US8553554B2 — Method and apparatus for providing congestion con…

Claim 1

Independent Claim 94 words

A method for controlling congestion in a radio access network (RAN), comprising: detecting an indication of congestion within a packet received at a controller of the RAN, wherein the packet, when received at the controller of the RAN, includes the indication of congestion, wherein the packet is associated with a quality-of-service class; and in response to detecting the indication of congestion in the received packet, signaling congestion status information from the controller of the RAN toward a radio access node of the RAN that is adapted for applying congestion control for the quality-of-service class.

Claim 2

Independent Claim 94 words

A method for controlling congestion in a radio access network (RAN), comprising: detecting an indication of congestion within a packet received at a controller of the RAN, wherein the packet, when received at the controller of the RAN, includes the indication of congestion, wherein the packet is associated with a quality-of-service class; and in response to detecting the indication of congestion in the received packet, signaling congestion status information from the controller of the RAN toward a radio access node of the RAN that is adapted for applying congestion control for the quality-of-service class.

Claim 3

Dependent Claim 29 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication of congestion is detected based on at least one Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) bit in a header of the packet.

Claim 4

Dependent Claim 32 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein the indication of congestion detected in the received packet at the controller of the RAN is set by a router adapted for monitoring for congestion.

Claim 5

Dependent Claim 36 words

The method of claim 3 , wherein the indication of congestion is set by the router in response to detecting that an average queue size of a queue associated with the quality-of-service class satisfies a threshold.

Claim 6

Dependent Claim 25 words

The method of claim 3 , wherein the router is disposed between the controller of the RAN and the radio access node of the RAN.

Claim 7

Dependent Claim 35 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein the congestion status signaling is signaled from the controller of the RAN toward the radio access node of the RAN using an existing signaling framework of the RAN.

Claim 8

Dependent Claim 39 words

The method of claim 1 , further comprising: receiving the congestion status signaling at the radio access node of the RAN; and applying congestion control for the quality-of-service class in a manner adapted for reducing congestion in the RAN.

Claim 9

Dependent Claim 22 words

The method of claim 7 , wherein applying congestion control comprises at least one of applying flow control and applying overload control.

Claim 10

Dependent Claim 39 words

The method of claim 8 , wherein applying flow control comprises adjusting at least one flow control buffer, wherein applying overload control comprises at least one of dropping at least one packet and dropping at least one packet flow.

Claim 11

Dependent Claim 48 words

The method of claim 8 , wherein flow control is applied as long as there is sufficient buffer space at the radio access node of the RAN, and, if there is no longer sufficient buffer space at the radio access node of the RAN, overload control is applied.

Claim 12

Dependent Claim 96 words

The method of claim 7 , further comprising: identifying, at the controller of the RAN, that the indication of congestion has cleared, wherein the controller of the RAN identifies that the indication of congestion has cleared by monitoring received packets; and in response to identifying that the indication of congestion has cleared, propagating congestion status signaling from the controller of the RAN toward the radio access node of the RAN, wherein the congestion status signaling is adapted for causing the radio access node of the RAN to suspend application of congestion control for the quality-of-service class.

Claim 13

Dependent Claim 82 words

The method of claim 1 , wherein: when the RAN is a CDMA-based RAN, the controller comprises a Radio Network Controller (RNC) and the radio access node comprises a Base Station (BS); or when the RAN is a UMTS-based RAN, the controller comprises a Radio Network Controller (RNC) and the radio access node comprises a Node-B; or when the RAN is a WiMAX-based RAN, the controller comprises an Access Service Network-Gateway (ASN-GW) and the radio access node comprises a Base Station (BS).

Claim 14

Independent Claim 97 words

An apparatus for controlling congestion in a radio access network (RAN), comprising: a processor configured for: detecting an indication of congestion within a packet received at a controller of the RAN, wherein the packet, when received at the controller of the RAN, includes the indication of congestion, wherein the packet is associated with a quality-of-service class; and in response to detecting the indication of congestion in the received packet, congestion status information from the controller of the RAN toward a radio access node of the RAN that is adapted for applying congestion control for the quality-of-service class.

Claim 15

Independent Claim 97 words

An apparatus for controlling congestion in a radio access network (RAN), comprising: a processor configured for: detecting an indication of congestion within a packet received at a controller of the RAN, wherein the packet, when received at the controller of the RAN, includes the indication of congestion, wherein the packet is associated with a quality-of-service class; and in response to detecting the indication of congestion in the received packet, congestion status information from the controller of the RAN toward a radio access node of the RAN that is adapted for applying congestion control for the quality-of-service class.

Claim 16

Independent Claim 157 words

A method for controlling congestion in a radio access network (RAN), comprising: receiving, at a radio access node of the RAN, a packet associated with a quality-of-service class; propagating the packet from the radio access node toward a controller of the RAN via a path comprising a router; receiving congestion status signaling indicative of a congestion condition associated with the quality-of-service class, wherein the congestion status signaling is received at the radio access node from the controller, the congestion status signaling being received responsive to detection by the controller of an indication of congestion included within the packet when the packet is received at the controller, the indication of congestion being marked in the packet by the router in response to detecting congestion associated with the quality-of-service class at the router; and applying congestion control for the quality-of-service class at the radio access node in response to receiving the congestion status signaling indicative of the congestion condition.

