Method and apparatus for traffic management in a wireless network
View Patent ↗Currently, network utilization and performance are diminished due to capacity issues, which may be resolved by adding hardware/software to spread traffic uniformly according to network element usage information. Disclosed is a method of and corresponding apparatus for resolving network element capacity issues in a wireless network by inspecting data traffic content for information about wireless network elements and data traffic content, collecting said information, and managing (e.g., shaping and steering) the incoming traffic based on the information. Examples of said information include radio bearer resource information for network elements and traffic associated with a wireless access portion of the wireless network and radio access bearer information for network elements and traffic associated with a backhaul portion of the wireless network. By employing embodiments of the invention, network utilization and performance may be increased using existing wireless network elements in a manner overlaid on existing network optimization techniques (e.g., load balancing).
1. A method of managing data traffic flow in a wireless network, the method comprising:
inspecting, by a wireless access portion inspection unit, data traffic content in a backhaul portion of the wireless network to determine radio bearer resource information associated with a wireless access portion of the wireless network;
inspecting, by a backhaul portion inspection unit, the data traffic content in the backhaul portion of the wireless network to determine radio access bearer information associated with the backhaul portion of the wireless network; and
controlling, by a control unit located in a network interface region between the backhaul portion of the wireless network and a core of the wireless network, data traffic flow in the wireless network as a function of the radio bearer resource information and the radio access bearer information.
2. The method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein controlling the data traffic flow is done in upstream and downstream directions.
3. The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising controlling data traffic flow as a function of radio resource utilization and backhaul resource utilization in the wireless network.
4. The method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising controlling data traffic flow on a periodic basis consistent with mobility aspects of an end user device in a wireless network.
5. The method as claimed in claim 4 , wherein controlling the data traffic flow is performed across the wireless network based on information gleaned from the radio bearer resource information and the radio access bearer information.
6. The method as claimed in claim 5 , wherein the information gleaned from the radio bearer resource information and the radio access bearer information is applied to traffic that enters the wireless network by performing a deep packet inspection of the traffic that enters the wireless network.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the data traffic flow is performed in a manner overlaid on the wireless network.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein controlling the data traffic flow includes load balancing.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein inspecting the data traffic content in the backhaul portion of the wireless network to determine radio bearer resource information is performed at a first node in the backhaul portion of the wireless network, inspecting the data traffic content in the backhaul portion of the wireless network to determine radio access bearer information is performed at the first node in the backhaul portion of the wireless network, and the control unit is located at a second node in the network interface region between the backhaul portion of the wireless network and the core of the wireless network.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein inspecting the data traffic content in the backhaul portion of the wireless network to determine radio bearer resource information is performed at a first node in the backhaul portion of the wireless network, inspecting the data traffic content in the backhaul portion of the wireless network to determine radio access bearer information is performed at a second node in the backhaul portion of the wireless network, and the control unit is located at a third node in the network interface region between the backhaul portion of the wireless network and the core of the wireless network.
11. An apparatus for managing data traffic flow in a wireless network, comprising:
a wireless access portion inspection unit, configured to inspect data traffic content in a backhaul portion of the wireless network, to determine radio bearer resource information associated with a wireless access portion of the wireless network;
a backhaul portion inspection unit, configured to inspect the data traffic content in the backhaul portion of the wireless network, to determine radio access bearer information associated with a backhaul portion of the wireless network; and
a control unit, located in a network interface region between the backhaul portion of the wireless network and a core of the wireless network, configured to control data traffic flow in the wireless network as a function of the radio bearer resource information and the radio access bearer information.
12. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , further including a modification unit configured to enable a network operator to modify the data traffic flow based on user-based parameters.
13. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the control unit is further configured to control the data traffic flow in upstream and downstream directions.
14. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the control unit is further configured to control data traffic flow as a function of radio resource utilization and backhaul resource utilization in the wireless network.
15. The apparatus as claimed in claim 11 , wherein the control unit is further configured to control data traffic flow on a periodic basis consistent with mobility aspects of an end user device in a wireless network.
16. The apparatus as claimed in claim 15 , wherein the control unit is further configured to control the data traffic flow across the wireless network based on information gleaned from the radio bearer resource information and the radio access bearer information.
17. The apparatus as claimed in claim 16 , wherein wireless access portion inspection unit and backhaul portion inspection unit are configured to perform deep packet inspection and provide information produced thereby to the control unit, and wherein the control unit is configured to apply the information gleaned from the traffic that enters the wireless network.
