FR2913837A1 - Privilege branch port selection method for Internet protocol LAN network, involves selecting privilege branch port among branch ports based on load criteria in communication network considering estimated potential load - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves determining branch ports for connecting a terminal equipment e.g. server (110), to be branched, and determining connections between the equipment (110) and a terminal equipment e.g. media player (107). A transmission path is selected for each equipment, where the path is associated with the connections to transfer data between the equipments. Potential load to be induced by establishing the connections is estimated. A privilege branch port is selected among the branch ports based on load criteria in a communication network (100) by considering the estimated load. Independent claims are also included for the following: (1) a computer programmable product comprising instructions for implementing the privilege branch port selection method (2) a storage unit comprising instructions for implementing the privilege branch port selection method (3) a management device comprising a privilege branch port selection unit.

Description

A method of selecting at least one preferred branch port for a

  terminal equipment to be connected in a network, product computer program, storage medium and corresponding device. FIELD OF THE INVENTION The field of the invention is that of transmissions of data contents in a communication network. More specifically, the invention relates to the control of the quality of service implemented in the context of such transmissions. 2. Solutions of the Prior Art One of the objectives of the home networks is to allow the distribution of audio-video data content at home and to provide access to different source terminals from different reading terminals available at home. For example, a channel of a satellite reception terminal (or STB set top box) located in a room of the house can be displayed on different televisions located in different rooms of the house such as the living room, the kitchen, the bedroom In addition, many home networks can be interconnected to allow users to share resources with family members or friends. Domestic networks are increasingly realized in the form of networks compliant with the IP LAN (for Internet Protocol Local Area Network, Internet Protocol being defined by the RFC791 IETF) implementing for example a control software middleware (or middleware control) as defined in the UPnP standard (for Universal Plug and Play) or in the DLNA group (for Digital Living Network Alliance). Such LAN LAN typically includes switches that are interconnected to form the network infrastructure. Manufacturers of electronic audio-video devices are beginning to integrate LAN IP interfaces into their devices, which allows these devices to be directly connected to switches on the LAN IP network.

  Several local home networks can be interconnected to form a global home network. Gateways (or gateways in English) can be used to interconnect local networks by implementing, for example, tunneling technologies or VPN (virtual private network) type mechanisms. As a result, the devices of one of the interconnected networks can access the devices of the other interconnected networks and vice versa. In an audio-video-oriented home network (in which audio-video data content transits), it is important to provide the quality of service or quality of service hereafter referred to as QoS to ensure network users the best services they can get. Quality of service ensures that the resources required to transmit audio-video data content from a source device to a receiving device are available and reserved along the content transmission path. For example, a UPnP QoS-compliant middleware ensures the quality of service in the network. When a new device is introduced into a communication network such as a home network of IP LAN type, new connections can be established between the devices already present on the communication network and the new device introduced. Some of these new connections can modify the overall behavior of this network (new connections possible, connections already in place, ...). When seeking to connect a new terminal equipment in a communication network based on interconnection equipment to which terminal equipment is connected, depending on the connection port (on one of the interconnection equipment) chosen to connect this new device, the introduction of this equipment may cause later (when this equipment will be used in the communication network) congestion or slowdown of traffic in the network (and therefore deteriorate the QoS implementation in this network). 3. Objectives of the invention The invention, in at least one embodiment, has the particular objective of overcoming these disadvantages of the prior art. More specifically, an object of the invention, in at least one of its embodiments, is to provide a technique providing one or more preferred port (s) (s) (s) belonging to the interconnection equipments. a communication network to connect a new terminal equipment, the privileged ports to optimize the quality of service in the context of data transmission in the network.

  Another objective of the invention, in at least one of its embodiments, is to implement such a technique that allows the load to be uniformly distributed over the different interconnection equipment of the network. Another objective of the invention, in at least one of its embodiments, is to implement such a technique which makes it possible to limit the occurrence of congestion situations. Another objective of the invention, in at least one of its embodiments, is to implement such a technique that is suitable for any type of terminal equipment to be connected to the communication network, whether it is a terminal equipment server type or client type. Another objective of the invention, in at least one of its embodiments, is to implement such a technique that is compatible with the recommendations of the protocols implemented. The invention, in at least one of its embodiments, still aims to implement such a technique that is simple to implement and for a low cost. 4. DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION In a particular embodiment of the invention, there is provided a method of selecting at least one preferred branch port for terminal equipment to be connected, called terminal equipment to be connected, in a network. communication system comprising a plurality of interconnection equipments each comprising at least two branch ports and a plurality of terminal equipments said branch ports being used to connect said terminals to said interconnection equipments and to connect said interconnection equipments between According to the invention, a management device performs the following steps: determining a plurality of available branch ports for connecting the terminal equipment to be connected; determining at least one possible connection between the terminal equipment of a set of terminal equipment comprising said plurality of terminal equipment and said terminal equipment to be connected; for each available branch port, the following substeps are implemented: for each of said possible connections between a source terminal equipment and a receiving terminal equipment, selection of a transmission path, said transmission path associated with the connection, for the transfer of data between the source terminal equipment and the receiving terminal equipment; for each interconnection equipment present on at least one selected transmission path, estimating a potential load that would be induced by establishing the set of possible connections, each according to the transmission path associated with it; selecting at least one branch port, said preferred branch port (s), from the available branch ports, according to at least one load distribution criterion in the network taking account of at least one minus an estimated potential charge. The general principle of the invention is to provide, for each available branch port of the network, an estimate of the potential load of each network interconnection equipment, induced by the establishment of possible connections (or at least a certain part of them) in the network, in order to select the preferred port (s) (or locations) for the connection of the new terminal equipment that allow the potential load to be distributed in a uniform manner over the different network interconnection equipment. Thus, the choice of one or more privileged port (s) makes it possible to optimize the quality of service in the context of data transmissions in the network because the potential charge (induced by the establishment of possible connections in the network) estimated is distributed over the different network interconnection equipments. Thus, the method according to the invention makes it possible to limit the risks of the occurrence of congestion in the network and to limit the risks of saturation occurrence of one of the interconnection equipment.

  On the other hand, the method according to the invention is suitable for any type of terminal equipment to be connected to the communication network, whether it is a terminal equipment of the server or client type. Moreover, the method according to the invention is based on a centralized resource reservation protocol and is compatible with the recommendations of this protocol. Moreover, the method according to the invention makes it possible to implement QoS resource reservation in a communication network in a manner that is completely transparent to the user. The step of determining at least one possible connection may be a step of determining the set of possible connections in the network. However, preferentially, during this determination step, only some of the possible connections, known as relevant possible connections, which are selected according to a choice made by a user or which lead to the most important consumptions, are taken into account. dan resources; the network. Preferably, among the possible relevant connections, at least one connection comprises the terminal equipment to be connected. Advantageously, a connection between a source terminal equipment and a receiver terminal equipment is possible if at least one data communication protocol and at least one data processing format are implemented by both the source terminal equipment and the data terminal. Receiving terminal equipment Preferably, the step of determining at least one possible connection between the terminal equipment of a set of terminal equipment comprises the following steps for each terminal equipment source of said set of terminal equipment: determination of a number of simultaneous connections that said equipment: source terminal can implement; selection of possible connections, said possible connections selected, between said source terminal equipment and receiving terminal equipment of said set of terminal equipment, the number of possible connections selected being less than or equal to the number of simultaneous connections that said source terminal equipment can put implemented. Thus, because of the characteristics of the devices and in particular the limited number of simultaneous connections that a device can accept, all the possible connections are not considered at the same time (the step of selecting possible connections among the possible connections makes it possible to consider some of them) for the prediction (indeed, it would result in a too unfavorable prediction).

