Prioritized EV-DO paging based on type of packet flow
View Patent ↗Methods and systems are provided for prioritized EV-DO paging based on type of packet flow. In an embodiment, an access node provides service to a plurality of access terminals in a wireless coverage area. The access node receives data addressed to a particular access terminal, where the data is associated with a packet flow such as a VoIP call. The access node determines that the access terminal does not have a traffic channel, and responsively generates a page for transmission to the access terminal, where the page is associated with the packet flow. The access node determines whether the packet flow is latency-sensitive or rather is latency-tolerant. If the packet flow is latency-sensitive, the access node responsively prioritizes the page over one or more pages respectively associated with one or more latency-tolerant packet flows, where the prioritizing is with respect to order of transmission in the wireless coverage area.
1. A method comprising:
providing service to a plurality of access terminals in a wireless coverage area;
receiving data addressed to a first one of the access terminals, the data being associated with a first packet flow;
determining that the first access terminal does not have an active traffic channel, and responsively generating a first page for transmission to the first access terminal, the first page being associated with the first packet flow;
determining whether the first packet flow is latency-sensitive or rather is latency-tolerant; and
if the first packet flow is latency-sensitive, responsively prioritizing the first page over one or more pages respectively associated with one or more latency-tolerant packet flows, the prioritizing being with respect to order of transmission in the wireless coverage area, the method further comprising:
maintaining a latency-sensitive-page queue for latency-sensitive pages, wherein prioritizing the first page over one or more pages respectively associated with one or more latency-tolerant packet flows comprises placing the first page in the latency-sensitive-page queue;
maintaining a latency-tolerant-page queue for latency-tolerant pages;
periodically transmitting a control channel in the wireless coverage area;
operating such that a maximum number of pages can be transmitted in the wireless coverage area each time the control channel is transmitted; and
each time the control channel is transmitted, selecting up to a first number of pages from the latency-sensitive-page queue, and selecting up to a second number of pages from the latency-tolerant-page queue, wherein the first number is greater than the second number, wherein the first number plus the second number is less than or equal to the maximum number, and transmitting the pages selected from both queues on the control channel.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the service comprises Evolution Data Optimized (EV-DO) service, wherein the access terminals comprise EV-DO access terminals, and wherein the method is carried out by at least one of an EV-DO radio network controller, and EV-DO base transceiver station, and an EV-DO access node.
3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless coverage area is a cell or a sector.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first access terminal is a device selected from the group consisting of a cell phone, a personal digital assistant, a computer, a laptop computer, a hybrid IS-2000/IS-856 device, and a multi-mode Wi-Fi/cellular device.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data is addressed to at least one identifier of the first access terminal, wherein the at least one identifier includes at least one of an Internet Protocol (IP) address, a mobile identification number (MIN), a mobile equipment identifier (MEID), a media access control (MAC) address, and a telephone number.
6. The method of claim 1 , further comprising negotiating with the first access terminal to establish that the first access terminal is capable of engaging in the first packet flow and that the first access terminal is permitted to engage in the first packet flow.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the first page comprises information to alert the first access terminal as to the receipt of the data, and further comprises information to cause the access terminal to request a traffic channel for conducting the first packet flow.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining whether the first packet flow is latency-sensitive or rather is latency-tolerant comprises referencing correlation data that correlates each of a plurality of packet-flow types with an indication of being latency-sensitive or rather with an indication of being latency-tolerant.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the data comprises a first packet-flow-type indication, and wherein determining whether the first packet flow is latency-sensitive or rather is latency-tolerant comprises determining whether the first packet-flow-type indication is associated with latency-sensitivity or rather with latency-tolerance.
10. The method of claim 9 wherein the first packet-flow-type indication is a profile ID.
11. The method of claim 9 , wherein the first packet-flow-type indication indicates that the packet flow is of a type selected from the group consisting of a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) packet flow, a push-to-talk (PTT) packet flow, a high-performance push-to-talk (HPPTT) packet flow, a streaming-video packet flow, a streaming-audio packet flow, a video-telephony packet flow, a best-effort packet flow, a web-browsing packet flow, and a file transfer protocol (FTP) packet flow.
12. An access node comprising:
a communication interface;
a processor; and
data storage comprising instructions executable by the processor to:
provide service to a plurality of access terminals in a wireless coverage area;
receive data addressed to a first one of the access terminals, the data being associated with a first packet flow;
determine that the first access terminal does not have an active traffic channel, and responsively generate a first page for transmission to the first access terminal, the first page being associated with the first packet flow;
determine whether the first packet flow is latency-sensitive or rather is latency-tolerant; and
if the first packet flow is latency-sensitive, responsively prioritize the first page over one or more pages respectively associated with one or more latency-tolerant packet flows, the prioritizing being with respect to order of transmission in the wireless coverage area, and further to:
maintain a latency-sensitive-page queue for latency-sensitive pages, wherein prioritizing the first page over one or more pages respectively associated with one or more latency-tolerant packet flows comprises placing the first page in the latency-sensitive-page queue;
maintain a latency-tolerant-page queue for latency-tolerant pages;
periodically transmit a control channel in the wireless coverage area;
operate such that a maximum number of pages can be transmitted in the wireless coverage area each time the control channel is transmitted; and
each time the control channel is transmitted, select up to a first number of pages from the latency-sensitive-page queue, and select up to a second number of pages from the latency-tolerant-page queue, wherein the first number is greater than the second number, wherein the first number plus the second number is less than or equal to the maximum number, and transmit the pages selected from both queues on the control channel.