Subscriber Sampling for Access Network Congestion Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing communication systems face challenges in efficiently managing network congestion due to the rapid growth in access bandwidth and traffic volumes, leading to high costs for congestion detection and mitigation, especially when all traffic is processed for flow-based solutions.
Innovation Solution
Implementing subscriber sampled congestion control that monitors a subset of subscriber devices within an access network area to detect congestion and apply targeted congestion management policies, using a combination of Layer 2-4 and Layer 7 traffic management strategies, thereby reducing the cost of congestion detection and mitigation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If flow-based congestion detection is implemented for all traffic, then congestion detection accuracy is improved, but processing cost increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the subscriber base into monitored and unmonitored subsets. A policy manager selects specific subscriber devices for congestion monitoring based on criteria such as traffic volume, service type, or subscription level. This segmentation allows the system to achieve adequate congestion detection accuracy for critical subscribers while avoiding the prohibitive cost of monitoring all traffic flows.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements partial monitoring by selecting a subset of subscriber devices rather than monitoring all traffic. The policy manager determines which subscribers to monitor based on predefined policies, ensuring that monitoring resources are allocated to the most critical or representative subscribers. This partial action approach provides sufficient congestion detection capability without the excessive cost of universal monitoring.
2Reliability
If congestion monitoring is applied to all subscriber devices, then network congestion detection reliability is improved, but system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments subscriber devices into monitored and unmonitored groups managed by a policy manager. This segmentation reduces system complexity by limiting the scope of congestion monitoring to selected subscribers while maintaining reliable congestion detection for the network as a whole through strategic selection of monitored devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The policy manager acts as an intermediary between the congestion monitoring system and subscriber devices. It receives congestion indicators from monitored subscribers, processes the information according to predefined policies, and determines appropriate congestion management actions. This intermediary layer simplifies the overall system architecture by centralizing policy decision-making.
3Reliability
If comprehensive traffic management policies are applied to all devices, then congestion mitigation effectiveness is improved, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different congestion management policies to different subscriber devices based on local conditions and requirements. The policy manager tailors congestion mitigation actions to specific monitored subscribers, applying appropriate policies such as traffic shaping, rate limiting, or priority queuing based on individual subscriber characteristics, service agreements, and current network conditions. This localized approach improves mitigation effectiveness while controlling costs.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies congestion management policies selectively to monitored subscriber devices rather than implementing comprehensive policies for all devices. This partial application of policies achieves adequate congestion mitigation for the network while significantly reducing the cost compared to universal policy enforcement.
Data Source
AI summary
Various example embodiments for supporting subscriber sampled congestion control are presented herein. Various example embodiments for supporting subscriber sampled congestion control may be configured to support subscriber sampled congestion control by triggering monitoring of a subset of subscriber devices of an access network area for detecting congestion in the access network area and triggering application of a congestion control policy for the access network area based on detection of congestion in the access network area.