This application is a National Stage of International patent application PCT/EP2011/062550, filed on Jul. 21, 2011, which claims priority to foreign French patent application No. FR 1003075, filed on Jul. 21, 2010, the disclosures of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety.
The invention relates to a system allowing a user network to allocate the resources of a satellite link in a telecommunication network so as to ensure excellent quality of service while reducing the cost of the service.
The system according to the invention makes it possible notably to dynamically (automatically) allocate for example BGAN Inmarsat guaranteed-throughput channels of optimized dimensions.
More generally, the system may be implemented in any telecommunication network using TFT rules which function is to assign frames identified by discriminators to secondary PDP contexts (the initials standing for “packet data protocol”) of “streaming” type, for example GPRS, the abbreviation standing for General Packet Radio Service.
The initials TFT better known by the expression “Traffic Flow Template” designate a series of filters which ensures a determined path for applications whose flow is identified by the TFT filters.
In the description which follows the word “streaming” designates a class of satcom services guaranteeing a guaranteed throughput (used mainly for real-time applications). The word “transceiver” is used to designate a transmitter/receiver whose function is notably to broadcast an input signal to several outputs.
The system takes the form of an onboard platform which may be aboard an aircraft, a ship, a vehicle or in a suitcase and of a ground platform which interfaces with the public or private networks. The onboard platform serves a network using the IP Internet protocol to which computer equipment (data, voice or phone, video etc. . . . ) is connected.
In telecommunication networks using a satellite, two types of category of services are proposed:
These services are currently opened manually as a function of a user's requirement.
A session in the Best Effort mode is initialized for transmissions with no bandwidth guarantee and if a bandwidth guarantee requirement is necessary, then the Best Effort session is stopped in favour of the opening of a “streaming” session. This mode of operation is constraining, in fact imposing that, for reasons of simplicity, the users remain in the Best Effort mode.
Adding to this, it is necessary to choose the size of the streaming that one wishes to open. In the case of Services which may fluctuate (such as telephony for example for which it is difficult to foretell how many people will call, when and for what duration), the resource must remain open almost permanently. This gives rise to unacceptable communication costs (for example, 128-kbps streaming possesses a very high operating cost).
The solutions proposed on the market are:
Moreover, these procedures do not solve, notably, the identification of requirements for implementing the opening and closing of the resources in a dynamic manner.
The object of the present invention relates to a system which is applicable notably to data transmissions which require a guaranteed bandwidth and for which neither the volume to be transmitted nor the duration is known. The proposed solution makes it possible to open and to close these resources in a dynamic manner, as a function of a given user's requirement. The solution makes it possible to open a streaming channel as soon as the user forwards a communication or transmits data requiring a guaranteed bandwidth, and releases the channel as soon as the communication has terminated.
The subject of the invention relates to a service manager intended to be positioned in a telecommunications network implementing a satellite and one or more user networks, the communication protocol relying on the 3G standard or implementing TFT and PDP rules, characterized in that it comprises at least the following modules:
Traffic detector module comprises, for example, a container module for plugins for creating/deleting TFTs comprising an input, receiving information from the links configuration module, an output transmitting information on the parameters of analysed traffic, the class, etc. to the TFTs manager via input, said container module comprises at least one of the following sub-modules:
The service manager comprises, for example, an optional external-events manager module comprising an input receiving information from the links configuration module via output, output transmitting information to the TFTs manager.
The Secondary PDP context management module, comprises an input/output linked up with the transceiver for the request/response statuses for the contexts.
The system may be used in an Inmarsat telecommunications system or in a mobile telecommunications system.
These devices being known to the person skilled in the art by the following terms: “Specific packet detection plugin, traffic type detection plugin, other traffic specification detection plugin.”
The service manager according to the invention is, for example, used in an Inmarsat telecommunications system or in a mobile telecommunications system.
Other characteristics and advantages of the device according to the invention will be more apparent on reading the description which follows of an exemplary embodiment given by way of wholly nonlimiting illustration together with the figures which represent:
In order to better elucidate the subject of the present invention, the description which follows will be given within the framework of usage in a BGAN Inmarsat system, operating with the 3GPP communication protocol which makes it possible to ensure maintenance and development of the technical specifications for the GSM (abbreviation standing for Global System Mobile), GPRS (General Packet Radio Service), EDGE (Enhanced Data Rate) mobile standards, for example.
The idea of the present invention is based on the use of a server added to an existing satellite telecommunication network of BGAN Inmarsat type. The latter is embedded onboard the platform serving the communications (aeroplane, boat, etc.). The function of this server is notably to manage the opening and closing of the BGAN Inmarsat streaming channels.
More generally, it applies in all telecommunications networks which use a primary and secondary PDP context management mechanism and on the TFT mechanism.
The BGAN Inmarsat network 1 is also linked in this exemplary implementation to a ground platform 6 which serves an IP network to which are connected services of VIP office, Internet, Videoconference type.
In
The onboard platform E can be situated aboard an aircraft, a ship, a vehicle or in a suitcase and the ground platform interfaces with the public or private networks according to techniques known to the person skilled in the art.
The explanations which follow may be implemented in any type of satellite telecommunication network operating with the 3GPP communication protocol.
The BGAN Inmarsat communication service makes it possible to create several network links between a Satcom terminal and the terrestrial Inmarsat network. Accordingly, it is possible to assign several IP addresses for one and the same satcom terminal, each IP address being assigned to a link. This link is associated with a primary context. The term “context” designates the environment in which the data transmissions take place. Each type of traffic that it is desired to differentiate is associated with a secondary PDP context by the TFT rules. The TFT rule which makes it possible to activate the streaming channels so as to transmit the communications is a rule defined by the size of the frames processed.
All the channels of one and the same “link” have one and the same address, that of the “link”.
This solution is adaptable for each type of traffic identifiable in the TFT rules (e.g.: voice over IP VoIP, video data, etc. . . . ). It makes it possible in respect of the data to have nonguaranteed-bandwidth transmissions and guaranteed bandwidth transmissions with activation and release of the channel in a dynamic manner.
The BGAN Inmarsat network manages, for example, the resources by means of the Packet Data Protocol or PDP contexts. Each data connection between the Satcom terminal of the mobile platform and the Inmarsat network is described by its PDP. The PDP context which is negotiated between the terminal and the BGAN Inmarsat network contains the elements describing the connection and in particular the routing by Access Point Name or APN which is the exit point of the BGAN Inmarsat network, the quality of service QoS, Best Effort, Streaming, and the billing associated with these data.
One or more BGAN Inmarsat primary contexts are open with the BestEffort quality of service for the traffic not requiring any guaranteed bandwidth. One or more secondary contexts are created but not activated for each type of traffic requiring a Streaming mode. The secondary contexts of one and the same primary PDP context share the same APN and the same IP address as the primary link to which they are attached; on the other hand, their quality of service may be different.
The primary BGAN Inmarsat context, Link, is activated on startup.
The secondary BGAN Inmarsat contexts, channels, are created just after the establishment of the primary context but are not activated.
TFT Rules
The TFT is a filter series which ensures a determined path for applications whose flow is identified by the TFT filters. The application of the TFT rules is based on the knowledge: of the characteristics of the traffic flow or flows which will use the streaming and are used to transport the calls. For example, at most 8 TFT rules may be defined per PDP context in the system and 11 PDP contexts may be activated simultaneously per terminal. Each TFT rule may use one or more criteria from among the available list. These criteria are applicable in the uplink or downlink direction. The TFT rules may be created dynamically and the creation characteristics for these rules are in a satcom management application configuration file.
The quality of service manager 10 according to the invention is disposed between a user's LAN network and the transceiver T (
This service manager 10 comprises for example the following elements:
a link configuration module 11 which contains the static configuration, that can be modified by a user. The module 11 for configuring links comprises, for example,
The arrow F designates a bidirectional traffic flow of the data or information flows between a LAN user network and the transceiver T.
The operation of the system described in
On startup, the configuration of the system is distributed in the modules of the quality of service manager according to the invention. There therefore exists a preconfiguration in static mode.
In the case where TFTs ought to be created as a function of the analysis of the flow, then the traffic detector will be configured so as to detect the corresponding traffic flow by using suitable flow analysis plugins.
Upon detection of a traffic flow corresponding to a TFT creation criterion, then the traffic detector informs the TFTs management module. This information can comprise TFT parameters and the traffic class.
The TFT manager will ask the secondary PDP context manager for an available PDP context and it will create one or more TFTs, according to a given configuration, and will link these TFTs to the PDP context allocated to a specified class.
The TFT manager will check the status of the transceiver so as to ensure the persistence of the TFTs presumed to have been created.
The plugin for detecting the configured TFTs will detect the traffic on the TFTs created and upon detection, will inform the manager of the PDP secondary context.
The manager of the PDP secondary context will thereafter activate the relevant context, so as to have the traffic corresponding to the identified TFT, directed towards this context.
Upon detection of a traffic flow corresponding to a TFT in place by the plugin for detecting the configured TFTs, the traffic detector will inform the TFTs management module, and in an optional manner will specify parameters of the TFTs.
The plugin for detecting the configured TFT rules will detect the prolonged absence of traffic previously present and will inform the manager of the secondary PDP contexts which will deactivate the corresponding context. The TFTs manager will delete the relevant TFTs.
Another way of proceeding, without departing from the scope of the invention, consists in using the event manager in place of the IP traffic detector.
The system according to the invention allows a BGAN Inmarsat Satcom type telecommunication network user to forget about the opening or closing of the Satcom resources, while having a guarantee of optimization of these resources and a guarantee of quality of service.
The system according to the invention makes it possible to:
Transmit traffic in the best effort:
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
10 03075 | Jul 2010 | FR | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/EP2011/062550 | 7/21/2011 | WO | 00 | 7/2/2013 |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2012/010664 | 1/26/2012 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
7756040 | Andriantsiferana et al. | Jul 2010 | B1 |
20130155948 | Pinheiro et al. | Jun 2013 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2009143063 | Nov 2009 | WO |
Entry |
---|
“3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; Digital Cellular Telecommunications system (Phase 2+); General Packet Radio Service (GPRS); Service Description; Stage 2 (3G TS 23.060 version 3.2.0.)”, 3rd Generation Partnership Project , pp. 1-180, Dec. 1, 1999, No. V3.2.0, Mobile Competence Centre, FR, XP050362254. |
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
20130336119 A1 | Dec 2013 | US |