US007336661B2
`
`United States Patent
`
`(12)
`(10) Patent No.:
`US 7,336,661 B2
`
`Miikelii et a].
`(45) Date of Patent:
`Feb. 26, 2008
`
`(54) TRANSMITTING PACKET DATA
`
`(75)
`
`Inventors: Tero Makela, Helsinki (F1); Julius
`Karlssona Helsinki (F1); Tuomo
`Notkola, Helsinki (F1)
`
`5,870,629 A *
`6,072,772 A *
`6,262,986 B1*
`6,389,019 131*
`6,434,160 B1 *
`
`2/1999 Borden et a1.
`................ 710/44
`6/2000 Charny et al.
`.....
`.. 370/229
`
`7/2001 Oba et al ................. 370/399
`
`370/395.42
`5/2002 Fan et 31.
`8/2002 Davis ......................... 370/412
`
`(73) Assignee: Nokia Corporation, Espoo (Fl)
`
`FOREIGN PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`( * ) Notice:
`
`Subject to any disclaimer, the term of this
`patent is extended or adjusted under 35
`U.S.C. 154(b) by 1004 days.
`
`W0
`W0
`W0
`
`WO 97/14240
`WO 99/00949
`WO 99/05828
`
`4/1997
`“1999
`“999
`
`(21) Appl. No.:
`.
`-
`(22) PCT Flled'
`.
`(86) PCT NO"
`§ 371 (0)0)
`(2), (4) Date:
`
`10/239,230
`
`Jan. 16’ 2001
`
`PCT/EP01/00465
`
`Feb. 19, 2003
`
`(87) PCT Pub. No.: W001/74027
`
`PCT Pub. Date: Oct. 43 2001
`
`(65)
`
`Prior Publication Data
`US 2003/0152097 A1
`Aug. 14, 2003
`
`(2006.01)
`
`S
`
`fil
`
`(51)
`
`(56)
`
`Int. Cl.
`H04L 12/56
`(52) US Cl
`370/395 1. 370/412
`58
`F'- Id f Cl""",fimj; """S """"h
`'3’70/395 1
`(
`)
`1e
`0
`2:310:51 210121356315: 2301310 441 442’
`’
`’
`’
`’
`’
`’
`37E)/444’
`f
`1 t
`h h' t
`t'
`1.
`e or comp e e searc
`ls ory.
`ee app 1ca 1011
`References Cited
`U.S. PATENT DOCUMENTS
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`Choi et a1 “Weighted Fair Queuing for Data Service in 3 Multimedia
`CDMA System” (Vehicular Technology Conference, Sep. 24-26,
`2000).*
`Bennett et a1 “WF2Q: Worse-case Fair Weighted Fair Queuing”
`(IEEE, 1996).*
`
`(Continued)
`
`Primaw ExamineriEdan Orgad
`Assistant ExamineriLawrence J Burrowes
`
`(74)Attorney, Agent, or FirmiSquire, Sanders & Dempsey,
`LLP
`
`57
`
`ABSTRACT
`
`)
`(
`The resent invention related to handlin of data units in a
`P
`g
`node of a communication 5 stem. The data units are dis-
`.
`.
`.
`y
`.
`.
`tributed 1n a plurality of transm1551on queues based on
`priority parameters that associate with the data units. The
`queues are weighted such that the weight of a queue defines
`the relative share of resources allocated to said queue in
`relation to the resources that are to be allocated to the other
`queues. The assigned weights can be adjusted based on
`information of the amount of logical connections that asso-
`ciate with the respective queue.
`
`5,748,629 A *
`
`5/1998 Caldara et al.
`
`............. 370/389
`
`22 Claims, 2 Drawing Sheets
`
`Total traffic in interactive class
`
`ERICSSON EXHIBIT 1002
`
`

`

`US 7,336,661 B2
`Page 2
`
`OTHER PUBLICATIONS
`_
`_
`_
`_
`_
`Zhang et 31 “Rate-Controlled SerVice DISCIPhneS” (Journal Of ngh
`Speed Networking, 1994).*
`Jiang et al “Providing Multiple Service Classes for bursty Data
`Traffic in Cellulat Networks” (IEEE INFOCOM, 2000).*
`
`“Technical Report ofIEICE IN—99—138”, Mar. 9, 2000.
`“Weighted Queueing Algorithm for Eflicient Asynchronous Trans-
`fer Mode Traffic Shaping”, IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, vol.
`39, No. 04, Apr. 1996, pp. 161-163.
`
`* Cited by examiner
`
`

