Group Traffic Rate Control for Cable Modem Networks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current cable network traffic regulation is limited to per-CMTS or service flow basis, failing to effectively manage traffic rates for groups of cable modems, leading to potential service disruptions and inefficiencies in bandwidth allocation.
Innovation Solution
Implementing a network device with a processor that assigns user devices to groups and monitors traffic to control group traffic rates, allowing for per-group aggregate limitation by using configuration files to define group parameters and manage requests within established traffic limits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If traffic regulation is done on a per-CMTS or service flow basis, then implementation is simple, but traffic management granularity is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the network traffic management by introducing group-level abstraction between CMTS and individual cable modems. Service flows are grouped into traffic categories (e.g., premium, basic, business) with distinct rate limits. This segmentation enables fine-grained traffic regulation without requiring complex per-flow management at the CMTS level, as the group-level policy enforcement simplifies the overall regulation architecture.
2Productivity
If group traffic rate limitation is implemented, then bandwidth allocation efficiency improves, but processing overhead increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by pre-defining group traffic rates and categories during system configuration. Configuration files contain pre-established group definitions, traffic category mappings, and rate limits that are loaded before runtime. This allows the CMTS to enforce traffic regulation by simple category matching and rate checking rather than performing complex real-time calculations, significantly reducing per-packet processing overhead while maintaining efficient bandwidth allocation.
3Reliability
If per-group aggregate limitation is enforced, then service quality fairness improves, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces configuration files as an intermediary layer between network policy definition and enforcement. These files serve as a mediator that translates high-level service quality requirements into concrete group definitions and rate limits. The CMTS reads and enforces policies from these standardized configuration files, which decouples the complexity of policy management from the enforcement mechanism. This intermediary approach ensures service quality fairness through consistent group-based limitation while keeping the system complexity manageable through standardized configuration rather than complex runtime decision-making.
Data Source
AI summary
A network device has a port to allow the device to communicate with user devices. The network device also has a processor to assign any user devices in communication with the device to a group. The processor also monitors traffic of the user devices so as to control a traffic rate of the group.