JP2008153724A - Communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication device capable of consolidating a plurality of radio interfaces. <P>SOLUTION: The communication device 100 has a logical interface 20, a plurality of network interfaces 31 to 3n, an intensive module 40, and a monitor module 50. The monitor module 50 detects operation states of the plurality of network interfaces 31 to 3n. The intensive module 40 integrates the plurality of network interfaces into one integrated network interface based upon the operation states detected by the monitor module 50. The logical interface 20 outputs packets received from higher layers to the intensive module 40 which transmits the packets received from the logical interface 20 by using the integrated network interface. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication device, and more particularly to a communication device that performs wireless communication by consolidating a plurality of wireless interfaces into one wireless interface.

  There is a bonding technique as a technique for realizing a broadband logical connection by aggregating a plurality of network devices into one logical device (Non-Patent Document 1). In the bonding technology, a terminal that performs communication has a logical network device (master device) called a bonding device, and a plurality of physical network devices (slave devices) are subordinated to the logical network device. Transmits and receives data on the logical network device.

  When data is sent to the bonding device, the bonding device driver determines a physical network device that physically transmits the data according to a preset algorithm, and sends the data. For example, in Linux Ethernet (registered trademark) bonding (Non-Patent Document 1), algorithms for determining a physical network device include balance-rr, active-backup, balance-xor, broadcast, 802.3ad, balance-. Seven types of tlb and balance-alb are prepared.

When the logical connection formed through the bonding device is a point-to-point connection, and when the logical connection is a broadcast connection and all the physical network devices can reach all the opposite terminals, the bonding technology is used. Aggregation using is effective.
J. Vosburgh, “Linux Ethernet® bonding driver HOWTO”, 21 June 2005.

  However, since the conventional bonding technique is a technique that aggregates a plurality of wired interfaces, there is a problem that a plurality of wireless interfaces cannot be aggregated.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication device capable of aggregating a plurality of wireless interfaces.

  According to the present invention, the communication device includes a plurality of wireless interfaces, a detection unit, and an aggregation unit. The detecting means detects an operating state of the plurality of wireless interfaces. The aggregation unit aggregates a plurality of radio interfaces into one aggregated radio interface based on the operation state detected by the detection unit.

  Preferably, the detection unit detects the operation information indicating whether or not the plurality of wireless interfaces are active and the interface speed of the plurality of wireless interfaces as an operating state.

  Preferably, the detection unit determines whether or not the plurality of wireless interfaces are active using the link quality in the plurality of wireless interfaces and the registration status of the communicable terminals, and uses the determination result as operation information.

  Preferably, the aggregation unit aggregates a plurality of wireless interfaces having the same transmission rate.

  Preferably, the aggregation unit aggregates a plurality of radio interfaces having the same transmission rate and different channels and network identifiers.

  Preferably, the aggregation unit aggregates a plurality of wireless interfaces having different transmission rates.

  Preferably, the aggregation unit aggregates a plurality of radio interfaces into one aggregated radio interface in a communication device configuring an ad hoc network.

  Preferably, the aggregation unit aggregates a plurality of radio interfaces into one aggregated radio interface at the access point.

  Preferably, the aggregation unit aggregates a plurality of radio interfaces into one aggregated radio interface in a radio apparatus accessing the access point.

  Preferably, the communication device further includes a communication unit. The communication means performs wireless communication using one aggregated radio interface aggregated by the aggregation means. The communication means performs wireless communication by balancing the loads of a plurality of wireless interfaces that constitute one aggregated wireless interface.

  Preferably, the communication unit balances loads based on a plurality of transmission rates of a plurality of wireless interfaces.

  In the communication apparatus according to the present invention, the operating states of a plurality of wireless interfaces are detected, and the plurality of wireless interfaces are aggregated based on the detected operating states.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, a plurality of wireless interfaces can be aggregated.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, the same or corresponding parts are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof will not be repeated.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a communication apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The communication device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a setting tool 10, a logical interface 20, network interfaces 31 to 3n (n is an integer of 2 or more), an aggregation module 40, a monitoring module 50, and a wireless card 71. ~ 7n.

  The setting tool 10 specifies the name of the logical interface, the interface to be aggregated, the aggregation mode, and the monitoring parameter.

  The logical interface 20 receives an IP packet from an upper layer and outputs the received IP packet to the aggregation module 40. The network interfaces 31 to 3n function as wireless interfaces when a wireless card is attached to the communication device 100, and function as wired interfaces when an Ethernet (registered trademark) card is attached to the communication device 100. When the network interfaces 31 to 3n function as wireless interfaces, they are aggregated into one aggregated radio interface and transmitted simultaneously from the aggregation module 40 by a method described later. The network interfaces 31 to 3n output packets received from other communication apparatuses to the aggregation module 40.

  The aggregation module 40 receives packets from the logical interface 20 and receives operating states of the network interfaces 31 to 3n from the monitoring module 50. Then, the aggregation module 40 tests the suitability of the network interfaces 31 to 3n by a method described later based on the operation state received from the monitoring module 50. Further, the aggregation module 40 selects a wireless interface (consisting of at least one of the network interfaces 31 to 3n) for transmitting a packet for each packet by a method described later.