`

`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 26, 2008
`
`Sheet 1 of2
`
`US 7,336,661 B2
`
`
`
`

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`U.S. Patent
`
`Feb. 26, 2008
`
`Sheet 2 of2
`
`US 7,336,661 B2
`
`Fig. 3
`
`Initiate activation of a PDP
`
`context
`
`
`
`
`
`Distribute data
`
`
`packets of the PDP
`
`contexts in an
`
`
`
`
`Assign weights to queues of
`a plurality of transmission
`
`queues based on relative
`into queues of a
`
`priorities of the data packets
`
`plurality of
`in the PDP context
`
`transmission queues
`
`based on the priority
`order of the packets
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`
`interactive class
`
` Adjust the weight of a
`
`
`transmission queue based on
`the number of PDP contexts
`
`
` Transfer data fiom the queues based on information
`of the adjusted weights
`
`
`

`

`US 7,336,661 B2
`
`1
`TRANSMITTING PACKET DATA
`
`FIELD OF THE INVENTION
`
`The present invention relates to transmission of packet
`data in a telecommunications system.
`
`BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
`
`Telecommunications networks typically operate in accor-
`dance with a given standard or specification which sets out
`what the various elements of the network are permitted to do
`and how that should be achieved. For example, the standard
`or specification may define whether the user, or more
`precisely, user equipment or terminal is provided with circuit
`switched and/or packet switched service. The standard or
`specification may also define the communication protocols
`and/or parameters which shall be used for the connection. In
`other words, the standards and/or specifications define the
`“rules” on which the communication can be based on.
`
`Examples of the different standards and/or specifications for
`wireless communication include, without limiting to these,
`specifications such as GSM (Global System for Mobile
`communications) or various GSM based systems (such as
`GPRS: General Packet Radio Service), AMPS (American
`Mobile Phone System), DAMPS (Digital AMPS), WCDMA
`(Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) or TD/CDMA
`in UMTS (Time Division/Code Division Multiple Access in
`Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), IMT 2000
`and so on.
`
`In a typical wireless cellular communication system a
`base station serves mobile stations or similar terminal appa-
`ratus (mobile station MS in the GSM, User Equipment UE
`in the UMTS) via a wireless interface. Each of the cells of
`the cellular system can be served by an appropriate trans-
`ceiver apparatus. For example, in the WCDMA radio access
`network the cell is served by Node B, which is connected to
`and controlled by an element called as a radio network
`controller (RNC) node. In the GSM radio network the cell
`is served by a base station (BTS), which is connected to and
`controlled by a base station controller (BSC) node. The
`BSC/RNC element may be connected to and controlled by
`a mobile switching center (MSC), a serving GPRS support
`node (SGSN) or similar facility. The controllers of a network
`are typically interconnected and there may be one or more
`gateways, such as a Gateway MSC (GMSC) or a Gateway
`GPRS support node (GGSN), for connecting the cellular
`network to other networks, such as to circuit or packet
`switched telephone or data networks, such as the Internet or
`an intranet. The gateway node provides one or several access
`points for the network to another network, that is a c01mec-
`tion point between the two networks.
`As mentioned above, the telecommunications network
`may be capable of providing wireless packet switched
`services. Examples of such networks include the GPRS
`(General Packet Radio Service) network, EDGE (enhanced
`data rate for GSM evolution) Mobile Data Network or an
`appropriate third generation telecommunication system such
`as the CDMA (code division multiple access) or TDMA
`(time division multiple access) based 3”] generation tele-
`communication systems that are sometimes referred to as
`Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). All
`these relate to the transfer of data to and from mobile
`
