Modeling network signaling in a mobile network

• US 9,819,552 B2
• Filed: 06/03/2014
• Issued: 11/14/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 07/02/2013
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Seven Networks LLC (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Seven Networks LLC (SoftBank Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Backholm, Ari, Shvayka, Andrey
• Primary Examiner(s): Ochoa, Juan
• Application Number:
  US14/295,289
• Publication Number:
  US 20150012257A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,260 Days
• Field of Search: 703 13
• 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 41/145 involving simulating, designing, planning or modelling of a network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 43/10 Active monitoring, e.g. heartbeat, ping or trace-route

Abstract

The disclosed technology includes systems and methods for modeling signaling and/or connections in a mobile network, and specifically, the benefits of any optimization technique on the traffic including signals and/or connections in the mobile network. Embodiments can allocate signaling to specific applications (e.g., to determine which applications are chatty and which can cause problematic signaling), and/or to further model the optimizations or savings utilizing the disclosed traffic optimization technology. In some embodiments, to enable or enhance the performance of the data traffic and signal optimization for the network, the disclosed technology includes one or more fields (e.g., an expanded “CRCS” fields) that are calculated by, for example, a CRCS analysis core module, to define and identify at least: (1) whether a transaction causes a connection (and thus signaling); and (2) the number of connections that are reduced or saved by the disclosed embodiments of distributed caching and proxy system.

Claims

1. A method of allocating signaling in a mobile network, the method comprising:

accessing a radio log associated with a mobile device operating in the mobile network, the radio log indicating states of a mobile device radio;

accessing a traffic activity log associated with the mobile device, the traffic activity log indicating various traffic metrics measured at multiple measurement points in the mobile device;

modeling an optimization technique that includes filtering, based on the states of the mobile device radio accessed from the radio log and the various traffic metrics accessed from the traffic activity log, to determine whether transactions initiated by mobile applications executing on the mobile device in the mobile network cause network signaling requiring a corresponding radio connection to be established; and

filtering, by a traffic optimization engine, the network signaling such that at least a first portion of the network signaling is filtered and at least a second portion of the network signaling is unfiltered, wherein the filtered network signaling does not cause a corresponding radio connection and the unfiltered network signaling does cause corresponding radio connection on the mobile device;

wherein filtering the network signaling includes reducing a number of requests that are satisfied over the mobile network by;

accumulating low priority data and sending the low priority data in batches, compressing and/or transcoding the network signaling, and reducing a number of times and/or amount of time that the mobile device radio is powered on.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tracking the transactions initiated by the mobile applications executing on the mobile device in the mobile network.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising attributing the network signaling to individual applications of the mobile applications executing on the mobile device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the traffic optimization engine comprises one or more elements of a distributed caching system.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the distributed caching system includes a client and a remote server.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the filtered network signaling is cached locally by the client.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising maintaining the traffic activity log by tracking transactions and measuring the various traffic metrics at the multiple measurement points in the mobile device.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the modeling the optimization technique includes quantifying a connection savings using the optimization technique.

9. A mobile device comprising:

a mobile device radio; and

a processor configured for;

accessing a radio log associated with the mobile device operating in a mobile network, the radio log indicating states of a mobile device radio;

accessing a traffic activity log associated with the mobile device, the traffic activity log indicating various traffic metrics measured at multiple measurement points in the mobile device;

modeling an optimization technique that includes filtering, based on the states of the mobile device radio accessed from the radio log and the various traffic metrics accessed from the traffic activity log, to determine whether transactions initiated by mobile applications executing on the mobile device in the mobile network cause network signaling requiring a corresponding radio connection to be established; and

filtering, by a traffic optimization engine, the network signaling such that at least a first portion of the network signaling is filtered and at least a second portion of the network signaling is unfiltered, wherein the filtered network signaling does not cause a corresponding radio connection and the unfiltered network signaling does cause corresponding radio connection on the mobile device,

wherein filtering the network signaling includes reducing a number of requests that are satisfied over the mobile network by;

accumulating low priority data and sending the low priority data in batches, compressing and/or transcoding the network signaling, and reducing a number of times and/or amount of time that the mobile device radio is powered on.

10. The mobile device of claim 9, further comprising the traffic optimization engine comprising one or more elements of a distributed caching system.

11. The mobile device of claim 10, wherein the distributed caching system includes a client and a remote server, and wherein the filtered network signaling is cached locally by the client.

12. The mobile device of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured for:

tracking transactions initiated by mobile applications executing on the mobile device in the mobile network;

updating measurements of the various traffic metrics at the multiple measurement points in the mobile device; and

maintaining the traffic activity log based on the updated measurements.

13. The mobile device of claim 9, wherein the processor is further configured for modeling the optimization technique including quantifying a connection savings using the optimization technique.

14. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing instructions to be implemented by a mobile device having a processor, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, cause the mobile device to:

access a radio log associated with the mobile device operating in a mobile network, the radio log indicating states of a radio of the mobile device;

access a traffic activity log associated with the mobile device, the traffic activity log indicating various traffic metrics measured at multiple measurement points in the mobile device;

model an optimization technique that includes filtering, based on the states of the mobile device radio accessed from the radio log and the various traffic metrics accessed from the traffic activity log, to determine whether transactions initiated by mobile applications executing on the mobile device in the mobile network cause network signaling requiring a corresponding radio connection to be established; and

filter, by a traffic optimization engine, the network signaling such that at least a first portion of the network signaling is filtered and at least a second portion of the network signaling is unfiltered, wherein the filtered network signaling does not cause a corresponding radio connection and the unfiltered network signaling does cause corresponding radio connection on the mobile device;

wherein filtering the network signaling includes reducing a number of requests that are satisfied over the mobile network by;

accumulating low priority data and sending the low priority data in batches, compressing and/or transcoding the network signaling, and reducing the number of times and/or amount of time that the mobile device radio is powered on.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the mobile device maintain the traffic activity log.

16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, further cause the mobile device to model the optimization technique including quantifying a connection savings using the optimization technique.