MXPA00000534A - Dynamic quality of service reservation in a mobile communications network - Google Patents

Abstract

In a mobile communications system (10), a mobile host (12) communicates packet data with an external network (56) by way of a packet gateway node (54). The mobile host establishes a packet session during which plural application flows are communicated with an external network entity. Each application flow includes a corresponding stream of packets. In addition, a corresponding quality of service parameter is defined and reserved for each of the plural application flows. In this way, different quality of service parameters may be defined and reserved for different ones of the application flows. Packets corresponding to each of the application flows are then delivered, for example, from the external network entity all the way to the mobile host in accordance with the quality of service reserved for that application flow. Different qualities of service may have different allocated bandwidths, delays, and/or reliabilities.

Description

DYNAMIC QUALITY OF SERVICE RESERVATION IN A MOBILE COMMUNICATION NETWORK RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority over the US provisional patent application serial number 60 / 054,469, filed on July 25, 1997. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to to mobile communications, and more particularly to the reservation of a particular class or particular quality of service for individual mobile communications. BACKGROUND AND COMPENDIUM OF THE INVENTION The main application of mobile radio systems such as, for example, the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) (Global System for Mobile Communications) has been mobile telephony. However, the use of mobile data applications such as fax transmission and the exchange of short messages is becoming more popular. New data applications include wireless personal computers, mobile offices, electronic funds transfer, road transport telemetry, field service businesses, fleet management, etc. These applications are characterized by a transit "in packages". In other words, a relatively large amount of data is transmitted in a relatively short time interval followed by important time intervals when little data is transmitted or when data is not transmitted. In packet traffic situations, packet switched communication mechanisms better use the transmission medium than circuit switched mechanisms. In a packet switched network, the transmission medium is used only upon request, and a single physical channel can be shared by many users. Another advantage is that, unlike charging based on the time applied for circuit switched connections, packet switched data services allow charging according to the amount of data transmission and the quality of services of this transmission. In order to integrate these innovative mobile applications, radio services in packets, such as the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) (General Packet Radio Service) incorporated in GSM, allow switched data services in packets, without connection with a high efficiency of bandwidth. The Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) networks (Data in Cellular Digital Packs) are another example. End users have an important interest in relation to a data service in mobile packets, such as GPRS because wireless personal computers support conventional Internet-based applications, such as file transfer, presentation and reception of electronic mail, and "displacement" on the Internet through the Worldwide Web. Video is also an important possible element of multimedia services that can ultimately be supported by GPRS services. Figure 1 shows a mobile data service from a user perspective in the context of a mobile communication system 10. A user The end communicates data packets using a mobile guest 12 including, for example, a laptop type computer 14 connected to a mobile terminal 16. The mobile guest 12 communicates, for example, with a fixed computer terminal 18 incorporated in a local area network (LAN) 20 through a mobile packet data support node 22 through 1 or more routers 24, a packet data network 26 and a router 28 in the local area network 20. Obviously, the experts in The subject will observe that this drawing is simplified to the extent that the "Path" is a logical path instead of a real physical path or connection. In a connectionless data packet communication between the mobile guest 12 and a fixed terminal 18, packets are routed from the source to the destination independently and do not necessarily follow the same path (but can do so). A) Yes, an independent packet routing and transfer within the mobile network is supported by a mobile packet data support node 22 that acts as a logical interface or gateway to external packet networks. A subscriber can send and receive data in an end-to-end packet transfer mode without using any circuit switched mode network resource. In addition, parallel sessions, from multiple points to point are possible. For example, a mobile guest such as a mobile personal computer can handle several applications at a time such as a video conference, an email communication, or a fax display, etc. Figure 2 shows a more detailed mobile communication system employing the exemplary GSM mobile communications model that supports both circuit switched communication and packet switched communication. A mobile guest 12 that includes a computer terminal 14 and a mobile radio 16 communicates in a radio interface with one or more base stations (BSs) 32. Each base station 32 is located in corresponding cell 30. The stations of multiple base 32 are connected to a base station controller (BSC) 34 that manages the allocation and deallocation of radio resources and controls transfers of mobile stations from one base station to another. A base station controller and its associated base stations are sometimes referred to as a subsystem of base stations (BSS). The BSC 34 is connected to a mobile switching center (MSC) 36 through which circuit-switched connections are established with other networks 38 such as, for example, the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), integrated services digital network (ISDN). ), etc. The MSC 36 is also connected through a network 40 of Signaling System Number 7 (SS7) to a register of Home Addresses (HLR) 42, a Register of Visitor Locations (VLR) 34 and an Authentication Center (AuC). 46. VLR 44 includes a database that contains information regarding all mobile stations currently located in a corresponding location or corresponding service area as well as the temporary subscriber information required by the MSC to provide mobile services in your service area. Typically, when a mobile station enters a visiting network or service area, a corresponding VLR 44 requests and receives data regarding the moving station from the HLR of the mobile station and stores said information. As a result, when the visiting mobile station is participating in a call, the VLR 44 already has the necessary information to establish a call. The HLR 42 is a database node that stores and manages subscriptions. For each "home" mobile subscriber, the HLR contains permanent subscriber data such as mobile station ISDN number (MSISDN) that uniquely identifies the mobile telephone subscription in the PSTN numbering plan and a subscriber identity International Mobile (IMSI) which is a unique identity assigned to each subscriber and used for signaling in mobile networks. All the subscriber information related to the network is connected to the IMSI. The HLR 42 also contains a list of services that a mobile subscriber can employ together with a current subscriber location number that corresponds to the address of the VLR that is currently serving the mobile subscriber. Each BSC 34 is also connected to a GPRS network 51 in a Service GPRS Support node (SGSN) 50 responsible for delivering packets to the mobile stations within its service area. The gate GPRS support node (GGSN) 54 acts as a logical interface with external packet data networks such as the IP 56 data network. The SGSN 50 nodes and the GGSN 54 nodes are connected through a backbone. intra-PLMN IP 52. Thus, between the SGSN 50 and GGSN 54, the Internet Protocol (IP) is used as the backbone to transfer data packets. Within the GPRS network 51, packets or protocol data units PDUs are encapsulated in a source GPRS support node and de-encapsulated in the destination GPRS support node. This encapsulation / de-encapsulation at the IP level between SGSN 50 and GGSN 54 is known as "Tunnel Effect" in GPRS. The GGSN 54 maintains the routing information used for "route" PDUs to the SGSN 50 that is currently serving the mobile station. A tunnel protocol Common GPRS (GTP) allows different data protocols in underlying packets to be used even if these protocols are not supported by all the SGSNs. All data related to GPRS users required by the SGSN to carry out a routing and data transfer functions are accessible from HLR 42 through the SS7 network 40. The HLR 42 stores a routing information and correlates the IMSI with one or several packet data protocol (PDP) addresses as well as correlates each PDP address with one or more GGSNs.