  Advantageously, the selection method comprises a step of determining a number of simultaneous connections that each receiving terminal equipment of said set of terminal equipments can implement, and the step of selecting possible connections takes into account the number of simultaneous connections. that each receiving terminal equipment of said set of terminal equipment can implement.

  Advantageously, the possible connections selected are the possible connections having the largest induced bandwidth consumption among the possible connections between the source terminal equipment and the receiving terminal equipment of said set of terminal equipment.

  Thus, the worst-case potential load estimate at the grid level can be taken into account. Advantageously, the communication network comprises at least a first and a second sub-network, the step of determining a plurality of branch ports available for connecting the terminal equipment to be connected comprises a step of selecting a sub-network. one of said first and second subnetworks, and each determined available branch port is included in an interconnect device included in the selected subnet. Thus, in a global network consisting of several sub-networks, each sub-network being for example implemented in a dwelling, it is possible to limit to a given sub-network, that is to say a dwelling in the example cited, the determination and selection of the preferred connection port for connecting the terminal equipment to be connected. Preferably, the step of selecting a sub-network comprises a step of obtaining at least one information relating to a location in one of the subnetworks of a branch port on which is provisionally connected the terminal equipment to be connected. Thus, the selection of the sub-network on which the determination and selection of the preferred branch port to connect the terminal equipment to branch r is carried out automatically.

  Preferably, said step of determining a plurality of available branch ports takes into account, in order to determine whether a given branch port is an available branch port, at least one of the criteria belonging to the group comprising: port availability given connection; - compatibility of the terminal equipment to be connected to the interconnection equipment to which the given connection port belongs. Advantageously, said one or more load balancing criteria belong to the group comprising: minimizing a potential load, averaged over all the interconnection equipment, which would be induced by the establishment of the set possible connections, each according to the transmission path associated with it; minimizing the potential load on at least one of said interconnection equipment that would be induced by establishing all possible connections, each along the transmission path associated therewith; uniform distribution of the use of the connection ports among the interconnection equipments present on at least one selected transmission path; choice made by a user of said communication network. The invention also relates to a computer program product, downloadable from a communication network and / or recorded on a computer readable medium and / or executable by a processor, characterized in that it comprises program code instructions for the implementation of the selection process as previously described. The invention also relates to a storage medium, possibly totally or partially removable, readable by a computer, storing a set of instructions executable by said computer to implement the selection method as previously described :.

  The invention also relates to a management device comprising means for selecting at least one preferred connection port for a terminal equipment to be connected, called terminal equipment to be connected, in a communication network comprising a plurality of interconnection equipment comprising each at least two branch ports and a plurality of terminal equipments said branch ports being used to connect said terminals to said interconnection equipment and to connect said interconnection equipment to each other. According to the invention, the means for selecting at least one preferred branch port include: means for determining a plurality of branch ports available for connecting the terminal equipment to be connected; means for determining at least one possible connection between the terminal equipment of a set of terminal equipment including: said plurality of terminal equipment and said terminal equipment to be connected; means for selecting at least one branch port, said preferred branch port (s), from the available branch ports, according to at least one load distribution criterion in the network taking account of the at least one estimated potential load; and for each available branch port, the means for selecting at least one preferred branch port comprise: for each of said possible connections between a source terminal equipment and a receiving terminal equipment, means for selecting a transmission path , said transmission path associated with the connection, for the transfer of data between the source terminal equipment and the receiving terminal equipment; for each interconnection equipment present on at least one selected transmission path, means for estimating a potential load that would be induced by establishing all the possible connections, each along the transmission path that is associated. The advantages of the computer program product, storage medium and management device are the same as those of the aforementioned selection process, they are not detailed further.

  Advantageously, a connection between a source terminal equipment and a receiver terminal equipment is possible if at least one data communication protocol and at least one data processing format are implemented by both said source terminal equipment and said equipment. receiving terminal. Preferably, the means for determining at least one possible connection between the terminal equipments of a set of terminal equipments comprises, for each source terminal equipment of said set of terminal equipments: means for determining a number of connections simultaneous that said source terminal equipment can implement; means for selecting possible connections, said selected possible connections, between said source terminal equipment and receiving terminal equipments of said set of terminal equipments, the number of possible selected connections being less than or equal to the number of simultaneous connections that said terminal equipment source can implement. Advantageously, the means for selecting at least one preferred connection port comprise means for determining a number of simultaneous connections that each receiving terminal equipment of said set of terminal equipments can implement, and the means for selecting connections. possible consider the number of simultaneous connections that each receiving terminal equipment of said set of terminal equipment can implement.

  Preferably, the possible connections selected are the possible connections having the largest induced bandwidth consumption among the possible connections between said source terminal equipment and the receiving terminal equipment of said set of terminal equipment. Advantageously, the communication network comprises at least a first and a second sub-network, the means for determining a plurality of connection ports available for connecting the terminal equipment to be connected comprise means for selecting a sub-network. among said first and second subnets, and each determined available branch port is included in an interconnect device included in the selected subnet. Preferably, the means for selecting a sub-network comprise means for obtaining at least one information relating to a location in one of the sub-networks of a connection port on which the equipment is provisionally connected. terminal to connect.

  Advantageously, the means for determining a plurality of available branch ports take into account, in order to determine whether a given branch port is an available branch port, at least one of the criteria belonging to the group comprising: port availability given connection; - compatibility of the terminal equipment to be connected to the interconnection equipment to which the given connection port belongs. Preferably, the at least one load distribution criterion (s) belongs to the group comprising: minimizing a potential load, averaged over all the interconnection equipment, which would be induced by the establishment of the set possible connections, each according to the transmission path associated with it; minimizing the potential load on at least one of said interconnection equipment that would be induced by establishing all possible connections, each along the transmission path associated therewith; uniform distribution of the use of the connection ports among the interconnection equipment present on at least one selected transmission path; choice made by a user of said communication network. 5. List of Figures Other features and advantages of the invention will appear more clearly on reading the following description of a preferred embodiment, given as a simple illustrative and non-limiting example, and the accompanying drawings, among which: Figure 1 shows a diagram of a global home network in which can be implemented a determination method according to a particular embodiment according to the invention; FIG. 2 is a diagram of a generic device able to implement the determination method according to the particular embodiment of the aforementioned invention; FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment according to the particular embodiment of the invention of a table of terminal equipment connections in the global network 100 of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment according to the particular embodiment of the invention of a table of the potential load of the switches in the global network 100 of FIG. 1; FIG. 5 presents the main steps of the method for determining at least one preferred location for the connection of the new device according to the particular embodiment mentioned above of the invention as part of the overall network of FIG. 1; FIG. 6 presents the main steps of an algorithm for obtaining the connections of the terminal equipments of the network of FIG. 1 according to the particular embodiment of the invention; FIG. 7 presents the main steps of an estimation algorithm, for each available branch port and for each switch of the network of FIG. 1, of a value of the potential load of the switch according to the particular embodiment of FIG. the invention; FIG. 8 presents the main steps of an exemplary algorithm for selecting (or obtaining) the preferred location (s) for the connection of the new device according to the particular embodiment of the invention. 6. DESCRIPTION OF AN EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION A method of determining at least one preferred port (or location) for connecting a new device according to a particular embodiment of the invention is described below. in the context of a global home network 100 (a diagram of which is illustrated in FIG. 1) which notably comprises equipment complying with a centralized signaling protocol, for example the UPnP QoS protocol.

