US6529475B1
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Monitor for the control of multimedia services in networks
Assignee: RPX Clearinghouse LLC
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Filing: 1998-12-16
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Granted: 2003-03-04
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Expires: 2018-12-16
Abstract
Abstract A method and system for reducing congestion of real time data traffic on a multimedia communications network having a traffic control mechanism. The method comprises of first extracting from data traffic in the multimedia communications network information regarding congestion of the multimedia communications network. This extraction is performed by a network of monitors. Secondly, congestion is regulated by a central server which receives network information from the monitors and utilizes the network information to analyze congestion status and communicate instructions to the multimedia communications network to reduce congestion.
Inventors
- 👤 Guang Wan
- 👤 Jonathan Weston-Dawkes
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 09:03
CPC Classifications
H; H04; H04L; H04L65/00; H04L65/80; H04L65/1066; H04L65/1101; H04L65/1106; H04L65/60; H04L65/65; H04L69/00; H04L69/16; H04L69/163; H04L69/164; H04L69/169; H04L9/00; H04L9/40
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
208 words
A method of reducing congestion of real time data traffic on a multimedia communications network having a plurality of gatekeepers, said method comprising: extracting, from specialized packets within data traffic in said multimedia communications network, information regarding congestion of said multimedia communications network, wherein said extracting step is completed by a plurality of monitors coupled to said multimedia communications network that are designed to recognize and intercept said specialized packets; analyzing said information extracted from each of said plurality of monitors with a centralized processing component coupled to said plurality of monitors; and regulating congestion on said multimedia communications network utilizing the analyzed information whereby said centralized processing component is utilized to control data traffic by messaging said plurality of gatekeepers, wherein said step of regulating congestion on said multimedia communications network includes transmitting a control message to one or more of said plurality of gatekeepers, which responds to a receipt of said message in at least one of a plurality of ways from among rerouting data traffic flow from congested paths to less congested paths and throttling back the flow of data traffic to reduce congestion, wherein said plurality of gatekeepers operate in concert with each other based on received control messages from said centralized processing component.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
208 words
A method of reducing congestion of real time data traffic on a multimedia communications network having a plurality of gatekeepers, said method comprising: extracting, from specialized packets within data traffic in said multimedia communications network, information regarding congestion of said multimedia communications network, wherein said extracting step is completed by a plurality of monitors coupled to said multimedia communications network that are designed to recognize and intercept said specialized packets; analyzing said information extracted from each of said plurality of monitors with a centralized processing component coupled to said plurality of monitors; and regulating congestion on said multimedia communications network utilizing the analyzed information whereby said centralized processing component is utilized to control data traffic by messaging said plurality of gatekeepers, wherein said step of regulating congestion on said multimedia communications network includes transmitting a control message to one or more of said plurality of gatekeepers, which responds to a receipt of said message in at least one of a plurality of ways from among rerouting data traffic flow from congested paths to less congested paths and throttling back the flow of data traffic to reduce congestion, wherein said plurality of gatekeepers operate in concert with each other based on received control messages from said centralized processing component.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
41 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein said centralized processing component receives said congestion information from said plurality of monitors, wherein said analyzing step analyzes an aggregate of all received congestion information against known QoS and transmission parameters of said network.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
71 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein said extracting step is completed by said plurality of congestion monitors and said extracting step further comprise the steps of: retrieving from within network traffic a subset of said specialized packets, whereby said specialized packets retrieved are members of a specified transmission protocol; summarizing performance information extracted from said specialized packets; and forwarding said summarized performance information to said centralized processing component for analysis.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
79 words
The method of claim 3 , wherein said specialized data packets retrieved are members of a scalable protocol that provides specific network traffic information including sufficient network delay, packet loss and throughput information, wherein additional functional characteristics of said scalable protocol include dynamically tracking the number of participants in a session, providing feedback on quality of data distribution, carrying a persistent transport level identifier, and controlling the real-time packet rate to scale up to a large number of participants.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
16 words
The method of claim 1 , whereby said communications network is created utilizing the H.323 standard.
