Base Station Dual Scheduling for Stable, Fair Video Streaming
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing video streaming technologies in mobile networks face challenges in efficiently managing adaptive streaming resources, leading to unfair resource allocation, quality oscillations, and degradation of Quality of Experience (QoE) due to greedy client behavior and lack of effective network coordination.
Innovation Solution
A dual-scheduling mechanism at the base station, comprising a first and second scheduling instance, where the second instance adjusts transmission bitrates based on available video qualities to ensure stable and fair allocation of resources, using existing network information without requiring cross-layer signaling or client modifications.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If HAS clients greedily adapt streaming quality to maximize their own QoE, then individual client quality improves, but network resource overload occurs and other users' QoE degrades
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a base station scheduler as an intermediary between HAS clients and the network core. This scheduler mediates resource allocation by receiving scheduling requests from greedy HAS clients, evaluating network conditions and buffer states, and allocating radio resources accordingly. The mediator prevents direct greedy competition among clients while maintaining their ability to adapt quality, thus resolving the contradiction between individual QoE maximization and network resource protection.
2Adaptability or versatility
If HAS clients continuously adapt bitrate to respond to throughput variations, then they cope with network changes, but persistent bitrate oscillations occur
Solution Approach 1:
The base station scheduler performs preliminary actions by proactively allocating radio resources based on predicted network conditions and client buffer states before clients request adaptive bitrate changes. The scheduler anticipates throughput variations and pre-adjusts resource allocation, preventing reactive bitrate oscillations. This preliminary action stabilizes the system by acting ahead of the feedback loop that causes oscillations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the base station scheduler continuously monitors client buffer occupancy, throughput variations, and network load, then adjusts radio resource allocation accordingly. This closed-loop feedback controls the adaptation process, smoothing out bitrate variations by responding to buffer states rather than allowing uncontrolled oscillations from client-side greedy adaptation.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If static rate throttling is applied to limit HAS streaming bitrate, then network resource fairness improves, but quality adaptation to network load is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces static rate throttling with dynamic resource allocation. The base station scheduler continuously adjusts radio resource allocation based on real-time network load, client buffer states, and throughput conditions. This dynamic approach maintains fairness by adapting to current network状况 while preserving quality adaptation capability, as resources are allocated flexibly rather than fixed at static rates.
4Productivity
If cross-layer signaling is implemented to share application-layer information with base station scheduler, then resource allocation efficiency improves, but system complexity and coordination requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the base station scheduler to self-determine resource allocation decisions using existing network-side information about client buffer states and throughput measurements. Rather than requiring complex cross-layer signaling from application layer to network layer, the scheduler serves itself by making informed decisions based on available data, reducing signaling complexity while maintaining allocation efficiency.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
The application relates to a communication entity for transmitting a video data stream towards a user equipment (107a-c) over a communication network at a target transmission bit rate, wherein the communication entity comprises: a first scheduling instance (103) configured to determine a preliminary transmission bit rate for forwarding the video data stream towards the user equipment; and a second scheduling instance (105) configured to determine the target transmission bit rate upon the basis of the preliminary transmission bit rate and a set of video bit rates, the set of video bit rates comprising a first video bit rate and a second video bit rate, the first video bit rate being associated with a first video quality, the second video bit rate being associated with a second video quality, the first video bit rate being smaller than the second video bit rate, wherein the second scheduling instance is configured to select the preliminary transmission bit rate as the target transmission bit rate if the preliminary transmission bit rate does not exceed the first video bit rate.