Patent ID: 7822064
Filing Date: 2010-10-26
Classification: H04W

Abstract:
1. A method comprising: tracking bandwidth utilization of a wireless backhaul network of a wireless mesh network, the wireless mesh network comprising a root access point and one or more mesh nodes, one or more of which are mesh access points, the wireless backhaul network operative to link the mesh access points and the root access point with a set of backhaul links that form a tree topology in which the root access point is the root of the tree topology, wherein an access network is formed for communicating to and from a client station of any mesh access point via the root access point, wherein the tracking comprises receiving metrics from the one or more mesh nodes that are on a path between the root access point and the client station about the respective backhaul radios of the mesh nodes that are on the path; receiving a call admission request for a time sensitive packet data call from a client station of a first mesh access point of the wireless mesh network, the call admission request identifying a QoS access class; ascertaining using the tracked bandwidth utilization whether or not the backhaul network is likely to have sufficient capacity to carry the call, the ascertaining using a backhaul call admission control method operative to carry out the ascertaining, the backhaul call admission method comprising: in the case that the ascertaining ascertains that the wireless backhaul network is likely to have sufficient capacity for the call and further, in the case that an access level call admission control method operative to ascertain whether the access network is likely to have sufficient bandwidth to carry the call, ascertains to approve the call at the access network level, sending a positive call admission response, wherein at least one of A and B, A being that the available amount of the backhaul bandwidth is based on one or more of an access category bandwidth reservation, a roaming-in bandwidth reservation and the tracked utilization of the backhaul bandwidth corresponding to the QoS access class identified in the call admission request, and B being that the method further comprises estimating a queue utilization for the call admission request based on the current backhaul queue utilization of the QoS access class identified in the call admission request and one or more QoS parameters in the call admission request, and, wherein approval of the call admission request in the backhaul is further conditioned on the estimated backhaul queue utilization not exceeding a queue utilization threshold.