Before a mobile guest can send packet data to an external network such as an Internet service provider (ISP) 58 and searched in Figure 2, but mobile guest 12 has (1) "connected" to the GPRS network 51 to disclose its presence and (2) create a packet data protocol (PDP) context to establish a gateway GGSN 54 relationship to the external network to which the mobile guest is accessing. The connection procedure is carried out between the mobile guest 12 and the SGSN 50 to establish a logical link. As a result, a temporary logical link identity is assigned to the mobile host 12. A PDP context is established between the mobile guest and the GGSN 54. The selection of GGSN 54 is based on the name of the external network to be reached. One or more application flows (known as "routing contexts") can be established for a single PDP context through negotiations with the GGSN 54 an application stream corresponds to a stream of data packets that can be distinguished by being associated with a particular guest application. An exemplary application flow is an email message from a mobile guest to a fixed terminal. Other exemplary application flows is a link to a particular Internet Service Provider (ISP) to download a graphic file from a website. Both application flows are associated with the same mobile host and the same PDP context. Packet-switched data communications are based on specific protocol procedures, typically separated into different layers. Figure 3 (A) shows a "transmission plane" of GPRS modeling with multilayer protocol stacks. Between the GGSN and SGSN, the GPRS tunneling protocol (GTP) carries the PDUs through the GPRS backbone network 52 by adding a routing information to encapsulate the PDUs. The GTP header contains a tunnel endpoint identifier for point-to-point and multiple packets, as well as for a group identity for multiple point-to-point packets. In addition, a type field that specifies the type of PDU and a service profile quality associated with a PDP context session is included. Under the GTP, the transmission control protocol / user diagram protocol (TCP / UDP) and Internet protocol (IP) are well known as the GPRS backbone network layer protocols. You can use Internet-based protocols, frame relay (FR), or asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) for the link and physical layers according to the network architecture of the operator. Between the SGSN and the mobile / guest station, a Subnetwork Dependent Convergence Protocol (SNDCP) correlates the network level protocol characteristics with the underlying logical link control (LLC) and offers functionalities such as, for example, message multiplexing network layer in a single virtual logical connection, coding, segmentation, and compression. A Base Station System GPRS Protocol (BSSGP) is a flow control protocol that allows the base station system to start and stop the PDUs sent by the SGSN. This ensures that the BSS is not flooded by packets in the case of a reduced radio link capacity for example, due to fading and other adverse conditions. You can use frame relay and ATM for relay frames of PDUs in the physical layer.

A radio communication between the mobile station and the network of GPRS covers physical layer functionality and data link layer. The physical layer is divided into a physical link sublayer (PLL) and a physical RF sublayer (RFL). The RFL carries out modulation and demodulation of the physical waveforms and specifies carrier frequencies, radio channel structures, as well as raw channel data rate.

The PLL provides services for the transfer of information in the physical radio channel and includes the formation of data unit boxes, data coding, and detection / correction of physical media transmission areas. The data link layer is divided into two different sublayers. The radio link control sublayer / medium access control (RLC / MAC) directs access to the physical radio medium shared between several mobile stations and the GPRS network. RLC / MAC multiplexes data and signaling information, performs contention resolution, quality of service and error handling, the logical link control layer (LLC) operates above the MAC layer and provides a logical link between the host Mobile and the SGSN. The quality of service corresponds to the goodness (quality) with which a certain operation (service) is carried out. Some services such as multimedia applications or a simple telephone call require guarantees in terms of accuracy, reliability and speed of transmission. Typically, in packet switched communications, "best efforts" are employed, and no guarantees are made. Quantitative parameters can include performance (such as the average data rate or the peak data rate), reliability, delay, and fluctuations that correspond to the delay variation between a minimum delay time and a maximum delay time to which is subject a message. In the context of providing quality of service (QoS) in a mobile data communication system, a QoS approach is to assign a specific priority to each PDP context. But this approach is not satisfactory. As defined above, each PDP context can have several application flows. Each application flow in a current PDP context / session is likely to have different delay needs per packet. For example, real-time applications such as telephony require a guaranteed service while a video requires a predicted delay service. More specifically, elastic applications such as interactive packages, interactive volumetric transfer and asynchronous volumetric transfer require different degrees of delay service as soon as possible (or better effort).

