CA2447919A1 - Seamless communications through optimal networks - Google Patents
Seamless communications through optimal networks Download PDFInfo
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- CA2447919A1 CA2447919A1 CA002447919A CA2447919A CA2447919A1 CA 2447919 A1 CA2447919 A1 CA 2447919A1 CA 002447919 A CA002447919 A CA 002447919A CA 2447919 A CA2447919 A CA 2447919A CA 2447919 A1 CA2447919 A1 CA 2447919A1
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- 230000006854 communication Effects 0.000 title claims abstract description 63
- 230000005540 biological transmission Effects 0.000 claims description 29
- 238000005457 optimization Methods 0.000 claims description 17
- 238000000034 method Methods 0.000 claims description 10
- 230000008569 process Effects 0.000 claims description 3
- 238000007726 management method Methods 0.000 description 11
- 230000001413 cellular effect Effects 0.000 description 9
- 230000007246 mechanism Effects 0.000 description 4
- 230000004044 response Effects 0.000 description 4
- 238000010586 diagram Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000001228 spectrum Methods 0.000 description 3
- 239000000872 buffer Substances 0.000 description 2
- VJYFKVYYMZPMAB-UHFFFAOYSA-N ethoprophos Chemical compound CCCSP(=O)(OCC)SCCC VJYFKVYYMZPMAB-UHFFFAOYSA-N 0.000 description 2
- 230000003068 static effect Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000007704 transition Effects 0.000 description 2
- 230000007175 bidirectional communication Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000002457 bidirectional effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 239000003795 chemical substances by application Substances 0.000 description 1
- 230000003111 delayed effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000001419 dependent effect Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000006870 function Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000006855 networking Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000011664 signaling Effects 0.000 description 1
- 230000005236 sound signal Effects 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
- H04W48/00—Access restriction; Network selection; Access point selection
- H04W48/18—Selecting a network or a communication service
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/28—Data switching networks characterised by path configuration, e.g. LAN [Local Area Networks] or WAN [Wide Area Networks]
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L12/00—Data switching networks
- H04L12/54—Store-and-forward switching systems
- H04L12/56—Packet switching systems
- H04L12/5691—Access to open networks; Ingress point selection, e.g. ISP selection
- H04L12/5692—Selection among different networks
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04L—TRANSMISSION OF DIGITAL INFORMATION, e.g. TELEGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION
- H04L69/00—Network arrangements, protocols or services independent of the application payload and not provided for in the other groups of this subclass
- H04L69/14—Multichannel or multilink protocols
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H04—ELECTRIC COMMUNICATION TECHNIQUE
- H04W—WIRELESS COMMUNICATION NETWORKS
- H04W24/00—Supervisory, monitoring or testing arrangements
- H04W24/02—Arrangements for optimising operational condition
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Computer Networks & Wireless Communication (AREA)
- Signal Processing (AREA)
- Computer Security & Cryptography (AREA)
- Data Exchanges In Wide-Area Networks (AREA)
- Mobile Radio Communication Systems (AREA)
Abstract
A communication system for communicating via the Internet, includes a portable communications device, and a plurality of networks interconnecting, at least occasionally, the internet with the portable communications device. An intelligent content server is also interconnected to the Internet. A network management entity, is interconnected to the intelligent content server, and chooses which network is to be used for communicating between the intelligent content server and the portable communications device.
Description
2 Field of the Invention 3 The present invention relates generally to mobile 4 communications platforms and more specifically to communications optimization using an intelligent network 6 selection.
7 Background of the Invention 8 Mobile or cellular telephone devices are configured 9 to communicate with a plurality of antennas, either ground or satellite based, which are ultimately connected 11 to the traditional telephone system. Regardless of the 12 specific path used there is a direct link between the 13 cellular telephone and the telephone system communication 14 network. Digital cellular telephone devices are further capable of transmitting to and receiving digital data 16 from a digital data network, such as the Internet, with 17 which the telephone system is interconnected. Such 18 devices have been termed personal communications systems 19 (PCS) devices. Such enhanced PCS devices can request, receive and display information from the Internet such as 21 maps, e-mail, text, web pages, audio and video files.
22 One problem associated with such enhanced 23 capabilities is the bandwidth required to transmit such 24 large volumes of data. Problems with scheduling and routing of data transmissions, as well as inefficient 26 allocation of data transmission capacity, are present in 27 many existing data communications networks. For example, 28 the global interconnection of computer networks known as 29 the Internet routes data packets with the anticipation 30 that the packets will eventually be delivered to the 31 intended receiver but it is not uncommon for packets to 32 be lost or delayed during transmission. Further, the 33 Internet does not differentiate between different types 34 of data being transmitted.
35 Data packets requiring delivery within a certain 36 time frame such as real time audio or video 37 communications receive no preference in transmission 38 over packets that generally do not require a particular 39 time of delivery, such as electronic mail. Data packets 40 carrying important information in which packet loss 41 cannot be tolerated, such as medical images, receive no 4~ greater priority than other data packets. Because all 43 data packets are viewed as equally important in terms of 44 allocating transmission resources, less critical 45 transmissions such as e-mail may serve to delay or 46 displace more important and time sensitive data.
47 Capacity for data transmission in existing data 48 communications networks is often inefficiently allocated.
49 In some instances transmission capacity or bandwidth is 50 allocated to a particular user according to a fixed 51 schedule or particular network architecture, but the 52 available bandwidth is not actually used. In other 53 instances, a user is precluded from transmitting a burst 54 of data that, for the moment, exceeds the user's 55 bandwidth allocation. Existing data communications 56 networks often lack mechanisms whereby bandwidth may be 57 allocated on demand.
