EP-4740425-A1 - CLOSED LOOP AIRCRAFT LEVEL DYNAMIC SHAPER WITH FAIRNESS

Abstract

Systems and methods for dynamically metering network access in a vehicle network are disclosed. An exemplary method includes periodically receiving one or more performance metrics of one or more communication links that support wireless communications for one or more networked computing devices onboard a vehicle, wherein the one or more performance metrics fluctuate over time, periodically determining a link quality indicator based upon the one or more performance metrics, and periodically transmitting the link quality indicator to a traffic shaper system to cause the traffic shaper system to dynamically allocate bandwidth among the one or more networked computing devices based upon the link quality indicator.

Inventors

• WANG, ZHIYONG
• SINGH, Yashvardhan
• ANDRADE, Yolanda, Nicole

Assignees

• Gogo Business Aviation LLC

Dates

Publication Date

20260513

Application Date

20240807

Claims (20)

1. 1. A computer-implemented method for dynamically metering network bandwidth in a vehicle network, comprising: periodically receiving, by one or more processors, one or more performance metrics of one or more communication links that support wireless communications for one or more networked computing devices onboard a vehicle, wherein the one or more performance metrics fluctuate over time; periodically determining, by the one or more processors, a link quality indicator based upon the one or more performance metrics; and periodically transmitting, by the one or more processors, the link quality indicator to a traffic shaper system to cause the traffic shaper system to dynamically allocate bandwidth among the one or more networked computing devices based upon the link quality indicator.
2. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the periodically receiving the one or more performance metrics further comprises periodically receiving the one or more performance metrics from a modem onboard the vehicle.
3. 3. The method of either claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the periodically receiving the one or more performance metrics further comprises periodically receiving the one or more performance metrics from a monitoring server.
4. 4. The method of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the periodically receiving the one or more performance metrics further comprises periodically receiving the one or more performance metrics from a base station.
5. 5. The method of any one of claims 1-4, wherein at least one of the one or more communications links comprises a cellular communications link or a satellite communications link.
6. 6. The method of any one of claims 1-5, wherein the link quality indicator comprises an uplink quality indicator and a downlink quality indicator, and dynamically allocating bandwidth comprises dynamically allocating upload bandwidth based upon the uplink quality indicator and dynamically allocating download bandwidth based upon the downlink quality indicator.
7. 7. The method of any one of claims 1-6, wherein the traffic shaper system comprises a deep packet inspection engine, and dynamically allocating bandwidth among the one or more networked computing devices based upon a priority assigned to one or more traffic types identified by the deep packet inspection engine.
8. 8. The method of any one of claims 1-7, further comprising dynamically reallocating bandwidth equally among the one or more networked computing devices when a networked computing device joins or leaves the vehicle network.
9. 9. The method of any one of claims 1-8, wherein dynamically allocating bandwidth among the one or more networked computing devices comprises dividing the bandwidth equally among the one or more computing devices.
10. 10. The method of any one of claims 1-9, wherein dynamically allocating bandwidth among the one or more networked computing devices comprises dividing the bandwidth unequally based upon a priority of the one or more networked computing devices.
11. 11. A ground station system for dynamically metering network access in a vehicle network, the ground station system comprising: one or more processors; and one or more non-transitory memories storing instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the ground station system to: periodically receive one or more performance metrics of one or more communication links that support wireless communications for one or more networked computing devices onboard a vehicle, wherein the one or more performance metrics fluctuate over time; periodically determine a link quality indicator based upon the one or more performance metrics; and periodically transmit the link quality indicator to a traffic shaper system to cause the traffic shaper system to dynamically allocate bandwidth among the one or more networked computing devices based upon the link quality indicator.
12. 12. The ground station system of claim 11, wherein the ground station system is configured to periodically receive the one or more performance metrics from a modem onboard the vehicle.
13. 13. The ground station system of either claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the ground station system is configured to periodically receive the one or more performance metrics from a monitoring server.
14. 14. The ground station system of any one of claims 11-13, wherein the ground station system is configured to periodically receive the one or more performance metrics from a base station.
15. 15. The ground station system of any one of claims 11-14, wherein the ground station system is configured to periodically receive the one or more performance metrics of the one or more communication links that comprise a cellular communications link or a satellite communications link.
16. 16. The ground station system of any one of claims 11-15, wherein the link quality indicator comprises an uplink quality indicator and a downlink quality indicator, and dynamically allocating bandwidth comprises dynamically allocating upload bandwidth based upon the uplink quality indicator and dynamically allocating download bandwidth based upon the downlink quality indicator.
17. 17. The ground station system of any one of claims 11 -16, wherein the traffic shaper system comprises a deep packet inspection engine, and the traffic shaper system is configured to dynamically allocate bandwidth among the one or more networked computing devices based upon a priority assigned to one or more traffic types identified by the deep packet inspection engine.
18. 18. The ground station system of any one of claims 11-17, wherein the traffic shaper system is configured to dynamically reallocate bandwidth among the one or more networked computing devices when a networked computing device joins or leaves the vehicle network.
19. 19. The ground station system of any one of claims 11-18, wherein the traffic shaper system is configured to dynamically allocate bandwidth among the one or more networked computing devices by dividing the bandwidth equally among the one or more computing devices.
20. 20. The ground station system of any one of claims 11-19, wherein the traffic shaper system is configured to dynamically allocate bandwidth among the one or more networked computing devices by dividing the bandwidth unequally based upon a priority of the one or more networked computing devices.