`stations. For example, the GPRS standard is provided in
`conjunction with the GSM (Global System for Mobile
`communications) standard. The GSM standard is a circuit
`switched service and is originally designed for speech
`
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`2
`services. There are elements of the GSM standard and the
`GPRS standard which are in common. The GPRS networks
`
`are described in more detail e.g. in 3GPP Technical Speci-
`fication 3G TS 23.060 version 3.2.0, “General Packet Radio
`Service (GPRS); Service description; Stage 2”, January
`2000. This document is incorporated herein by reference. An
`adaptation of the GPRS standard is also being proposed for
`use with the third generation standard UMTS, which typi-
`cally uses code division multiple access. The packet data
`part of the UMTS is contained in the above referenced
`23.060 specification, i.e. 23.060 applies for packet switched
`data both for the UMTS and the GPRS.
`
`The released GPRS and UMTS specifications specify four
`traffic classes (conversational, streaming,
`interactive and
`background) for the quality of service (QoS). The conver-
`sational class is indented for voice calls. The streaming class
`is indented for real-time traffic, such as for video-on—demand
`services. The interactive class may cover non-real
`time
`traffic with small delays, such as web browsing. The back-
`ground class is for traffic that may tolerate greater delays,
`such as delays of l to 5 seconds.
`The data may flow within each of the classes via different
`data flows i.e. data streams. For example, the current pro-
`posals for a QoS standard define the interactive traffic class
`and traffic handling priority parameters. In other words, the
`data traffic between different data flow paths in the interac-
`tive traffic class can be prioritised with another QoS param-
`eter. This further QoS parameter will be referred to in the
`following as traffic handling priority.
`When the end-user of a connection requests for data from
`a remote equipment (e.g. a server),
`the interactive class
`scheme may apply. The end-user may be a machine, a
`human and so on. Examples of the human interaction with
`the remote equipment
`include web browsing, data base
`retrieval, server access and so on. Examples of machines
`interaction with the remote equipment include polling for
`measurement records, automatic data base enquiries (tele-
`machines) and so on.
`Interactive traffic is a data communication scheme that on
`
`an overall level may be characterised by the request-re-
`sponse pattern of the end-user. At the message destination
`there is an entity expecting the message (response) within a
`certain time period. Round trip delay time is therefore one
`important attribute of the scheme. Another characteristic
`feature of the interactive traffic is that the content of the data
`
`packets must be transparently transferred. The transfer
`should also occur with as low bit error rate as possible.
`The traffic handling priority may be defined as a feature
`that specifies the relative importance for handling of all
`service data units (SDUs) belonging e.g. to a UMTS bearer
`compared to the SDUs of other bearers. The service data
`units (SDUs) may comprise a data packet or any other data
`transmission entity that may be seen as forming a unit.
`The data units may be transferred via the network as a
`Packet Data Protocol (PDP) context. More particularly, PDP
`context refers to the part of the data connection that goes
`through the packet switched network (e. g. the GPRS/UMTS
`network). The PDP context can be seen as a logical con-
`nection from the wireless station to the access point of a
`gateway node, such as the GGSN, the access point being the
`connection point between the e.g. GPRS/UMTS mobile
`network and an external data network. The PDP context may
`also be referred to, instead of the term logical connection, as
`a logical association between the access point and the user.
`The purpose of the priority feature within the interactive
`class is to be able to differentiate between the different
`
`bearer qualities. This is handled by using a traffic handling
`
`

