Transparent Proxy Multi-Homing for WiFi QoS
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Solution Overview
Problem
WiFi connectivity remains a performance bottleneck due to varying channel quality, interference, and lack of guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS), leading to unpredictable performance despite existing mechanisms failing to adequately compensate for these issues.
Innovation Solution
A transparent proxy system operating at the transport layer that intercepts connections between devices and servers, establishes multiple connections using different types, allocates and forwards data blocks to ensure Quality of Service (QoS) and abstracts away rate fluctuations, implementing rate reservation, traffic splitting, congestion management, and airtime-based forwarding to prioritize sessions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If WiFi is used as the primary connectivity medium, then wide consumer adoption and accessibility are achieved, but performance reliability and Quality of Service guarantees deteriorate due to channel variability and interference
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a transport layer proxy as an intermediary between the application and the WiFi network. This proxy establishes multiple parallel connections through different paths (WiFi, cellular, Ethernet) and manages traffic routing, thereby mediating between the unreliable WiFi connection and the application's need for reliable QoS. The proxy acts as a buffer that can switch between different transport media to maintain connection stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system dynamically changes connection parameters by establishing multiple connections with different characteristics (different transport media, different paths). The proxy can adjust which connection is active based on current network conditions, changing parameters such as bandwidth allocation, latency tolerance, and connection priority to adapt to varying WiFi quality while maintaining overall reliability.
2Ease of operation
If existing QoS prioritization mechanisms are implemented at the router level, then session prioritization capability is provided, but guaranteed Quality of Service still deteriorates due to inability to compensate for link layer unreliability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent moves QoS management from the network layer (router level) to the transport layer (proxy level), adding a new dimension to QoS control. Instead of merely prioritizing traffic at the router, the proxy establishes multiple parallel connections through different transport media, creating an additional dimensional approach to ensuring QoS by diversifying the physical paths available for data transmission.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary actions by pre-establishing multiple backup connections through different transport media before the WiFi connection fails. The proxy proactively creates alternative paths (cellular, Ethernet) in advance, so when WiFi degradation occurs, the system can immediately switch to pre-prepared alternative connections rather than reacting to failures.
3Reliability
If multiple connections through different transport media are established, then connection reliability and QoS guarantees are improved, but system complexity increases due to need for connection management
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the complexity of multi-connection management from the end device and places it in a dedicated transport layer proxy. The proxy handles all the complexity of establishing, maintaining, and switching between multiple connections through different transport media, while the end device simply communicates with the proxy as if it were a single connection. This extracts the management burden from the user's device.
Solution Approach 2:
The transport layer proxy implements self-service by automatically managing the multiple connections without requiring user intervention. The proxy autonomously monitors connection quality, switches between available transport media, and manages data routing across multiple paths, thereby providing self-service connection management that reduces the perceived complexity for the user.
4Reliability
If link layer retransmissions are used to compensate for unreliable WiFi, then error correction is achieved, but throughput and goodput deteriorate due to retransmission overhead
Solution Approach 1:
The transport layer proxy acts as an intermediary that prevents link layer retransmissions from degrading throughput. By establishing connections through multiple reliable transport media, the proxy reduces the need for retransmissions on the unreliable WiFi link. The proxy buffers and reassembles data, mediating between the unreliable physical layer and the transport layer applications, thereby eliminating the throughput penalty associated with retransmissions.
Data Source
AI summary
Mechanisms for providing multi-homing, comprising: a memory device; and at least one hardware processor coupled to the memory device and configured to: intercept a connection between a device and a server using a proxy; establish a first connection between the device and the proxy; create multiple second connections between the proxy and the server, wherein at least two of the multiple second connections use different connection types; receive a request for blocks of data from the device using the first connection; allocate the blocks of data across the multiple second connections; request the blocks of data from the server using the multiple second connections as allocated; receive the blocks of data from the server using the multiple second connections; and forward the blocks of data to the device using the first connection.