Instead of limiting the quality of service to a unique network level IP address / single PDP context, the present invention defines a quality of service for each individual application flow. An appropriate quality of service is reserved separately, monitored and regulated for each application flow in a PDP context. In addition, the present invention offers a dynamic quality of service reservation mechanisms per PDP context that is introduced into a mobile data communication system in order to function as a "conscious" client network layer of quality of service that allows integration with other data service architectures such as the Internet for the purpose of enabling an end-to-end integrated service where the quality of service can be specified from the mobile host to a fixed host in end-to-end communication. A mobile communication system is provided where a mobile host communicates data in packets with an external network through a packet gate node. The mobile host establishes a packet session during which several application flows are communicated with an external network entity. Each application flow includes a corresponding stream of packets. further, a corresponding quality of service parameter is defined and reserved for each of the various application flows. In this way, several quality of service parameters can be defined and reserved for different application flows. Packages corresponding to each of the application flows are then supplied, for example, from the external network entity to the mobile host in accordance with the quality of service reserved for this application flow. Different service qualities may have different assigned bandwidths, different delays, and / or different reliability. A class of service is the best effort where packets in an application flow can be abandoned. Other classes of services are classified as predictive where the packets in an application flow are not abandoned. In terms of delay, the quality of service may include delay classes that specify a maximum packet transfer rate, an average packet transfer rate, and a packet increment size of an individual application stream. Data service subscription information is stored for each mobile guest and specifies whether the mobile guest subscribes to a static or dynamic service quality. If you subscribe to a dynamic quality of service to which QoS can be specified for each application flow, the subscription information for that mobile host defines parameters or classes of quality of service to which you specifically subscribe. Then, when the mobile host establishes a session in packets, each subscribed quality of service class is available for application flows that are activated during this session. The process of establishing a packet session includes the "fixation" of the mobile host on the network (or other equivalent operation) and the communication of a packet session initiation / activation message to the gateway node. In addition, an end-to-end configuration procedure is established between the mobile terminal and the external network entity at the other end. The end-to-end configuration assigns a layer address of network packets to the mobile guest. Several end-to-end configurations can exist in the same PDP context, and several application flows can exist which employ the same configuration. As a result, several application flows can be flexibly established during the mobile guest session that has several different network layer addresses and different service qualities. In the configuration procedure, the gateway node functions as a dynamic host configuration agent serving the mobile client guest relay packets between the mobile host and the external network entity. In addition to the "channeling" of data communications corresponding to the network layer carrier between the gate node and the mobile host, a relationship is also established at the gate node between a mobile guest identifier (eg, the Mobile IMSI), and the established data communication tunnel, and the network layer address stored for the mobile host for the established session. Using this relationship, the gateway node analyzes the received packets and allows only packets having a destination or source corresponding to one of the mobile host network layer addresses stored for the established session. After carrying out a reservation request for a particular quality of service for an individual application flow, a determination is made as to whether the reservation request can be fulfilled in the current traffic conditions. If the reservation request can be fulfilled, the network packet layer carrier between the mobile host and the gateway node is set to "carry" several individual application flows having different corresponding quality of service classes. In addition to the packet gate node, the packet service node is installed between the packet gate node and the mobile host. Among other things, the service node determines whether the reservation request for the particular quality of service can be supported from the service node to the mobile host based on a current traffic load of existing radio communications in the area where service is now given to the mobile guest. In particular, the service node estimates the delay and bandwidth requirements that correspond to the required quality of service and provides them to the gate node. Once an application flow reservation is made for a particular quality of service, the gate node monitors the flow of applications to ensure that the quality of reserved service is met using appropriate packet classification and transfer programming procedures. In the case of packets destined for mobile guests, the service node combines the packets of different sessions corresponding to the same mobile hosts that have the same quality of service. The service node also combines packets destined for different mobile guests located in the same geographical service area that have the same quality of service. Packages destined for the same geographical service area but having different service qualities are assigned to different priority queues corresponding to the different qualities of service and are sent to the particular radio access network within the geographical area. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments in accordance with that illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which reference characters refer to the same parts in the various views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale emphasizing the illustration of the principles of the invention. Figure 1 is a simplified diagram showing a data communication between a mobile host and a fixed host; Figure 2 is a detailed diagram showing a GSM mobile communication system that includes a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) data network; Figure 3 illustrates various data communication protocols employed between different nodes in the GPRS data communication network illustrated in Figure 2; Figure 4 is a flow diagram illustrating dynamic quality of service procedures in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a flow chart showing dynamic quality of service procedures in GPRS in accordance with another exemplary embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 is a signaling sequence for PDP context activation in accordance with a detailed exemplary GPRS embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7 is a signaling sequence for a network layer host configuration in accordance with the detailed GPRS exemplary embodiment of the present invention; Figure 8 is a diagram showing a GPRS carrier established between a gate data node and a mobile host showing the reservation of quality of service for a particular application flow; Figure 9 is a graph illustrating delay probability definitions for a GPRS carrier; Figures 10A and 10B show a sequence of messages illustrating dynamic quality of service reservation procedures in accordance with the exemplary GPRS mode of the present invention; Figure 11 is a diagram illustrating exemplary queues and combining techniques that can be employed in service nodes in accordance with packet classification and programming procedures in the detailed exemplary GPRS mode of the present invention; Figure 12 is a sequence of messages showing the sending of packets in the network packet layer to the mobile guest from an Internet service provider (ISP) in accordance with the detailed GPRS exemplary embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 13 is a block diagram of function illustrating several exemplary control functionalities in the mobile host and gate node that can be employed to implement the present invention; and Figure 14 is a block diagram of function illustrating various control functionalities in the service data node and the gate node that may be employed in the implementation of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the following description, for purposes of explanation and not for limitation, specific details are presented, such as particular modalities, equipment, techniques, etc., in order to offer a thorough understanding of the invention. However, it will be apparent to one skilled in the art that the present invention can be carried out in other modalities that depart from the specific details. For example, while a specific embodiment of the present invention is described in the context of a GSM / GPRS cellular telephone network, those skilled in the art will note that the present invention can be implemented in any mobile communication system employing other architectures and / or mobile data communication protocols. In other cases, detailed descriptions of well-known methods, interfaces, devices and signaling techniques are omitted so as not to obscure the description of the present invention with unnecessary details.