`

`US 7,336,661 B2
`
`3
`priority attribute, to allow the mobile network to schedule
`trafiic accordingly. By definition, the priority is an alterna-
`tive to absolute guarantees, and thus these two attribute
`types may not be used together for a single bearer.
`The number of the PDP contexts is continuously chang-
`ing. The inventors have found that this may make it difficult
`to keep the relative priorities of the PDP contexts in the
`interactive traffic class during the configuration thereof. The
`prior art known to the inventors does not recognise or
`address the problem. The current specifications or proposals
`for the standards do not specify any manner how to accom-
`plish the actual treatment of the data packets that belong to
`the PDP contexts i.e. logical connections or associations in
`the interactive traffic class and may have different traffic
`handling priorities.
`The handling of the data packets, however, may need to
`be addressed before implementing the system in order to
`provide fair treatment of individual data flows. A possibility
`would be to use a WFQ (weighted fair queuing) to address
`the problem. However,
`the simple use of WFQs might
`neglect the number of the logical connections using each
`trafiic handling priority. This might also lead to unfair
`behaviour in a congestion situation e.g. such that a PDP
`context with a lower traffic handling priority has a possibility
`of receiving better service than a PDP context with higher
`traffic handling priority. In other words, a PDP context with
`a higher priority might experience lower throughput than a
`PDP context with a lower priority if the number of PDP
`contexts with the higher priority exceeds a critical value. In
`addition, a fair treatment of the logical connections PDP
`contexts based on the traffic handling priorities, or other
`similar parameters, may also be desired since in some
`applications the end users may be charged based on (entirely
`or partially) said parameters.
`
`SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
`
`It is an aim of the embodiments of the present invention
`to address one or several of the above problems.
`According to one aspect of the present invention, there is
`provided a method of handling a plurality of data units in a
`node of a communication system, wherein the plurality of
`data units are distributed in the node in a plurality of
`transmission queues based on the priority of the data units,
`the method comprising: assigning weights to the queues of
`the plurality of transmission queues, the weight of a queue
`defining the share of resources that is to be allocated for the
`queue; and adjusting the assigned weight of a queue of the
`plurality of transmission queues based on information of the
`amount of logical connections that associate with said
`queue.
`In a more specific embodiment the adjusting is accom-
`plished by multiplying the weight of the queue by the
`number of the logical connections that associate with said
`queue. The transmission queues may also belong to an
`interactive traffic class of the quality of service classes. The
`number of data units that is to be transferred from a queue
`may be based on the relative weight of the queue. The
`adjusted weight of a queue of the plurality of transmission
`queues may indicate the number of data units that is to be
`transferred from said queue before transferring data units
`from a next queue. The weights may be adjusted dynami-
`cally. The weights may be adjusted during activation or
`deactivation of the logical connections.
`According to another aspect of the present invention there
`is provided a node for a communication system, comprising:
`means for receiving a stream of data units, the data units
`
`4
`
`associating with different priorities; means for distributing
`the data units into a plurality of transmission queues based
`on the priorities of the data units; means for assigning
`weights for the transmission queues, the weight of a queue
`defining the share of resources to be allocated for the queue;
`and means for adjusting the weight assigned to a queue
`based on information of the amount of logical connections
`that associate with the queue, wherein the node is adapted to
`transfer data units from the queues based on the adjusted
`weights.
`The embodiments of the invention may enable fair treat-
`ment of the data packet contexts and maintenance of the
`desired relative priorities between the logical packet data
`connections in a traffic class regardless of the number of the
`packet data contexts within the class. The embodiments may
`also enable dynamic distribution of data
`forwarding
`resources in a node of a communication system.
`
`BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
`
`For better understanding of the present invention, and in
`order to show 110w the invention may be implemented in
`practice, reference will now be made by way of example to
`the accompanying drawings in which:
`FIG. 1 shown a communication network in which the
`
`embodiments of the present invention may be used;
`FIG. 2 shows an embodiment of the present invention;
`and
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`FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of one
`embodiment of the present invention.
`
`DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED
`EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION
`
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`Reference is made to FIG. 1 which shows a communica-
`
`tion system in which the embodiments of the present inven-
`tion may be employed. The system is capable of providing
`wireless packet switched services for a user 1 thereof. The
`area covered by the communication system may be divided
`into a plurality of cells or similar access entities (not shown)
`Each cell has associated therewith a base station 6. Depend-
`ing on the standard being used by the network, the base
`station is sometimes referred to as node B, for example in the
`third generation standards. The term base station will be
`used in this-document to encompass all elements which
`transmit to wireless stations or the like via the air interface.
`
`is
`the wireless user equipment
`A mobile station 1 i.e.
`arranged to communicate with the respective base station. It
`should be appreciated that
`the term mobile stations is
`indented to cover any suitable type of wireless user equip-
`ment, such as portable data processing devices and web
`browsers.
`The embodiment of the invention is described in the
`
`context of a UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications
`System) and a GPRS (General Packet radio Service) and
`communications involving packet data. However, it should
`be appreciated that embodiments of the present invention are
`applicable to any other communication system which deals
`with packet data, non-packet data or even voice communi-
`cation or the like, such as the IMT 2000, wireless LAN or
`different access networks.
`
`The elements of a UMTS network system 2 will now be
`discussed in more detail. The mobile station or user equip-
`ment 1 is arranged to communicate via the air interface with
`a respective base station 6. The base station is controlled by
`a radio network controller RNC 7. The radio network
`
`controller RNC and the base station may sometimes be
`
`