18. A method of managing data traffic flow in a wireless network, the method comprising:
aggregating, by a wireless access portion collection unit, in a backhaul portion of the wireless network, radio bearer resource information of the data traffic flow associated with a wireless access portion of the wireless network;
aggregating, by a backhaul portion collection unit, in the backhaul portion of the wireless network, radio access bearer information of the data traffic flow associated with a backhaul portion of the wireless network; and
controlling, by a control unit located in a network interface region between the backhaul portion of the wireless network and a core of the wireless network, the data traffic flow in the wireless network based on the radio bearer resource information and the radio access bearer information.
19. The method as claimed in claim 18 , further comprising aggregating traffic flow from another network, in communication with the wireless network, with the data traffic flow in the wireless network based on the radio bearer resource information and the radio access bearer information.
20. The method as claimed in claim 18 , wherein steering the data traffic flow is done in a downstream direction.
21. An apparatus for managing data traffic flow in a wireless network, the apparatus comprising:
a wireless access portion collection unit, in a backhaul portion of the wireless network, configured to aggregate radio bearer resource information of the data traffic flow associated with a wireless access portion of the wireless network;
a backhaul portion collection unit, in the backhaul portion of the wireless network, configured to aggregate radio access bearer information of the data traffic flow associated with a backhaul portion of the wireless network; and
a control unit, located in a network interface region between the backhaul portion of the wireless network and a core of the wireless network, configured to control the data traffic flow in the wireless network based on the radio bearer resource information and the radio access bearer information.
22. The apparatus as claimed in claim 21 , further comprising:
a collection unit configured to aggregate traffic flow from another network, in communication with the wireless network, with the data traffic flow in the wireless network based on the radio bearer resource information and the radio access bearer information; and
the control unit further configured to control the data traffic flow in the wireless network based on the radio bearer resource information, the radio access bearer information, and the traffic flow from another network, in communication with the wireless network.
23. The apparatus as claimed in claim 22 , wherein the control unit is further configured to steer the data traffic flow in a downstream direction.
24. The apparatus as claimed in claim 21 , wherein the control unit is further configured to modify the data traffic flow based on user-based parameters.
25. A method of controlling data traffic flow in a wireless network, the method comprising:
monitoring, by a monitor unit, in a backhaul portion of the wireless network, at least one logical link carrying data traffic flow or at least one physical link carrying the data traffic flow between non-wireless nodes of the wireless network, the data traffic flow being to or from end user wireless devices;
inspecting, by a first inspection unit, data traffic content of the data traffic flow in the backhaul portion of the wireless network to determine radio bearer resource information associated with a wireless access portion of the wireless network;
inspecting, by a second inspection unit, the data traffic content of the data traffic flow in the backhaul portion of the wireless network to determine radio access bearer information associated with the backhaul portion of the wireless network; and
causing, by a control unit in a network interface region between the backhaul portion of the wireless network and a core of the wireless network, a change of at least one parameter controlling the data traffic flow as a function of the radio bearer resource information and the radio access bearer information in a manner supporting mobility of the end user devices relative to the non-wireless nodes.
26. The method of claim 25 , wherein causing a change of at least one parameter of the data traffic flow is performed based on feedback received from at least one of the non-wireless nodes.
27. The method of claim 25 , further comprising monitoring the data traffic flow in a first hierarchical level of the wireless network and a second hierarchical level of the wireless network.
28. The method of claim 25 , further comprising collecting results of the monitoring, and wherein causing the change takes into consideration multiple results.
29. The method of claim 25 , wherein, as a function of the monitoring, controlling data traffic flow in the wireless network, includes a change of at least one parameter used in connection with wireless communications of the end user devices.
30. An apparatus for controlling data traffic flow in a wireless network, the method comprising:
a monitor unit, located in a backhaul portion of the wireless network, configured to monitor at least one logical link carrying data traffic flow or at least one physical link carrying the data traffic flow between non-wireless nodes of the wireless network, the data traffic flow being to or from end user wireless devices;
a first inspection unit, configured to inspect data traffic content of the data traffic flow in the backhaul portion of the wireless network to determine radio bearer resource information associated with a wireless access portion of the wireless network;
a second inspection unit, configured to inspect the data traffic content of the data traffic flow in the backhaul portion of the wireless network to determine radio access bearer information associated with the backhaul portion of the wireless network; and
a control unit, located in a network interface region between the backhaul portion of the wireless network and a core of the wireless network, configured to cause a change of at least one parameter controlling the data traffic flow as a function of the radio bearer resource information and the radio access bearer information in a manner supporting mobility of the end user devices relative to the non-wireless nodes.
31. The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein the control unit is further configured to cause a change of at least one parameter of the data traffic flow as a function of feedback received from at least one of the non-wireless nodes.
32. The apparatus of claim 30 , wherein the monitor unit is further configured to monitor the data traffic flow in a first hierarchical level of the wireless network and a second hierarchical level of the wireless network.
33. The apparatus of claim 30 , further comprising a collection unit configured to collect results of the monitoring.