In accordance with what is described above, the present invention offers considerable flexibility and a wide range of data services to mobile subscribers allowing definition and reservation of a specific quality of service for each of several application flows activated during a data session in instead of restricting all application flows to a single quality of service assigned to the session. With reference to Figure 4 illustrating a dynamic quality of service routine (block 100), in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention, a packet session is established for each mobile guest. During the established packet session, several application streams / packet streams are communicated between an external network entity such as the fixed terminal 18 illustrated in FIG. 1 or an Internet service provider (ISP) illustrated in FIG. 2, and the mobile host as for example the mobile guest 12 illustrated in Figures 1 and 2 (block 102). A quality of service (QoS) is reserved (if available given the current traffic conditions) for each application flow during the established packet session, and notably, the quality of service for different application flows may differ (block 104) . The packets corresponding to each application flow are supplied between the external network entity and the mobile host in accordance with the corresponding quality of service reserved (block 106). The package session established can, therefore, serve as a carrier for several sessions of serial applications without requiring the reestablishment and reconfiguration of the mobile host. The established packet session can also serve as a carrier for several streams in a multimedia session while still meeting individual requirements for service quality of data, voice and video streams. While the present invention can be usefully applied to any mobile data communication network, a detailed exemplary embodiment is now presented in the context of the General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) employed in the well-known GSM mobile radio communication network. . Figure 5 illustrates in a flow chart general procedures for providing a dynamic quality of service in GPRS in this detailed exemplary embodiment (block 110). The first set of procedures refers to a PDP context activation (block 112), where PDP stands for Packet Data Protocol which corresponds to the network layer protocol used in the data communication system. Another way to describe a PDP context is for the mobile guest to be "connected" and started a data session with GPRS. In GPRS, there are two exemplary PDPs that can be used including Internet Protocol (IP) v4 and X.25. In the following example, IP is taken into account. HLR42 in Figure 2 stores PDP contexts for each mobile subscriber in corresponding subscription registers. The PDP subscription record includes profiles / parameters of subscribed service quality, subscribed external networks, etc. When a mobile system "hooks" to the GPRS network, the mobile guest subscription is retrieved from HLR42. As a result of the PDP context activation, a "bearer" or network layer tunnel is established between the mobile host and the gate GPRS support node (GGSN) 54. After the PDP context activation, a network layer, e.g., IP, a host configuration operation is performed to establish a network layer (IP) bearer communication between the mobile guest 12 and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) 58 ( block 114). The IP configuration includes assigning a network layer (IP) address to the mobile host, setting default values for a World Wide Web server (WWW), a domain name server (DNS), a protocol cache of address resolution (ARP), etc. The IP carrier between the mobile host and the GGSN established in the PDP context activation is now extended from the GGSN to the ISP. Packages can be routed between the mobile host and the end systems in the ISP.

The next step is the dynamic reservation of service quality (block 116) where a specific quality of service is reserved for each application flow established during the PDP activated / data session context (block 116). Several procedures are carried out (described below) to ensure that there is sufficient capacity for a required QoS reservation and that the requesting mobile host is authorized to request the reservation of a particular quality of service. The final step refers to the sending of IP data packets between the external host such as ISP 58 and mobile guest 12 (block 118). Said IP packet delivery includes the classification of packets, programming / queuing, and policy procedures (block 118). Detailed procedures for each of the blocks 112-118 are now described below. Figure 6 illustrates a signaling sequence for PDP context activation. Each vertical line in Figure 6 represents a node illustrated in Figure 2 which includes the mobile guest (guest / MS) 12, the SGSN 50, the GGSN 54, and the Internet Service Provider (ISP) 58. The mobile guest sends a "PDP context activation request" message to the SGSN that includes an access point name (APN), that is, the name of the ISP, a type of PDP that, in this example, is IP, a definition Service Quality (QoS) for this PDP context request which, in this example, is Best Efforts (BE) of QoS class 4 and an end-to-end configuration request. Instead of requesting an IP address, the mobile host sends the end-to-end configuration request parameter to request a dynamic PDP address assignment after establishment of the PDP context. Upon receiving the PDP context activation request message from the mobile guest, the SGSN reviews the mobile subscription in the HLR to determine whether the mobile guest subscribes to a static or dynamic quality of service reservation. In the static QoS reservation, all application flows receive the QoS set for the PDP context / data session. In the dynamic QoS reservation, a QoS can be specified for individual application flows. A dynamic subscription quality of service reservation is considered in this example. The access point name is moved to a GGSN address using the domain name system (DNS), that is, the online distributed database system used to map human-readable machine names to IP addresses. In addition, a tunnel identifier (TID) is created in order to establish a tunnel carrier between the GGSN and the mobile host. The SGSN sends a "PDP context creation request" message to the GGSN along with the APN, type of PDP, quality of service, TID, and an end-to-end configuration request. The GGSN functions as a dynamic guest configuration protocol (DHCP) relay agent. DHCP is a protocol for assigning Internet protocol addresses to users. The assignment of the IP address is carried out by a DHCP server, which in this example is the ISP 58, and the mobile guest is the DHCP client. The GGSN also carries out the transfer of the access point name to the ISP address through the domain name system and assigns a DHCP relay to the PDP request. Again, no IP address is still assigned to the mobile guest. The GGSN sends a "create PDP context response" message back to the SGSN that includes the tunnel identifier (TID) and an