  Of course, the centralized signaling protocol may be any protocol other than the UPnP QoS protocol. The global network 100 comprises a first local home network 100-1 of IP LAN type located in a first house and a second local home network 100-2 of IP LAN type located in a second house. The first 100-1 and second 100-2 local home networks are interconnected by means of a first gateway 102-1 of the first network 100-1 connected to a second gateway 102-2 of the second network 100-2 via a secure tunnel 103 implemented in the Internet network. Thus, the first network 100-1 and the second network 100-2 form a single global network 100.

  Of course, the invention can also be implemented in a single local area network, for example the first network 100-1. Each of the first 100-1 and second 100-2 local home networks is for example an Ethernet water (or any other IEEE 802.x type protocol) and makes it possible to implement UPnP QoS type communications (at least between certain equipment) for which each UPnP QoS device (or equipment implementing a UPnP QoS compliant middleware) of the network is identified and periodically communicates the description of its services. It will be noted that the local network 100 may be a home network or a home network. It can include wired segments but also include wireless segments (eg compliant with Wifi or Bluetooth standards, registered trademarks). Each of the first 100-1 and second 100-2 local home networks includes both terminal equipment that is visible to a network user and directly controlled by that user, and network infrastructure equipment for connecting the terminal equipment. The first local home network 100-1 comprises for example first 101-1 (also referenced Si), second 101-2 (also referenced S2) and third 101-3 (also referenced S3) switches (which are infrastructure equipment network) which are interconnected by Ethernet type links such that the first switch 101-1 is connected to the second 101-2 and third 101-3 switches, the second switch 101-2 is connected to the first 101-1 and third 101-3 switches and the third switch 101-3 is connected to the second 101-2 and first 101-1 switches. The first gateway 102-1 is connected to the second switch 101-2 by an Ethernet type link. The first local home network 100-1 also includes (for example) the following terminals: an HD / SD PVR (or High Definition / Standard Definition Personal Video Recorder) 104 connected to the second switch 101-2 via a link Ethernet; - a digital television 105 (or HD TV 105 for High Definition Television>) connected to the second switch 101-2 via an HDMI link (for High Definition Multimedia Interface); a Broadband Digital Receiving Terminal (or Broadband Set Top Box) 106 connected to the first switch 101-1 via an IEEE-1394 link; a media player 107 (which is for example a high definition digital television or HD TV) connected to the third switch 101-3 via an Ethernet link.

  The second local home network 100-2 includes, for example, the fourth 101-4 (also referenced S4) and the fifth 101-5 (also referenced S5) switches (which are network infrastructure equipment) which are interconnected by type links. Ethernet. The second gateway 102-2 is connected to the fourth switch 101-4 by an Ethernet type link. The second local home network 100-2 also includes (for example) the following terminals: a high definition digital camera (or HD Camcorder) 109 connected to the fifth switch 101-5 via a USB link (for Universal Serial Bus); and a computer 108 (or PC 108) connected to the fourth switch 101-4 via an Ethernet link. Each of the HD / SD PVR 104, digital broadband reception terminal 106, computer 108 and high definition digital camera 109 is a multimedia stream server for example corresponding to the UPnP standard (each of these UPnP Media Server terminals is also called). In particular, it is capable of transmitting video content continuously according to network protocols and which operates for example via the HTTP over TCP / IP protocol and / or via the RTP protocol over the UDP / IP protocol.

  Each of the HD / SD PVR 104, digital television 105, media player 107 and computer 108 is a client terminal, for example meeting the UPnP standard (each of these UPnP Media Renderer terminals is also called), and which is able to display media streams from a UPnP Media Server.

  It can be noted that these servers can be considered as UPnP Media Server because: - each of them implements a UPnP Media Server service; or that each of them is connected to a bridge (for example an IEEE-1394 / IP interconnect device) which presents it as compliant with the UPnP Media Server standard.

  Similarly, it can be noted that these clients can be considered as UPnP Media Renderer because: - each of them implements a UPnP Media Renderer service; or - that each of them is connected to a bridge (for example an IEEE-1394 IP interconnect device) which presents it as compliant with the UPnP Media Renderer standard. In the present embodiment, the network infrastructure equipment is the first 101-1, second 101-2, third 101-3, fourth 101-4 and fifth 101-5 switches which are level 2 routing equipment, for example, switches (or switches in English) which are interconnection devices of more than two Ethernet segments, according to a routing criterion based at network level 2 (Ethernet MAC address routing). Of course, according to a variant of the present embodiment, the network infrastructure equipment can be bridges (interconnection equipment which connects two Ethernet segments) between two segments of the network (for example, a computer having two network cards constitutes A bridge). It may be noted that a switch is considered a bridge that has more than two interfaces. A network infrastructure equipment generally implements a QoS protocol (which optimizes network utilization) such as a stream priority management protocol (eg, IEEE-802.1p protocol) or a signaling protocol QoS online reservation system such as the SBM protocol standardized by RFC-2814. It can also implement the UPnP QoS standard.

  It is assumed in the following that each of the infrastructure equipment implements a QosDevice service conforming to the UPnP QoS standard. The secure tunnel 103 makes it possible to exchange resources, in a secure manner, between the first and second houses. Preferably, the first 102-1 and second 102-2 gateways are devices implementing a QoS service (for example QosDevice according to the UPnP QoS standard) when the secure tunnel 103 is established between the first and second houses because the contents of the data exchanged will pass through these gateways. Depending on the Internet access capacity (linking the two houses) and the gateway load, the number and quality of the flows may differ from one network to another. The following is a part of a new device 110, which is, for example, a high definition (HD) server 110, to be connected to a connection port (or location of the global network 100) of an equipment of interconnection (global network 100), the port being chosen so as to optimize (in particular standardize) the distribution of the load in the global network For example, the new device 110 is connected (but not yet connected) to a temporary connection port which belongs to an interconnection equipment located in the first local home network 100-1 by a user In the following, the term "location in a network" means a branch port of a network switch on which can be or is A terminal port is also included by available slot A connection port of a switch which is free and on which it is therefore possible to connect a terminal equipment (subject to compatibility) you).

  In the following, we mean by connecting a terminal equipment to the network, the physical action of connecting, using the appropriate outlets, the terminal equipment to a network infrastructure equipment. It is also understood by connecting a source terminal equipment to a receiving terminal equipment the action of connecting the source terminal equipment with the receiving terminal equipment for the purpose of exchanging data. In the following, it is assumed that the media player 107 (hereinafter referred to as the management device 107), which comprises, for example, a UPnP Media Renderer service, a UPnP control point service (or UPnP Control Point) and a UPnP QosManager service ( hereinafter referred to as QosManager), implements the method of determining the ination of at least one preferred location for the new device 110 according to the particular embodiment of the invention. The method for determining at least one preferred location for the new device 110 according to the invention (described in more detail in connection with FIGS. 2 to 8) is implemented in the form of software and / or a plurality of software sub-programs (including a plurality of algorithms described hereinafter) which are (are) executed in several machines of the global network 100 (which may be for example a microcomputer or a workstation) for example in the manager device 107.