Claim 7
Independent Claim
211 words
A system for reducing congestion of real time data traffic on a multimedia communications network having a traffic control mechanism, said system comprising: means for extracting, from specialized packets within data traffic in said multimedia communications network, information regarding congestion of said multimedia communications network, wherein said extracting step is completed by a plurality of monitors coupled to said multimedia communications network that are designed to recognize and intercept said specialized packets; means for analyzing said information extracted from each of said plurality of monitors with a centralized processing component coupled to said plurality of monitors; and means for regulating congestion on said multimedia communications network utilizing the analyzed information whereby said centralized processing component is utilized to control data traffic by messaging said plurality of gatekeepers, wherein said means for regulating congestion includes means for transmitting a control message to one or more of said plurality of gatekeepers, which responds to a receipt of said message in at least one of a plurality of ways from among rerouting data traffic flow from congested paths to less congested paths and throttling back the flow of data traffic to reduce congestion, wherein said plurality of gatekeepers operate in concert with each other based on received control messages from said centralized processing component.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
211 words
A system for reducing congestion of real time data traffic on a multimedia communications network having a traffic control mechanism, said system comprising: means for extracting, from specialized packets within data traffic in said multimedia communications network, information regarding congestion of said multimedia communications network, wherein said extracting step is completed by a plurality of monitors coupled to said multimedia communications network that are designed to recognize and intercept said specialized packets; means for analyzing said information extracted from each of said plurality of monitors with a centralized processing component coupled to said plurality of monitors; and means for regulating congestion on said multimedia communications network utilizing the analyzed information whereby said centralized processing component is utilized to control data traffic by messaging said plurality of gatekeepers, wherein said means for regulating congestion includes means for transmitting a control message to one or more of said plurality of gatekeepers, which responds to a receipt of said message in at least one of a plurality of ways from among rerouting data traffic flow from congested paths to less congested paths and throttling back the flow of data traffic to reduce congestion, wherein said plurality of gatekeepers operate in concert with each other based on received control messages from said centralized processing component.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
42 words
The system of claim 6 , wherein said plurality of monitors are stand-alone monitors that differentiate said specialized packets from standard data packets within network traffic and said congestion monitors are designed to retrieve only said specialized packets from said network traffic.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
27 words
The system of claim 7 , wherein said analyzing means analyzes an aggregate of all received congestion information against known QoS and transmission parameters of said network.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
65 words
The system of claim 6 , wherein said extracting means includes said plurality of congestion monitors, which further comprise means for: retrieving from within network traffic a subset of said specialized packets, whereby said specialized packets retrieved are members of a specified transmission protocol; summarizing performance information extracted from said specialized packets; and forwarding said summarized performance information to said centralized processing component for analysis.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
79 words
The system of claim 9 , wherein said specialized data packets retrieved are members of a scalable protocol that provides specific network traffic information including sufficient network delay, packet loss and throughput information, wherein additional functional characteristics of said scalable protocol include dynamically tracking the number of participants in a session, providing feedback on quality of data distribution, carrying a persistent transport level identifier, and controlling the real-time packet rate to scale up to a large number of participants.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
The system of claim 6 , whereby said communications network is created utilizing the H.323 standard.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
197 words
A computer program product for reducing congestion of real time data traffic on a multimedia communications network having a traffic control mechanism comprising program instructions in a computer usable medium for: analyzing congestion information extracted from specialized packets within data traffic in said network, wherein said specialized packets are intercepted and retrieved by each of a plurality of monitors that are coupled to a centralized processing component and are designed to recognize and intercept said specialized packets; and regulating congestion on said multimedia communications network utilizing the analyzed information whereby said centralized processing component is utilized to control data traffic by messaging said plurality of gatekeepers, wherein said regulating program instructions include instructions for wherein said regulating program instructions include instructions for transmitting a control message to one or more of said plurality of gatekeepers, which responds to a receipt of said message in at least one of a plurality of ways from among rerouting data traffic flow from congested paths to less congested paths and throttling back the flow of data traffic to reduce congestion, wherein said plurality of gatekeepers operate in concert with each other based on received control messages from said centralized processing component.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
197 words
A computer program product for reducing congestion of real time data traffic on a multimedia communications network having a traffic control mechanism comprising program instructions in a computer usable medium for: analyzing congestion information extracted from specialized packets within data traffic in said network, wherein said specialized packets are intercepted and retrieved by each of a plurality of monitors that are coupled to a centralized processing component and are designed to recognize and intercept said specialized packets; and regulating congestion on said multimedia communications network utilizing the analyzed information whereby said centralized processing component is utilized to control data traffic by messaging said plurality of gatekeepers, wherein said regulating program instructions include instructions for wherein said regulating program instructions include instructions for transmitting a control message to one or more of said plurality of gatekeepers, which responds to a receipt of said message in at least one of a plurality of ways from among rerouting data traffic flow from congested paths to less congested paths and throttling back the flow of data traffic to reduce congestion, wherein said plurality of gatekeepers operate in concert with each other based on received control messages from said centralized processing component.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