end-to-end configuration confirmation using a best effort quality of service. The GGSN, which functions as the DHCP relay, selects a predefined or bearer tunnel for the selected access point name. The SGSN then sends a message to "activate PDP context acceptance" to the mobile host. In this point, the logical / carrier tunnel is essentially open for packet traffic between the mobile host and the ISP, but only as IP broadcast messages since the mobile host can not be reached in network layer (IP). Application flows transmitted through this logical link can have any of the subscribed service quality parameters / classes. The procedures for configuring the IP host in combination with the signaling sequence illustrated in FIG. 7 are described below. The IP host configuration is transparent to the GPRS carrier established in the PDP context activation procedures described above except for the inclusion of a DHCP relay agent in the GGSN. In the IP host configuration, the mobile host sends / issues a user datagram protocol (UDP) message (a transport layer protocol over the IP) to the GGSN / DHCP relay that routes the UDP packets to the ISP. The UDP message includes a DISCOVERY Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) message with an authentication sample, IP address lease time request, and a guest ID. The GGSN assigns a remote agent ID corresponding to the unique mobile IMSI identifier and an agent circuit ID corresponding to the tunnel identifier. The GGSN then uses the agent circuit ID to filter and stop packets coming from the mobile guest / to the mobile guest that does not have the correct IP address in the header. The remote agent ID and a subnet mask are sent to the ISP where the remote agent ID (IMSI) is stored. The subnet mask is an additional description of individual destinations in an IP subnet. An IP subnet is hosted by a router. The GGSN is a router, and therefore, adds one or more subnets. The ISP uses the subnet information to route the response returned to the GGSN, which in turn, sends a response to the correct mobile host based on the remote agent ID. The remote agent ID also offers the additional ISP security that the mobile host is not faking its identity during the dynamic guest configuration procedures. The GGSN can be configured either to channel the DISCOVER DHCP message to a particular DHCP server or to issue it to the ISP network. An OFFER DHCP message is sent from the ISP to the mobile guest including the "offered" configurations that the DHCP server can provide. Multiple offers can be received from multiple DHCP servers. The mobile host selects the DHCP offer that best meets its requirements and sends a DHCP request message to the DHCP server that provided the selected offer. The ISP then provides an IP address to the GGSN in a DHCP acknowledgment message. The IP address is placed in a table together with the mobile agent ID / IMSI remote and the agent ID / tunnel identifier ID for later use in the packet filter. The GGSN also channels the DHCP acknowledgment message to the mobile guest. The IP address and the agent circuit ID are used to filter all packets to the mobile guest / from the mobile guest that does not have the correct IP address in the packet header. A quality of service for each user application flow activated in the PDP context is reserved later. Figure 8 shows a diagram representing a reservation of quality of service for an application flow that comes from the ISP and ends at the mobile terminal. The GGSN 54 sends a reservation path message to the mobile guest 12 on a GPRS carrier that was established in the PDP context activation for a particular application flow directed towards the mobile guest 12. The mobile guest then returns a response from reservation to GGSN 54. In this example, a resource reservation protocol (RSVP) is employed to allow a mobile guest to request a certain amount of service for a transmission from an Internet user in an ISP. An RSVP uses source and destination IP addresses as well as a UDP / TCP port to identify the application flows to be reserved. A destination IP address can have several ports, related to each application process in the system. Well-known ports are defined for various types of applications. The final systems can also negotiate to select a port other than the well-known ports. All packages belonging to the same application flow share the same identifier (address and port). RSVP establishes a temporary or "soft" reservation in each router along the path between the sender and the receiver. A soft reservation has a Time of Life (TTL) associated with it. If the time of life expires, then the reservation also expires. A better effort quality of service is used to transfer RSVP messages to the GPRS carrier. The GGSN, acting as a router, needs to ensure that it can commit to providing the requested QoS reservation for its logical link to the mobile host. As a result, the GGSN correlates the requirements from the requested IP RSVP with the reservation for the GPRS logical link. The first part of the GPRS logical link is the GPRS tunnel management protocol (GTP) to the SGSN. The GTP is ported in IP, and therefore, a reservation change for this internal IP network may be necessary if the current reservation can not handle an additional application flow. The GGSN also requests the SGSN to review the last part of the logical link to the mobile host. This last part of the logical link has two "jumps" - SGSN-a-BSS and BSS-a-mobile host. The SGSN controls the reservation in both jumps and indicates to the GGSN if the reservation change for the QoS class in the PDP context is acceptable. The GGSN offers the QoS information on packet delay and bandwidth for the application flow to the next router in the chain. The first parameter is a link-dependent delay that can be divided into an independent part of the speed (C) and a speed-dependent part (D). The required end-to-end path delay between the mobile host and the end system in the ISP can be calculated as the sum of: Dreq = S + (b / R) + Ctot / R + Dtot where Dreq = the implicit total delay required by the mobile host, S = a loose term between a desired delay and a reserved delay, b = a buffer bucket depth measured in bytes, R = a negotiated average bit rate (e.g., IP datagrams per second ), Ctot is a sum of independent deviations of velocity from a fluid model, and Dtot is the sum of velocity-dependent deviations from a "fluid model". The fluid model defines the transport through the network if there is no packet damping, that is, if there is no packet queue at any node. With this information, the delay probability distribution for the GPRS carrier can be plotted based on a Medium Packet Transfer Delay (PTD), a maximum packet transfer delay, and the delay deviation parameters compared to the fluid model consisting of the independent speed (C) and speed dependent (D) parts of the link dependent delay. The graph in Figure 9 shows the probability density in a graph against the delay for these variables. The bucket depth b defines the number of bits that a node must assign to a flow in its regulator.