Description

CLOSED LOOP AIRCRAFT LEVEL DYNAMIC SHAPER WITH FAIRNESS CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Application No. 18/231 ,167, filed August 7, 2023, and entitled “Closed Loop Aircraft Level Dynamic Shaper With Fairness”, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE [0002] The present disclosure is related generally to network communications. In particular, the present disclosure relates to dynamic network traffic shaping. BACKGROUND [0003] Providing network access to computing devices on a travelling aircraft may be challenging. An aircraft’s communication link, such as cellular or satellite, provides a limited bandwidth connection that must be shared among many onboard computing devices. Conventional techniques apply a static traffic shaping scheme that attempts to fairly allocate the bandwidth among the computing devices. The conventional static traffic shaping schemes provide a fixed allocation of bandwidth that is not adjusted over time. However, as the aircraft travels, the quality and available bandwidth of the communication link can vary widely due to the distance to the cell site, background interference, number of user equipment in the cell sector, etc. If the quality of the communication link improves, the fixed allocation of bandwidth underutilizes the current capacity of the communication link. On the other hand, if the quality of the communication link degrades, the fixed allocation of bandwidth to each computing device may exceed the current capacity of the communication link; this can result in uneven allocation of bandwidth among the computing devices. SUMMARY [0004] The present aspects can relate to, inter alia, systems and methods for dynamic network shaping. [0005] In one aspect, a computer-implemented method for dynamically metering network access in a vehicle network may be provided. For example, in one instance, the computer- implemented method may include: (1) periodically receiving, by one or more processors, one or more performance metrics of one or more communication links that support wireless communications for one or more networked computing devices onboard a vehicle, wherein the one or more performance metrics fluctuate over time; (2) periodically determining, by the one or more processors, a link quality indicator based upon the one or more performance metrics; and (3) periodically transmitting, by the one or more processors, the link quality indicator to a traffic shaper system to cause the traffic shaper system to dynamically allocate bandwidth among the one or more networked computing devices based upon the link quality indicator. [0006] In another aspect, a ground station system for dynamically metering network access in a vehicle network may be provided. The ground station system may include one or more processors and one or more non-transitory memories. For example, the ground station system may include one or more processors configured to: (1) periodically receive one or more performance metrics of one or more communication links that support wireless communications for one or more networked computing devices onboard a vehicle, wherein the one or more performance metrics fluctuate over time; (2) periodically determine a link quality indicator based upon the one or more performance metrics; and (3) periodically transmit the link quality indicator to a traffic shaper system to cause the traffic shaper system to dynamically allocate bandwidth among the one or more networked computing devices based upon the link quality indicator. [0007] Advantages will become more apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the following description of the preferred aspects, which have been shown and described by way of illustration. As will be realized, the present aspects can be capable of other and different aspects, and their details are capable of modification in various respects. Accordingly, the drawings and description are to be regarded as illustrative in nature and not as restrictive. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS [0008] Figures 1A and IB depict a vehicle communication network environment according to aspects of the present disclosure. [0009] Figure 2 depicts an exemplary link quality indicator scale according to aspects of the present disclosure. [0010] Figure 3A depicts various traffic shapers generated and applied by the traffic shaper according to aspects of the present disclosure. [0011] Figure 3B depicts varying allocation of bandwidth among computing devices according to aspects of the present disclosure. [0012] Figure 4A - 4D depict a vehicle traveling between cells in a vehicle communication network environment according to aspects of the present disclosure. [0013] Figure 5 depicts a flow diagram of an example method for performing dynamic traffic shaping. [0014] The figures depict embodiments of this disclosure for purposes of illustration only. One skilled in the art