RAN for multimedia delivery
View Patent ↗A method is disclosed for delivering a packet data flow across a radio access network (RAN), comprising: receiving, at an upstream gateway node, an Internet Protocol (IP) data flow; sending, from the upstream gateway node, the IP data flow to a RAN; receiving, at the upstream gateway node, a congestion control message from the RAN based on a request for retransmission of the IP data flow at the RAN to a user equipment (UE); and performing, at the upstream gateway node, IP flow control of the IP data flow based on the congestion control message.
1. A method for delivering a packet data flow across a radio access network (RAN), comprising:
receiving, at an upstream gateway node, an Internet Protocol (IP) data flow;
sending, from the upstream gateway node, the IP data flow to a RAN;
receiving, at the upstream gateway node, a congestion control message from the RAN based on a request for retransmission of the IP data flow at the RAN to a user equipment (UE);
maintaining, at the upstream gateway node, a transport control protocol (TCP) timer for performing IP flow control of the data flow, and maintaining, at the RAN, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) timer; and
performing, at the upstream gateway node, IP flow control of the IP data flow based on the congestion control message.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the RAN is an eNodeB in a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network.
3. The method of claim 1 , further comprising buffering, at the upstream gateway node, the IP data flow.
4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the congestion flow control message is a message indicating that a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) request was received at the RAN.
5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the congestion flow control message is received at the upstream gateway node using an X2 application protocol (X2AP) message.
6. The method of claim 1 , wherein the congestion flow control message is a message indicating that a radio modulation change is imminent.
7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the congestion flow control message is a message indicating that a signal to noise ratio at an eNodeB for the UE has crossed a threshold.
8. The method of claim 1 , wherein the congestion flow control message is a message indicating that a UE is expected to perform a handover.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing, at the upstream gateway node, IP flow control comprises avoiding IP retransmissions and backoff.
10. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing, at the upstream gateway node, IP flow control comprises buffering the IP data flow.
11. The method of claim 1 , wherein performing, at the upstream gateway node, IP flow control comprises sending IP retransmission requests to cause the IP data flow to be regulated at a particular data rate.
12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the IP data flow is a video data flow, and further comprising performing transcoding or transrating of a video data flow at the upstream gateway node.