  FIG. 2 shows a diagram of a generic device 200 able to implement the method for determining at least one preferred location for the new device 110 according to the particular embodiment of the invention mentioned above. . For example, the aforementioned manager device 107 in connection with FIG. 1 is identified with the generic device 200 described with reference to FIG. 2. This generic device 200 can notably be connected to any image storage means, I videos, or sound connected to a graphics card and delivering to the generic device 200 multimedia data.

  Thus, the generic device 200 comprises a communication bus 202 to which are connected: a central processing unit 203 (which is for example a microprocessor referenced CPU); a read-only memory 204 referenced ROM, which may comprise the aforementioned software (s) and referenced (s) Prog; a random access memory 206 (RAM referenced cache memory), comprising registers adapted to record variables and parameters created and modified during the execution of the aforementioned software (s); a screen 208 for viewing data and / or to act as a graphical interface with the network administrator who can interact with the software (s) according to the invention, using a keyboard 210 or any other means such as a pointing device, such as for example a mouse 211,) an optical pen; a communication interface 218 connected to a distributed communication network 220, for example the local network 100, the interface being able to transmit and receive data. The generic device 200 also includes (but this is optional): a hard disk 212 capable of porting the software (s) Prog; a floppy disk drive 214 adapted to receive a floppy disk 216 and to read or write to it data processed or to be processed in accordance with the resource reservation method according to the invention. Of course, instead of the floppy disk 2 [6], it is possible to implement any information medium that can be read by a computer or by a microprocessor, whether integrated or not, possibly removable, is adapted to store the software or software (s) according to the invention (for example, a compact disc (CD-ROM) or a memory card). The communication bus 202 allows communication and interoperability between the various devices included in the generic device 200 or connected to this equipment. More generally, by virtue of the communication bus 202, the central unit 203 is able to communicate instructions to any device included in the generic device 200 directly or via another device of the generic device 200.

  The executable code of each of the above-mentioned software (s) enabling the generic device 200 to implement the resource reservation method according to the invention can be stored, for example, in the hard disk 212 or in the read-only memory. 204. The central unit 203 controls and directs the execution of the instructions or portions of software code of the software (s) according to the invention. When powering up, the software or software that is stored in a non-volatile memory (for example the hard disk 212 or the read-only memory 204), are transferred into the random access memory 206 which will then contain the executable code of the software or software (s) according to the invention, as well as registers for storing the variables and parameters necessary for carrying out the determination method according to the invention. It should be noted that the communication device comprising the device according to the invention can also be a pre-programmed device. This device then contains the code of the computer program or programs for example frozen in a specific application integrated circuit (ASIC). FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary embodiment according to the particular embodiment of the invention of a connection table 300 implemented to memorize the possible connections (also called associations) between the devices (of type end devices) branches or to be connected (such as the new device 110) to the global network 100 of Figure 1 (including the first 100-1 and second 100-2 networks) that have been previously obtained (for example by means of the algorithm described below in connection with Figure 6). Possible connections in a network are all the connections between all the devices of the network, whether actually implemented (actual connections) or not implemented (potential connections), as long as it is possible to implement them. For example, a connection between a source terminal equipment and a receiver terminal equipment is possible if at least one data communication protocol and at least one data processing format are commonly mi ;; implemented by said source terminal equipment and said receiving terminal equipment. The connection table 300 may be a type A connection table dedicated to the memorization of possible connections between the new device 110 (terminal equipment) to be connected in the global network 100 and the devices already connected (each at a location ) to the global network 100. The connection table 300 can also be a type B connection table dedicated to the memorization of the possible connections between the devices already connected to the global network 100.

  Each line 301 is dedicated to a possible connection between a source device (which is, for example, broadband STB 106 or HD / SD PVR 104), for example represented by its UPnP identifier, of column 302 and a receiver device (which is for example the HD TV 105, the media player 107 the PC 108), for example represented by its UPnP identifier, of the column 303 and the associated transmission paths of the column 304. These associated transmission paths making it possible to go from the source device to the receiver device are determined in a step 506 (hereinafter described in relation to FIG. 5). Preferably, each transmission path is represented by the switches encountered on this transmission path using the UPnP identifiers of these switches. Only a type B table is implemented in the global network 100, however, one can implement in the global network 100 as many type A table as there are possible locations to connect a new device. Once all the available slots for a new device to be connected are determined, the initial type A table can be duplicated depending on the number of available slots. FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary embodiment according to the particular embodiment of the invention of a potential load table (or load table) of the switches 400 used to memorize the characteristics of the switches (FIG. or network infrastructure equipment) and for storing the estimated bit rates of the switches of the global network 100 of Figure 1 (including the first 100-1 and second 100-2 networks). There are as many potential switch load tables in the global network 100 as there are slots available for a new device in the global network.

  Each line 401 is dedicated to a switch of the global network 100 (including the gateways in the case where the secure tunnel 103 is established between the first network 100-1 and the second network 100-2) represented by: a field, in the column 402, comprising an identifier (for example S1, S2, S3, ...) of the switch, for example its UPnP identifier; a charge field max, in column 403, comprising the maximum charge value (in terms of bandwidth) that the switch is capable of implementing (for example 150Mbit / s, 70Mbit / s, 100Mbit / s,

  .), the value of this field is determined in steps 701, 702 and 703 of Figure 7; a field connections considered, in column 404, comprising the possible connections (or possibly the relevant possible connections if step 705 hereinafter described in relation to FIG. 7 is implemented), (for example broadband STB 106 / HD TV 105, HD / SD PVR 104 HD TV 105, ...) which will be considered in the case of estimating the potential load for the switch in column 404. Because the transmission path chosen for a possible connection considered includes the switch, the possible connection is represented, for example in the form of a pair of UPnP identifiers, one representing the source device and the other the receiving device; a predicted charge field, in column 405, which includes the value of the potential (in terms of bandwidth) potential (or predicted) charge for the switch (which would be induced by the establishment of all the possible connections (or possibly possible relevant connections) to each according to the transmission path associated with it) which can be expressed in terms of bandwidth or in terms of percentage of the maximum load (eg 80%, 20%, 110%, ... ). It can be noted that the value of the predicted (or potential) load for the switch may exceed 100% of the maximum load of the switch because the calculations may be based on potential connections, which can not be implemented simultaneously. because of a failure of the switch in question. FIGS. 5 and 5 show the main steps of the method for determining at least one preferred location for the connection of the new device according to the above-mentioned particular embodiment of the invention as part of the overall network 100 of FIG. In a step 501, the management device 107 obtains the list of the characteristics of all the devices of the terminal equipment type (including the new device 110 which must be connected to the global network 100) connected to the global network 100. To do this, for example, it uses the SSDP protocol (Simple Service Discovery Protocol) discovery implemented by the UPnP standard. This protocol makes it possible to obtain: the list of devices; - the type of each device; for each device, in the case where the device is a player (or UPnP Media Renderer), which protocols are used to perform content streaming (or content streaming); the DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) Profile as described in Volume 2 Media Format Profiles of the DLNA Networked Device Interoperability Guidelines available from the LNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) alliance of each device, which allows you to know if the device is of type HD (High Definition>) or SD (Standard Definition) and the value of the maximum bandwidth that can be implemented. In the context of this particular embodiment, the management device 107 comprises means for determining the network (among the first network 100-1 and the second network 100-2) where is connected (at its temporary location) the new device to connect. Once the network to which the new device 110 is connected is determined, the management device 107 discovers this new device 110 in the same manner as the other devices of the global network 100. Moreover, in the context of this particular embodiment, the management device 107 seeks to determine the connection locations available to connect the new device 110 within the local home network 100-1 or 100-2 where the new device 110 has been temporarily connected. The management device 107 then uses the mechanisms set implemented by the UPnP standard to determine all the switches present on the local home network 100-1 or 100-2 where the new device 110 has been temporarily connected, that is to say the switches that may be affected by a connection involving the new device 110 without this connection involves the tunnel 103 between the two houses. According to a variant of this embodiment, the management device 107 may seek to determine the available connection locations for connecting the new device 110 within the global network 100.... DTD: According to a variant of this particular embodiment, the new device 110 is not temporarily connected to the network 100, and the user can select it, in a list of devices displayed on a graphical user interface that can be displayed on the screen 208 of the management device 107 (indeed, those skilled in the art are able to implement the appropriate means to display such a user interface on the screen 208 of the management device 107 which is for example a digital television). The list may contain information such as the manufacturer, the type of product, the model, ... which allows the user to select via this user interface this new device 110 .. The characteristics of the new device 110 can thus be obtained by the management device by requesting this information to a database on a device of the local home network (updated by manual or automatic maintenance operations via the Internet) or directly on the Internet. Such a graphical interface may also propose to the user to select the local home network 100-1, the local home network 100-2 or the global network 100 for determining the connection locations available to connect the new device 110. of this discovery can be stored to accelerate the implementation of such a step in a next use of the method of determining at least one preferred location according to the invention. In a step 502, the management device 107 tries to find the possible connections (or possibly the possible possible connections if the step 705 hereinafter described with reference to FIG. 7 is implemented) between the new device 110 to be connected to the global network 100 and the devices (terminal equipments) already connected to the global network 100 by comparing the characteristics obtained in step 501. Each possible connection can be stored in the form of an entry in a type A table (such as described in connection with Figure 3). This point will be detailed in more detail in relation to Figure 6.

  In a step 503, the management device 107 uses the same mechanism (as in step 502) in order to obtain the possible connections (or possibly the possible possible connections if the step 705 hereinafter described in relation to FIG. is implemented) between the devices (terminal equipments) already connected in the global network 100. A possible connection can be stored in a type B table (as described with reference to FIG. 3). This point will be detailed in more detail with reference to FIG. 6. In a step 504, the management device 107 discovers the switches (network infrastructure equipment) constituting the architecture of the global network 100 and which are QosDevice type devices. according to the UPnP QoS standard. To do this, the management device 107 can use the Simple Service Discovery Protocol (SSDP) discovered by the UPnP nun to discover the switches and a mechanism for obtaining the characteristics of these switches, such as the GetQosDeviceCapabilities service. the UPnP QoS standard, to obtain the type of switch physical interfaces (or bristles) as well as the maximum possible throughput per interface (or branch port). With the implementation of this service GetQosDeviceCapabilities, the manager device 107 obtains, for each switch and for each physical interface (or port of connection), information such as the value of the field Ianâ TechnologyType which is an integer indicating the type ( eg IEEE 802.3, IEEE 802.11, IEEE 1394, USB, ...) the physical interface of the switch and the value of the MaxPhyRate field which indicates the maximum transmission rate of the interface. In a step 505, the management device 107 determines a set of free or available physical locations (each corresponding to a branch port) on the switches belonging to the first network 100-1 in which the new device (called local switches) is located. for the connection of the new device 110. Then, preferably, it compares the characteristics (type of interface (or port of connection), maximum bandwidth, ...) of the new device 110 with the characteristics of each switch of the local home network. considered (or the global network 100, in the case where the placement of the new device would not be limited to a particular local home network but to the entire global network 100) to determine the set of switches that are available and which are compatible to communicate with the new device 110. In the following, we call the set of free physical locations (or available) on the switches belonging to the first network 100-1 that are compatible with the new device the relevant available slots.

  In the context of this particular embodiment, where the invention aims to determine the relevant available branch locations within a local home network, the manager device 107 does not compare the features of the new device 110 with those of the other switches. (remote switches) because the new device 110 can not be connected to a remote location. The type A table obtained in step 502 is duplicated depending on the number of relevant available slots. In a step 506, for each relevant available location, the manager device is placed in the case where the new device 110 is connected to this location and implements a well-known routing algorithm (for example the algorithm Dijkstra Algorithm as detailed at the following Internet address: http://computer.howstuffworks.com/routingalgorithm3.htm) to calculate the set of possible transmission paths for each possible connection obtained in steps 502 and 503 above. Thus, the set of possible transmission paths is determined for each possible connection (or possibly the relevant possible connections if step 705 hereinafter described in connection with FIG. 7 is implemented) and for each relevant available location. For this purpose, in a UPnP environment, the management device can use a GetPathlnformation request from the UPnP QosDevice service that provides information on the MAC addresses (for Medium Access Control) that can be reached. Thus, the manager device 107 can determine the transmission paths. The results are then stored in the type A (a type A table by available location) and type B tables. In a step 507, the management device 107 performs, for each available branch port of the network, an estimate of the worst-case potential load of each switch in the global network 100 (using the algorithm detailed below in connection with FIG. 7) induced by the establishment of the possible connections (or possibly possible possible connections) for the load of each of the switches of the global network 100. Indeed, even in the case where the invention aims to provide a connection location of the device to be connected to one of the local home networks 100-1 or 100-2, the possible connections through the tunnel 103 must be taken into account when estimating the worst-case potential load of each switch in the local home network considered.

  In a step 508, the management device 107 compares the result obtained in step 507 to obtain the relevant available location (s), said preferred location (s), for uniformly distributing the overall potential load. on the different interconnection equipment (switches) of the network 100. This result can be proposed to the user by means of a graphical user interface that can be displayed on the screen 208 of the management device 107. Indeed, the Those skilled in the art are able to implement the appropriate means to display such a user interface on the screen 208 of the management device 107 which is for example a digital television. Thus, the user can know the preferred location (s) (or erplacement (s) relevant (s) where to connect the new device 110 to distribute uniformly the overall potential load). An example of an algorithm for determining (or obtaining) the location (s) p rivilégié (s) for the new device 110, for uniformly distribute the overall potential load on the various interconnection equipment (switches) network local home 100-1 or 100-2 considered (or in the overall network 100, according to an alternative implementation of the invention above), is described below in relation to Figure 8. It is presented in connection with FIG. 6, the main steps of an algorithm for obtaining possible connections of the terminal equipments of the global network 100 according to the particular embodiment of the invention. In a step 601, the management device 107 interrogates each of the audio-video devices (end devices) discovered on the global network 100 in order to obtain its characteristics (in terms of services, etc.). By implementing the UPnP standard Simple Access Discovery Protocol (SSDP), a device can present itself on the global network 100 by sending a presentation request in which is included an http address allowing the other devices to obtain the list of his services. By analyzing this list of services, the management device 107 is able to determine whether the device is of the UPnP Media Server type (if it implements a UPnP Media Server service) or of the UPnP Media Renderer type (if it implements an UPnP service Media Renderer). The UPnP AV Connection Manager service (as provided in the UPnP AV standard), which is present in a UPnP Media Server type device or in a UPnP Media Renderer type device, uses a field called Protocollnfo which includes information necessary for a UPnP control station to determine a compatibility level of two UPnP-compliant devices for connection. The Protocollnfo field has four fields arranged in the following structure: <protocol>: <network>: <contentFormat>: <addallnfo>. These four fields are used in the context of comparisons implemented in a step 603 hereinafter described. Moreover, for a given media class (for example AV), the DLNA standard defines multiple formats (for example MPEG 2 or 4) associated with multiple profiles (characteristics). Categorization labels (or categorization labels) are also defined in video to characterize the resolution (for example the labels QCIF15, CIF15, CIF30, SD, HD). For example, for an MPEG video stream being broadcast, a label may be MPEG_TS_DH_NA_ISO. These characteristics are also used in the context of comparisons implemented in step 602 hereinafter described. In a step 602, the management device 107 checks whether the characteristics of a device have not been obtained. If this is the case, then step 601 is implemented for this device, otherwise, step 603 is implemented. In step 603, once all the characteristics of each of the devices (terminal equipments) have been obtained, the management device 107 selects, from the list obtained in step 601, a device common among the devices that comprise a UPnP Media Server service, which can act as a source device, and searches, in the list, for all of the devices among the devices that include a UPnP Media Renderer service that can act as a receiving device. Then, it compares the characteristics of the Protocollnfo fields and DLNA profiles of these devices in order, in the case where these characteristics are compatible, to determine potential connections between source devices and receiver devices. The compatibility of the characteristics depends on comparison criteria which are, for example: the common knowledge of the source device and the receiving device of at least one communication protocol, for the transmission of audiovisual data, based on a principle of reservation of resources on the transmission path from the source device to the receiving device providing the QoS; the adequacy between at least one DLNA profile (for example the encoding format) of audiovisual data broadcasting by the source device and at least one DLNA profile (for example the decoding format) of audiovisual data processing by the receiving device . In a step 604, once a possible connection is obtained in step 603, it is stored in the appropriate table (a type A table for any possible connection that includes the new device 110 or the type B table for all other possible connections).

  In a step 605, the manager device 107 checks whether a device comprising a UPnP Media Server service has not yet been used to search for possible connections. If this is the case, then step 603 is re-implemented for this device, otherwise, the algorithm is terminated. Thus, step 603 is implemented for each of the devices 25 comprising a UPnP Media Server service of the global network including the new device 110. In relation to FIG. 7, the main steps of an algorithm of FIG. estimating, for each available branch port and for each switch in the global network 100, a value of the potential load of the switch according to the particular embodiment of the invention.

  At first, the manager device determines the maximum capacity in terms of bandwidth that a switch is able to provide. In a step 701 of determining the current load of a given switch, after having selected a given switch of the global network 100, the management device 107 obtains the QoS state of the given switch by sending a request GetQosState ( as provided in UPnP QoS). The GetQosState request that uses the TrafficDescriptor structure (as provided in the UPnP QoS standard) provides the management device 107 with information about the streams being transmitted that pass through the given switch. The given switch may also collect information, called rate information, about the streams being transmitted in the network from its interfaces (or branch ports). The manager device 107 may request this bit rate information from the given switch by means of a GetRotameterinformation request (as provided in the UPnP QoS standard). The collection of this rate information can be controlled by means of a ConfigureRotameterObservation request (as provided in the UPnP QoS standard). With this flow information, monitoring can be performed at each flow and more particularly a monitoring of the number of bits for a given period, which passes through the given switch. By implementing these UPnP QoS mechanisms for each of the streams, the management device 107 is able to calculate the current load of the given switch.

  In a step 702, determining the free (or available) capacity (in terms of bandwidth) of the given switch, the management device 107 sends UPnP SetupTrafficQos and ReleaseTrafficQos requests to the given switch in order to establish a QoS within the framework of the transmission of a fictitious flow.

  In order to establish the notional flow, the manager device 107 assigns values to the subfields of the Tspec descriptor field (as provided for in the UPnP QoS standard) and particularly to the MeandataRate subfield (as provided in the UPnP QoS standard). . This MeandataRate subfield includes the value of the average bit rate / s for the transport of Internet Protocol (IP) packets belonging to the fictitious stream within the bounds of the values of the Tspec field. This MeandataRate subfield represents the long-term behavior of the fictitious flow. In attempting to establish this dummy stream for increasing values assigned to the MeandataRate subfield and monitoring the response of the given switch to the UPnP SetupTrafficQos request sent by the managing device, the managing device 107 obtains the maximum rate value that the switch given can accept and so it gets the free capacity of the given switch. Whenever the establishment of a dummy stream is accepted by the given switch, the management device 107 cancels it immediately so as not to consume bandwidth at the given switch. In a variant of this embodiment, in step 702, the management device 107 can progressively request the reservation of resources for the establishment of a notional flow, then of two, then of three, ... and so of continued until the bandwidth request is rejected by the given switch, so that it can determine the remaining internal resources available at the given switch. The management device can verify that the information obtained in step 701 remained identical before proceeding to the release of the communication network resources associated with the transmission of the fictitious stream.

  The management device can thus determine the setting up of new connections in the communication network and thus update the data relating to the current load of the given switch. In a step 703, the management device 107 calculates the maximum load (in terms of bandwidth) that the given switch is able to implement. To do this, it adds the value of the current load of the given switch (obtained in step 701) with the value of the free capacity of the given switch (obtained in step 702), the result of this addition being equal to the maximum load of the given switch. Then, it stores this maximum load value of the given switch in the line corresponding to the given switch in the switch load table (described in connection with FIG. 4). Then, the management device 107 checks whether there remains in the global network 100 a switch for which the steps 701 to 703 have not yet been implemented. If there remains such a switch, then these steps 701 to 703 are implemented for this switch, otherwise, a step 704 is implemented. Once the switch load table is updated for each of the switches of the global network 100, in step 704, the manager device makes as many copies of this load table as there are type A tables. in the global network 100 (which corresponds to the number of available slots relevant for the connection of the new device 110). Indeed, the switch load table will not contain the same information as a function of the available location relevant for the connection of the new device 110. Preferably, in a step 705, the management device 107 analyzes the type B table and the type A tables to select (or choose) the most relevant possible connections to account for the worst-case potential load estimate (eg a load that would be essentially located on a single switch or for example selecting the possible connections that imply the largest bandwidth induced consumption). Thus, because of the characteristics of the devices and in particular the limited number of simultaneous connections that a device can accept, all the possible connections are not considered at the same time for the prediction (in fact, it would result in a too unfavorable prediction).

  Indeed, the management device 107 can determine for example the number of simultaneous connections that a source or receiver terminal equipment can implement using mechanisms of the standard UPnP Av. The device then takes the role of UPnP Av control station. (UPnP AV Control Point) and addresses a set of requests to the Connection Manager service of the terminal device in question. The UPnP Av connection manager service has a CurrentConnectionIDs variable that identifies all the current connections implemented in the terminal device. The contents of this variable can be obtained by a GetCurrentConnectionlDs request addressed to the UPnP Av connection manager service of the terminal device. The management device 107 can then issue PreparingForConnection requests for establishing fictitious connections addressed to a source or receiving terminal device. Upon receipt of such a request, the terminal device allocates the resources necessary for the transport of the content for which a connection is required, and in particular assigns a ConnectionlD identifier. Once the management device receives from the terminal device considered a Connection Table Overflow error code in response to a PrepareForConnection request, it means that the terminal device has reached the maximum number of connections it can handle simultaneously. . Using a request GetCurrentConnectionIDs addressed to the UPnP Av connection manager service of the terminal device considered, the management device 107 can then determine the maximum number of simultaneous connections that can be managed by the terminal device considered, taking into account the connections which may have been established by other control points in the communication network 100. It then remains the management device 107 to issue a set of ConnectionComplete requests to the terminal device in question in order to release the resources allocated for the establishment of the fictitious connections. which allowed him to determine the maximum number of simultaneous connections that the terminal device can handle.

  Of course, according to a variant of this particular embodiment of the invention, step 705 is not implemented. Thus, the management device 107 chooses, among the set of possible connections, the connections (known as possible possible connections) leading to the most important consumption of resources (taking into account parameters such as the capacity to read a high-definition video content) taking into account the characteristics of the devices. It is possible that the possible connection that consumes the most resources does not include the new device 110. However, in order to obtain the most relevant possible connections, the management device 107 selects, from the possible connections, at least one possible connection ( among the most resource intensive) including the new device 110 so as to be able to choose the preferred location (s) for the latter. In a step 706, the manager device selects, for each relevant possible connection (obtained in step 705), a transmission path from the list of possible transmission paths. For a given relevant possible connection, the selected transmission path is for example the longest transmission path so as to encompass a large number of switches, which maximizes the load of each switch which thus risks being included in the path transmission of several connections. Another example of selecting the transmission path is obtained by establishing a dummy connection between the two devices of the given connection and obtaining the list of switches involved in that connection. Once this list is obtained, the manager device 107 cancels this fictitious connection.

  In a step 707, the manager device 107 fills, for each relevant possible connection, the field (s) considered connections of the column 404 of the switch load table (s) (for a given connection, it fills either all the tables if the new device 110 is not involved in the given connection or, if the new device is involved in the given connection, only a table corresponding to the relevant available location considered for the new device 110 in this connection data). In a step 708, the manager device 107 determines, for each source device (terminal equipment) (including a UPnP Media Server service) of the network that belongs to one of the relevant possible connections, the maximum bandwidth consumption that it can put in. according to his abilities. For example, the management device 107 can ask a given source device that it gives a list of all its contents through the UPnP ContentDirectory service (as provided in the UPnP standard) and thus determine the most content. bandwidth consumer taking into account the DLNA profiles that the source device can implement. The manager device 107 can also associate a predetermined value of bandwidth with each profile. For example, an MPEG 2 (Motion Picture Expert Group) stream in high definition (HD) can be estimated at 30Mbit / s and a MPEG 2 stream in standard definition (SD) can be estimated at lOMbit / s. Thus, the value of maximum bandwidth consumption that a source device can implement according to its capabilities is taken into account to calculate the value of the load (in terms of bandwidth) potential for the switch (s) ) on the transmission path of the connection to which the source device belongs. In a step 709, the manager device 107 updates the predicted load fields (column 405) of each switch in each switch load table for each relevant possible connection.

  With reference to FIG. 8, the main steps of an exemplary algorithm for selecting (or obtaining) the preferred location (s) for the connection of the new device 110 according to the particular embodiment are presented. of the invention. In a step 801, the manager device 107 calculates for each switch load table (each associated with an available location relevant for the connection of the new device 110) a potential average load value. To do this, it sum the set of potential loads of the switches of the table and it divides the result by the number of switches. After this calculation, the management device 107 compares the average potential load values obtained for the different switch load tables each associated with a relevant available location for the new device 110. For example, if a potential average load value is less than each of the other potential load average values, then, in a step 805, the relevant available location associated with that lower average value is chosen as the preferred location for the new device 110 and this best location is offered to the user , via a graphical user interface, by the management device. Then the algorithm is terminated. Otherwise, the manager device 107 retains only the switch load tables whose average potential load values are the lowest (and all equal to each other) and a step 802 is implemented. In step 802, the management device 107 searches for the switch that has the highest potential load value in all the tables stored in step 801. In order to optimize the network, a choice of the location or locations ( s) privileged (s) can be achieved taking into account the relevant available location that minimizes the potential load of the switch that has the largest potential load value. If a minimum value of the potential load of the switch with the largest potential load can be obtained for a switch load table (associated with a relevant available location), then in step 805, the relevant available location associated with this table can be chosen as the preferred location for the new device 110 and this privileged location is proposed to the user, via a graphical user interface, by the management device. Then the algorithm is terminated.

  Otherwise, the manager device 107 retains only the switch load tables whose maximum load values are the lowest (and all equal to each other) and a step 803 is implemented. In step 803, the manager device 107 is interested in the switch connection ports. If one of the switches is used less (i.e. it has the fewest branch ports occupied or the most branch ports available for connection of a new device), then the manager device 107 can in step 805, choose one of the available branch ports of the least-used switch as the preferred location. Then, this privileged location is proposed to the user, via a graphical user interface, by the management device. Then the algorithm is terminated. If there is no less used switch but several less used switches and are used as much as each other, then in a step 804, the management device offers the user, via a graphical user interface, the list of the least used switches (whose branch ports are the preferred locations) so that the user can himself choose the location to connect the new device 110. Then the algorithm is terminated. Once the user has plugged his new device into a determined relevant available location, depending on whether the user has followed the choice of the preferred location (or preferred locations) proposed by the managing device 107 or not, the manager device 107 may inform the user that his choice of the determined location is good (if the determined location corresponds to the preferred location or one of the preferred locations proposed by the management device 107) or n is not optimal and may lead to a decrease in the QoS on the global network (if the determined location does not correspond to the preferred location or one of the preferred locations proposed by the management device 107). Alternatively, using a graphical user interface, the management device can: inform the user of what has guided the choice, by the management device, of the privileged location; and / or show the user the connections that have been taken into account and / or the devices involved in the connections that have been taken into account.

  Thus, the user can delete one or more of the criteria that have been used to determine the preferred location (s), and initiate a new implementation of the method of determining at least one privileged location which then does not take into account the criteria (s) removed, which may lead to a new privileged location to propose.

  The management device 107 can also display to the user a list of the available locations relevant for the connection of the new device, the relevant available slots being classified according to a given order, and preferably, this order depending for example on the load of the switches of the network. or the establishment of privileged communications (or connections). Thus, the user can choose from this list, according to his preferences, the relevant available location to connect the new device.

Claims (20)

  A method of selecting at least one preferred branch port for a terminal equipment to be connected (110), said terminal equipment to be connected, in a communication network (100) comprising a plurality of interconnection equipments (101). 1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4, 101-5) each comprising at least two branch ports and a plurality of terminal equipments (104, 105, 106, 108, 109) said branch ports being used for connecting said terminals to said interconnection equipment and for connecting said interconnection equipment to each other, characterized in that a management device (107) performs the following steps: determining a plurality of available branch ports for connecting the terminal equipment to be connected (110); determining at least one possible connection between the terminal equipment of a set of terminal equipment comprising said plurality of terminal equipment (104, 105, 106, 108, 109) and said terminal equipment to be connected (110); for each available branch port, the following substeps are implemented: for each of said possible connections between a source terminal equipment and a receiving terminal equipment, selection of a transmission path, said transmission path associated with the connection, for the transfer of data between the source terminal equipment and the receiving terminal equipment; for each interconnection equipment (101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4, 101-5) present on at least one selected transmission path, estimating a potential load that would be induced by the facility the set of possible connections, each according to the transmission path associated with it; selecting at least one branch port, said preferred branch port (s), from the available branch ports, according to at least one load distribution criterion in the network taking account of at least an estimated potential charge.   A selection method according to claim 1, characterized in that a connection between a source terminal equipment and a receiver terminal equipment is possible if at least one data communication protocol and at least one data processing format are implemented. both by said source terminal equipment and by said receiving terminal equipment.   3. Selection method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the step of determining at least one possible connection between the terminal equipment of a set of terminal equipment comprises the following steps for each terminal equipment source of said set of terminal equipment: - determining a number of simultaneous connections that said source terminal equipment can implement; selection of possible connections, said possible connections selected, between said source terminal equipment and receiving terminal equipment of said set of terminal equipment, the number of possible connections selected being less than or equal to the number of simultaneous connections that said source terminal equipment can put implemented.   4. Selection method according to claim 3, characterized in that it comprises a step of determining a number of simultaneous connections that each receiving terminal equipment of said set of terminal equipment can implement, and in that the step of selecting possible connections takes into account the number of simultaneous connections that each receiving terminal equipment of said set of terminal equipment can implement.   A selection method according to any of claims 3 to 4, characterized in that the selected possible connections are the possible connections having the highest bandwidth induced consumption among the possible interconnections between said source terminal equipment and the terminal equipments. receivers of said set of terminal equipment.   The selection method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the communication network comprises at least one first and one second the step of determining a plurality of branch ports available for connecting the terminal equipment to be connected (110) comprises a step of selecting a subnet from among said first (100-1) and second (100-1) -2) subnets, and in that each determined available branch port is included in an interconnection device included in the selected subnetwork.   7. Determination method according to claim 6, characterized in that the step of selecting a sub-network comprises a step of obtaining at least one information relating to a location in one of the subnetworks. a connection port on which the terminal equipment to be connected (110) is provisionally connected.   A selection method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that said step of determining a plurality of available branch ports takes into account, in order to determine whether a given branch port is an available branch port, at least one of the criteria belonging to the group comprising: - availability of the given connection port; compatibility of the terminal equipment to be connected (110) with the interconnection equipment to which the given branch port belongs.   9. A selection method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that said one or more load distribution criteria (s) belongs (nent) to the group comprising: minimization of a potential charge, averaged over the interconnection equipment (101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4, 101-5), which would be induced by the establishment of all the possible connections, each along the transmission path that it is associated with minimizing the potential load on at least one of said interconnection equipment that would be induced by the establishment of all the possible connections, each according to the transmission path associated with it; uniform distribution of the use of the connection ports among the interconnection equipment (101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4, 101-5) present on at least one selected transmission path; choice made by a user of said communication network (100).   10. Computer program product, downloadable from a communication network and / or recorded on a computer readable medium and / or executable by a processor, characterized in that it comprises program code instructions for the implementation of the selection process according to at least one of claims 1 to 9.   11. Storage medium, possibly totally or partially removable, readable by a computer, storing a set of instructions executable by said computer to implement the selection method according to at least one of claims 1 to 9.   12. Manager device comprising means for selecting at least one preferred connection port for a terminal equipment to be connected (110), said terminal equipment to be connected, in a communication network (100) comprising a plurality of equipment interconnection (101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4, 101-5) each comprising at least two branch ports and a plurality of terminal equipments (104, 105, 106, 108, 109) said ports branch circuit being used to connect said terminals to said interconnection equipment and to connect said interconnection equipment to each other, characterized in that the means for selecting at least one preferred branch port comprises: means for determining a a plurality of branch ports available for connecting the terminal equipment to be connected (110); means for determining at least one possible connection between the terminal equipments of a set of terminal equipments comprising said plurality of terminal equipments (104, 105, 106, 108, 109) and said terminal equipment to be connected (110) ; means for selecting at least one branch port, said preferred branch port (s), from the available branch ports, according to at least one load distribution criterion in the network taking account of the at least one estimated potential load; and for each available branch port, the means for selecting at least one preferred branch port comprises: for each of said possible connections between a source terminal equipment and a receiving terminal equipment, means for selecting a transmission path, said transmission path associated with the connection, for the transfer of data between the source terminal equipment and the receiving terminal equipment; for each interconnection equipment (101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4, 101-5) present on at least one selected transmission path, means for estimating a potential load that would be induced by establishing all the possible connections, each according to the transmission path associated with it.   Management device according to claim 12, characterized in that a connection between a source terminal equipment and a receiving terminal equipment is possible if at least one data communication protocol and at least one data processing format are implemented. both by said source terminal equipment and by said receiving terminal equipment.   14. Managerial device according to any one of claims 12 and 13, characterized in that the means for determining at least one possible connection between the terminal equipment of a set of terminal equipment comprises, for each source terminal equipment of said set of terminal equipment: means for determining a number of simultaneous connections that said source terminal equipment can implement; means for selecting possible connections, said selected possible connections, between said source terminal equipment and receiving terminal equipments of said set of terminal equipments, the number of possible selected connections being less than or equal to the number of simultaneous connections that said terminal equipment source can implement.   15. Management device according to claim 14, characterized in that the means for selecting at least one preferred branch port comprises means for determining a number of simultaneous connections that each terminal equipment receiver of said set of terminal equipment can implement, and in that the means for selecting possible connections take into account the number of simultaneous connections that each receiving terminal equipment of said set of terminal equipment can implement.   16. Managerial device according to any one of claims 14 to 15, characterized in that the possible connections selected are the possible connections having the largest induced bandwidth consumption among the possible connections between said source terminal equipment and the receiving terminal equipment. said set of terminal equipment.   17. Managerial device according to any one of claims 12 to 16, characterized in that the communication network (100) comprises at least a first (100-1) and a second (100-2) sub-network, in that the means for determining a plurality of branch ports available for connecting the terminal equipment to be connected (110) comprises means for selecting a subnet from among said first (100-1) and second (100-2) ) subnets, and in that each determined available branch port is included in an interconnect device included in the selected subnet.   18. Management device according to claim 17, characterized in that the means of selecting a sub-network comprise means for obtaining at least one information relating to a location in one of the sub-networks of a port. connection which is temporarily connected to the terminal equipment to be connected (110).   19. Managerial device according to any one of claims 12 to 18, characterized in that the means for determining a plurality of available connection ports take into account, in order to determine whether a given connection port is a connection port available at least one of the criteria belonging to the group comprising: - availability of the given branch port; compatibility of the terminal equipment to be connected (110) with the interconnection equipment to which the given branch port belongs.   20. Managerial device according to any one of claims 12 to 19, characterized in that said one or more load distribution criteria (s) belong (s) to the group comprising: minimization of a potential load, averaged over all interconnection equipment (101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4, 101-5), which would be induced by the establishment of all the possible connections, each along the transmission path that it is associated ; - minimizing the potential load on at least one of said interconnection equipment that would be induced by the establishment of all possible connections, each according to the transmission path associated with it; uniform distribution of the use of the connection ports among the interconnection equipment (101-1, 101-2, 101-3, 101-4, 101-5) present on at least one selected transmission path; choice made by a user of said communication network (100).