`

`US 7,336,661 B2
`
`5
`referred to as the radio network subsystem RNS 8 or radio
`access network RAN. It should be appreciated that a UMTS
`network is typically provided with more than one RNC, and
`that each radio network controller is arranged generally to
`control more than one base station 6 although only one base
`station is shown in FIG. 1. The elements of the RNS can be
`included in either or both of the RNC and the base station.
`
`This is an implementation issue.
`The radio network subsystem 8 may be connected to a
`SGSN (serving GPRS support node) 14. The SGSN 14
`keeps track of the mobile station’s location and performs
`security functions and access control. The functions of the
`SGSN are defined in more detail e.g. in the 3GPP specifi-
`cation 23.060. The SGSN 14 is connected to a GGSN
`
`(gateway GPRS support node) 16. The GGSN 16 provides
`interworking with an external packet switched network 3. In
`other words, the GGSN 16 acts as a gateway between the
`UMTS network 2 and the external data network 3, such as
`an IP based data network. The functions of a typical GGSN
`are also defined in the referenced 3GPP specification.
`Although not shown, the network system 2 may also be
`connected to conventional
`telecommunication networks,
`such as to a GSM based cellular public land mobile network
`(PLMN) or to a public switched telephone network (PSTN).
`The various networks may be interconnected to each other
`via appropriate interfaces and/or gateways.
`Referring now also to FIGS. 2 and 3, the embodiments
`provide a method to differentiate the treatment of data
`packets of the total traffic 20 belonging to an interactive
`traffic class. The interactive traffic class may have various
`traffic handling priorities, FIG. 2 showing three different
`priority classes. The embodiments described in the follow-
`ing enable determination of a relative priority of a packet
`data protocol (PDP) context compared to other PDP contexts
`in the interactive traffic class. The following embodiment
`may be implemented in the GGSN 16 of FIG. 1, and more
`precisely, by means of a data processing unit 11 of the
`GGSN. However, it should be appreciated that the embodi-
`ment may also be applied in other network nodes of the
`network 2 as well, such as in the SGSN 14 and the RNC 7.
`The embodiments may also be applied in the mobile station
`1.
`
`In FIG. 2, separate send queues 21, 22 and 23 are assigned
`for each of the three traffic handling priorities in the inter-
`active traffic class. The data packets are sent forward from
`the queues e.g. by using WFQ (Weighted Fair Queuing)
`method. The WFQ function 24 may be implemented such
`that the weights of the queues are configurable by the user
`of the network element (e. g. the operator of the network 2 or
`the user of the mobile station 1). The embodiments of the
`present invention enable dynamic adjustment of the weights
`of the queues in accordance with the number of the PDP
`contexts that are using the queues. The weights of the queues
`may be assigned and/or the dynamic changing of the weights
`is preferably implemented during the activation/deactivation
`of the PDP contexts i.e. the logical connections between the
`user 1 and the access point 16. By means of the dynamic
`adjustment of the weights the relative priorities of the data
`packets in the interactive traffic class may remain the same
`regardless of the number of the active PDP contexts.
`The following considers situation where the user has
`configured the weights of the traffic handling priority queues
`21-23 to be 5, 3, and 2, respectively. That is, if a same
`amount of PDP context is located in each of the traffic
`
`handling priority queues and each of the queues continu-
`ously contains queuing data packets, five packets may be
`firstly taken from the first queue 21, then three packets may
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`be taken from the second queue 22, and finally two packets
`may be taken from the third queue 23, where after five
`packets may be taken from the first queue 21 and so on. The
`total output would be formed so that the data stream 21
`having the highest priority would take up 50% of the traffic
`while the data stream 22 would take 30% and the data stream
`3 would take 20% of the entire traffic 20.
`
`However, if the number of the PDP contexts using each
`queue is not equal, the configured weights cannot be used as
`such, because they no longer reflect the relative priorities of
`the queues. For example, if the number of the PDP contexts
`in the traffic handling priority 21 is 100, the number of the
`PDP contexts in the traffic handling priority 22 is 10 and the
`number of the PDP contexts in the traflic handling priority
`23 is 50, the outcome would be unfair for the users of the
`node, as the context with a lower priority may be transmitted
`before the packets with a higher priority. More particularly,
`the PDP context with traffic handling priority 22 would
`experience higher throughput than the PDP context with the
`trafiic handling priority 21.
`In accordance with the embodiments, this may be over-
`come by multiplying the configured weight by the number of
`the PDP contexts with the same traffic handling priority. In
`the above-mentioned example the effective weights would
`thus be in accordance with Table 1 below, wherein ‘Priority
`W’ designates the initial configured weight:
`
`TABLE I
`
`15‘ Queue
`
`2nd Queue
`
`3rd Queue
`
`Priority W
`Contexts
`VVClghtS
`
`5
`100
`500
`
`3
`10
`30
`
`2
`50
`100
`
`As can be seen from the above, the weight of the highest
`priority (15‘) queue would be 500, the weight of the medium
`priority (2”) queue would be 30 and the weight of the
`lowest priority (3rd) queue would be 100, thereby reflecting
`the relative priorities of the queues. The weights are used so
`that the number of packets defined by the effective weight is
`taken sequentially from each queue in the priority order.
`That is, the data packet handling function 24 will transmit
`first 500 1” priority packets from the queue 21, followed by
`30 2"”! priority packets from queue 22 and 100 3”] priority
`packets from the queue 23.
`If the queues contain a large number of PDP contexts and
`the distribution of the PDP contexts is substantially uneven,
`it may be that the WFQ 24 cannot function in the most
`efficient manner because the possibly substantially high
`values of the effective weights (the order of the weights may
`in some circumstances be even hundreds of thousands or
`
`even more). This may cause intolerable delays in the queues
`with lower priorities. A solution for this is use of e.g. a
`WF2Q algorithm or similar capacity distribution scheme that
`evens the situation. A further embodiment of the invention
`
`discussed in the following aims to provide a more even
`distribution of the packets.
`Lets assume that a great number packets are queuing for
`transmission in a node. The three queues 21 to 23 are
`weighted 5, 3 and 2, respectively. as is shown by Table 2
`below.
`
`

