Cross-layer pipelining for wireless roundtrip reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
In wireless mobile networks, especially 3G networks, the long and unpredictable delays due to high round trip times between user devices and remote servers lead to significant user wait times before content is displayed, necessitating a reduction in the number of required roundtrips.
Innovation Solution
Implementing an Enhanced Server side application or proxy that collects user input independently of application activation and forwards it with partially filled protocol packets, such as DNS Requests and TCP-SYN data, to minimize roundtrips by processing multi-part messages and adding location information for optimized content delivery.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of time
If traditional client-server architecture with sequential protocol operations (DNS query, TCP connection, HTTP request) is used, then protocol compatibility and reliability are maintained, but the number of roundtrips increases and user wait time increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-collecting user input and pre-establishing protocol packets (DNS queries, TCP SYN packets) before the user actually activates the application. This allows the network transmission to begin in advance, reducing the perceived wait time for the user while the application is still being launched.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the traditional sequential protocol operations into independent parallel components. Instead of waiting for DNS resolution to complete before starting TCP connection, both operations are initiated simultaneously with their own protocol packets transmitted in parallel, reducing total transaction time.
2Productivity
If multiple sequential roundtrips are performed for DNS resolution, TCP connection establishment, and HTTP requests, then protocol reliability is maintained, but the total transaction time increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple sequential protocol operations into a single parallel execution model. DNS queries, TCP connection establishment, and HTTP requests are all initiated simultaneously rather than sequentially, combining their execution time into roughly the duration of the longest single operation rather than the sum of all operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The system maintains continuous useful action by ensuring that while one protocol operation is pending, other operations are already in progress or being prepared. There is no idle waiting time between protocol stages, as each stage is overlapped with others through parallel packet transmission and processing.
3Ease of operation
If the system waits for application activation before collecting user input and initiating network requests, then application context accuracy is ensured, but user experience delay increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary component that bridges the gap between user input collection and application activation. This intermediary captures user input, preserves it in a context-aware manner, and passes it to the application once activated, allowing network operations to proceed without losing application context information.
Data Source
AI summary
Methods for pipelining, piggybacking, and transporting cross layer parameters through a network to reduce round-trip times are disclosed. Application activation, such as accessing a web-site through the internet, currently uses several protocols, including DNS Name resolution, establishing a TCP connection, sending HTTP Request and getting HTTP-Response that contains the web-page data, before the data from the web-site can be displayed to the user. Such operations take several round-trips through the transit network and are of the order of 100 to 200 milliseconds in the wireless access network in the best case. A method of generating a multi-part message to reduce these round trip is disclosed, as well as a proxy device which minimizes client side round trips while utilizing standard messaging in the wireline network. The invention includes client side user parameter gathering when specifying the application first (pre-fix), or specifying the application last (post-fix).