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EP-4736389-A1 - ON-DEMAND GUARANTEED BANDWIDTH WI-FI CONNECTION OVER A CABLE NETWORK

EP4736389A1EP 4736389 A1EP4736389 A1EP 4736389A1EP-4736389-A1

Abstract

Systems and methods for guaranteeing end-to-end QoS for wireless connections over a cable network are disclosed. Provisioning of on-demand guaranteed bandwidth connection over a cable network uses mechanisms from DOCSIS domain and Wi-Fi domain. A multi-domain orchestrator is implemented to control both domains. A bandwidth request is received from a client device connecting to a network service provider access point. The bandwidth request is updated for both domains with results of speed test of the wireless link if the speed test results are lower than the bandwidth request. The orchestrator and client device negotiate the bandwidth request using a three-way handshake over PacketCable Multimedia (PCMM) protocol. If the available bandwidth on either the DOCSIS or wireless link is less than the bandwidth request, the orchestrator generates a new bandwidth offer. If the client device accepts the offer, the orchestrator configures the DOCSIS and wireless links using their respective domain protocols to provision the connection with guaranteed end-to-end bandwidth.

Inventors

  • LAL, DHANANJAY
  • KOSHY, KAMAL J.

Assignees

  • Adeia Guides Inc.

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20240621

Claims (15)

  1. 1. A method comprising: receiving, from a device, a bandwidth request for a target service level agreement (SLA) bandwidth, the target SLA bandwidth to be provisioned over a first network link of a first domain and a second network link of a second domain; coordinating operations between the first domain and the second domain; calculating a first available bandwidth over the first network link; calculating a second available bandwidth over the second network link; and in response to determining that at least one of the first available bandwidth or the second available bandwidth is lower than the target SLA bandwidth, configuring the first domain and the second domain to provision a negotiated bandwidth over the first network link and the second network link to the device.
  2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first domain comprises a Wi-Fi domain.
  3. 3. The method of any one of claims 1-2, further comprising: performing a speed test of the second network link; and in response to determining that results of the speed test are lower than the target SLA bandwidth, replacing the target SLA bandwidth for both the first domain and the second domain with the results of the speed test.
  4. 4. The method of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the negotiated bandwidth comprises a lower of the first available bandwidth or the second available bandwidth.
  5. 5. The method of any one of claims 1-4: wherein the first available bandwidth is calculated based on subtracting used capacity over the first network link from a first maximum bandwidth capacity associated with the first network link; and wherein the second available bandwidth is calculated based on subtracting used capacity over the second network link from a second maximum bandwidth capacity associated with the second network link.
  6. 6. The method of any one of claim 1-5: wherein the first available bandwidth is further subtracted by a first bandwidth proportion, the first bandwidth proportion comprising an unallocated proportion of bandwidth of the first network link reserved for provisioning a second device; and wherein the second available bandwidth is further subtracted by a second bandwidth proportion, the second bandwidth proportion comprising an unallocated proportion of bandwidth of the second network link reserved for provisioning the second device.
  7. 7. The method of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the negotiated bandwidth is negotiated using PacketCable Multimedia (PCMM) protocol.
  8. 8. The method of any one of claims 1-7, wherein the first domain is configured to provision the negotiated bandwidth over the first network link using PCMM protocol.
  9. 9. The method of any one of claims 1-8, wherein the second domain is configured to provision the negotiated bandwidth over the second network link using weighted fair queuing (WFQ).
  10. 10. The method of any one of claims 1-9, further comprising: receiving, from the device, a received signal strength indicator (RS SI) associated with a network signal transmitted over the second network link to the device; and in response to determining that the RSSI is below a threshold, sending, to the device, a notification to relocate the device to increase the RSSI.
  11. 11. The method of any one of claims 1-10, wherein the coordinating the operations of each domain, the calculating the first available bandwidth and the second available bandwidth, and the configuring the first domain and the second domain to provision the negotiated bandwidth are performed by a unified orchestrator.
  12. 12. The method of any one of claims 1-11 : wherein the calculating the first available bandwidth and configuring the first domain to provision the negotiated bandwidth over the first network link are performed by a first sub- orchestrator associated with the first domain; wherein the calculating the second available bandwidth and configuring the second domain to provision the negotiated bandwidth over the second network are performed by a second sub-orchestrator associated with the second domain; and wherein the first sub-orchestrator and second sub-orchestrator coordinate operations of their respective domains with each other.
  13. 13. The method of any one of claims 1-12, further comprising: provisioning the negotiated bandwidth over the first network link and the second network link for a time period; renegotiating the bandwidth request; and reconfiguring the first domain and the second domain to provision a renegotiated bandwidth over the first network link and the second network link to the device for a second time period.
  14. 14. A system comprising: means for executing the steps of the method of any of claims 1- 13.
  15. 15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having instructions encoded thereon that when executed by control circuitry cause the control circuitry to carry out the steps of any one of claims 1-13.