The node does not organize the packages until it reaches bucket depth b. This is part of the QoS agreement. The bucket depth b is used to determine the maximum buffer requirements for a B application flow for a particular QoS. The buffer size that is required is defined as follows: B > b + Csum + Dsum * R, where CSU and Dsum are the sum of individual C and D routers. The routers include GGSN and other routers in the path between the mobile guest and the end system in the ISP. The GGSN installs the bucket depth b for the QoS reservation. An exemplary message sequence is provided below for a dynamic service quality for an individual application flow from the ISP terminating in the mobile guest as shown in Figures 10A and 10B. The end system in the ISP sends a path reservation message that includes the session ID assigned to the stream. The GGSN sends the RSVP path message to the mobile host during a best effort GPRS quality of service. The trip reservation message also includes a traffic specification (TSPEC). The TSPEC describes the characteristics of the application flow that the ISP endpoint system is sending, for example, speed and delay sensitivity. The mobile host responds to the GGSN with a RSVP restore message (RESV). The RESV message includes a FLOWSPEC and a FILTERSPEC. The FLOWSPEC describes the speed and delay reservation that the mobile host is requesting for the flow. FILTERSPEC defines in what ways the mobile host allows the network to integrate the restoration of the mobile host with other receivers in a multi-emission environment. The GGSN applies a policy and admission control to the reservation request. As part of the procedure, the GGSN correlates the RSVP request with the GPRS GTP update PDP context request. The GTP update PDP context request is sent to the SGSN. The message refers to the change of the bandwidth for the GPRS carrier for the particular mobile guest, PDP context and QoS delay class to which the application flow belongs. The SGSN determines by reviewing the subscription that corresponds to the mobile guest in HLR 42 if QoS reservations can be made for the specific QoS delay class (known as POLICY CONTROL). The SGSN also determines whether there is sufficient capacity for the reservation for the "radio part" (known as ADMISSION CONTROL). If the policy and admission controls are met, the SGSN sends a GTP update PDP context response to the GGSN. The GGSN correlates the GTP response with the RSVP request and changes the bandwidth reservation of the GPRS tunnel to the SGSN for the PDP context and QoS delay class, if necessary. Preferably, the reservation tunnel is oversized, and therefore, a separate reservation change may not be required. The reservation tunnel preferably aggregates several mobile guests and PDP contexts. The SGSN estimates the requested quality of service delay by monitoring the time between link layer packet transmissions and acknowledgments. Estimates are used to evaluate whether new reservations can be accepted without affecting existing reservations. The estimates are also used to provide the delay deviations compared to the fluid model that are necessary for RSVP. In addition, the BSS sends a flow control message from BSSGP to the SGSN to inform the SGSN of the current traffic condition from the BSS to the mobile host and the availability to provide the required quality of service speed given these traffic conditions. . If the speed within a geographical radio area is low, you can not make new reservations in SGSN. Preferably, the SGSN assigns at least 20% BSC / available cell capacity to the best effort quality of service delay class to minimize packet loss for predicted delay flows in the GPRS carrier. The SGSN sends a flow control acknowledgment from BSSGP to the BSS for a received window. The procedures for sending data packets include packet classification, programming, and policy functions. In order to classify and schedule packets in an individual application flow based on the reserved service quality of flow, several queues / buffers are employed in the BSS and the SGSN. An exemplary configuration of queues in the BSS and SGSN is illustrated in Figure 11. The BSS includes a queue for mobility management signaling in each base station cell as well as a queue for each of four classes of quality delay of QoS 1-QoS 4 service in each base station cell. The SGSN includes three different levels of queues used to classify and combine packages. The first layer of queues is in the SNDCP protocol layer. A queue is established for packets that have the same PDP context and the same quality of service delay class. The second tail layer includes a queue for packets corresponding to the same mobile host and to the same quality of service delay class. The third queue layer includes a queue that stores packets corresponding to the same cell and to the same quality of service delay class. A small buffer in BSS allows the efficient use of radio channels of limited bandwidth since the packets are always available for transmission. A large buffer in the SGSN minimizes the use of limited radio resources because packets can be discarded there before they are transmitted on the radio air interface and connected in a logical link control transmission loop between the SGSN and the mobile guest. Preferably, a set of classification, programming, and package policies is carried out (which includes buffer management). Based on different classifiers, GGSN, SGSN, and BSS each carry out said set of package functions. Several known packet classification, programming and packetization algorithms can be employed. In the preferred embodiment, the GGSN "orders" (ie, checks that the flows are within agreed limits and discards the packets that are not within these limits) the RSVP application flows, classifies the application flows and corresponds to its PDP context and quality of service delay class, and programs the sending of packets based on the tunnel protocol reservation (GTP) for the PDP context and the quality of service delay class. The SGSN, on the other hand, classifies and programs packages on a MS basis. The BSS preferably employs a first in, first out (FIFO) programming algorithm for packet frames received with the same class of service quality delay and cell identifier. The priority determination of packet transfer programming between quality of service delay classes is also preferably controlled by the BSS with the BSS by passing the LLC boxes having a higher quality of service delay class before transferring frames of service. LLC that have a lower quality of service delay class. Referring now to Figure 12, an exemplary message sequence for sending network layer packets to the mobile guest from ISP is shown. The GGSN receives an IP packet application flow from the ISP destined for the mobile guest. The GGSN carries out a bandwidth policy for each application flow using, for example, a leaky bucket algorithm of RSVP or another specific PDP algorithm. Incoming eligible packets are then classified by PDP context delay class / quality of service. The classified packets are programmed for GTP transfer in the GPRS logical carrier established for the mobile guest PDP context based on the reservation of RSVP bandwidth for this application flow. Using the tunnel training protocol (GTP), the GGSN encapsulates the flow of IP packets with the tunnel identifier and the quality of service reserved for this application flow. The encapsulated packet flow is received by the SGSN which carries out a flow bandwidth ordering from a particular GGSN and particular quality of service delay class. The SGSN also classifies the packets corresponding to mobile subscriber ID (MSID), PDP context, and quality of service delay class. Preferably, the SGSN employs a fair queuing algorithm (eg round robin of bits) for packet programming at the SNDCP / LLC level to combine various PDP contexts of the mobile terminal with the same quality delay class of service. A weighted glue formation algorithm (WFQ) can be used to schedule packet transfer at the BSSGP level using the tunnel bandwidth reservation data in relation to each mobile terminal / quality of service delay class with the object to combine the LLC application flows of the same quality of service delay class of different mobile terminals into a single queue. The data formed in queue is then transferred to the BSS that classifies the incoming data per cell and delay class of quality of service. As mentioned above, the BSS preferably employs a FIFO programming algorithm for each cell queue / class of service quality delay in addition to configurable values for priority queue formation for different classes of service quality delay. The BSS then carries out an allocation of packet resources in the RLC / MAC layers to transfer individual packets. The packets are generally divided into blocks of data, and a radio data channel can be shared by several mobile terminals with each radio block having a separate identifier. Figures 13 and 14 present the active components within the mobile host, GGSN, and