristic associating the second traffic flow with the second software application.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the second characteristic comprises a flow tag, an identifier, or a registration.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein implementing the at least a portion of the one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises allowing the first traffic flow, and further comprising blocking the second traffic flow.

28. The method of claim 25, wherein implementing the at least a portion of the one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises blocking the first traffic flow, and further comprising allowing the second traffic flow.

29. The method of claim 25, wherein implementing the at least a portion of the one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises (a) allowing the first traffic flow and blocking the second traffic flow, or (b) allowing the second traffic flow and blocking the first traffic flow.

30. The method of claim 25, wherein implementing the at least a portion of the one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises providing a first level of quality-of-service (QoS) to the first traffic flow, and further comprising providing a second level of QoS the second traffic flow.

31. The method of claim 25, wherein implementing the at least a portion of the one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises providing a first level of quality-of-service (QoS) to the first traffic flow and providing a second level of QoS to the second traffic flow.

32. The method of claim 25, wherein the one or more service policies are a first set of one or more service policies, and wherein implementing at least a portion of one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises applying the at least a portion of the one or more service policies to the first traffic flow, and further comprising:

applying at least a portion of a second set of one or more service policies to the second traffic flow.

33. The method of claim 25, further comprising:

assigning one or more data transfers associated with the first traffic flow to a first charging bucket; and

assigning one or more data transfers associated with the second traffic flow to a second charging bucket.

34. The method of claim 25, wherein implementing the at least a portion of the one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises imposing a first limit on the first traffic flow, and further comprising imposing a second limit on the second traffic flow.

35. The method of claim 25, wherein implementing the at least a portion of the one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises imposing a first limit on the first traffic flow and imposing a second limit on the second traffic flow.

36. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic indicates a classification of traffic of the first traffic flow.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the classification of traffic identifies a particular network type of the wireless access network, a background operating mode of the first software application, a foreground operating mode of the first software application, or a combination of these.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the classification of traffic identifies a particular network type of the wireless access network, the network type being Wi-Fi, cellular, roaming, home, associated with a cost, 2G, 3G, 4G, or a combination of these.

39. The method of claim 1, wherein implementing the at least a portion of the one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic comprises providing a notification to the end-user device about the usage of the wireless access network associated with the end-user device, and wherein providing the notification to the end-user device comprises sending, to the end-user device over the wireless access network, information for assisting the end-user device to present, through a user interface of the end-user device, a notification.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the information comprises a measure of service usage, the measure of service usage being based on the characteristic.

41. The method of claim 39, wherein the notification is associated with usage of the wireless access network associated with the first software application.

42. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more service policies are based, at least in part, on a type of the wireless access network.

43. The method of claim 42, wherein the type of the wireless access network comprises cellular, 3G, 4G, Wi-Fi, home, roaming, or a combination of these.

44. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

obtaining at least an aspect of the one or more service policies from the end-user device.

45. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining at least an aspect of the one or more service policies based on a user preference.

46. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

specifying at least a portion of the one or more assisting elements or the characteristic.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising:

providing information identifying at least a portion of the one or more assisting elements or the characteristic to the end-user device.

48. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

assigning a measure of usage of the wireless access network associated with the first traffic flow to a first charging bucket.

49. The method of claim 48, wherein the measure of usage is based on information received from the end-user device.

50. The method of claim 1, wherein the characteristic also associates a second traffic flow with the first software application.

51. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing machine-executable instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to:

transmit a first traffic flow to, or receive the first traffic flow from, a first software application on an end-user device communicatively coupled to the one or more processors over a wireless access network, the first traffic flow comprising a first set of one or more related data transfers over the wireless access network, the first traffic flow being routed between the first software application on the end-user device and the one or more processors through one or more assisting elements, the one or more assisting elements comprising a control application on the end-user device or a proxy agent on the end-user device, wherein the first traffic flow has a characteristic associating the first traffic flow with the first software application, the characteristic preserving the association between the first traffic flow and the first software application when the first traffic flow is routed by the one or more assisting elements;

identify the characteristic; and

implement at least a portion of one or more service policies based on the identified characteristic, the one or more service policies at least for (i) controlling usage of the wireless access network by the end-user device, (ii) accounting for usage of the wireless access network associated with the end-user device, (iii) providing a notification to the end-user device about the usage of the wireless access network associated with the end-user device, or (iv) a combination of these.