Systems and methods for group bandwidth management in a communication systems network

Abstract

An embodiment is a method of managing bandwidth, performed by a computing system. The system receives user-selected connection parameters associated with a subscriber device. The system associates a network identifier of the subscriber device with a group bandwidth policy, based on the user-selected connection parameters. The system stores, in computer-readable storage media, parameters associated with the group bandwidth policy, in association with the network identifier of the subscriber device. The system receives, at a gateway device, network communication data from the subscriber device. The system limits, at the gateway device, bandwidth available to the network communication data, based on the stored parameters associated with the group bandwidth policy.

1 .- 20 . (canceled) 
     
     
         21 . A network management system configured to manage bandwidth, said network management system comprising:
 one or more network interfaces configured to:
 receive a first plurality of network packets associated with a first computing device; and 
 receive a second plurality of network packets associated with a second computing device; 
   a memory configured to store:
 a first group bandwidth policy including the first computing device and the second computing device; and 
 a first plurality of parameters associated with the first group bandwidth policy; and 
   one or more hardware processors configured to:
 determine the first plurality of network packets and the second plurality of network packets are associated with the first group bandwidth policy; 
 obtain the first plurality of parameters associated with the first group bandwidth policy based on the said determination; and 
 queue, delay, or drop a packet from the first plurality of network packets or the second plurality of network packets before transmitting, from the one or more network interfaces, the first plurality of network packets or the second plurality of network packets based on the first plurality of parameters. 
   
     
     
         22 . The network management system of  claim 21 , wherein said determination further comprises identifying a first identifier associated with the received first plurality of network packets and a second identifier associated with the received second plurality of network packets. 
     
     
         23 . The network management system of  claim 22 , wherein the first identifier comprises a first MAC address and the second identifier comprises a second MAC address. 
     
     
         24 . The network management system of  claim 21 , wherein the first plurality of parameters comprise a group bandwidth policy identifier, an uplink bandwidth, and a downlink bandwidth. 
     
     
         25 . The network management system of  claim 21 , wherein the one or more hardware processors are further configured to determine an aggregate bandwidth based on the first plurality of network packets and the second plurality of network packets. 
     
     
         26 . The network management system of  claim 25 , wherein the one or more hardware processors are further configured to compare the aggregate bandwidth with at least one of the first plurality of parameters. 
     
     
         27 . A network management system configured to manage bandwidth, said network management system comprising:
 one or more network interfaces configured to receive a plurality of network packets from a plurality of computing devices; and   one or more hardware processors configured to:
 determine a subset of network packets corresponding to a first bandwidth policy from the received plurality of network packets; 
 determine bandwidth usage corresponding to one or more computing devices associated with the first bandwidth policy; 
 compare the bandwidth usage with a bandwidth limit associated with the first bandwidth policy; and 
 configure the one or more network interfaces to queue, delay, or drop one or more network packets from the subset of network packets based on the comparison. 
   
     
     
         28 . The network management system of  claim 27 , wherein said determining the subset of network packets comprises identifying an identifier associated with the received network packets. 
     
     
         29 . The network management system of  claim 28 , wherein the identifier comprises a MAC address. 
     
     
         30 . The network management system of  claim 28 , wherein the identifier comprises a room number. 
     
     
         31 . The network management system of  claim 27 , wherein the one or more hardware processors is further configured to change the bandwidth limit based on a user request. 
     
     
         32 . The network management system of  claim 27 , wherein the one or more hardware processors is configured to determine a first group of network packets corresponding to a first computing device from the subset of network packet and prioritize transmission of the first group of network packets. 
     
     
         33 . A network management system method for managing bandwidth, the network management system method comprising:
 receiving a plurality of network packets from a plurality of computing devices;   determining a subset of network packets corresponding to a first bandwidth policy from the received plurality of network packets;   determining bandwidth usage corresponding to one or more computing devices associated with the first bandwidth policy;   comparing the bandwidth usage with a bandwidth limit associated with the first bandwidth policy; and   configuring one or more network interfaces to queue, delay, or drop one or more network packets from the subset of network packets based on the comparison.   
     
     
         34 . The network management system method of  claim 33 , further comprises identifying an identifier associated with the received network packets. 
     
     
         35 . The network management system method of  claim 34 , wherein the identifier comprises a MAC address. 
     
     
         36 . The network management system method of  claim 33 , further comprising adding an identifier to the first bandwidth policy. 
     
     
         37 . The network management system method of  claim 33 , further comprising generating a portal configured to allow users to select the bandwidth limit.