SGSN, respectively, during application flow reservation and packet forwarding from an end system in an ISP to a mobile host. All three systems have a control motor and a sending motor. The control engine is active during the reservation of application flow, while the sending engine is active during the sending of packets. The RSVP daemons in the mobile host and the GGSN are responsible for the exchange of resource reservation protocol in the IP layer and communicate between them using the RSVP protocol. The RSVP daemon checks with the sort controller to determine if the mobile guest is subscribed to the QoS. The RSVP daemon also checks with the admission controller if the sending system can host another QoS reservation based on the available resources. The RSVP daemon instructs the packet classifier as to which parameter to use when separating incoming packets into different queues. The RSVP daemon instructs the package scheduler to program techniques to use when combining queues to the system's output ports. In addition, the GGSN routing process decides to which output port a packet will be sent based on the destination address, etc. The SGSN performs a similar function in its mobility management process that tracks the location of the mobile guest. The GTP daemon has the same responsibilities as the RSVP daemon but in the GPRS link layer between SGSN and GGSN. There is an application programming interface (API) between the RSVP daemon and the GTP daemon in GGSN in order to request and provide feedback on reservations from IP (RSVP) to the link layer (GPRS). While the present invention has been described in relation to particular embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described and illustrated herein. Different formats, different embodiments and adaptations other than those illustrated and described, as well as many variations, modifications and equivalent arrangements may also be employed to implement the invention. Accordingly, while the present invention has been described in relation to its preferred embodiments, it will be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and exemplary only of the present invention and is provided merely for purposes of providing a full disclosure of the invention. Accordingly, the invention will be limited only by the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

Claims (46)

1. CLAIMS In a mobile radio communication system that has several mobile radio terminals that communicate with a radio network on a radio interface using radio resources from a set of radio resources shared by the various mobile radio terminals, where a The mobile radio host communicates data in packets with an external network through a packet gate node associated with the radio network, a method comprising: the establishment by the mobile radio host of a packet session in the radio interface. radio using radio resources from the shared pool during which multiple application flows are communicated with an external network entity, each application stream has a corresponding stream of packets; define a corresponding quality of service parameter for each of the various application flows in such a way that different quality of service parameters can be defined for different flows of the applications; and determining whether sufficient radio resources are available from the shared set to support the quality of service parameters defined for each of the various application flows. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: providing packets corresponding to each application stream from the external network entity to the mobile host in accordance with the corresponding quality of service defined. The method according to claim 2, wherein the quality of service is defined for each application flow in a layer of network packets for end-to-end communication from the mobile host and the external network entity. The method according to claim 1, wherein different service qualities have different assigned bandwidths, different delays or different reliability. The method according to claim 4, wherein the different qualities of service include a class of service that is the best effort where packets in an application stream can be abandoned and another kind of service that predicts where packets are not abandoned in an application flow The method according to claim 1, wherein the quality of service includes a delay class that specifies one or more of the following: a maximum packet transfer rate, an average packet transfer rate, and a size of sudden increments of packages from an application stream. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: storing subscription information for the mobile guest specifying whether the mobile guest may require a quality of service for specific application flows, and reviewing the subscription information before defining the parameters of quality of service. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: making available for the session each quality of service class to which a user of the mobile host subscribes. The method according to claim 1, wherein session control messages are communicated between the mobile host and the gate node using a best effort quality of service delay class. . The method according to claim 1, wherein the establishment of the packet session includes: activating a packet session for the mobile guest such that the mobile guest is in communication with the gate node; the mobile terminal requests an end-to-end configuration between the mobile terminal and the external network entity. . The method according to claim 10, wherein the request for end-to-end configuration establishes a layer carrier of network packets between the mobile host and the gate node allowing the relay of data packets between the external network entity and the mobile guest even when a layer address of network packets is not assigned to the mobile guest. . The method according to claim 11, wherein the gateway node functions as a dynamic host configuration agent serving the mobile host as a client by channeling packets between the mobile host and the external network entity. . The method according to claim 12, further comprising: adding a remote agent identification that corresponds to a mobile guest identifier to messages intended for the external network entity. . The method according to claim 13, wherein during configuration, the dynamic host configuration agent captures and stores a unique network packet layer address for the mobile guest for the session established for each application flow activated during the session established The method according to claim 14, further comprising: establishing a data communication tunnel corresponding to the network layer carrier between the gate node and the mobile host, and establishing a relationship at the gate node between a mobile guest identifier, the established tunnel, and the network packet layer address for the mobile guest for the established session. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: analyzing packets received at the gateway node and allowing only packets having a destination or source corresponding to one of the mobile guest network layer addresses stored for the established session. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: routing packets through the gate node in accordance with a shorter path based on the network layer address for the mobile host for the established session. 18. In a mobile communication system where a mobile host communicates data in packets with an external network through a packet gate node and a packet service node, a method comprising: the establishment by the mobile guest of a packet session during which several application flows are communicated with an external network entity, each application flow has a corresponding stream of packetsmet ; make a reservation request from the mobile host to the gate node for a particular quality of service for an individual flow of applications; determine if the reservation request can be fulfilled; and if this is the case, establish a logical carrier between the mobile host and the gate node that includes the service node to carry multiple flows of the individual flows of applications having different corresponding quality of service classes. The od according to claim 18, further comprising: classifying and scheduling packets corresponding to each application stream from the external network to the mobile host on the carrier in accordance with the defined class of quality of service that corresponds to the application packet stream. The od according to claim 18, further comprising: determining by the service node whether the reservation request for the particular quality of service is allowed by a subscription corresponding to the mobile guest. The od according to claim 18, further comprising: the evaluation by the service node of whether the reservation request for the particular quality of service can be supported from the service node to the mobile guest based on in a current load of existing radio traffic in the area where the mobile guest is being served. 