58 The current cellular telephone system uses 59 relatively low bandwidth signaling techniques on the 60 order of fifty kilobits per second. Graphical 61 information such as maps and pictures require relatively 62 wide bandwidths in order to achieve reasonable response 63 times. Video and audio files require even higher 64 bandwidths for adequate response times. With limited 65 spectrum resources, the cost of bandwidth on a relatively 66 narrow band network can be high.
67 Current television signal broadcasting systems 68 provide relatively wide bandwidth capability on the order 69 of twenty megabits per second for each six megahertz 70 wide television channel. Terrestrial frequency bands in 71 the United States include almost four hundred megahertz 72 of available spectrum. Terrestrial broadcast channels 73 typically have a reception radius of approximately 74 seventy miles, dependent largely on local terrain.
75 Direct digital satellite television broadcasting 76 systems can also provide digital channels which can be 77 used for digital information transmission. An example of 78 such a system is disclosed in United States Patent No.
79 6,366,761, entitled PRIORITY BASED BANDWIDTH ALLOCATION
81 DATA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORD, issued on April 2, 2002 to 82 Montpetit. Digital data from these channels are 83 receivable over a much wider area typically including 84 tens of thousands of square miles. These channels are 85 not completely used. Thus there is a vast amount of 86 unused television broadcast spectrum available for other 87 uses.
88 Some data which will be requested by a user of a PCS
89 device will be unique to that user, such as an e-mail 90 addressed only to that user. Other data will be of 91 simultaneous interest to a large number of users, such 92 as weather data or stock market quotations. Other 93 information will be of widespread simultaneous interest 94 only at certain times, such as IRS tax forms during the 95 second week of April. The Internet and the associated IP
96 protocols will be expected to enable the increasing 97 demand for data. Network connectivity can be established 98 through a variety of means including connecting to a °
99 broadband modem (cable, DSL or satellite) through wired 100 or wireless means, or by connecting to a nomadic network 101 such as offered by wireless LAN standards, or by 102 connecting to a mobile network. Current bandwidth for 103 cellular telephone devices is barely sufficient to 104 provide unique information to a particular PCS device as 105 such information is requested, and more efficient methods 106 of accessing the appropriate network for the bandwidth 107 actually needed must be found if all of the available 108 bandwidth is not to become exhausted by the increasing 109 number of users.
110 Within a single network the mechanism or protocol 111 needed to connect to that network in order to obtain a 112 range of services is a straightforward problem with known 113 solutions. However, when one must traverse between 114 different networks the problem of making a seamless 115 transition is substantial. For example, in second 116 generation cellular networks it is often possible to 117 connect to a different network on a per session basis.
118 Unfortunately, the possibility of optimizing 119 bandwidth at the packet level is not available because 120 the mechanism for communicating across networks has no 121 common protocol layer. In the Internet, the commonly 122 used protocol is termed IPv4 which has a set of tools 123 that enables mobility management. These set of protocols 124 are termed Mobile IP protocols. Several enhancements 125 to the IPv4 protocols have resulted in a second 126 generation termed IPv6, Tn addition to an expanded 127 address space of 128 bits instead of the 32 bits used by 128 IPv4, there are several features that enable better 129 mobility management. Mobility can be managed by using 130 the static IP addressing schemes in IPv6. In IPv4, due 131 to the scarcity of address space, dynamic and local IP
132 address assignment is often used. The efficiency of 133 address management is expected to be better in IPv6 which 134 will result in better service overall. An example of a 135 mobile system using IPv6 is disclosed in United States 136 Patent No. 6,172,986, entitled MOBILE NODE, MOBILE AGENT
137 AND NETW~RK SYSTEM, issued to Watanuki et al. on January 138 9, 2001.
139 Data requested by the user may be of a time critical 140 nature and need to be delivered with strict time 141 constraints. Alternatively, data may also be downloaded 142 with less severe time constraints. The former calls for 143 Quality of Service (QoS) constraints that need to be 144 supported by the network. The latter is the typical 145 download model for Internet content and is termed a best-146 effort delivery. Finally, data may also be delivered 147 with a time delay. Examples could include music or 148 multimedia which the user wishes to view at a later time.
149 This category represents the most flexibility afforded 150 from a network optimization and usage viewpoint.
151 Given the existence of the many networks, bandwidths 152 and accessibility variables briefly alluded to in the 153 foregoing, a need exists for a mechanism that allows the 154 user to seamlessly roam or transition between these 155 networks, based on a calculation of the needed bandwidth, 156 message priority, and bandwidth cost, such that the 157 minimum required bandwidth at the lowest cost is always 158 selected.
159 Summary of the Invention 160 In accordance with the principles of the present 161 invention, a communication system for communicating via 162 the Internet, includes a portable communications device, 163 and a plurality of networks interconnecting, at least 164 occasionally, the Internet with the portable 165 communications device. An intelligent content server is 166 also interconnected to the Internet. A network 167 management entity, is interconnected to the intelligent 168 content server, and chooses which network is to be used 169 efor communicating between the intelligent content server 170 and the portable communications device.
171 In such a communications system, the problem of 172 optimizing network selection by choosing the most cost 173 effective available bandwidth is addressed by 174 implementing the portable communications device as a 175 portable intelligent multiple network platform. The 176 platform includes multiple front end interfaces, with 177 each interface corresponding to a type of available 178 network, such as a home network interface, broadcast 179 network interface, nomadic network interface and a mobile 180 network interface. The home network interface is 181 typically plugged into a broadband modem, while the other 182 interfaces utilize an antenna terminal to perform 183 wireless communications.
