Quality of service mechanism

Abstract

A system comprises a subscriber station and a network, the network comprising an access service network and connectivity service network. In an improved communication method an access service network a quality of service profile for a subscriber is received by an anchor gateway of the subscriber. On the basis of the quality of service profile, a first set of transmission control parameters for the subscriber is determined. The anchor gateway applies the first set of transmission control parameters to user data packets addressed to the subscriber.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method for subscriber-based quality of service, comprising:
 checking, by a network node of an access service network, whether at least one classification characteristic of an uplink data packet can be associated with an established classification characteristic of a downlink data packet; and   marking, by the network node, the uplink packet with a traffic type identifier associated with the downlink data packet.   
     
     
         2 . A method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 configuring, by the network node, one or more criteria of the at least one characteristic to enable the network node to check data packets; and   updating the one or more criteria when at least one characteristic needs to be updated.   
     
     
         3 . A method of  claim 1 , wherein the network node is one of a base station and an anchor gateway. 
     
     
         4 . A method of  claim 1 , wherein when the network node is an anchor gateway:
 checking whether the uplink data packet can be associated with a particular VoIP generic routing encapsulation (GRE) tunnel flow, and   the traffic type identifier is associated with the particular VoIP generic routing encapsulation (GRE) tunnel flow.   
     
     
         5 . A method of  claim 1 , wherein when the network node is a base station:
 checking whether the uplink data packet can be associated with a particular VoIP connection identifier, and   the traffic type identifier is associated with the particular VoIP connection identifier.   
     
     
         6 . A method of  claim 1 , wherein:
 checking whether the at least one classification characteristic of the uplink data packet can be associated with an established classification characteristic of a downlink data packet comprises checking an origin of the uplink data packet, and   the traffic type identifier is associated with the particular origin of the uplink data packet.   
     
     
         7 . An apparatus of a network node of an access service network for supporting subscriber-based quality of service, the apparatus comprising:
 a transceiver unit configured to transmit or receive data packets originated from or addressed to subscribers anchored to an access service network; and   a processing unit configured to check whether at least one classification characteristic of an uplink data packet can be associated with an established classification characteristic of a downlink data packet, and the uplink packet with a traffic type identifier associated with the downlink data packet.   
     
     
         8 . An apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the processing unit is further configured to:
 configure one or more criteria of the at least one characteristic to enable the network node to check data packets; and   update the one or more criteria when at least one characteristic needs to be updated.   
     
     
         9 . An apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the apparatus is one of a base station and an anchor gateway. 
     
     
         10 . An apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein when the network node is an anchor gateway, the processing unit is configured to:
 check whether the uplink data packet can be associated with a particular VoIP generic routing encapsulation (GRE) tunnel flow, and   the traffic type identifier is associated with the particular VoIP generic routing encapsulation (GRE) tunnel flow.   
     
     
         11 . An apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein when the network node is a base station, the processing unit is configured to:
 check whether the uplink data packet can be associated with a particular VoIP connection identifier, and   the traffic type identifier is associated with the particular VoIP connection identifier.   
     
     
         12 . An apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the processing unit is configured to:
 check an origin of the uplink data packet, and   the traffic type identifier is associated with the particular origin of the uplink data packet.   
     
     
         13 . A computer program product comprising at least one non-transitory computer-readable storage medium carrying one or more sequences of one or more instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause a network node of an access service network to perform at least the following:
 check whether at least one classification characteristic of an uplink data packet can be associated with an established classification characteristic of a downlink data packet; and   mark the uplink packet with a traffic type identifier associated with the downlink data packet.   
     
     
         14 . A computer program product of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more instructions further cause the network node to:
 configure one or more criteria of the at least one characteristic to enable the network node to check data packets; and   update the one or more criteria when at least one characteristic needs to be updated.   
     
     
         15 . A computer program product of  claim 13 , wherein the network node is one of a base station and an anchor gateway. 
     
     
         16 . A computer program product of  claim 13 , wherein when the network node is an anchor gateway, the one or more instructions cause the network node to:
 check whether the uplink data packet can be associated with a particular VoIP generic routing encapsulation (GRE) tunnel flow, and   the traffic type identifier is associated with the particular VoIP generic routing encapsulation (GRE) tunnel flow.   
     
     
         17 . A computer program product of  claim 13 , wherein when the network node is a base station, the one or more instructions cause the network node to:
 check whether the uplink data packet can be associated with a particular VoIP connection identifier, and   the traffic type identifier is associated with the particular VoIP connection identifier.   
     
     
         18 . A computer program product of  claim 13 , wherein the one or more instructions further cause the network node to:
 check an origin of the uplink data packet, and   the traffic type identifier is associated with the particular origin of the uplink data packet.