Adaptive multi-link control
Systems and methods for adaptive multi-link control are described. In some embodiments, an Information Handling System (IHS) may include a processor and a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution, cause the IHS to: determine that a first communication link is under contention; compare a first quality-of-service (QoS) indicator of the first communication link with a second QoS indicator of the second communication link, at least in part, in response to the determination; and aggregate the first and second communication links, at least in part, in response to the second QoS indicator being equal or superior to the first QoS indicator.
1. An Information Handling System (IHS), comprising:
a processor; and
a memory coupled to the processor, the memory having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution, cause the IHS to:
determine that a first communication link is under contention;
compare a first quality-of-service (QoS) indicator of the first communication link with a second QoS indicator of a second communication link, at least in part, in response to the determination, wherein the first QoS indicator comprises a first vector of QoS features and the second QoS indicator comprises a second vector of QoS features; and
aggregate the first and second communication links, at least in part, in response to a difference between the first vector of QoS features and the second vector of QoS features being equal to or smaller than a threshold value.
2. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the first and second communication links are of different types selected from a group consisting of: a WiFi link, an Ethernet link, and a cellular link.
3. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein to determine that the first communication link is under contention, the program instructions, upon execution by the processor, further cause the IHS to compare the first QoS indicator against a contention metric.
4. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the first QoS indicator comprises a first latency of the first communication link, wherein the second QoS indicator comprises a second latency of the second communication link, and wherein the program instruction, upon execution, cause the IHS to aggregate the first and second communication links further in response to the first latency being equal to or greater than the second latency.
5. The IHS of claim 4 , wherein the first latency comprises a first round trip time (RTT) of a first packet communicated via the first communication link, and wherein the second latency comprises a second RTT of a second packet communicated via the second communication link.
6. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the first QoS indicator comprises a first packet loss of the first communication link, wherein the second QoS indicator comprises a second packet loss of the second communication link, and wherein the if program instruction, upon execution, cause the IHS to aggregate the first and second communication links further in response to the first packet loss being equal to or greater than the second packet loss.
7. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to, prior to the aggregation of the first and second communication links, verify the second QoS indicator using a duplicate of a packet transmitted via the first communication link.
8. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to, transmit a first subset of packets through the first communication link and a second subset of packets through the second communication link while the first QoS indicator and the second QoS indicator are within a selected range of values.
9. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to:
identify whether the first communication link is used by a first or second type of application, wherein the first type of application is associated with a first QoS threshold and the second type of application is associated with a second QoS threshold; and
at least one of:
aggregate the first and second communication links further in response to the first communication link being used by the first type of application and the second QoS indicator being superior to the first QoS indicator by the first QoS threshold; or
aggregate the first and second communication links further in response to the first communication link being used by the second type of application and the second QoS indicator being superior to the first QoS indicator by the second QoS threshold.
10. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to:
identify a distance between a user and the IHS; and
at least one of:
aggregate the first and second communication links further in response to the distance being smaller than a selected value and the second QoS indicator being superior to the first QoS indicator by a first QoS threshold; or
aggregate the first and second communication links further in response to the distance being greater than the selected value and the second QoS indicator being superior to the first QoS indicator by a second QoS threshold.
11. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to:
identify whether the IHS is in a first posture or a second posture, wherein the first posture is associated with a first QoS threshold and the second posture is associated with a second QoS threshold; and
at least one of:
aggregate the first and second communication links further in response to the IHS being in the first posture and the second QoS indicator being superior to the first QoS indicator by the first QoS threshold; or
aggregate the first and second communication links further in response to the IHS being in the second posture the second QoS indicator being superior to the first QoS indicator by the second QoS threshold.
12. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to:
compare a third QoS indicator of a third communication link with the first or second QoS indicators; and
in response to the third QoS indicator being equal or superior to the first or second QoS indicator, aggregate the first, second, and third communication links.
13. The IHS of claim 1 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to, in response to the second QoS indicator being inferior to the first QoS indicator, segregate the second communication link from the first communication link.
14. A memory device having program instructions stored thereon that, upon execution by a processor of an Information Handling System (IHS), cause the IHS to:
determine that a first communication link is under contention;
compare a first quality-of-service (QoS) indicator of the first communication link with a second QoS indicator of a second communication link, at least in part, in response to the determination;
identify a distance between a user and the IHS; and
at least one of:
in response to the distance being smaller than a selected value, aggregate the first and second communication links if the second QoS indicator is superior to the first QoS indicator by a first QoS threshold; or
in response to the distance being greater than the selected value, aggregate the first and second communication links if the second QoS indicator is superior to the first QoS indicator by a second QoS threshold.
15. The memory device of claim 14 , wherein the program instructions, upon execution, further cause the IHS to:
identify whether the first communication link is used by a first or second type of application, wherein the first type of application is associated with the first QoS threshold and the second type of application is associated with the second QoS threshold; and
at least one of:
aggregate the first and second communication links further in response to the first communication link being used by the first type of application and the second QoS indicator being superior to the first QoS indicator by the first QoS threshold; or
aggregate the first and second communication links further in response to the first communication link being used by the second type of application and the second QoS indicator being superior to the first QoS indicator by the second QoS threshold.
16. A method, comprising:
determining that a first communication link is under contention;
comparing a first quality-of-service (QoS) indicator of the first communication link with a second QoS indicator of a second communication link, at least in part, in response to the determination;
identifying whether an Information Handling System (IHS) is in a first posture or a second posture, wherein the first posture is associated with a first QoS threshold and the second posture is associated with a second QoS threshold; and
at least one of:
in response to the IHS being in the first posture, aggregating the first and second communication links if the second QoS indicator is superior to the first QoS indicator by the first QoS threshold; or
in response to the IHS being in the second posture, aggregating the first and second communication links if the second QoS indicator is superior to the first QoS indicator by the second QoS threshold.
17. The method of claim 16 , further comprising:
identifying whether the first communication link is used by a first or second type of application, wherein the first type of application is associated with the first QoS threshold and the second type of application is associated with the second QoS threshold; and
at least one of:
aggregating the first and second communication links further in response to the first communication link being used by the first type of application and the second QoS indicator being superior to the first QoS indicator by the first QoS threshold; or
aggregating the first and second communication links further in response to the first communication link being used by the second type of application and the second QoS indicator being superior to the first QoS indicator by the second QoS threshold.
18. The method of claim 16 , wherein identifying whether the IHS is in the first posture or the second posture further comprises identifying a hinge angle.