184 Within the platform each network interface is 185 interconnected to a network data processing layer capable 186 of transmitting and receiving data via either the IPv4 or 187 IPv~ protocol. For large files requiring substantial 188 bandwidths, such as multimedia applications, the network 189 data processing layer is interconnected to a discrete 190 backend applications processor which processes and 291 buffers the data stream.
292 Each network interface transmits to and receives 193 data from a base station or network termination dedicated 194 to that particular type of network. In turn, each such 195 base station or termination has an appropriate connection 196 to the Internet. Also connected to the Tnternet is an 197 intelligent content server which is interconnected to a 198 network management entity. In order for the intelligent 199 content server to communicate with the portable 200 intelligent multiple network platform, the platform 201 registers into any of the available networks through any 202 physical layer having a return channel.
203 The platform can function with the existing mobile 204 IPv4 protocols or can use the static IPv6 global 205 addressing scheme. The platform communicates with the 206 intelligent content server and informs the server of its 207 current IP address and its current specific multi-208 networking capabilities. The intelligent network 209 management entity chooses the appropriate network to use 210 for each packet which is to be transmitted or received 211 based on optimizing criteria such as priority, desired 212 transmission quality, required bandwidth and cost.
213 When the portable platform leaves the current 214 network within which it is operating (typically due to 215 physically travelling beyond the range of the current 216 network), the portable platform automatically searches 217 for and tries to connect to the next best (based on the 218 optimization criteria) network. When a new connection is 219 successfully accomplished, the portable platform sends 220 information to the network management entity regarding 221 its current connection. In response to this information, 222 the intelligent network management entity routes 223 subsequent packets through the newer optimum network 224 route. This process can be managed at either a per-225 packet or per-session level.
226 Brief Description of the Drawings 227 Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating portable 228 ~ communications network selection optimizing system 229 according to the principles of the present invention; and 230 Figure 2 is a block diagram of a personal 231 communications system device according to the principles 232 of the present invention, which may be used in the system 233 as illustrated in Figure 1.
234 Detailed Description of the Invention 235 Figure 1 is a block diagram of a mobile 236 communications system including a multiple network 237 portable platform 10 which is capable of bidirectional 238 transmission and reception with either a broadband modem 239 12 or with any of a plurality of wireless communications 240 networks via antennas 122, 126 and 128. In practice the 241 antennas 122, 126 and 128 may be a single physical 242 antenna with appropriate matching networks or it may be 243 one or more antennas in close physical proximity. The 244 antenna 122, for example, is responsive to digital 245 cellular telephone signals from, for instance, a cellular 246 telephone mobile network termination or base station 22.
247 The antenna 122 is bidirectionally coupled to a mobile 248 interface circuit 120.
249 As also seen in Figure 2, the mobile interface 250 circuit 120 is coupled to a direct data input terminal of 251 a microprocessor 118. A direct data output terminal of 252 the microprocessor (~.P) 118 is coupled to an input 253 terminal of the mobile interface 120. An audio output 254 terminal of the microprocessor 118 is coupled to an input 255 terminal of the speaker 114. An output terminal of a 256 microphone 112 is coupled to an audio input terminal of 257 the microprocessor 118. An output terminal of a keypad 258 116 is coupled to a control input terminal of the 259 microprocessor 118.
260 The microprocessor operates in a known manner under 261 the control of an application program stored in memory 262 such as a Read Only Memory (ROM) in the microprocessor 263 118. In particular, the microprocessor is programmed to 264 operate as a data processing layer 130 utilizing the both 265 the current Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) and the 266 still developing next generation Internet Protocol 267 version 6 (IPv6). The layer 130 may include a duality of 268 Service (QoS) program as is well known to those of 269 ordinary skill in this field.
270 The microprocessor 118 also includes a backend 271 applications processor 14 which is capable of 272 bidirectional communication with the Internet Protocol 273 layer 130. The processor 14 serves as a buffer and 274 decoder for data received by microprocessor 218, and is 275 particularly useful for processing data having a 276 multimedia content such as audio and video files. The 277 backend processor 14 may also be a discrete circuit or 278 combination of integrated circuits that are external to 279 the microprocessor 118 but which are still mounted on the 280 multiple network portable platform 10.
281 The platform 10, as described above, operates in a 282 known manner to allow user to make telephone calls.
a 283 The user manipulates the keys on the keypad 116 to 284 instruct the microproces sor 118 to cause the mobile 285 interface circuit 120 connect to an external network, to 286 such as the Internet 30, or a mobile telephone 287 communications network ia the mobile base station 22.
v 288 The keypad 116 generates dialing tones specifying the 289 desired telephone number or instructional code.
290 Alternatively, signals may be received from the Internet 291 30 or from the cellular telephone network indicating that 292 someone is attempting call the portable platform 10.
to 293 In response to these signals, the microprocessor 118 294 conditions the mobile interface circuit 120 to connect to 295 the network and complete the call.
296 In either event, signals representing spoken 297 information from the microphone 112 are digitized by the 298 microprocessor 118, and the digitized signal is 299 transmitted through the mobile interface 120 and the 300 antenna 122 to the mobile network base station 22.
301 Simultaneously, signals received by the antenna 122 from 302 the base station 22, and representing received digitized 303 speech information from the other party, are received by 304 the mobile interface 120, converted to a sound signal by 305 the microprocessor 118 and supplied to the speaker 114.
306 As described above, the multiple network platform 10 307 also provides the capability of requesting and receiving 308 information from a computer, typically via the Internet.
309 Data representing requested information may be generated 310 by the user from the keypad 116, which may have more keys 311 than illustrated in Figure 2. The information request 312 is supplied by the microprocessor 118 to any of the 313 network interfaces available on the network platform 10.