`

`US 7,336,661 B2
`
`TABLE 2
`
`15‘ Queue
`
`2nd Queue
`
`3rd Queue
`
`Priority W
`Contexts
`Weights
`
`5
`100 000
`500 000
`
`3
`10 000
`30 000
`
`2
`1000
`2000
`
`The total number of data packets would be 532 000. The
`first queue forms a big “lump” of 500 000 packets, which
`may in some circumstances cause too long delay for the 2"”!
`and 3rd queues. According to an embodiment the order of the
`transmission of the data packets is to randomly select the
`next data packet based on probabilities that are determined
`for each of the queues based on the assigned weights. The
`probabilities may be determined e.g. in the following man-
`ner. The probability that a data packet is selected from the 15‘
`queue is 500000/532000:0.940,
`from the 2"”! queue is
`500000/532000:0.056, and from the 3rd queue is 500000/
`532000:0.004. Over a longer period of time,
`the above
`scheme may provide an appropriate distribution of the
`bearer resources between the queues such that none of the
`queues experiences unreasonably long delays.
`According to another possibility, the large “lumps” are
`split to smaller entities. This may be accomplished e.g. by
`dividing the weights by an appropriate integer, such as by
`100 or 1000, thereby reducing the elfective weights of the
`queues. If integer 1000 is used for the Table 2 example, this
`would lead to the following sequence of data packets: 500
`from the 15‘ queue, 30 from the 2"”! queue, 2 from the 3rd
`queue, 500 from the 15‘ queue and so on.
`It should be appreciated that whilst embodiments of the
`present invention have been described in relation to the
`interactive class of the third generation GPRS and/or
`UMTS, the embodiments of the present invention are appli-
`cable to any other classes of any other appropriate standard.
`The logical connection may also sometimes be referred to as
`logical associations or bit pipes.
`It is also noted herein that while the above describes
`
`exemplifying embodiments of the invention, there are sev-
`eral variations and modifications which may be made to the
`disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the
`present invention as defined in the appended claims.
`The invention claimed is:
`
`1. A method of handling a plurality of data units in a node
`of a communication system, wherein the plurality of data
`units are distributed in the node in a plurality of transmission
`queues based on priority parameters of the data units, the
`method comprising:
`assigning weights to the queues of the plurality of trans-
`mission queues, the weight of a queue defining a share
`of resources that is to be allocated for the queue;
`adjusting the assigned weight of a queue of the plurality
`of transmission queues based on information of an
`amount of logical connections that associate with said
`queue; and
`transferring data units from the queues based on the
`adjusted weights, wherein the adjusting is accom-
`plished by multiplying the weight of the queue by the
`number of logical connections that associate with said
`queue.
`2. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the method
`further comprises a quality of service feature of the com-
`munication system which defines a plurality of traffic
`classes, and wherein the transmission queues belong to an
`interactive traffic class of said plurality of traffic classes.
`
`10
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`15
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`20
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`25
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`30
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`35
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`40
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`45
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`50
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`55
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`60
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`65
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`8
`3. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the weights
`are assigned to the queues based on a weighted fair queuing
`scheme.
`
`4. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the number of
`data units that is to be transferred from a queue is based on
`a relative weight of the queue.
`5. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the adjusted
