Airtime Fairness Module for Time-Sensitive WLAN Traffic
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current Wi-Fi networks struggle to provide fair airtime allocation to a mix of legacy and newer wireless stations, as well as differentiate between applications based on time sensitivity, leading to inefficient network performance.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a system that dynamically adjusts airtime fairness ratios based on application time sensitivity, location, and user roles by pre-processing network packets and using an airtime fairness module to prioritize network traffic without deep packet inspection, ensuring that time-sensitive applications receive appropriate airtime allocation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If equal and constant quantum is allocated to each wireless station, then airtime fairness is maintained, but time-sensitive applications cannot receive prioritized service
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic quantum allocation where the airtime fairness ratio (AFR) is adjusted based on application time sensitivity characteristics. Instead of using equal and constant quantum for all stations, the system dynamically modifies the quantum allocation to favor time-sensitive applications while maintaining fairness for other applications, thus resolving the contradiction between maintaining airtime fairness and enabling application-specific prioritization
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies different airtime fairness ratios to different applications based on their time sensitivity requirements. Time-sensitive applications receive a higher AFR (more airtime allocation) while non-time-sensitive applications receive the default AFR. This local differentiation allows the system to maintain overall airtime fairness while providing specialized service quality for specific application types
2Measurement precision
If deep packet inspection is used to identify applications, then accurate application recognition is achieved, but processing complexity and overhead increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the essential identifying features from network packets (source IP address, source port address, destination IP address, destination port address, and protocol) rather than performing deep packet inspection of the entire packet content. This extraction approach enables accurate application identification while significantly reducing processing complexity and overhead by focusing only on the header information that contains sufficient identifying characteristics
Data Source
AI summary
Network packets are pre-processed and stored in network queues based on time sensitivity and other factors. More specifically, a specific application associated with a specific session of the network packets locally at the access point is determined. An ATR is adjusted based on a priority of the application with respect to time sensitivity. Other factors include throughput capability of a wireless device.