314 For example, the platform 10 may include not only a 315 mobile interface 120, but also a home network interface 316 110, a nomadic network interface 16, and a broadcast 317 network interface 18. Depending on which network is 318 available for use, the information request is transferred 319 to either a broadband modem 12 or one of the antennas 320 122, 126 or 128.
321 Regardless of the network in use at a particular 322 time, the information request is transmitted to the 323 Internet 30. Also supplied by the common layer 130 is a 324 status report regarding which of the network interfaces 325 16, 18, 110 and 120 is currently in communication with 326 its associated network. Each of these networks will have 327 unique characteristics associated with its particular 328 network path. These characteristics will include the 329' bandwidth of the network path, the monetary cost of using 330 the network, the data transmission speed available, the 331 quality and reliability of the network, the geographic 332 coverage of the network and the type of data best suited 333 for transmission via the particular network path. By 334 transmitting the current universe of network 335 availability, a recipient may be able to select the most 336 appropriate network for transmission of return data.
337 The information transmitted by platform 10 to the 338 Internet 30 will be received by a erver machine such s as 339 intelligent content server 27 which contains the 340 information desired by the user of the portable platform 341 10. Interconnected to the content server 27 is a network 342 management entity 26 which receives the network 343 availability or status report from platform 10. The 344 management entity 26 is programmed to optimize the 345 selection of the network via which its associated content 346 server 27 will transmit and receive data to and from the 347 platform 10.
348 There exist two possible modes of transmitting the 349 desired information from the server 27. The first mode 350 is a unicast mode in which the server's data is intended 351 only for a specific user's platform 10. The second 352 possible mode is a mult.icast mode in which the server's 353 data is intended for simultaneous transmission to a 354 plurality of platforms 10.
355 Tn either case the objective of the server 27 is to 356 transport P packets to the platform 10 by routing the 357 data through the backbone or internal structure of the 358 Internet 30 to the "edge" 31 of its global computer 359 network, and to continue the data transmission from the 360 edge 31 across the chosen communications access network 361 20, 21, 22 and/or 25 to the platform 10.
362 In order for the network management entity 26 to 363 optimize its choice of a particular network from the 364 universe of available networks, the goal for the unicast 365 mode is to minimize the expression:
366 Mihif~ize Pj~((xi+yi)Ni)subject to ~Pj =P
I j 367 where 368 .xi is the cost data packet of transporting each 369 through the Internet 30 to its edge 31 for the ith access 370 line;
371 Sri is the cost packet through of transporting each 372 the respective access 21, 22, 25;
networks, e.g.
20, 373 P~ is the number of packets transported on link I;
374 and 375 Ni is the number link requesting of users on the ith 376 the content of server 27.
377 The unicast expression can be solved as an 378 optimization problem using standard optimization 379 techniques, which will result in reducing the cost of 380 transporting each packet through the entire network, that 381 is, through the Internet 30 and through the following 382 communications network 20, 21, 22 or 25. To enable 383 quality of service, the cost structure for each segment, 384 xi and yi used earlier are appropriately reflected and 385 the optimization problem is solved with the new numbers.
386 For the multicast case, the goal is to minimize the 387 following expression:
388 Minimize Pj~(xi+yi ) subject to ~Pj =P
I j 389 This expression is identical to the unicast mode 390 except that the penalty incurred for multiple users 391 requesting server content (Ni) is removed. This 392 expression also can be optimized using well known 393 optimization techniques. Each optimization may be 394 performed on either a per packet or per session basis.
7 Background of the Invention 8 Mobile or cellular telephone devices are configured 9 to communicate with a plurality of antennas, either ground or satellite based, which are ultimately connected 11 to the traditional telephone system. Regardless of the 12 specific path used there is a direct link between the 13 cellular telephone and the telephone system communication 14 network. Digital cellular telephone devices are further capable of transmitting to and receiving digital data 16 from a digital data network, such as the Internet, with 17 which the telephone system is interconnected. Such 18 devices have been termed personal communications systems 19 (PCS) devices. Such enhanced PCS devices can request, receive and display information from the Internet such as 21 maps, e-mail, text, web pages, audio and video files.
22 One problem associated with such enhanced 23 capabilities is the bandwidth required to transmit such 24 large volumes of data. Problems with scheduling and routing of data transmissions, as well as inefficient 26 allocation of data transmission capacity, are present in 27 many existing data communications networks. For example, 28 the global interconnection of computer networks known as 29 the Internet routes data packets with the anticipation 30 that the packets will eventually be delivered to the 31 intended receiver but it is not uncommon for packets to 32 be lost or delayed during transmission. Further, the 33 Internet does not differentiate between different types 34 of data being transmitted.
35 Data packets requiring delivery within a certain 36 time frame such as real time audio or video 37 communications receive no preference in transmission 38 over packets that generally do not require a particular 39 time of delivery, such as electronic mail. Data packets 40 carrying important information in which packet loss 41 cannot be tolerated, such as medical images, receive no 4~ greater priority than other data packets. Because all 43 data packets are viewed as equally important in terms of 44 allocating transmission resources, less critical 45 transmissions such as e-mail may serve to delay or 46 displace more important and time sensitive data.
47 Capacity for data transmission in existing data 48 communications networks is often inefficiently allocated.
49 In some instances transmission capacity or bandwidth is 50 allocated to a particular user according to a fixed 51 schedule or particular network architecture, but the 52 available bandwidth is not actually used. In other 53 instances, a user is precluded from transmitting a burst 54 of data that, for the moment, exceeds the user's 55 bandwidth allocation. Existing data communications 56 networks often lack mechanisms whereby bandwidth may be 57 allocated on demand.