`weight of a queue of the plurality of transmission queues
`indicates the number of data units that is to be transferred
`
`from said queue before transferring data units from a next
`queue.
`6. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein data is
`transferred from the queues based on probabilities that are
`computed based on information of the adjusted weights of
`thc rcspcctivc qucucs and a total amount of data to bc
`transferred.
`
`7. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the weights
`are adjusted dynamically.
`8. A method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the weights
`are adjusted during activation or deactivation of logical
`connections.
`9. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the commu-
`nication system comprises a first packet switched network
`that provides wireless services for wireless stations and a
`second packet switched network, and wherein the data units
`are to be transmitted between the first and the second packet
`switched networks.
`10. A method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the node
`comprises one of the following: a gateway between two
`communication networks; a control node of communication
`network; a control node of a radio access network; a wireless
`station.
`
`11. Amethod of handling a plurality of data units in a node
`of a communication system, wherein the plurality of data
`units are distributed in the node in a plurality of transmission
`queues based on priority parameters of the data units, the
`method comprising:
`assigning weights to the queues of the plurality of trans-
`mission queues, the weight of a queue defining a share
`of resources that is to be allocated for the queue;
`adjusting the assigned weight of a queue of the plurality
`of transmission queues based on information of an
`amount of logical connections that associate with said
`queue; and
`transferring data units from the queues based on the
`adjusted weights,
`wherein the adjusted weight of a queue of the plurality of
`transmission queues indicates the number of data units
`that is to be transferred from said queue before trans-
`ferring data units from a next queue and wherein a
`transmission sequence of the queues is based on the
`priority parameters.
`12. A method of handling a plurality of data units in a
`node of a communication system, wherein the plurality of
`data units are distributed in the node in a plurality of
`transmission queues based on priority parameters of the data
`units, the method comprising:
`assigning weights to the queues of the plurality of trans-
`mission queues, the weight of a queue defining a share
`of resources that is to be allocated for the queue;
`adjusting the assigned weight of a queue of the plurality
`of transmission queues based on information of an
`amount of logical connections that associate with said
`queue; and
`transferring data units from the queues based on the
`adjusted weights, wherein the weights are divided by
`
`

`

`US 7,336,661 B2
`
`9
`an integer, and the number of data units that is to be
`transferred from a queue is based on a relative value
`obtained by the division.
`13. A node for a communication system, comprising:
`means for receiving a stream of data units, the data units
`associating with different priorities;
`means for distributing the data units into a plurality of
`transmission queues based on the priorities of the data
`units;
`means for assigning weights for the transmission queues,
`the weight of a queue defining a share of resources to
`be allocated for the queue; and
`means for adjusting the weight assigned to a queue based
`on information of the amount of logical connections
`that associate with the queue, wherein the node is
`adapted to transfer data units from the queues based on
`the adjusted weights, wherein the means for adjusting
`the weights are adapted to multiply the weight assigned
`for the queue by the number of logical connections that
`have the corresponding priority.
`14. A node as claimed in claim 13, wherein the transmis-
`sion queues belong to an interactive traffic class of the
`quality of service classes.
`15. Anode as claimed in claim 13, wherein the means for
`adjusting the weights are adapted to adjust the weights
`dynamically.
`16. A node as claimed in claim 13, wherein the commu-
`nication system comprises a first packet switched network
`that provides wireless services f