Network Admission Control via Temporary Stream Observation

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Solution Overview

Problem

Existing methods for admission control in packet communication networks either fail to prevent congestion or do not guarantee the quality of service for admitted sessions, leading to underutilization of resources and potential degradation of service quality.

Innovation Solution

A method that involves an observation phase for new data streams, where packets are transmitted initially, and upon detection of congestion, the stream is rejected, thereby avoiding temporary congestion impacts on existing streams, ensuring quality of service for admitted sessions without explicit resource reservation protocols.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If explicit admission control with resource reservation is implemented, then quality of service is guaranteed for admitted sessions, but resource underutilization occurs

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvequality of service guaranteeVSAvoidresource utilization
Core Design Contradiction:
ReliabilityVSQuantity of substance

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements preliminary action by temporarily admitting new data streams before final admission decision is made. The system observes the impact of temporary admission on existing streams during an observation period, and only commits to permanent admission if no harmful congestion effects are detected. This allows the system to proactively test resource availability without permanently reserving resources upfront.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #10Preliminary action

Solution Approach 2:

The patent employs feedback mechanisms by monitoring congestion indicators (such as ECN marks) on packets belonging to existing data streams during the observation period. If congestion is detected affecting existing streams, the system uses this feedback to reject the new stream's admission request. This closed-loop feedback ensures quality of service protection while enabling dynamic resource allocation.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #23Feedback

2Quantity of substance

If implicit admission control without signaling exchange is used, then resource underutilization is reduced, but quality of service cannot be guaranteed for admitted sessions

Engineering Contradiction:
Improveresource utilizationVSAvoidquality of service guarantee
Core Design Contradiction:
Quantity of substanceVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The patent implements self-service by enabling the network infrastructure itself to perform admission control functions without requiring external signaling protocols. The network nodes autonomously monitor congestion conditions and make admission decisions based on observed packet marks, eliminating the need for separate admission control signaling exchanges while maintaining quality of service guarantees.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #25Self-service

3Loss of information

If new data streams are temporarily admitted for observation, then impact on existing streams can be assessed, but temporary congestion may occur during observation period

Engineering Contradiction:
Improvecongestion impact detection accuracyVSAvoidtemporary congestion
Core Design Contradiction:
Loss of informationVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The patent applies partial action by implementing a limited observation period rather than indefinite monitoring. The system admits new streams temporarily for a controlled duration sufficient to detect significant congestion impacts, but limits the exposure time to minimize potential harm. This balanced approach enables adequate assessment of congestion impact while constraining the window of vulnerability to temporary congestion.

Inventive Principle:
Principle #16Partial or excessive action

Data Source

PatentEP2815547B1Technique for processing a data stream between a server and a client entity
Publication Date: 2019.11.27 ORANGE SA
  • EP2815547B1 patent drawingFigure 1~2a
  • EP2815547B1 patent drawingFigure 2b~2c
  • EP2815547B1 patent drawingFigure 3~4

AI summary

The invention relates to a technique for processing a data stream between a server (40, 41) and a client entity (10, 11) in a packet communication network. The data stream consists of packets that are routed by a processing device. Upon receiving a first packet from the data stream, the processing device implements a phase for observing said data stream, during which the packets of the data stream exchanged between the server and the client entity and consecutive to the first packet are transmitted. If congestion associated with the data stream is detected, the data stream is rejected and the processing device does not transmit the packets of the data stream that were exchanged between the server and the client entity and received after the detection of the congestion.