Central Resource Manager Allocating BMS Bearers

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current Broadcast/Multicast Service (BMS) capable systems, such as LTE, face limitations in media transport mechanisms, particularly in supporting stringent requirements for point-to-multipoint transport, which hinders their adoption for organizations needing similar performance to legacy systems.

Innovation Solution

A central resource manager in a BMS capable system partitions the radio access network into BMS service areas and establishes a total number of BMS bearers, allocating a portion to local call controllers for local management and reserving another portion in a shared pool for dynamic allocation, allowing for efficient management and allocation of BMS bearers across multiple communication groups.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Productivity

If BMS bearers are pre-established and partitioned into local and shared pools, then bearer allocation flexibility and media transport efficiency are improved, but system complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvemedia transport efficiencyVSAvoidsystem complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
ProductivityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The total pool of BMS bearers is segmented into two distinct subsets: a local pool managed by each local call controller and a shared pool managed by the central resource manager. This segmentation allows local controllers to efficiently allocate bearers from their local pool while the shared pool provides additional resources when needed, improving overall media transport efficiency without requiring complete centralization of bearer management

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The central resource manager acts as an intermediary between local call controllers and the shared pool of BMS bearers. It receives requests from local controllers when local pools are insufficient, allocates additional bearers from the shared pool, and manages the overall bearer distribution. This intermediary role coordinates resource allocation across the system, improving flexibility and efficiency while distributing management responsibilities

Inventive Principle:
Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If a central resource manager allocates BMS bearers to multiple local call controllers, then resource utilization across service areas is improved, but control and management complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource utilizationVSAvoidcontrol and management complexity
Core Design Contradiction:
Adaptability or versatilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The system segments bearer management responsibilities by creating local pools assigned to each local call controller. Each controller independently manages its local pool, making allocation decisions without constant central intervention. This segmentation improves resource utilization across service areas while reducing the control complexity at any single point in the system

Inventive Principle:
Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

BMS bearers are pre-established and pre-partitioned into local and shared pools before actual media transport needs arise. Local call controllers are pre-configured with their local pools, enabling them to quickly allocate bearers when media transport requests occur. This preliminary setup improves response time and resource utilization while simplifying real-time control decisions

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentEP2756732B1Methods for managing at least one broadcast/multicast service bearer
Publication Date: 2019.06.05 MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS INC
  • EP2756732B1 patent drawingFigure 1
  • EP2756732B1 patent drawingFigure 2
  • EP2756732B1 patent drawingFigure 3

AI summary

A central resource manager (102) is communicatively coupled to a broadcast/multicast service (BMS) capable system (100) that includes a radio access network (134) having at least one BMS service area (126-132) and a total number of BMS bearers for transporting media streams. Each BMS service area has associated therewith a portion of the total number of BMS bearers. The central resource manager allocates, to a first local call controller (170) of multiple local call controllers (170, 180), a first portion of the total number of BMS bearers to be managed locally by the first local call controller, and identifies the first portion of the total number of BMS bearer to the first local call controller. The central resource manager also manages a second portion of the total number of BMS bearers for a subsequent allocation to at least one local call controller (170, 180) of the multiple local call controllers.