22. The od according to claim 21, wherein the evaluation step includes the fact that the service node estimates a delay and a bandwidth requirement that corresponds to the required quality of service. 23. The od according to claim 22, further comprising: the provision by the service node to the gate node of the estimated delay and an estimate of the bandwidth requirement corresponding to the reservation request and, supply by the gate node of the delay and bandwidth estimates to a network layer protocol. 24. The od according to claim 18, further comprising: the renewal by the gate node of the reservation of quality of service. . The od according to claim 19, further comprising: monitoring by the gate node of each application flow to ensure that the quality of service reserved for this application flow is . The od according to claim 19, further comprising: programming by the gateway node of the packet transfer corresponding to one of the application streams to ensure that the quality of service reserved for this flow of data is Applications. . The od according to claim 19, further comprising: the classification by the packet gate node by using the quality of service reserved for the application flow to which each of the packets belongs. The od according to claim 19, further comprising: monitoring by the service node of each of the application streams from the gate node to determine if a data transmission volume limit is exceeded, and if so, the disposal by the service node of packets corresponding to an application flow having a lower quality of reserved service. . In a mobile radio system having several mobile radio terminals that communicate with a radio network on a radio interface using radio resources from a set of radio resources shared by the various mobile radio terminals, where guests of mobile radios communicate data in packets with an external network through a packet gate node and a packet service node associated with the radio network, a od comprising: the establishment by each mobile guest of a session of packets in the radio interface using radio resources from the combined pool during which several application flows are communicated with an external network entity, each application stream has a corresponding stream of packets; define a corresponding quality of service parameter for each of the various application flows in such a way that different quality of service parameters can be defined for different application flows; and the combination by the service node of packets coming from different sessions with the same quality of service destined for different mobile radio guests within the same geographical service area. . The method according to claim 29, wherein the combination is carried out using a scheme of first in and first out except when the packets can not be delivered within a specified period of time. . The method according to claim 29, further comprising: the allocation by the service node of packets destined for the same geographical service area but with different service qualities to different priority queues corresponding to the different service qualities , where a large number of packets are removed from a queue that has a higher quality of service than a queue that has a lower quality of service. . A mobile radio communication system, comprising: a radio network; several mobile radio terminals communicating with the radio network on a radio interface using radio resources from a set of radio resources shared by the various mobile radio terminals; a mobile radio terminal that establishes a session of packet communication in data in the radio interface using radio resources from the combined set during which several application flows, which handle two applications of data packets during the session, and communicating two streams of data packets corresponding to the two data packet applications with another entity in an external network and, a packet network associated with the radio network connected between a mobile radio terminal and the external network entity reserving a different class of quality of service for each of the two streams of data packets associated with the mobile radio terminal during the session; where radio communication resources from the shared set are reserved to support the two streams of data packets with different classes of quality of service. . The mobile communication system according to claim 32, wherein packets corresponding to the two streams of data packets having different classes of quality of service are transferred to the mobile terminal and from the mobile terminal employing a network carrier of data packages established for the session. 34. The mobile communication system according to claim 32, wherein the quality of the class of service is reserved for each of the two streams of data packets in a layer of network packets for end-to-end communication to from the mobile terminal and the external network entity. 35. The mobile communication system according to claim 32, wherein different classes of service qualities have different assigned bandwidths, different delays, or different reliability. 36. The mobile communication system according to claim 32, wherein one of the different classes of quality of service is a class of best effort delivery where packets in an application stream can be dropped and another class of service is a delivery service predictive where packets in an application stream can not be left. 37. The mobile communication system according to claim 32, wherein each quality of service class includes a delay class that specifies one or more of the following: a maximum packet transfer rate, an average packet transfer rate , and a sudden increment size of packets from an application stream. . The mobile communication system according to claim 32, further comprising: a database node that stores subscription information for the mobile terminal that specifies whether the mobile terminal may require a quality of service for specific packet streams. application data, where the packet node reviews the subscription information before booking a quality of service class. . The mobile communication system according to claim 32, wherein the packet network includes: a service node connected between the gate node and the mobile terminal; a gate node connected between the service node and the external network entity. . The mobile communication system according to claim 39, wherein the gate node routes packets between the mobile terminal and the external network entity. . The mobile communication system according to claim 39, wherein the service node evaluates whether a quality of service class reservation request can be supported from the service node to the mobile terminal based on a current traffic load of existing radio communications in an area where the mobile terminal is being served. 42. The mobile communication system according to claim 39, wherein the service node estimates a delay and a bandwidth requirement corresponding to the quality of service requested. 43. The mobile communication system according to claim 39, wherein the gate node periodically renews the service quality restoration. 44. The mobile communication system according to claim 39, wherein the gate node programs the transfer of packets corresponding to one of the two streams of data packets to ensure that the reserved quality of service is met. 45. The mobile communication system according to claim 39, wherein the gate node classifies packets using the quality of service reserved for the application flow to which each packet belongs. 46. The mobile communication system according to claim 39, wherein the service node includes: a first set of packet storage queues having the same quality of service class and data packet communication session; a second set of packet storage queues having the same class of service quality and the same mobile terminal; and a set of packet storage queues served in the same geographical area and having the same quality of service class. . In a mobile radio system including a radio network connected to a packet network connected to an external network where several mobile radio terminals communicate on a radio interface with the radio network using radio resources from a set of radio stations. radio resources shared by the mobile radio terminals, a mobile radio terminal comprising a reservation controller that reserves a different quality of service for different packet data streams associated with corresponding applications operating in the mobile radio terminal and established during a data session when the mobile radio terminal is attached to the packet network, the reservation controller also requests from the radio network the reservation of radio resources from the combined set to support the different qualities of services defined for the different streams of data packets. The mobile radio according to that defined in claim 47, wherein packets in the various application flows originate from the external network and are directed towards the mobile termination.