138 words
The computer program product of claim 12 , wherein said program instructions further include instructions for: retrieving from within network traffic a subset of said specialized packets, whereby said specialized packets retrieved are members of a specified transmission protocol that is H.323 standard compliant, wherein said specialized data packets retrieved are members of a scalable protocol that provides specific network traffic information including sufficient network delay, packet loss and throughput information, wherein additional functional characteristics of said scalable protocol include dynamically tracking the number of participants in a session, providing feedback on quality of data distribution, carrying a persistent transport level identifier, and controlling the real-time packet rate to scale up to a large number of participants; summarizing performance information extracted from said specialized packets; and forwarding said summarized performance information to said centralized processing component for analysis.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
21 words
The method of claim 4 , wherein said scalable protocol is the RTCP protocol and said specialized packets are RTCP packets.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 3 , wherein said congestion monitors are stand-alone monitors that differentiate RTCP packets from standard data packets within network traffic and said congestion monitors are designed to retrieve only said specialized packets from said network traffic.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
36 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising selecting which ones of said plurality of gatekeepers to send a control message too, whereby only relevant gatekeepers among said plurality of gatekeepers are noticed about said congestion.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
40 words
The method of claim 16 , further comprising: dynamically adjusting call admission policies of said gatekeepers to which said control message is sent wherein said call admissions policies are adjusted based on pre-determined rules upon receipt of said control message.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
47 words
The method of claim 3 , wherein said controlling step includes: when a reduction in data rate is desired from a transmitting application, altering, via said plurality of monitors, a content of said RTCP packets to force congestion detection and subsequent bandwidth reduction for said transmitting application.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
41 words
The system of claim 6 , further comprising: means for dynamically adjusting call admission policies of said gatekeepers-to which said control message is sent wherein said call admissions policies are adjusted based on predetermined rules upon receipt of said control message.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
49 words
The system of claim 9 , wherein said controlling means includes: when a reduction in data rate is desired from a transmitting application, means for altering, via said plurality of monitors, a content of said RTCP packets to force congestion detection and subsequent bandwidth reduction for said transmitting application.
Claim 24
Independent Claim
163 words
An apparatus for reducing congestion of real time data traffic on a multimedia communications network having a traffic control mechanism, said apparatus comprising: means for extracting, from specialized packets within data traffic in said multimedia communications network, information regarding congestion of said multimedia communications network means for analyzing said information extracted from the specialized packets; and means for regulating congestion on said multimedia communications network utilizing the analyzed information to control data traffic by messaging a plurality of gatekeepers, wherein said means for regulating congestion includes: means for transmitting a control message to one or more of said plurality of gatekeepers, which responds to a receipt of said message in at least one of a plurality of ways from among rerouting data traffic flow from congested paths to less congested paths and throttling back the flow of data traffic to reduce congestion, wherein said plurality of gatekeepers operate in concert with each other based on received control messages from said centralized processing component.
Claim 25
Independent Claim
163 words
An apparatus for reducing congestion of real time data traffic on a multimedia communications network having a traffic control mechanism, said apparatus comprising: means for extracting, from specialized packets within data traffic in said multimedia communications network, information regarding congestion of said multimedia communications network means for analyzing said information extracted from the specialized packets; and means for regulating congestion on said multimedia communications network utilizing the analyzed information to control data traffic by messaging a plurality of gatekeepers, wherein said means for regulating congestion includes: means for transmitting a control message to one or more of said plurality of gatekeepers, which responds to a receipt of said message in at least one of a plurality of ways from among rerouting data traffic flow from congested paths to less congested paths and throttling back the flow of data traffic to reduce congestion, wherein said plurality of gatekeepers operate in concert with each other based on received control messages from said centralized processing component.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
26 words
The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein: said analyzing means analyzes an-aggregate of all received congestion information against known QoS and transmission parameters of said network.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
79 words
The apparatus of claim 21 , wherein said specialized data packets retrieved are members of a scalable protocol that provides specific network traffic information including sufficient network delay, packet loss and throughput information, wherein additional functional characteristics of said scalable protocol include dynamically tracking the number of participants in a session, providing feedback on quality of data distribution, carrying a persistent transport level identifier, and controlling the real-time packet rate to scale up to a large number of participants.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
28 words
The system of claim 6 , wherein said means for extracting information regarding congestion, analyzing said information, and regulating congestion are logic components within a single, central apparatus.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2006-03-03 | 2006-09-02 | 2007-03-04 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2010-03-03 | 2010-09-02 | 2011-03-04 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2014-03-03 | 2014-09-02 | 2015-03-04 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |