WO2003079616A1

WO2003079616A1 - Multi-stream wireless router, gateway, communication system, and method therefor

Info

Publication number: WO2003079616A1
Application number: PCT/US2003/005573
Authority: WO
Inventors: Oscar Somerlock
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2002-03-11
Filing date: 2003-03-05
Publication date: 2003-09-25
Anticipated expiration: 2004-09-11
Also published as: AU2003217683A1; JP2005520436A

Abstract

A communication and method (Fig. 2) is provided that includes a gateway (50) and a router (59) using network layer tunneling across one or more channels (48a, 48b, and 52a, 52b) of an intermediate communications network (46) for data packets sent between end user devices (42a) communicating through said intermediate network (46) and a remote server (30) connected to a WAN (34). This system allows a single user's data to be spread over multiple channels (48a, 48b and 52a, 52b), which yields higher maximum throughput and, in CDMA wireless networks, increased uplink and downlink range. Data flowing to and from multiple users can also be aggregated and concentrated onto a shared pool of channels or even onto a single channel which increases system capacity in CDMA wireless networks. This system is portable across various wired and wireless networks and may employ various network layer protocols. Network resources are allocated and deallocated as needed to ensure efficient network operation while maintaining sufficient quality-of-service for user data.

Description

MULTI-STREAM WIRELESS ROUTER, GATEWAY, COMMUNICATION SYSTEM, AND METHOD THEREFOR

BACKGROUND

One form of access to a wide area network (WAN) for communicating with a remote server employs a wireless network as one link between an end user device and the WAN. The WAN may be the Internet or any other packet data network, and the end user device may be a personal

computer, a portable computer, a cell phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), or any device that

can send packet data to a network and/or receive packet data from a network. The remote server may

be any system capable of sending and receiving packet data via the WAN, such as a web server, a

gateway to a subnetwork or another end user device.

As illustrated for example in Fig. 1 , a user 26 may desire to communicate with a remote

server 30 accessible through a WAN 34. One method for establishing such communication uses a

wireless network 46, which interfaces with the WAN 34. User 26, utilizing an end user device 42, establishes a wireless communication channel 48 as an interface to the wireless network 46, thereby

forming a communication system with a completed path between the user 26 and the remote server

30 through the wireless network 46 and the WAN 34.

The data transmission rate in the communication system of Fig. 1 is limited in part by the capacity of the wireless channel 48. Often, conventional wireless networks are designed so that the throughputs of wireless channels to end user devices are adequate for voice communication. Recently, wireless networks have been designed to provide higher throughput for data but the

performance of the wireless channel is highly variable due to the nature of RF communications.

Performance is further limited by the fact that these networks were designed to work with small, battery-powered handheld end-user devices using a single transceiver. As a result, this new

generation of wireless networks will be unable to deliver throughput approaching the theoretical

maximum in most situations. Users often desire not only greater throughput for data transfer, but also

a consistent and reliable quality of service. Therefore, users would benefit from apparatuses and

methods that offer greater throughput as well as more consistent and reliable quality of service in communication systems employing a wireless network as a link between an end user device and a

WAN. The present invention enables end users to experience consistent and reliable high-speed

connectivity over wireless networks as well as wired networks.

Tunneling is a technology allowing a first network to transport its data via a second network

without requiring the second network to interpret the first network's protocol headers to route the

data. Tunneling is sometimes referred to as encapsulation since the- technique encapsulates the first networkDs protocol data units (PDUs) within PDUs defined to be earned by the second network. For

instance, Point-to-Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP), a conventional tunneling technology, enables organizations to use the Internet to transmit data across virtual private networks (VPNs) by

embedding their own network protocol within the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet

Protocol(TCP/IP) packets carried by the Internet. Other known tunneling techniques include Layer

Two Forwarding (L2F) and Layer Two Tunneling Protocol (L2TP). Such tunneling technologies employ only a single tunnel between a given data packet source/destination pair. Therefore, as with the other conventional communication systems described above, throughput is limited in part by the

capacity of a single channel, even with the use of conventional tunneling techniques. This is because

many networks, in particular wireless networks, are designed such that packets destined for a given

network address (e.g. IP address) may reach that destination via one and only one physical channel. In the case of wireless networks, this limitation exists primarily because it is assumed that users will

be accessing the network with devices that possess only a single transceiver.

SUMMARY

The present invention achieves greater throughput in communication systems employing an

intermediate network as a link between an end user device and a WAN. In the case where the

intermediate network is a wireless network employing Wideband Code Division Multiple Access

(WCDMA) technology, distributing data transmissions to or from a single end-user over multiple

channels yields additional benefits with regard to uplink range and downlink range.

The present invention also allows data transmissions to and from multiple end-users to be

concentrated over a single channel of the intermediate network. In the case where the intermediate

network is a WCDMA wireless network, this feature achieves reduced transmission power, lower

interference, and increased overall capacity.

The present invention also provides portability across different wireless and wired network technologies by using tunneling at the network layer. These and other objects of the invention will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

Objects of the invention are achieved by providing a gateway and a router using tunneling to facilitate data transfer across multiple channels of an intermediate communications network for data

packets sent and received between a single user and a remote server. Although the intermediate

network is preferably a wireless network, the intermediate network may also be a wired network. When the intermediate network is a wireless network, the router may be mobile. While the gateway is preferably external to the wireless network, the gateway may also be configured as part of the wireless network's interface to a packet switched network. Also, the tunneling may extend instead

through a wireless network and a WAN between the router and the gateway. The router and/or the gateway may facilitate channel resource allocation, as well as throughput and transmission delay monitoring to achieve a desired quality of service. While multiple channels are preferred, the use of varying numbers of channels or even a single channel is possible, such as for concentrating transmission of data packets to/from multiple devices across a shared pool of channels, or for changing from multiple channels to a different number of channels or to even just one channel to adjust for varying throughput requirements. A wired or wireless LAN may be used to connect one or more end user devices to the router.

These and other features are discussed in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 depicts a conventional communication system employing an intermediate network (e.g. a wireless network) as a link between an end user device and a remote server accessible through a WAN;

Fig. 2 depicts a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

Fig. 3 depicts a single multi-stream gateway interacting with multiple multi-stream routers; Fig. 4 depicts another embodiment of the .present invention in which the multi-stream gateway communicates with the intermediate network through the WAN;

Fig. 5 depicts another embodiment of the present invention in which the multi-stream gateway is located within the intermediate network;

Fig. 6 depicts internal layers of the multi-stream router and the multi-stream gateway and the use of IP-in-IP tunneling;

Fig. 7 depicts a feedback loop between the multi-stream router and the multi-stream gateway;

Fig. 8 illustrates flow of data within the multi-stream router;

Fig. 9 illustrates flow of data within the multi-stream gateway;

Fig. 10 depicts internal layers of the multi-stream router and the multi-stream gateway and the use of a single wireless channel for consolidation of data packets;

Fig. 11 depicts internal protocol layers of the multi-stream router and the multi-stream gateway and the use of IP-in-IP tunneling with asymmetric wireless channels;

Fig. 12 illustrates the conventional UMTS.protocol stack for packet switched data;

Fig. 13 depicts a UMTS protocol architecture modified for the present invention;

Fig. 14 illustrates the conventional CDMA-2000 protocol stack for packet switched data;

Fig. 15 depicts a CDMA-2000 packet data protocol architecture modified for the present invention.

Fig. 16 depicts another embodiment of the present invention in which the multi-stream router and multi-stream gateway communicate via multiple intermediate networks

Fig. 17 illustrates an example packet format for tunneling downlink data and Fig. 18 illustrates an example packet format for tunneling uplink data

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is directed to communication systems employing an intermediate

network as a link between an end user device and a WAN. The intermediate network may be a wireless network or a wired network. Increased throughput is obtained from multiple channel

communication through the intermediate network to send and receive data packets for a single end

user. Because each individual communication channel need accommodate only a fraction of the total data flow, the total throughput is not limited to the capacity of an individual channel.

In the case where the intermediate network is a wireless network employing Wideband Code

Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) technology, distributing data transmissions to or from a single

end-user over multiple channels yields additional benefits with regard to uplink range and downlink

range. In a WCDMA wireless network, higher speed channels typically have a shorter range than lower speed channels. The term "range" refers to the distance the end-user device can be from the

base station antenna and still obtain a given level of throughput. By distributing a user's data over

multiple lower speed channels, as opposed to a single higher speed channel, the range for high-speed connectivity is effectively increased. In a WCDMA network this may involve spreading a single

user's data over multiple code channels and multiple 5MHz carriers. These same benefits are achieved for narrow-band CDMA wireless networks, as well.

The present invention also allows data transmissions to and from multiple end-users to be concentrated over a single channel of the intermediate network. In the case where the intermediate

network is a WCDMA wireless network, concentrating data transmissions to or from multiple users over a single higher speed channel, as opposed to employing a distinct lower speed channel for each

user, reduces the overall required transmission power. A reduction in required transmission power

results in lower interference to other users accessing the wireless network thereby increasing the

overall capacity of the WCDMA wireless network. These same benefits are achieved for narrow¬

band CDMA wireless networks, as well.

The present invention also provides portability across different wireless and wired network

technologies by using tunneling at the network layer. For example, many networks employing a

variety of physical layer and datalink layer technologies use the Internet Protocol (IP) as the network

layer protocol for routing data. By using the network layer protocol as a tunneling mechanism, the present invention may be ported to virtually any network regardless of the physical layer or datalink layer technology being employed. The term "IP" is used herein to refer to both IP version 4 (IPv4),

and IP version 6 (IPv6). The present invention is compatible with both versions of the Internet

Protocol, and is contemplated to be compatible with any future version of the Internet Protocol as

well.

The present invention may employ any connectionless or connection-oriented network layer protocol provided that protocol provides a means for point-to-point communication between two

distinct network layer addresses. This point-to-point communication may be facilitated by the

specification of a source and destination address in the header of each network PDU or by the

establishment of a virtual-circuit between two network addresses, hi the case where a connectionless network layer protocol is employed, tunneling is achieved by encapsulating data packets within a network PDU with header information that specifies a source and a destination network address

which can be thought of as endpoints of the tunnel. In the case where a connection-oriented network protocol is employed, a virtual circuit is established between the network addresses serving as the

endpoints of the tunnel.

An end user device and the remote system with which it is communicating (herein referred to

as a remote server), via the present.invention may obtain the network address for one another using

any number of methods. These methods may include, for example, Domain Name System or static IP address assignments. The gateway may also be integrated with other technologies to implement, for

example, a mobile IP foreign agent or virtual private network gateway.

With regard to the term "channel," it is used to describe the communication data link between

a device (e.g. a multi-stream router) and the intermediate network. Therefore, the specific

embodiment of a channel in the present invention will depend upon the type of intermediate network

employed. For example, if the intermediate network is a Public Switched Telephone Network

(PSTN) the term "channel" may refer to a full duplex, dedicated connection using copper telephone wires between a dialup modem within the multi-stream router and an Internet Service Provider's modem bank. If the intermediate network is an WCDMA wireless network, the term "channel"

would refer to a dedicated traffic channel established between the multi-stream router and the WCDMA network. A WCDMA dedicated traffic channel is a "logical" channel and may itself be an aggregation of physical resources, but it is regarded as a single channel within the context of the

present invention. Some wireless networks employ a technique known as "frequency hopping" where a communication channel changes frequencies a^'t specific time intervals; such a channel is also

employed as a single channel by the present invention. New techniques (e.g. CDMA High Data Rate) are being developed that may aggregate resources at the physical layer to provide increased spectral

efficiency and greater throughput on a single channel. The present invention is compatible with such techniques, as well as other present or future communication data link techniques, an m y be se in concert with these techniques to provide even greater throughput to end-user devices and further

improve efficiency of resource utilization within the intermediate network.

In order to facilitate operation over multiple channels of an intermediate network, the hardware platform used to implement the multi-stream router must provide sufficient resources (e.g. modems, transmitters, receivers, etc.) to support simultaneous operation of the desired number of

channels. The intermediate network(s) being employed must also provide sufficient resources to

support simultaneous operation of the desired number of channels. Of course, the multi-stream router

must implement a network interface (e.g. physical layer standards and network protocol) that is

compatible with each intermediate network being accessed by the multi-stream router. The present

invention will also function using only a single channel. These indications should be readily apparent to those skilled in the art but are provided here for clarity.

One preferred embodiment of the present invention utilizes multiple wireless channels as the

interface between the end user device and the wireless network in a communication system between the end user device and a remote server through a wide area network (WAN). The communication system utilizes a multi-stream router and a corresponding multi-stream gateway tunneling packets across multiple channels therebetween.

Such a system provides greater throughput to a wireless device versus the device accessing the wireless network directly, due to the ability to send and receive data packets over multiple communication channels in place of a single channel. Also, the present invention is portable over

different wireless networks of differing standards, because the tunneling is performed at the network layer, in this case, at the Internet Protocol (IP) layer. hi a preferred embodiment of the invention depicted in Fig.2, data packets originating from

the remote server 30 and destined for the end user device 42 (or multiple end user devices 42a, as

depicted) flow through the WAN 34 to a multi-stream gateway 50. Multi-stream gateway 50

encapsulates the packets from the WAN 34 with an additional IP header (referred to herein as a

tunnel header) and addresses the tunneled data packets 52a to a plurality of IP addresses associated with the multi-stream router 54. This method effectively enables the multi-stream gateway 50 to

distribute the tunneled packets 52a over multiple downlink channels 48a established between the

multi-stream router 54 and the wireless network 46.

In the system of Fig. 2, packets originating from remote server 30 are encapsulated by the

multi-stream gateway 50 to enable their distribution over multiple downlink channels 48a to the

multi-stream router 54. That is, the multi-stream gateway 50 appends an additional header to each

packet to direct it to a particular destination address associated with the multi-stream router 54. This

additional header includes a destination IP address, which is one of a plurality of IP addresses recognized by the wireless network and associated with the multi-stream router 54. The destination

IP address in the added header corresponds to a particular downlink wireless channel 48a. Thus, the

gateway may effectively distribute a stream of IP packets, all destined for the same end-user device, over a plurality of wireless channels by tunneling a subset of these packets to each IP address associated with the multi-stream router 54.

As illustrated in Fig. 2, the multi-stream router 54 interfaces with the wireless network 46 using multiple wireless communication channels 48 (48a and 48b). Each IP address of the multi- stream router 54 is accessed over a different wireless channel 48 (e.g., downlink wireless channels

48a). As indicated above, for data packets flowing in the direction from the multi-stream gateway 50 to the multi-stream router 54, referred to here as DdownlinkD data packets, the multi-stream gateway

50 specifies the IP address to which each individual packet will be tunneled. Such a determination

of the particular IP address will typically be made based on, for example, the current status and

channel conditions of the downlink wireless channel 48a currently associated with each IP address. The multi-stream gateway 50 obtains information on channel status and conditions by way of information (e.g. MUX Info messages 140 of Fig.7) sent periodically by the multi-stream router 54.

Upon receipt of downlink data packets, the multi-stream router 54 de-tunnels the packets by

removing the tunnel header added by the multi-stream gateway 50. The multi-stream router 54 then

forwards the data packets directly to the end user device 42 as per the destination address specified in

the original packet.

Alternatively, the communication system may be configured so that multi-stream router 54

routes the downlink data packets through a local area network (LAN) 58 to one or more end user

devices 42a connected thereto. Fig.2 illustrates both configurations. LAN 58 may be a wired LAN,

such as one using Ethernet standards, or it may be wireless, such as one using IEEE 802.11 or

Bluetooth standards. Of course, the router 54 may also interface with only one end user device

without a LAN.

Data flowing from the end user device 42, 42a to the remote server 30 are referred to as

"uplink" data or "reverse link" data. The multi-stream router 54 receives uplink data packets directly from the end user device 42 or indirectly from the end user devices 42a through the LAN 58. The

multi-stream router 54 then distributes the uplink data over the multiple uplink channels 48b to the multi-stream gateway 50, which forwards the data through the WAN 34 to the remote server 30. In a manner analogous to the manner employed by the multi-stream gateway 50 to append a

header to downlink data packets, the multi-stream router 54 appends a header to uplink data packets.

The header includes as its destination address an IP address associated with the multi-stream

gateway 50. The multi-stream router also selects a wireless channel over which to transmit each

packet. Such selection of a particular channel will typically be made based on, for example, the current status and channel conditions of each wireless channel accessible by the router. Upon receipt

of uplink data packets, the multi-stream gateway 50 de-tunnels the packets by removing the additional header added by the multi-stream router 54 and forwards them to their destination as

specified by the destination address in the original packet header.

The term "distribute" is used herein to describe the process of routing data originating from or destined for a single network address over multiple links for at least part of the path to their

destination. It is noted, though, that the term "multiplex" is also understood to describe this process.

As shown in Fig.2, an end user subsystem 59 may include one end user device 42 connected

directly with the multi-stream router 54 and/or end user devices 42a connected to the multi-stream

router 54 through the LAN 58. The end user subsystem 59 may be mobile by virtue of the wireless interface with the multi-stream gateway 50. Therefore, the end user subsystem 59 can provide access

to the WAN 34 for users physically located in a moving automobile, train, bus, airplane, or other

vehicle.

Of course, the end user subsystem 59 need not be mobile, however, and still provide

improved WAN access to users. Even where ready access to ordinary land-based networks (e.g. telephone networks) is available to acquire WAN access, the communication system in Fig.2 maybe implemented to obtain greater throughput to the WAN 34 by virtue of the use of the multiple wireless communication channels 48.

As already noted, in the above configuration, in which the data distribution occurs at the

network layer protocol, for example at the IP protocol layer, the communication system is portable across various wireless technologies. By distributing data at the IP layer, this system may use any

digital wireless technology, such as UMTS (WCDMA), CDMA2000, GPRS/EDGE, GSM/HSCSD,

TDMA, narrow band CDMA technologies, and other present or future wireless protocols. Because

the multi-stream gateway 50 may sit outside the wireless network infrastructure of the wireless

network 46, implementation of the multi-stream gateway 50 does not require modification of

conventional wireless network service provider equipment.

Furthermore, in the configurations wherein the gateway is positioned within the wireless

network infrastmcture or between the wireless network and the WAN, the wireless network and

WAN need not use the same network layer protocol.

Fig. 3 illustrates a second preferred embodiment of the invention. Here, one multi-stream

gateway 50 may serve a plurality of multi-stream routers 54a. Thus, a wireless service provider or an

independent Internet service provider equipped with a multi-stream gateway 50 may serve multiple

subscribers, such as common carriers or individual end users, each equipped with a multi-stream router 54a.

The multi-stream router 54 and the multi-stream gateway 50 may be modified as appropriate so that end user subsystem 59 obtains access to the WAN 34 using a wired land-based network (e.g.

a public telephone network) instead of the wireless network 46. The multi-stream gateway 50 and the end user subsystem 59 would then tunnel packets through the land-based public telephone network. Such a configuration may be desirable when no high-throughput WAN access, such as

through a digital subscriber line (DSL) or a cable-based network, is available.

Fig. 4 illustrates a third preferred embodiment of the invention. Unlike the embodiments illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3, data packets flowing between the wireless network 46 and the WAN 34

do not pass intermediately tlirough the multi-stream gateway 50. Instead, the EP-in-IP tunneling extends through the WAN 34. As in the other embodiments, data packets flowing between the

multi-stream gateway 50 and the remote server 30 pass through the WAN 34. Reference numeral 60

denotes the communication link between the multi-stream gateway 50 and the WAN 34 for this

purpose. The communication link 60 is not limited to a single physical channel and may use any

hardware or software implementation capable of providing one or more communication channels between the multi-stream gateway 50 and the WAN 34.

Besides the locations of the multi-stream gateway 50 described by way of Figs. 2-4, the

multi-stream gateway 50 may also reside within the wireless network 46, as illustrated in Fig. 5. Typically, wireless networks have their own interfaces that connect directly to the WAN. For

example, a UMTS compliant network has a gateway GPRS support node (GGSN). A CDMA-2000

compliant network has a packet data services node (PDSN). In the embodiment shown in Fig. 5, the multi-stream gateway 50 functionality may be implemented on the same hardware platform as the GGSN or the PDSN.

The preferred embodiments described in Figs. 2 and 4 indicate the use of a single

intermediate network 46 to facilitate communication between the multi-stream router 54 and multi-

stream gateway 50. As illustrated in Fig. 16 the multi-stream router 54 and multi-stream gateway 50

may also tunnel packets across a plurality of intermediate networks 46a-46z. Due to the tunneling method employed by the present invention, a single user's data may be distributed simultaneously

across multiple intermediate networks 46a-46z to mitigate the effects of congestion in a particular

intermediate network 46 and yield higher throughput than is possible using a single intermediate

network. The intermediate networks 46a-46z employed need not use the same physical layer

technology or network layer protocol.

Fig. 6 illustrates exemplary architecture for the multi-stream router 54 and the multi-stream

gateway 50 and how data flows therein. For simplicity, only two uplink and two downlink wireless

channels are shown in Fig. 6, but additional channels maybe used. As further illustrated, the multi-

stream router 54 includes an IP router 65, a MUX sublayer 66, and an IP protocol sublayer 67. The

multi-stream gateway 50 includes a gateway application 68 and an IP protocol layer 69. hi both the

multi-stream router 54 and the multi-stream gateway 50, the protocol layers below IP in the protocol stack (not shown) are specific to the underlying wireless network and WAN technologies being used.

The multi-stream router 54 and the multi-stream gateway 50 distribute tunneled data packets

52 over multiple wireless channels 48 in the communication system by use of IP-in-IP tunneling. Tunneled packets 52 are received by the IP-MUX sublayers 66, 67 in the multi-stream router 54 and at the gateway application 68 in the multi-stream gateway 50. The wireless network 46 administers

and recognizes the IP addresses that the multi-stream router 54 uses as source addresses in tunnel headers when tunneling uplink packets. The wireless network 46 administers and recognizes the IP

addresses that the multi-stream router 54 reports to the multi-stream gateway 50 to be used as

destination addresses in tunnel headers when tunneling downlink packets. The gateway application 68 uses an IP address known to the multi-stream router 54. The multi-stream router 54 may use a number of different methods for determining the IP address(es) of the multi-stream gateway 50. For example, the IP address of the multi-stream gateway 50 may be statically configured in the multi-

stream router 54. The multi-stream router 54 may then indicate its own IP address(es) to the multi-

stream gateway 50 by sending a MUX Info message 140. More elaborate methods may also be used.

The present invention is not limited to any one specific method for determining the IP address(es) of

the multi-stream gateway 50.

Within the multi-stream router 54, an uplink packet received by the MUX sublayer 66 from

the IP router 65 is tunneled to the gateway application 68. In the downlink direction, IP packets 70

originating from a remote server and destined for an IP address of a mobile device or application

flow through a communication link 60 between the WAN 34 and the multi-stream gateway 50.

Within the multi-stream gateway 50, the gateway application 68 receives the downlink IP

packets and determines which multi-stream router 54 or 54a (see Fig. 3) through which the

destination IP address may be reached. The gateway application 68 then chooses an available IP

address of the corresponding multi-stream router 54 through which to send the packet. The original

downlink packet is then encapsulated by appending another IP header (tunnel header) which specifies the selected IP address as the destination address.

Wireless link conditions typically change during communication sessions. Such an effect is

expected when the end user subsystem 59 (Fig. 2) is moving. The multi-stream router 54 monitors

wireless link conditions and reports link status to the multi-stream gateway 50. This information is used by the gateway when selecting which multi-stream router IP address to use as the destination

address in the tunnel header for downlink packets.

From the perspective of the wireless network 46, the end user subsystem 59 appears similar

to a plurality of conventional mobile end user devices, for example, wireless modems, collectively using multiple communication channels. As with conventional mobile end user devices, to set up

communication using wireless communication channels 48, the multi-stream router 54 must request

resources from the wireless network 46.

The multi-stream router 54 monitors the resource allocations to detect congestion on individual channels, cells, or sectors of the wireless network 46. The multi-stream router 54 also monitors other communication aspects such as channel error rates. Based on the channel status (e.g.

congestion level), the multi-stream router 54 determines the optimal distribution of uplink data

among channels.

In an embodiment in which the multi-stream gateway 50 is external to the wireless network

infrastructure, the multi-stream gateway 50 cannot monitor channel resource allocations in the same

fashion that the multi-stream router 54 monitors channel resource allocations. Therefore, the multi-

stream router 54 periodically sends to the multi-stream gateway 50 feedback information (i.e. MUX

Info messages 140) which includes currently allocated downlink or forward channel resources, error

rate measurements for each allocated downlink channel 48a, QoS characteristics of each allocated downlink channel 48a and an IP address associated with each allocated downlink channel 48a. Also

included is a list of available IP addresses within the multi-stream router 54 that are not currently

associated with an allocated downlink channel. The multi-stream gateway 50 uses this feedback information to optimize its data distribution when tunneling downlink packets to a plurality of IP addresses associated with a multi-stream router 54.

A preferred embodiment of such a feedback loop is illustrated in Fig. 7. In this scenario,

communication is already established, and the multi-stream gateway 50 is distributing data destined

for the multi-stream router 54 using IP-in-IP tunneling. The arrows representing wireless communication channels 48a that carry tunneled downlink packets 52a indicate the direction of

downlink data flow. The multi-stream router 54 sends feedback information (i.e. MUX Info

messages 140) to the multi-stream gateway 50 over uplink channel 48b. The arrow representing

wireless communication channel 48b indicates the direction of uplink data flow. Based on feedback

information, the multi-stream gateway 50 optimizes its distribution of tunneled downlink packets 52a among the downlink channels 48a.

In the above embodiments, both the multi-stream gateway 50 and the multi-stream router 54

may distribute data over communication channels 48 based in part on communication aspects such as

congestion and error rates to ensure a desired quality of service (QoS) for each end-user or

application and to provide guaranteed levels of throughput and bounded maximum transit delay.

Also, the multi-stream gateway 50 and the multi-stream router 54 may distribute data to efficiently

utilize wireless bandwidth by minimizing the amount of signaling overhead and quickly releasing resources when they are no longer needed to provide the required QoS.

Data distribution over voice-data network channels is described next in terms of rate control,

scheduling, resource management, and dispatch functions. Fig. 8 shows the data distribution within the multi-stream router 54. Fig. 9 shows the data distribution within the multi-stream gateway 50. In

this embodiment, the various functions work together to provide desired QoS for all user traffic and to optimally utilize the wireless spectrum.

The multi-stream router 54 receives incoming data packets 74b from an end user device, possibly via a router 65. As illustrated in Fig. 8, the incoming data packets 74b are subjected to a rate control

function 80b, which throttles the data when the multi-stream router 54 becomes congested.

Congestion occurs when sufficient wireless resources cannot be allocated to service incoming traffic. Rate control function 80b receives a notification 84b from a resource management function 88b

(discussed below) when packet queues exceed a specified threshold. Based on the notification 84b,

the rate control function 80b can appropriately throttle data flow to avoid excessive queuing of

packets within the multi-stream router 54. The throttled data packets are then processed as indicated

in Fig. 8 by arrow 92b to a scheduling function 96b. A scheduling function 96b determines how to distribute data packets optimally over uplink wireless channels 48b, based in part on a resource

profile 100b received from a resource management function 88b and on the quality of service (QoS)

requirements of the packets. An exemplary action of scheduling function 96b would be to reschedule packets queued for transmission over a channel experiencing an excessively high error

rate to another channel. Each data packet 104b is enqueued on a message queue 108b corresponding

to the uplink channel over which it is scheduled to be transmitted. The resource management

function 88b monitors packet levels in queues 108b based on queue information 112b therefrom.

The resource management function 88b uses queue information 112b to determine the amount and

type of wireless resources needed to provide the desired QoS. The resource management function

88b also considers the current error rate being experienced on the wireless links when allocating

resources. Based on this current error rate, the resource management function 88b requests the

wireless network to allocate enough resources to ensure successful transfer of all data pending

transmission to meet QoS requirements. The resource management function 88b utilizes the services

provided by Layer 2/MAC 128 to request and receive resource allocations from the wireless network.

The resource management function 88b sends a threshold notification 84b to the rate control function

80b when the message queues 108b exceed specified thresholds, thereby avoiding resource depletion

and maintaining QoS with respect to packets already in process. Packets 116b from the queues 108b flow to a dispatch function 120b, which de-queues the queued packets 116b that are awaiting transmission. In the multi-stream router 54, as illustrated in Fig. 8, the dispatch function 120b

forwards the de-queued packets 124b to Layer 2/MAC 128 when ready for transmission. In this way,

data packets from one or more end-users are aggregated into streams based on QoS requirements of the packets and distributed over a pool of one or more channels based on the capacity and status of the channels and the QoS supported by the channels.

The multi-stream gateway 50 receives incoming data packets 70a from a remote server via a

WAN 34. As illustrated in Fig. 9, the incoming data packets 70a are subjected to a rate control

function 80a, which throttles the data when the multi-stream gateway 50 becomes congested.

Congestion occurs when the IP layer 130 cannot accept data packets for transmission at a high

enough rate to keep pace with the flow of incoming data packets 70a thus causing excessive queuing.

Rate control function 80a receives a notification 84a from a resource management function 88a

(discussed below) when packet queues exceed a specified threshold. Based on the notification 84a, the rate control function 80a can appropriately throttle data flow to avoid excessive queuing of packets within the multi-stream router 54 and multi-stream gateway 50. The throttled data packets are then processed as indicated in Fig. 9 by arrows 92a to a scheduling function 96a. A scheduling

function 96a determines how to distribute data packets optimally over downlink wireless channels 48a, based in part on a resource profile 100a received from a resource management function 88a and on the QoS requirements of the packets. An exemplary action of scheduling function 96a would be to reschedule packets queued for transmission over a channel experiencing an excessively high error rate to another channel. The resource profile 100a is derived from the MUX Info 140 sent by the

multi-stream router 54. The resource profile 88a contains information about each downlink channel 48a (e.g. such as maximum throughput and the most recently measured frame error rate). Associated

with each downlink channel 48a is one or more IP addresses that may be reached via that channel.

When the scheduling function 96a determines the downlink channel 48a over which a packet is to be

transmitted, a corresponding IP address associated with that channel is selected and used as the destination address in the tunnel header for the packet. This process has the effect of causing the wireless network 46 to route the tunneled packet over the desired downlink channel 48a to the multi-

stream router 54. Within the multi-stream gateway 50, each data packet 104a is enqueued on a

message queue 108a corresponding to the destination IP address to which it is to be tunneled. The

resource management function 88a monitors packet, levels in queues 108a based on queue

information 112a therefrom. The resource management function 88a uses queue information 112a to determine the amount and type of wireless resources needed to provide the desired QoS. The resource management function 88a also considers the current error rate being experienced on the

downlink wireless channels 48a when allocating resources. Based on current downlink channel conditions, downlink packet traffic volume, and QoS requirements the resource management function 88a determines what IP addresses to make available to the scheduling function 96a for

tunneling downlink packets. The resource management function 88a sends a threshold notification

84a to the rate control function 80a when the message queues 108a exceed specified thresholds,

thereby avoiding resource depletion and maintaining QoS with respect to packets already in process. Packets 116a from the queues 108a flow to a dispatch function 120a, which de-queues the queued packets 116a that are awaiting transmission. In the multi-stream gateway 50, as illustrated in Fig. 9,

the dispatch function 120a appends the appropriate tunnel headers and forwards the de-queued packets 124a to the IP Layer 69. In this way, data packets from one or more remote servers are aggregated into streams based on QoS requirements of the packets and, by way of tunneling,

effectively distributed over a pool of one or more channels based on the capacity and status of the

channels and the QoS supported by the channels.

Though embodiments of the present invention discussed thus far employ -EP-in-IP tunneling over multiple channels, a single channel may also be employed. This is desirable, for example, for uses in which slower communication speeds are more readily tolerated and when data flow

requirements can be met by a single channel, such as for transmission and reception of short electronic mail messages. In the case where the intermediate network 46 is a WCDMA wireless

network, for example, concentrating multiple independent data streams over a single high-speed

wireless channel can yield greater overall system capacity since higher speed channels have a lower

E_b/No requirement than do lower-speed channels.

Fig. 10 illustrates a preferred embodiment in which a single channel meets data flow rate

requirements. Data packets from one or more end user devices are concentrated (multiplexed) onto a

single channel.

In the uplink direction, the multi-stream router 54 receives data packets from one or more

sources. Each uplink data packet has an IP header containing addresses corresponding to its

respective source and destination. The multi-stream router 54 encapsulates the data packets with an additional IP header (referred to herein as a tunnel header) containing a destination address for the multi-stream gateway 50 and then sends the data packets to the multi-stream gateway 50 over the

same wireless channel 48. Each tunnel header added by multi-stream router 54 has the same source IP address, the address corresponding to the wireless channel being used, because only one uplink

channel accommodates all the uplink data packets. The multi-stream gateway 50 receives the tunneled uplink packets 52b, strips off the tunnel header that was appended by the multi-stream router 54 and then routes the packets via the. WAN according to the parameters in their original IP

header. By tunneling all uplink packets through the wireless network 46 in this manner, multiple independent streams of packets with various source and destination IP addresses may share the same

uplink wireless channel.

In the downlink direction, the multi-stream gateway 50 receives data packets from one or

more sources via a WAN 34. Each downlink data packet has an IP header containing addresses

corresponding to its respective source and destination. The multi-stream gateway 50 encapsulates

the data packets with an additional IP header (tunnel header) containing a destination address for the

multi-stream router 54 and then sends the data packets to the multi-stream router 54 via the WAN 34

and wireless network 46. Each tunnel header added by multi-stream gateway 50 contains the same

destination IP address, an address corresponding to the downlink wireless channel being used,

because only one downlink channel accommodates all the data packets. The MUX sublayer 66 inside the multi-stream router 54 receives the packets, strips off the tunnel header that was appended

by the multi-stream gateway 50 and then routes the packets to their destination according to the

parameters in their original IP header. By tunneling all downlink packets through the wireless network 46 in this manner, multiple independent streams of packets with various source and destination IP addresses may share the same downlink wireless channel.

Fig. 6 portrays an embodiment of the invention using multiple wireless channels, and Fig. 10

portrays an embodiment using a single wireless channel. It is to be understood, though, that the

invention is not limited to embodiments in which the number of channels in use remains static. The

multi-stream router and the multi-stream gateway may also include the capability to change the number of channels to be used, either increasing or decreasing the number, according to packet traffic volume, QOS requirements and resource availability.

Most of the preferred embodiments of the invention described above portray the wireless

channels as symmetric (i.e. the same number of uplink and downlink wireless channels are in use). The usage of wireless channels may also be asymmetric, that is, the number of uplink channels 48b

and aggregate uplink throughput may be different than the number of downlink channels 48a and

aggregate downlink throughput (See, for example, Fig. 7.) This capability affords the flexibility to

allocate the appropriate amount of bandwidth individually in both the uplink and downlink

directions. Such functionality may be useful, for example, when it would be optimal to allocate a

single channel for uplink traffic while allocating multiple channels for downlink traffic. Fig. 11 illustrates an example of such an allocation! Here, tunneling is used with asymmetric channel

allocations.

Protocol issues will now be addressed. Different intermediate networks use different network

layer protocols to support packet data transfer. Described hereinafter are protocol issues specific to some of the wireless technologies suitable for implementing the invention.

Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) was developed to support a number

of network layer protocols, but the protocol expected predominantly was the Internet Protocol (IP). Fig. 12 shows the standard UMTS user-plane protocol stack for packet switched data.

Fig. 13 illustrates how the UMTS protocol architecture may be adapted to support the

invention. A new layer, an IP/MUX layer 66, 67, is added to the UE protocol stack. This layer

provides the following functions:

• Compression of the IP header for uplink data • Implementation of the multi-stream router distribution, concentration and

multiplexing processes

• Appending a compressed IP tunnel header to uplink data specifying the appropriate

source address for the selected wireless channel 48, destination address for the serving multi-stream gateway 50, and setting other header fields as required to ensure desired QoS for payload data

• Monitoring wireless resource allocation and performance

• Sending feedback (MUX Info 140) to the multi-stream gateway

• Receiving and de-tunneling downlink data packets sent by multi-stream gateway 50

• Decompression of IP header for downlink data packets

• Forwarding downlink data packets to their destination as specified by the destination

address in the original packet header.

In the multi-stream gateway 50, a gateway application layer 68 uses the services of a standard

IP layer. In these embodiments, the multi-stream gateway 50 is external to the wireless service

provider's network. The multi-stream gateway 50 is connected directly to the WAN (e.g. Internet)

34, and it implements a standard IP layer. Protocol layers below IP in the protocol stack are not shown. Gateway application layer 68 provides the following functions:

• Compression of the DP header for downlink data

• Implementation of the multi-stream gateway distribution, concentration and multiplexing processes

• Appending a compressed IP header to downlink data specifying the appropriate

destination IP address of the multi-stream router 54 corresponding to the targeted wireless channel 48, source address for the multi-stream gateway 50 sending the

packet, and setting other header fields as required to ensure desired QoS for payload

data

• Recording feedback data (MUX Info 140) from the multi-stream router 54 for use by multi-stream gateway distribution, concentration and multiplexing processes

• Receiving and de-tunneling as appropriate the uplink data sent by the multi-stream

router 54

• Decompression of IP header of uplink data packets and subsequently forwarding

uplink packets to their destinations. as specified by the destination IP address in the

original packet header.

A significant difference between the IP/MUX layer 66, 67 in the multi-stream router and the gateway application layer 68 in the multi-stream gateway 50 is that the multi-stream router 54 can

measure wireless channel allocations and performance directly, whereas the multi-stream gateway 50 uses feedback (MUX Info 140) from the multi-stream router 54 for its distribution and multiplexing

determinations.

An additional IP header (tunnel header) must be appended to each packet (a technique known

as "tunneling") before it is transmitted across the wireless network. This is because an IP address can be associated with only one mobile terminal identifier in the UMTS network. Since UMTS mobile

terminals are designed to use a single transceiver this effectively means that an IP address can be associated with only one wireless channel at any given moment in time. This has the effect of indirectly binding an IP address in the mobile device to a single channel. When the multi-stream

router sends an uplink packet, it uses the IP source address corresponding to the radio link over which the packet is sent. Similarly, downlink packets sent by the multi-stream gateway must contain the destination IP address corresponding to the radio link over which those packets are sent. The

additional IP header is compressed by the Packet Data Compression Protocol (PDCP) in the UMTS

RNC, so additional overhead is minimal.

A method to further reduce protocol overhead is to encapsulate multiple discrete IP packets

with a single tunnel header and tunnel them through the intermediate network (e.g. UMTS network)

46 as a single IP packet. This method is especially useful, for example, when there are a large

number of small packets to be transmitted across the intermediate network. This method maybe used

for both uplink and downlink packets. The only limitation of this method is that all packets

encapsulated with the shared tunnel header must be transmitted over the same wireless channel 48.

Figs. 17 and 18 illustrate example structures for tunneled downlink and uplink packets using IP-in-IP

encapsulation, respectively. One or more IP packets 261a-261n, 263a-263n with various source and destination IP addresses maybe encapsulated with a single tunnel header 260, 262 to create a single

tunnel packet 264, 265. A tunnel packet 264, 265 is routed through the intermediate network (and possibly the WAN) as single packet so it is subject to fragmentation if the total length of the tunnel packet 264, 265 exceeds the maximum transmit unit size of any network it traverses. When

encapsulating multiple packets 261a-261n, 263a-263n with a single tunnel header 260, 262, the

multi-stream gateway 50 and multi-stream router 54 consider the QoS parameters in each packet being encapsulated. Only packets sharing identical QoS parameters are encapsulated with a shared

tunnel header 260, 262. The QoS parameters in the tunnel header 260, 262 are set by the multi- stream gateway 50 and multi-stream router 54 to match the QoS parameters of the encapsulated

packets 261a-261n, 263a-263n . In this way, the QoS requirements for each encapsulated packet 261a-261n, 263a-263n are satisfied. This method may be used with any type of intermediate network 46 that supports QoS options in the packet header.

The packet data network architecture is very similar for UMTS, GPRS and EDGE based

networks. Therefore, this embodiment of the invention operates in the same manner for each of

these technologies.

Fig. 14 provides a basic overview of the standard CDMA-2000 packet data architecture. The

standard CDMA-2000 architecture may support Connectionless Network Layer Protocol (CLNP) in addition to Internet Protocol (IP). This embodiment of the present invention may operate with CLNP

as the network layer protocol in the same way (using CLNP encapsulation to tunnel packets through

the CDMA-2000 network) as the previous embodiment of the invention operates with IP (described

above).

Fig. 15 illustrates^'how the CDMA-2000 protocol using IP as the network layer protocol may

be adapted to support this embodiment of the invention. A new layer, an IP/MUX layer 66, 67, is

added to the mobile terminal protocol stack. This layer provides the following functions:

• Implementation of the multi-stream router distribution, concentration and

multiplexing process

• Appending an IP header to reverse link data packets specifying the appropriate source

address for the selected wireless channel 48, destination address for the serving multi-stream gateway 50, and setting other header fields as required to ensure desired QoS for payload data

• Monitoring wireless resource allocation and performance

• Sending feedback (MUX Info 140) to the multi-stream gateway 50 • Receiving and de-tunneling forward link data packets sent by multi-stream gateway

50

• Forwarding forward link data packets to their destination as specified by the

destination address in the original packet header. '

A gateway application layer 68 is appended to the CDMA-2000 IP layer 69. Also in these

embodiments, the multi-stream gateway 50 is external to the wireless service providerOs network.

The multi-stream gateway 50 is connected directly to the Internet, and it implements a standard IP

stack. Gateway application layer 68 provides the following functions:

• Implementation of the multi-stream gateway distribution, concentration and

multiplexing process

• Appending an IP header to forward link data specifying the appropriate destination IP

address of the multi-stream router 54 corresponding to the targeted wireless channel 48, source IP address of the multi-stream gateway 50 sending the packet, and setting other header fields as required to ensure desired QoS for payload data

• Recording feedback data (MUX Info 140) from the multi-stream router 54 for use by the multi-stream gateway distribution, concentration and multiplexing process

• Receiving and de-tunneling reverse link data sent by the multi-stream router 54

• Forwarding reverse link packets to their destinations as specified by the destination IP address in the original packet header

A significant difference between the IP/Mux layer 66, 67 in the multi-stream router 54 and

the gateway application layer 68 in the multi-stream gateway 50 is that the multi-stream router 54 can measure wireless channel allocations and performance directly, whereas the multi-stream

gateway 50 uses feedback (MUX Info 140) from the multi-stream router for its distribution and

multiplexing determinations.

An additional IP header must be appended to each packet (a technique known as "tunneling")

before it is transmitted across the wireless network. This is because an IP address can be associated

with only one mobile terminal identifier in the CDMA-2000 network. Since CDMA-2000 mobile

terminals are designed to use a single transceiver this effectively means that an IP address can be associated with one and only one wireless channel at any given moment in time. This has the effect

of indirectly binding aii IP address in the mobile device to a single channel. When the multi-stream

router sends a reverse link packet, it uses the IP source address corresponding to the radio link over

which the packet is sent. Similarly, forward link packets sent by the multi-stream gateway must

contain the destination IP address corresponding to the radio link over which those packets are sent. When packets are encapsulated with a tunnel header they are routed through the CDMA-2000

network just as packets from a typical end-user device and, as such, standard compression and encryption may be applied to these packets as supported by the CDMA-2000 network being

employed.

Although the present invention has been described with respect to several preferred embodiments, many modifications and alterations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Accordingly, it is intended that all such modifications and alterations be

considered as within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the attached claims.

Claims

CLAIMS I claim:

1. A communication system comprising a gateway and a router using tunneling across

multiple channels to send and receive data packets for a single user.

2. A communication system according to claim 1, wherein the tunneling is IP-in-IP

tunneling.

3. A communication system according to claim 1, wherein the tunneling is through a connectionless network layer protocol using PDU encapsulation.

4. A communication system according to claim 1, wherein the tunneling is through a connection oriented network layer protocol using switched virtual circuits between the router and

gateway.

5. A communication system according to claim 1, wherein the router is mobile.

6. A communication system according to claim 1 , wherein the multiple channels include

wireless interfaces and components of a single wireless network.

7. A communication system according to claim 1 , wherein the multiple channels include wireless interfaces and components of multiple wireless networks.

8. A communication system according to claim 1 , wherein the channels are uplink and downlink dedicated traffic channels of a WCDMA wireless network.

9. A communication system according to claim 1 , wherein the channels are forward link and reverse link dedicated traffic channels of a CDMA-2000 wireless network.

10. A communication system according to claim 1, wherein the gateway interfaces between a wireless network and a packet switched wide area network.

11. A communication system according to claim 1 , wherein the packets sent between the router and gateway are tunneled through a packet switched wide area network.

12. A communication system according to claim 1 , wherein the gateway is located within a wireless network.

13. A communication system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the gateway and the router monitors resource allocations of an intermediate network.

14. A communication system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the gateway and the router monitors throughput levels of one or more channels of an intermediate network.

15. A communication system according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the gateway and the router measures the frame error rate on one or more channels of an intermediate network.

16. A communication system according to claim I, wherein a feedback mechanism is used between the router and gateway for reporting the status of channel allocations, channel throughput and channel error rates in an intermediate network.

17. A communication system according to claim 1, wherein the end-user device communicates with the router through a local area network.

18. A communication system according to claim 1 , wherein the gateway and the router change from using multiple channels of an intemiediate network to using a different number of multiple channels or to using a single channel of the intermediate network.

19. A communication system according to claim 1, wherein the gateway and the router change from using a single channel of an intermediate network to using multiple channels of the intermediate network.

20. A communication system comprising: a router that sends and receives data packets for a single user; and a gateway that sends and receives the data packets to and from a remote server, wherein the router and the gateway use IP-in-IP tunneling across multiple channels of a wireless network to send and receive the data packets between each other.

21. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein the multiple channels include interfaces and components of multiple wireless networks.

22. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein the router is mobile.

23. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein the channels are uplink and downlink dedicated traffic channels of a WCDMA wireless network.

24. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein the channels are forward link and reverse link dedicated traffic channels of a CDMA-2000 wireless network.

25. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein the gateway communicates with the remote server through a packet switched wide area network.

26. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein the packets sent between the

router and gateway are tunneled through a packet switched wide area network.

27. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein the gateway is located

within the wireless network.

28. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein at least one of the gateway

and the router monitors resource allocation by the wireless network.

29. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein at least one of the gateway

and the router monitors throughput levels of one or more channels of the wireless network.

30. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein at least one of the gateway and the router measures the frame error rate on one or more channels of the wireless network.

31. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein a feedback mechanism is

used between the router and gateway for reporting the status of channel allocations, channel throughput and channel error rates in the wireless network.

32. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein the end-user device

communicates with the router through a local area network.

33. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein the gateway and the router

change from using the multiple channels to using a different number of multiple channels or to using

a single channel of the wireless network.

34. A communication system according to claim 19, wherein the gateway and the router change from using a single channel to using multiple channels of the wireless network

35. A router for communication between an end user device and a remote server, said

router comprising: means for receiving a first set of data packets from a single end user device, said first set of data packets being destined for a single remote server, and said single end user device and said

remote server to be included in a first network and to mutually communicate using data packets conforming to a first protocol; means for distributing said first set of data packets over multiple channels to a gateway, said router and said gateway to be included in a second network to mutually communicate using data packets conforming to a second protocol, and said means for distributing being configured to encapsulate said first set of data packets confonning to said first protocol within a second set of packets conforming to said second protocol, each of said second set of packets having header information associated with the channel through which the encapsulated packet will flow; means for receiving through said multiple channels a third set of data packets destined for said end user device from said remote server and confonning to said first protocol, said third set of data packets being encapsulated by said gateway within a fourth set of data packets conforming to said second protocol, each of said fourth set of packets having header information to route each

packet through which of the channels the encapsulated packet will flow; and means for removing said third set of data packets from said fourth set of packets and

forwarding said third set of data packets to said end user device.

36. A router according to claim 34, further comprising:

means for receiving data packets from one or more end user devices through a local area

network; and means for forwarding data packets to said one or more end user devices through said local

area network.

37. A router according to claim 34, wherein said router is configured to communicate

with said gateway through one or more dedicated traffic channels of a WCDMA wireless network.

38. A router according to claim 34, wherein said router is configured to communicate

with said gateway through one or more dedicated traffic channels of a CDMA-2000 wireless

network.

39. A router according to claim 34, wherein said second protocol is the Internet Protocol (IP).

40. A router according to claim 34, wherein said second protocol is a connectionless

network layer protocol.

41. A router according to claim 34, wherein said second protocol is a connection oriented

network layer protocol.

42. A router according to claim 34, further comprising means for monitoring channel resource allocation by said second network and forwarding information indicative of said channel resource allocation to said gateway.

43. A gateway for communication between an end user device and a remote server, said

gateway comprising: means for receiving a first set of data packets from a single remote server, said first set of data packets being destined for a single end user device, and said remote server and said end user device to be included in a first network and to mutually communicate using data packets conforming

to a first protocol; means for distributing said first set of data packets over multiple channels to a router, said gateway and said router to be included in a second network to mutually communicate using data packets conforming to a second protocol, and said means for distributing being configured to encapsulate said first set of data packets conforming to said first protocol within a second set of packets conforming to said second protocol, each of said second set of packets having header information to route each packet through which of the channels the encapsulated packet will flow; means for receiving through said multiple channels a third set of data packets destined for

said remote server from said end user device and conforming to said first protocol, said third set of

data packets being encapsulated by said router within a fourth set of data packets confonning to said second protocol, each of said fourth set of packets having header information associated with the channel through which the encapsulated packet will flow; and means for removing said third set of data packets from said fourth set of packets and forwarding said third set of data packets to said remote server.