58 The current cellular telephone system uses 59 relatively low bandwidth signaling techniques on the 60 order of fifty kilobits per second. Graphical 61 information such as maps and pictures require relatively 62 wide bandwidths in order to achieve reasonable response 63 times. Video and audio files require even higher 64 bandwidths for adequate response times. With limited 65 spectrum resources, the cost of bandwidth on a relatively 66 narrow band network can be high.
67 Current television signal broadcasting systems 68 provide relatively wide bandwidth capability on the order 69 of twenty megabits per second for each six megahertz 70 wide television channel. Terrestrial frequency bands in 71 the United States include almost four hundred megahertz 72 of available spectrum. Terrestrial broadcast channels 73 typically have a reception radius of approximately 74 seventy miles, dependent largely on local terrain.
75 Direct digital satellite television broadcasting 76 systems can also provide digital channels which can be 77 used for digital information transmission. An example of 78 such a system is disclosed in United States Patent No.
79 6,366,761, entitled PRIORITY BASED BANDWIDTH ALLOCATION
81 DATA COMMUNICATIONS NETWORD, issued on April 2, 2002 to 82 Montpetit. Digital data from these channels are 83 receivable over a much wider area typically including 84 tens of thousands of square miles. These channels are 85 not completely used. Thus there is a vast amount of 86 unused television broadcast spectrum available for other 87 uses.
88 Some data which will be requested by a user of a PCS
89 device will be unique to that user, such as an e-mail 90 addressed only to that user. Other data will be of 91 simultaneous interest to a large number of users, such 92 as weather data or stock market quotations. Other 93 information will be of widespread simultaneous interest 94 only at certain times, such as IRS tax forms during the 95 second week of April. The Internet and the associated IP
96 protocols will be expected to enable the increasing 97 demand for data. Network connectivity can be established 98 through a variety of means including connecting to a °
99 broadband modem (cable, DSL or satellite) through wired 100 or wireless means, or by connecting to a nomadic network 101 such as offered by wireless LAN standards, or by 102 connecting to a mobile network. Current bandwidth for 103 cellular telephone devices is barely sufficient to 104 provide unique information to a particular PCS device as 105 such information is requested, and more efficient methods 106 of accessing the appropriate network for the bandwidth 107 actually needed must be found if all of the available 108 bandwidth is not to become exhausted by the increasing 109 number of users.
110 Within a single network the mechanism or protocol 111 needed to connect to that network in order to obtain a 112 range of services is a straightforward problem with known 113 solutions. However, when one must traverse between 114 different networks the problem of making a seamless 115 transition is substantial. For example, in second 116 generation cellular networks it is often possible to 117 connect to a different network on a per session basis.
118 Unfortunately, the possibility of optimizing 119 bandwidth at the packet level is not available because 120 the mechanism for communicating across networks has no 121 common protocol layer. In the Internet, the commonly 122 used protocol is termed IPv4 which has a set of tools 123 that enables mobility management. These set of protocols 124 are termed Mobile IP protocols. Several enhancements 125 to the IPv4 protocols have resulted in a second 126 generation termed IPv6, Tn addition to an expanded 127 address space of 128 bits instead of the 32 bits used by 128 IPv4, there are several features that enable better 129 mobility management. Mobility can be managed by using 130 the static IP addressing schemes in IPv6. In IPv4, due 131 to the scarcity of address space, dynamic and local IP
132 address assignment is often used. The efficiency of 133 address management is expected to be better in IPv6 which 134 will result in better service overall. An example of a 135 mobile system using IPv6 is disclosed in United States 136 Patent No. 6,172,986, entitled MOBILE NODE, MOBILE AGENT
137 AND NETW~RK SYSTEM, issued to Watanuki et al. on January 138 9, 2001.
139 Data requested by the user may be of a time critical 140 nature and need to be delivered with strict time 141 constraints. Alternatively, data may also be downloaded 142 with less severe time constraints. The former calls for 143 Quality of Service (QoS) constraints that need to be 144 supported by the network. The latter is the typical 145 download model for Internet content and is termed a best-146 effort delivery. Finally, data may also be delivered 147 with a time delay. Examples could include music or 148 multimedia which the user wishes to view at a later time.
149 This category represents the most flexibility afforded 150 from a network optimization and usage viewpoint.
151 Given the existence of the many networks, bandwidths 152 and accessibility variables briefly alluded to in the 153 foregoing, a need exists for a mechanism that allows the 154 user to seamlessly roam or transition between these 155 networks, based on a calculation of the needed bandwidth, 156 message priority, and bandwidth cost, such that the 157 minimum required bandwidth at the lowest cost is always 158 selected.
159 Summary of the Invention 160 In accordance with the principles of the present 161 invention, a communication system for communicating via 162 the Internet, includes a portable communications device, 163 and a plurality of networks interconnecting, at least 164 occasionally, the Internet with the portable 165 communications device. An intelligent content server is 166 also interconnected to the Internet. A network 167 management entity, is interconnected to the intelligent 168 content server, and chooses which network is to be used 169 efor communicating between the intelligent content server 170 and the portable communications device.
171 In such a communications system, the problem of 172 optimizing network selection by choosing the most cost 173 effective available bandwidth is addressed by 174 implementing the portable communications device as a 175 portable intelligent multiple network platform. The 176 platform includes multiple front end interfaces, with 177 each interface corresponding to a type of available 178 network, such as a home network interface, broadcast 179 network interface, nomadic network interface and a mobile 180 network interface. The home network interface is 181 typically plugged into a broadband modem, while the other 182 interfaces utilize an antenna terminal to perform 183 wireless communications.
184 Within the platform each network interface is 185 interconnected to a network data processing layer capable 186 of transmitting and receiving data via either the IPv4 or 187 IPv~ protocol. For large files requiring substantial 188 bandwidths, such as multimedia applications, the network 189 data processing layer is interconnected to a discrete 190 backend applications processor which processes and 291 buffers the data stream.
