Overlay Packet Scheduler for UMTS HSPA Handover Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current mobile network architectures face inefficiencies in packet scheduling and delivery, particularly when mobile devices move between network domains, leading to packet drops and inefficiencies that increase with the distance of the handover point from the source network, as existing protocols operate at the packet transport level and do not account for user-level sessions or network congestion.
Innovation Solution
An overlay scheduler is introduced as a software component that operates in the Radio Access Network (RAN) or Core Network, monitoring recent bandwidth and buffer occupancy to optimize packet scheduling, balancing cell throughput and fairness across users by adjusting transmission timing and rates, and prioritizing packets based on CQI, user category, and application type.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If packets are buffered and scheduled at the transport level in prior-art networks, then network infrastructure can handle increasing data traffic, but packet drops increase and efficiency decreases when mobile devices move between network domains
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a proxy device as an intermediary component deployed in the radio access network that terminates TCP sessions and buffers packets at the application layer. This intermediary captures packets before they are lost during handover, holding them until the mobile device is ready to receive, thereby preventing packet drops while maintaining network efficiency
Solution Approach 2:
The proxy device performs preliminary buffering of packets destined for mobile devices before handover occurs. By anticipating potential handover events and pre-buffering packets at the proxy, the system prepares for packet delivery in advance, ensuring packets are available when the device reconnects, thus improving reliability without compromising network productivity
2Productivity
If TCP protocols are used to optimize packet delivery for specific user sessions, then session throughput is maximized, but network congestion points cannot be effectively managed
Solution Approach 1:
The proxy device implements feedback mechanisms by monitoring network conditions, buffer occupancy levels, and handover events. Based on this feedback, the proxy dynamically adjusts packet buffering and scheduling decisions, balancing individual session throughput optimization with overall network congestion management, thus achieving both goals simultaneously
3Adaptability or versatility
If handover protocols operate at the transport level, then mobile devices can move between base transmitter stations, but packets are lost during the transition
Solution Approach 1:
The proxy device serves as an intermediary that intercepts and buffers packets during handover transitions. By terminating TCP sessions at the proxy and holding packets in buffers, the system maintains packet delivery reliability during mobility events, as packets are preserved until the mobile device successfully completes handover and is ready to receive data
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary packet buffering at the proxy device before handover completion. Packets are captured and held in advance of the actual data transmission need, ensuring that when the mobile device completes handover, packets are already buffered and ready for immediate delivery, thus preventing loss during the transition while maintaining mobility
Data Source
AI summary
A method of generating optimal packet workload for achieving a balance between maximizing cell throughput and fairness across multiple users in UMTS/HSPA Network is disclosed. The packet scheduler of the current invention enhances the performance of other schedulers, such as Proportionally Fair Scheduler in NodeB and RNC in UMTS/HSPA Networks by monitoring recent RAN bandwidth to each mobile device, and increasing buffer occupancy of high rate data-flows in the RAN devices. The scheduler uses the desired performance goals of maximum cell throughput and fairness at various network congestion levels, and controls egress burst rate while delivering packets to the RAN (Radio Access Network).