QoE Estimation for Secured Multimedia Transactions
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Solution Overview
Problem
The encryption of multimedia content in cellular wireless networks affects the measurement of Quality of Experience (QoE) parameters, which in turn hampers the implementation of effective traffic management techniques, such as throttling and optimization, due to the inability to decipher encrypted client requests and server responses.
Innovation Solution
An adaptive traffic management system that includes a QoE parameter estimator, capable of detecting quality level variations and estimating QoE parameters by identifying and processing video and audio transactions, even in secured transactions, to optimize multimedia content delivery and manage network congestion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multimedia content is encrypted using SSL or TLS protocols, then security and confidentiality of data transmission are improved, but the ability to measure QoE parameters and implement traffic management techniques deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an intermediary system that sits between the encrypted content delivery and the measurement process. This intermediary captures and analyzes metadata, packet characteristics, and protocol handshakes without decrypting the actual content, enabling QoE measurement while preserving encryption security.
Solution Approach 2:
The system measures QoE parameters by observing changes in transmission parameters such as packet size, transmission timing, protocol handshake characteristics, and bandwidth consumption patterns rather than attempting to measure content quality directly, which would require decryption.
2Productivity
If encrypted transactions are monitored to measure QoE parameters, then traffic management capability is improved, but system complexity increases due to the need to analyze encrypted data streams
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the necessary measurement information from encrypted data streams by analyzing metadata, packet headers, and protocol characteristics rather than attempting to process or decrypt the entire data stream, thereby reducing system complexity while maintaining traffic management capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates simplified copies or representations of the encrypted traffic characteristics (such as packet size patterns, timing intervals, and protocol state machines) that can be analyzed for QoE measurement without requiring complex decryption capabilities.
3Measurement precision
If all transactions are processed to ensure accurate QoE measurement, then measurement completeness is improved, but processing time and computational resources increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies partial action by selectively monitoring only the essential transaction characteristics and metadata needed for QoE measurement rather than processing every byte of encrypted data, achieving sufficient measurement completeness with reduced processing overhead.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary analysis of transaction patterns, packet sizes, and protocol characteristics early in the data stream to identify and focus computational resources on the most relevant segments for QoE measurement, reducing overall processing time.
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus is provided for estimating one or more quality of experience (QoE) parameters associated with a specific terminal. The apparatus includes a traffic processor configured to acquire a plurality of transactions for providing multimedia content to a specific terminal. At least one of such transactions is a secured transaction. The apparatus further includes a QoE parameter estimator configured to detect a quality level variation event based on the transactions and the sizes of the transactions, and to estimate one or more QoE parameters based on the detection of the quality level variation event.