44. A gateway according to claim 42, wherein said gateway is configured to reside within said second network as the interface to a packet switched wide area network.

45. A gateway according to claim 42, wherein said gateway is configured to interface between a wireless network and a packet switched wide area network.

46. A gateway according to claim 42. wherein said gateway is configured to interface with a wireless network through a packet switched wide area network.

47. A gateway according to claim 42, wherein said gateway is configured to communicate simultaneously with a plurality of routers.

48. A gateway according to claim 42, further comprising means for receiving from said router information indicative of channel resource allocation and channel performance.

49. A gateway according to claim 42, wherein said second protocol is the Internet Protocol (IP).

50. A router according to claim 42, wherein said second protocol is a connectionless

network layer protocol.

51. A router according to claim 42, wherein said second protocol is a connection oriented

network layer protocol.

52. A method for transmitting data packets between an end user and a remote server, said

method comprising: a single end user sending the data packets via a router;

the router tunneling the data packets across multiple channels of a communications network

to a gateway; and the gateway de-tunneling and sending the data packets to the remote server.

53. A method according to claim 51 , further comprisi ng monitoring resource allocation for the multiple channels by at least one of the gateway and the router.

54. A method according to claim 51, further comprising monitoring throughput levels

through the multiple channels by at least one of the gateway and the router.

55. A method according to claim 51 , further comprising monitoring frame error rates on

the multiple channels by at least one of the gateway and the router.

56. A method according to claim 51 , wherein a feedback mechanism is used between the

router and gateway for reporting the status of channel allocations, channel throughput and channel

error rates in a communications network.

57. A method according to claim 51 , further comprising changing from using the multiple

channels to using a single channel by the router.

58. A method for transmitting data packets between an end user and a remote server, said

method comprising:

the remote server sending the data packets destined for a single end-user device via a

gateway; the gateway tunneling the data packets across multiple channels of a communications

network to a router; and the router de-tunneling and sending the data packets to the single user.

59. A method according to claim 57, further comprising monitoring resource allocation

for the multiple channels by at least one of the gateway and the router.

60. A method according to claim 57, further comprising monitoring throughput levels

through the multiple channels by at least one of the gateway and the router.

61. A method according to claim 57, further comprising monitoring frame error'rates on the multiple channels by at least one of the gateway and the router.

62. A method according to claim 57, wherein a feedback mechanism is used between the router and gateway for reporting the status of channel allocations, channel throughput and channel error rates in a communications network.

63. A method according to claim 57, further comprising changing from using the multiple channels to using a single channel by the gateway.

64. A communication system according to claim 57, wherein the channels are uplink and downlink dedicated traffic channels of a WCDMA wireless network.

65. A communication system according to claim 57, wherein the channels are forward link and reverse link dedicated traffic channels of a CDMA-2000 wireless network

66. A communication system comprising a gateway and a router aggregating packet data traffic for multiple users into a single packet stream and transferring the packet stream across a single channel using network layer tunneling.

67. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein the tunneling is IP-in-IP tunneling.

68. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein the tunneling is through a connectionless network layer protocol using PDU encapsulation.

69. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein the tunneling is through a connection oriented network layer protocol using switched virtual circuits between the router and

gateway.

70. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein the router is mobile.

71. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein the channel is an uplink or downlink dedicated traffic channel of a WCDMA wireless network.

72. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein the channel is a forward link or reverse link dedicated traffic channel of a CDMA-2000 wireless network.

73. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein the gateway interfaces between a wireless network and a packet switched wide area network.

74. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein the packets sent between the router and gateway are tunneled through a packet switched wide area network.

75. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein the gateway is located within a wireless network.

76. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein at least one of the gateway and the router monitors resource allocations of an intermediate network.

77. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein at least one of the gateway and the router monitors throughput levels of one channel of an intermediate network.

78. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein at least one of the gateway and the router measures the frame error rate on one channel of an intennediate network.

79. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein a feedback mechanism is used between the router and gateway for reporting the status of channel allocations, channel throughput and channel error rates in an intermediate network.

80. A communication system according to claim 65, wherein the end-user device communicates with the router through a local area network.

81. A communication system comprising a gateway and a router aggregating packet data traffic between multiple end-user devices and multiple remote servers into multiple packet streams, and distributing the multiple packet streams over a shared pool of channels of an intermediate

network using network layer tunneling.

82. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the tunneling is EP-in-IP

tunneling.

83. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the tunneling is through a

connectionless network layer protocol using PDU encapsulation.

84. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the tunneling is through a

connection oriented network layer protocol using switched virtual circuits between the router and

gateway.

85. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the router is mobile.

86. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the intennediate network is

a wireless network.

87. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the channels are uplink and

downlink dedicated traffic channels of a WCDMA wireless network. and distributing the multiple packet streams over a shared pool of channels of an intermediate network using network layer tunneling.

tunneling.

83. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the tunneling is through a connectionless network layer protocol using PDU encapsulation.

84. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the tunneling is through a connection oriented network layer protocol using switched virtual circuits between the router and

gateway.

85. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the router is mobile.

86. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the intennediate network is a wireless network.

87. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the channels are uplink and downlink dedicated traffic channels of a WCDMA wireless network.

45

88. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the channels are forward link and reverse link dedicated traffic channels of a CDMA-2000 wireless network.

89. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the gateway interfaces between the intermediate network and a packet switched wide area network.

90. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the packets sent between the

router and gateway are also tunneled through a packet switched wide area network.

1. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the intennediate network is a circuit switched network.

92. A communication system according lo claim 80, wherein the intermediate network is a packet switched network.

93. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the gateway is located within the intermediate network.

94. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein at least one of the gateway and the router monitors resource allocations of the intermediate network.

46

95. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein at least one of the gateway and the router monitors throughput levels of one or more channels of the intennediate network.

96. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein at least one of the gateway and the router measures the frame error rate on one or more channels of the intermediate network.

97. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein a feedback mechanism is used between the router and gateway for reporting the status of channel allocations, channel throughput and channel error rates in the intermediate network.

98. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the end-user devices communicate with the router through a local area network.

99. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the gateway and the router change from using multiple channels of the intermediate network to using a different number of multiple channels or to using a single channel of the intermediate network.

100. A communication system according to claim 80, wherein the gateway and the router change from using a single channel of the intermediate network to using multiple channels of the intermediate network.

47

101. A method for handling packet data traffic in a communication system, said method

comprising: throttling incoming packets when congestion is experienced; directing the incoming packets to transmission channels based upon quality-of-service requirements of the packets and quality-of-service provided by the channels;

monitoring traffic volume and channel conditions and allocating or deallocating channel resources to meet the quality-of-service requirements of the packets; and aggregating the incoming packets with similar qύality-of-service requirements into a packet stream by tunneling them together over one or more of the channels that meet the quality-of-service requirements of the packets.

48