Claim 17

Independent Claim 157 words

A method for controlling congestion in a radio access network (RAN), comprising: receiving, at a radio access node of the RAN, a packet associated with a quality-of-service class; propagating the packet from the radio access node toward a controller of the RAN via a path comprising a router; receiving congestion status signaling indicative of a congestion condition associated with the quality-of-service class, wherein the congestion status signaling is received at the radio access node from the controller, the congestion status signaling being received responsive to detection by the controller of an indication of congestion included within the packet when the packet is received at the controller, the indication of congestion being marked in the packet by the router in response to detecting congestion associated with the quality-of-service class at the router; and applying congestion control for the quality-of-service class at the radio access node in response to receiving the congestion status signaling indicative of the congestion condition.

Claim 18

Dependent Claim 29 words

The method of claim 14 , wherein the indication of congestion included within the packet comprises an Explicit Congestion Notification (ECN) bit set in a header of the packet.

Claim 19

Dependent Claim 39 words

The method of claim 14 , wherein the indication of congestion is marked by the router in the packet in response to detecting that an average queue size of a queue associated with the quality-of-service class satisfies a threshold.

Claim 20

Dependent Claim 36 words

The method of claim 14 , wherein the congestion status signaling received at the radio access node of the RAN is received from the controller of the RAN via an existing signaling framework of the RAN.

Claim 21

Dependent Claim 22 words

The method of claim 14 , wherein applying congestion control comprises at least one of applying flow control and applying overload control.

Claim 22

Dependent Claim 39 words

The method of claim 18 , wherein applying flow control comprises adjusting at least one flow control buffer, wherein applying overload control comprises at least one of dropping at least one packet and dropping at least one packet flow.

Claim 23

Dependent Claim 48 words

The method of claim 18 , wherein flow control is applied as long as there is sufficient buffer space at the radio access node of the RAN, and, if there is no longer sufficient buffer space at the radio access node of the RAN, overload control is applied.

Claim 24

Dependent Claim 63 words

The method of claim 14 , further comprising: receiving, at the radio access node of the RAN, from the controller of the RAN, congestion status signaling indicative that the congestion condition associated with the quality-of-service class has cleared; and suspending application of congestion control for the quality-of-service class in response to receiving the congestion status signaling indicative that the congestion condition has cleared.

Claim 25

Dependent Claim 82 words

The method of claim 14 , wherein: when the RAN is a CDMA-based RAN, the controller comprises a Radio Network Controller (RNC) and the radio access node comprises a Base Station (BS); or when the RAN is a UMTS-based RAN, the controller comprises a Radio Network Controller (RNC) and the radio access node comprises a Node-B; or when the RAN is a WiMAX-based RAN, the controller comprises an Access Service Network-Gateway (ASN-GW) and the radio access node comprises a Base Station (BS).

Claim 26

Independent Claim 161 words

An apparatus for controlling congestion in a radio access network (RAN), comprising: a processor configured to: receive, at a radio access node of the RAN, a packet associated with a Quality-of-service class; propagate the packet from the radio access node toward a controller of the RAN via a path comprising a router; receive congestion status signaling indicative of a congestion condition associated with the quality-of-service class, wherein the congestion status signaling is received at the radio access node from the controller, the congestion status signaling being received responsive to detection by the controller of an indication of congestion included within the packet when the packet is received at the controller, the indication of congestion being marked in the packet by the router in response to detecting congestion associated with the quality-of-service class at the router; and apply congestion control for the quality-of-service class at the radio access node in response to receiving the congestion status signaling indicative of the congestion condition.

Claim 27

Independent Claim 161 words

An apparatus for controlling congestion in a radio access network (RAN), comprising: a processor configured to: receive, at a radio access node of the RAN, a packet associated with a Quality-of-service class; propagate the packet from the radio access node toward a controller of the RAN via a path comprising a router; receive congestion status signaling indicative of a congestion condition associated with the quality-of-service class, wherein the congestion status signaling is received at the radio access node from the controller, the congestion status signaling being received responsive to detection by the controller of an indication of congestion included within the packet when the packet is received at the controller, the indication of congestion being marked in the packet by the router in response to detecting congestion associated with the quality-of-service class at the router; and apply congestion control for the quality-of-service class at the radio access node in response to receiving the congestion status signaling indicative of the congestion condition.

Annuity Stage	Window Opens	Payment Deadline	Surcharge Period Until	Estimated Fee	Status
3.5 Years (Year 4)	2016-10-07	2017-04-08	2017-10-08	$2000.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8)	2020-10-07	2021-04-08	2021-10-08	$3760.00	Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12)	2024-10-07	2025-04-08	2025-10-08	$7700.00	Window Closed / Lapsed

Method and apparatus for providing congestion control in radio access networks

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