292 Each network interface transmits to and receives 193 data from a base station or network termination dedicated 194 to that particular type of network. In turn, each such 195 base station or termination has an appropriate connection 196 to the Internet. Also connected to the Tnternet is an 197 intelligent content server which is interconnected to a 198 network management entity. In order for the intelligent 199 content server to communicate with the portable 200 intelligent multiple network platform, the platform 201 registers into any of the available networks through any 202 physical layer having a return channel.
203 The platform can function with the existing mobile 204 IPv4 protocols or can use the static IPv6 global 205 addressing scheme. The platform communicates with the 206 intelligent content server and informs the server of its 207 current IP address and its current specific multi-208 networking capabilities. The intelligent network 209 management entity chooses the appropriate network to use 210 for each packet which is to be transmitted or received 211 based on optimizing criteria such as priority, desired 212 transmission quality, required bandwidth and cost.
213 When the portable platform leaves the current 214 network within which it is operating (typically due to 215 physically travelling beyond the range of the current 216 network), the portable platform automatically searches 217 for and tries to connect to the next best (based on the 218 optimization criteria) network. When a new connection is 219 successfully accomplished, the portable platform sends 220 information to the network management entity regarding 221 its current connection. In response to this information, 222 the intelligent network management entity routes 223 subsequent packets through the newer optimum network 224 route. This process can be managed at either a per-225 packet or per-session level.
226 Brief Description of the Drawings 227 Figure 1 is a block diagram illustrating portable 228 ~ communications network selection optimizing system 229 according to the principles of the present invention; and 230 Figure 2 is a block diagram of a personal 231 communications system device according to the principles 232 of the present invention, which may be used in the system 233 as illustrated in Figure 1.
234 Detailed Description of the Invention 235 Figure 1 is a block diagram of a mobile 236 communications system including a multiple network 237 portable platform 10 which is capable of bidirectional 238 transmission and reception with either a broadband modem 239 12 or with any of a plurality of wireless communications 240 networks via antennas 122, 126 and 128. In practice the 241 antennas 122, 126 and 128 may be a single physical 242 antenna with appropriate matching networks or it may be 243 one or more antennas in close physical proximity. The 244 antenna 122, for example, is responsive to digital 245 cellular telephone signals from, for instance, a cellular 246 telephone mobile network termination or base station 22.
247 The antenna 122 is bidirectionally coupled to a mobile 248 interface circuit 120.
249 As also seen in Figure 2, the mobile interface 250 circuit 120 is coupled to a direct data input terminal of 251 a microprocessor 118. A direct data output terminal of 252 the microprocessor (~.P) 118 is coupled to an input 253 terminal of the mobile interface 120. An audio output 254 terminal of the microprocessor 118 is coupled to an input 255 terminal of the speaker 114. An output terminal of a 256 microphone 112 is coupled to an audio input terminal of 257 the microprocessor 118. An output terminal of a keypad 258 116 is coupled to a control input terminal of the 259 microprocessor 118.
260 The microprocessor operates in a known manner under 261 the control of an application program stored in memory 262 such as a Read Only Memory (ROM) in the microprocessor 263 118. In particular, the microprocessor is programmed to 264 operate as a data processing layer 130 utilizing the both 265 the current Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) and the 266 still developing next generation Internet Protocol 267 version 6 (IPv6). The layer 130 may include a duality of 268 Service (QoS) program as is well known to those of 269 ordinary skill in this field.
270 The microprocessor 118 also includes a backend 271 applications processor 14 which is capable of 272 bidirectional communication with the Internet Protocol 273 layer 130. The processor 14 serves as a buffer and 274 decoder for data received by microprocessor 218, and is 275 particularly useful for processing data having a 276 multimedia content such as audio and video files. The 277 backend processor 14 may also be a discrete circuit or 278 combination of integrated circuits that are external to 279 the microprocessor 118 but which are still mounted on the 280 multiple network portable platform 10.
281 The platform 10, as described above, operates in a 282 known manner to allow user to make telephone calls.
a 283 The user manipulates the keys on the keypad 116 to 284 instruct the microproces sor 118 to cause the mobile 285 interface circuit 120 connect to an external network, to 286 such as the Internet 30, or a mobile telephone 287 communications network ia the mobile base station 22.
v 288 The keypad 116 generates dialing tones specifying the 289 desired telephone number or instructional code.
290 Alternatively, signals may be received from the Internet 291 30 or from the cellular telephone network indicating that 292 someone is attempting call the portable platform 10.
to 293 In response to these signals, the microprocessor 118 294 conditions the mobile interface circuit 120 to connect to 295 the network and complete the call.
296 In either event, signals representing spoken 297 information from the microphone 112 are digitized by the 298 microprocessor 118, and the digitized signal is 299 transmitted through the mobile interface 120 and the 300 antenna 122 to the mobile network base station 22.
301 Simultaneously, signals received by the antenna 122 from 302 the base station 22, and representing received digitized 303 speech information from the other party, are received by 304 the mobile interface 120, converted to a sound signal by 305 the microprocessor 118 and supplied to the speaker 114.
306 As described above, the multiple network platform 10 307 also provides the capability of requesting and receiving 308 information from a computer, typically via the Internet.
309 Data representing requested information may be generated 310 by the user from the keypad 116, which may have more keys 311 than illustrated in Figure 2. The information request 312 is supplied by the microprocessor 118 to any of the 313 network interfaces available on the network platform 10.
314 For example, the platform 10 may include not only a 315 mobile interface 120, but also a home network interface 316 110, a nomadic network interface 16, and a broadcast 317 network interface 18. Depending on which network is 318 available for use, the information request is transferred 319 to either a broadband modem 12 or one of the antennas 320 122, 126 or 128.
321 Regardless of the network in use at a particular 322 time, the information request is transmitted to the 323 Internet 30. Also supplied by the common layer 130 is a 324 status report regarding which of the network interfaces 325 16, 18, 110 and 120 is currently in communication with 326 its associated network. Each of these networks will have 327 unique characteristics associated with its particular 328 network path. These characteristics will include the 329' bandwidth of the network path, the monetary cost of using 330 the network, the data transmission speed available, the 331 quality and reliability of the network, the geographic 332 coverage of the network and the type of data best suited 333 for transmission via the particular network path. By 334 transmitting the current universe of network 335 availability, a recipient may be able to select the most 336 appropriate network for transmission of return data.
337 The information transmitted by platform 10 to the 338 Internet 30 will be received by a erver machine such s as 339 intelligent content server 27 which contains the 340 information desired by the user of the portable platform 341 10. Interconnected to the content server 27 is a network 342 management entity 26 which receives the network 343 availability or status report from platform 10. The 344 management entity 26 is programmed to optimize the 345 selection of the network via which its associated content 346 server 27 will transmit and receive data to and from the 347 platform 10.
348 There exist two possible modes of transmitting the 349 desired information from the server 27. The first mode 350 is a unicast mode in which the server's data is intended 351 only for a specific user's platform 10. The second 352 possible mode is a mult.icast mode in which the server's 353 data is intended for simultaneous transmission to a 354 plurality of platforms 10.
355 Tn either case the objective of the server 27 is to 356 transport P packets to the platform 10 by routing the 357 data through the backbone or internal structure of the 358 Internet 30 to the "edge" 31 of its global computer 359 network, and to continue the data transmission from the 360 edge 31 across the chosen communications access network 361 20, 21, 22 and/or 25 to the platform 10.
362 In order for the network management entity 26 to 363 optimize its choice of a particular network from the 364 universe of available networks, the goal for the unicast 365 mode is to minimize the expression:
366 Mihif~ize Pj~((xi+yi)Ni)subject to ~Pj =P
I j 367 where 368 .xi is the cost data packet of transporting each 369 through the Internet 30 to its edge 31 for the ith access 370 line;
371 Sri is the cost packet through of transporting each 372 the respective access 21, 22, 25;
networks, e.g.
20, 373 P~ is the number of packets transported on link I;
374 and 375 Ni is the number link requesting of users on the ith 376 the content of server 27.
377 The unicast expression can be solved as an 378 optimization problem using standard optimization 379 techniques, which will result in reducing the cost of 380 transporting each packet through the entire network, that 381 is, through the Internet 30 and through the following 382 communications network 20, 21, 22 or 25. To enable 383 quality of service, the cost structure for each segment, 384 xi and yi used earlier are appropriately reflected and 385 the optimization problem is solved with the new numbers.
386 For the multicast case, the goal is to minimize the 387 following expression:
388 Minimize Pj~(xi+yi ) subject to ~Pj =P
I j 389 This expression is identical to the unicast mode 390 except that the penalty incurred for multiple users 391 requesting server content (Ni) is removed. This 392 expression also can be optimized using well known 393 optimization techniques. Each optimization may be 394 performed on either a per packet or per session basis.
Claims (20)
1. A communication system for communicating via the Internet, comprising:
a portable communications device;
a plurality of networks, each network inter-connecting, at least occasionally, the Internet with the portable communications device;
an intelligent content server, the content server being interconnected to the Internet; and a network management entity, the network management entity being interconnected to the intelligent content server, the network management entity choosing which network is to be used for communicating between the intelligent content server and the portable communications device.
a portable communications device;
a plurality of networks, each network inter-connecting, at least occasionally, the Internet with the portable communications device;
an intelligent content server, the content server being interconnected to the Internet; and a network management entity, the network management entity being interconnected to the intelligent content server, the network management entity choosing which network is to be used for communicating between the intelligent content server and the portable communications device.
2 The communications system of claim 1, wherein the portable communications device comprises a plurality of network interfaces for establishing a communications link with each of the plurality of networks, respectively.
3. The communications system of claim 2, wherein the portable communications device further comprises a microprocessor programmed to process data via any of the network interfaces.
25 Narayanan et al
25 Narayanan et al
4. The communications system of claim 3, wherein the network management entity is programmed to choose the network to be used for communicating with the portable device based on available bandwidth of each of the plurality of networks.
5. The communications system of claim 4, wherein the network management entity evaluates a cost associated with each network when choosing the network to be used for communicating with the portable communications device.
6. The communications system of claim 5, wherein the network management entity evaluates a quality-of-transmission value associated with each network when choosing the network to be used for communicating with the portable communications device.
7. The communications system of claim 6, wherein the network management entity evaluates the network to be used for communicating with the portable communications device for each data packet to be transmitted between the intelligent content server and the portable communications device.
8. The communications system of claim 6, wherein the network management entity evaluates the network to be used for communicating with the portable communications device for each data transmission session.
9. The communications system of claim 8, wherein the microprocessor is programmed to transmit all information to and from each network interface by using a common Internet protocol layer.
10. The communications system of claim 9, wherein the microprocessor is programmed:
to determine which of the plurality of networks is operational;
to transmit information representing which of the plurality of networks is operational to the network management entity.
to determine which of the plurality of networks is operational;
to transmit information representing which of the plurality of networks is operational to the network management entity.