Description

ON-DEMAND GUARANTEED BANDWIDTH WI-FI CONNECTION OVER A CABLE NETWORK Field of Invention [0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to guaranteeing end-to-end QoS for client devices in wireless connections over cable networks. Summary [0002] Customers enjoy and expect guaranteed end-to-end bandwidth from their network service providers. Such guarantees may be included in the service level agreement (SLA) of the customer’s subscription with the network service provider. It can therefore be frustrating for customers (e.g., out-of-home subscribers) who connect to access points on-demand through the network service provider hotspots but are not guaranteed bandwidth. It can also be frustrating for customers (e.g., in-home subscribers) who knowingly or unknowingly offer their home Wi-Fi router for another subscriber to use as an access point on-demand but are not guaranteed bandwidth themselves. However, configuration of cable network systems for provisioning on-demand bandwidth on a dynamic basis over the cable network is restricted to the cable medium (DOCSIS domain), while mechanisms for guaranteeing bandwidth, such as QoS negotiation and validating resource availability, are restricted to the Wi-Fi medium (WiFi domain). [0003] Accordingly, methods and systems disclosed herein allow for guaranteeing end-to-end bandwidth on-demand in wireless connections over cable networks. A multi-domain orchestrator unifies the separate domains by facilitating communication between the DOCSIS domain and Wi-Fi domain in their respective formats (e.g., PacketCable Multimedia (PCMM) protocol for DOCSIS domain; Opensync or other suitable Wi-Fi connection management frameworks, for Wi-Fi domain). The orchestrator is operable to manage and configure the two domains to provision guaranteed bandwidth connection over two network links - a DOCSIS link (e.g., a wired link over a cable Hybrid Fiber-Coaxial (HFC) network) and a wireless link (e.g., a Wi-Fi link). The orchestrator receives a bandwidth request from a client device associated with an out-of-home subscriber. The orchestrator evaluates the quality of the wireless link (e.g., performs a speed test on the wireless link) and updates the parameters of the bandwidth request for both domains based on the speed test results. The client device and orchestrator engage in QoS negotiations for bandwidth, by way of a three- way handshake using an extension of PCMM signaling. The orchestrator assesses the available bandwidth over the DOCSIS and wireless links. If the orchestrator determines that the bandwidth request cannot be supported by the available bandwidth over the DOCSIS and/or wireless links, it dynamically generates a new bandwidth offer. If the client device accepts the new offer, the three-way handshake for QoS negotiation is complete. The orchestrator proceeds to configure the DOCSIS link to provision the agreed-upon bandwidth (e.g., by way of another three-way handshake, using PCMM protocol for cable network configuration) and configure the wireless link to provision the agreed-upon bandwidth (e.g., using weighted fair queuing (WFQ) or other suitable allocation scheme). Brief Description of the Figures [0004] The various objects and advantages of the disclosure will be apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters refer to like parts throughout, and in which: [0005] FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative scenario for guaranteeing on-demand bandwidth for wireless connections over a cable network, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure; [0006] FIG. 2 depicts another illustrative scenario for guaranteeing on-demand bandwidth for wireless connections over a cable network, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure; [0007] FIG. 3 depicts an example environment for implementation of a system for guaranteeing on-demand bandwidth for wireless connections over a cable network, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure; and [0008] FIG. 4 depicts a system sequence diagram of an example process for guaranteeing on- demand bandwidth for wireless connections over a cable network, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. Detailed Description [0009] FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative scenario 100 for guaranteeing on-demand bandwidth for wireless connections over a cable network, in accordance with some embodiments of the disclosure. In an embodiment, a client device 101 is associated with an out-of-home user subscriber to a network service provider. The user subscriber is in-home when accessing resources of their network service provider through their own home (e.g., by connecting their client device 101 with a router belonging to the user). Conversely, the user subscriber is out- of-home when accessing resources of their network service provider through an access point outside of their home. For example, the out-of-home user subscr