11. A data transmission optimization system for use in multi-network environments, comprising:
an intelligent content source (27);
an intelligent network management entity (26) interconnected to the intelligent content source;
a multi-network platform (10) interconnected to a plurality of communications networks, the multi-network platform transmitting a communications network status report to the intelligent management entity, the intelligent management entity selecting a communications network (20, 21, 22, 25) for transmission of data from the intelligent content source to the multi-network platform.
an intelligent content source (27);
an intelligent network management entity (26) interconnected to the intelligent content source;
a multi-network platform (10) interconnected to a plurality of communications networks, the multi-network platform transmitting a communications network status report to the intelligent management entity, the intelligent management entity selecting a communications network (20, 21, 22, 25) for transmission of data from the intelligent content source to the multi-network platform.
12. The data transmission optimization system of claim 11 wherein the intelligent management entity selects one of the communications networks based on an optimization algorithm that includes network bandwidth as a variable.
13. The data transmission optimization system of claim 11 wherein the optimization algorithm evaluates network cost of data transmission as a variable.
14. The data transmission optimization system of claim 11 wherein the optimization algorithm evaluates network quality of data transmission as a variable.
15. The data transmission optimization system of claim 11 wherein the intelligent management entity selects one the communications networks for each data transmission session with the multi-network platform.
16. The data transmission optimization system of claim 11 wherein the intelligent management entity selects one of the communications networks for each data packet transmitted to the multi-network platform.
17. A method of optimizing data transmission between a portable platform and an intelligent content server by optimizing a communications network selection in a multi-network environment, comprising the steps of:
determining which communications networks are connected to the portable platform;
transmitting a communications network status report to the intelligent content server;
causing a network management entity to evaluate characteristics of the communications networks connected to the portable platform; and causing the network management entity to select a communications network based on the evaluated characteristics; and transmitting data from the intelligent content server to the portable platform via the selected communications network.
determining which communications networks are connected to the portable platform;
transmitting a communications network status report to the intelligent content server;
causing a network management entity to evaluate characteristics of the communications networks connected to the portable platform; and causing the network management entity to select a communications network based on the evaluated characteristics; and transmitting data from the intelligent content server to the portable platform via the selected communications network.
18. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of evaluating characteristics of the communications networks for each data transmission session.
19. The method of claim 17, further comprising the step of evaluating characteristics of the communications networks for each data packet to be transmitted.
20. The method of claim 17, wherein data is transmitted from the intelligent content server to the portable platform via a common internet protocol layer
Applications Claiming Priority (3)
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| US29440201P | 2001-05-30 | 2001-05-30 | |
| US60/294,402 | 2001-05-30 | ||
| PCT/US2002/015617 WO2002098057A2 (en) | 2001-05-30 | 2002-05-20 | Seamless communications through optimal networks |
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| CA2447919A1 true CA2447919A1 (en) | 2002-12-05 |
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| WO (1) | WO2002098057A2 (en) |
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| US7436843B2 (en) * | 2003-04-30 | 2008-10-14 | Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) | Method for access selection |
| JP4337420B2 (en) * | 2003-06-18 | 2009-09-30 | 日本電気株式会社 | Information transmission / reception terminal and information transfer system |
| US7940796B2 (en) | 2004-02-27 | 2011-05-10 | Research In Motion Limited | System and method for delivery of packets |
| DE602004022836D1 (en) * | 2004-02-27 | 2009-10-08 | Research In Motion Ltd | System and method with adaptation for delivery of parcels |
| CN1943181A (en) | 2004-03-03 | 2007-04-04 | 诺基亚公司 | Method, device and system for transferring data |
| ITUD20040123A1 (en) * | 2004-06-09 | 2004-09-09 | A I B S Lab Srl | METHOD FOR DATA TRANSCEIVING, E |
| CN100417124C (en) * | 2005-01-17 | 2008-09-03 | Ut斯达康通讯有限公司 | Method of route optimization between 3G and iPAS (PAS) networks and system comprising 3G and iPAS (PAS) networks |
| DE102005002766A1 (en) * | 2005-01-20 | 2006-08-03 | Siemens Ag | A method of selecting hardware for operating an application on a communication terminal and network device therefor |
| JP4938485B2 (en) * | 2007-02-08 | 2012-05-23 | 株式会社エヌ・ティ・ティ・ドコモ | Communication terminal, management apparatus, communication system, and program |
| FI20075723L (en) * | 2007-10-12 | 2009-04-13 | Teliasonera Ab | Service cost optimization in open communication network |
| KR100926129B1 (en) * | 2007-12-13 | 2009-11-11 | 한국과학기술원 | System and method for servicing a content in a terminal having a multiple connection interface |
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| SE0000707D0 (en) * | 1999-05-04 | 2000-03-01 | Magnus Agervald | System for transmitting data via multiple communication paths |
| US6965948B1 (en) * | 1999-11-12 | 2005-11-15 | Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ) | Method and apparatus for selective network access |
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- 2002-05-20 CN CNA028108817A patent/CN1543730A/en active Pending
- 2002-05-20 WO PCT/US2002/015617 patent/WO2002098057A2/en not_active Application Discontinuation
- 2002-05-20 BR BR0210029-0A patent/BR0210029A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
- 2002-05-20 AU AU2002303776A patent/AU2002303776A1/en not_active Abandoned
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| WO2002098057A8 (en) | 2004-05-21 |
| WO2002098057A3 (en) | 2003-09-25 |
| WO2002098057A2 (en) | 2002-12-05 |
| BR0210029A (en) | 2005-02-01 |
| KR20040002967A (en) | 2004-01-07 |
| AU2002303776A1 (en) | 2002-12-09 |
| EP1413091A2 (en) | 2004-04-28 |
| CN1543730A (en) | 2004-11-03 |
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| MXPA03010868A (en) | 2004-02-17 |
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