  Further, the aggregation module 40 aggregates the network interfaces 31 to 3n based on the operation state of the network interfaces 31 to 3n. More specifically, the aggregation module 40 detects that the network interface to be aggregated is the network interfaces 31 to 3n based on the designation from the network interface setting tool 10 to be aggregated, and receives from the monitoring module 50. Whether or not the network interfaces 31 to 3n to be aggregated can be aggregated is determined based on the operating state. If the network interfaces 31 to 3n to be aggregated can be aggregated, the aggregation module 40 aggregates the network interfaces 31 to 3n into one aggregated wireless interface. The aggregation module 40 determines whether each of the network interfaces 31 to 3n can transmit data based on each operation state of the network interfaces 31 to 3n, and a network that can aggregate network interfaces that can transmit data. Judged as an interface.

  The monitoring module 50 determines parameters to be monitored based on the designation from the setting tool 10. Then, the monitoring module 50 monitors the determined parameters for each of the network interfaces 31 to 3n, determines the operation state of each of the network interfaces 31 to 3n, and outputs the determined operation state to the aggregation module 40.

  This operation state includes operation information (UP / DOWN) indicating whether each network interface 31 to 3n is active and the interface speed of each network interface 31 to 3n. Whether or not it is active is determined using the registration status and link quality of a communicable terminal. Therefore, the monitoring module 50 monitors the interface speed, link quality, and communicable terminal registration status in each of the network interfaces 31 to 3n. The monitoring module 50 determines whether the network interfaces 31 to 3n are active based on the monitored link quality and registration status, and uses the determination result as operation information. Then, the monitoring module 50 determines the operation state of each of the network interfaces 31 to 3n based on the operation information and the interface speed, and outputs the determined operation state to the aggregation module 40.

  FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing aggregation of wireless interfaces. The wireless access point 110 has wireless interfaces wlan0 and wlan1. The wireless interface wlan0 of the wireless access point 110 has an IP address composed of 10.0.0.1 and a MAC address composed of A: A: A: A: A: A. The wireless interface wlan0 of the wireless access point 110 has a network identifier composed of ESSID_A, and performs wireless communication at a transmission rate of 11 Mbps on channel = 1.

  The wireless interface wlan1 of the wireless access point 110 has an IP address made up of 10.0.1.1 and a MAC address made up of B: B: B: B: B: B. The wireless interface wlan1 of the wireless access point 110 has a network identifier composed of ESSID_B, and performs wireless communication at a transmission rate of 11 Mbps on channel = 13.

  The mobile terminal 120 has wireless interfaces wlan0 and wlan1. The radio interface wlan0 of the mobile terminal 120 has an IP address consisting of 10.0.0.2 and a MAC address consisting of C: C: C: C: C: C. The wireless interface wlan0 of the mobile terminal 120 has a network identifier consisting of ESSID_A, and performs wireless communication at a transmission rate of 11 Mbps using channel = 1.

  The wireless interface wlan1 of the mobile terminal 120 has an IP address made up of 10.0.1.2 and a MAC address made up of D: D: D: D: D: D. The wireless interface wlan1 of the mobile terminal 120 has a network identifier composed of ESSID_B, and performs wireless communication at a transmission rate of 11 Mbps using channel = 13.

  As described above, the wireless access point 110 establishes the wireless link A with the mobile terminal 120 using the wireless interface wlan0, and establishes the wireless link B with the mobile terminal 120 using the wireless interface wlan1. The wireless access point 110 and the mobile terminal 120 can perform wireless communication with each other using the wireless links A and B.

  In the present invention, the aggregation module 40 aggregates the two radio interfaces wlan0 and wlan1 into one aggregated radio interface bond0.

  The wireless interface wlan0 has a network identifier consisting of ESSID_A, transmission rates of channels = 1 and 11 Mbps, and the wireless interface wlan1 has a network identifier consisting of ESSID_B, transmission rates of channels = 13 and 11 Mbps. Therefore, the aggregation module 40 aggregates two radio interfaces wlan0 and wlan1 having different network identifiers and different channels but having the same transmission rate into one aggregated radio interface bond0.

  The aggregated wireless interface bond0 of the wireless access point 110 has an IP address composed of 10.0.10.1 and a MAC address composed of A: A: A: A: A: A. The aggregated wireless interface bond0 has an IP address consisting of 10.0.10.2 and a MAC address consisting of C: C: C: C: C: C. That is, the aggregated wireless interface bond0 performs wireless communication using the IP address and MAC address of the wireless interface wlan0 before being aggregated.

  Thus, by consolidating the two radio interfaces wlan0 and wlan1 into one aggregated radio interface bond0, the throughput of radio communication is dramatically improved as compared with the case where each radio interface wlan0 and wlan1 is used alone.

  Further, when the wireless access point 110 and the mobile terminal 120 perform wireless communication in the round robin mode, the wireless access point 110 and the mobile terminal 129 transmit data alternately, so that the wireless interfaces wlan0 and wlan1 are used for data transmission. Used, the load of each wireless interface wlan0, wlan1 is balanced.

  The mode in which the aggregation module 40 aggregates the radio interfaces at the wireless access point 110 is referred to as a master mode, and the mode in which the aggregation module 40 aggregates the radio interfaces at the mobile terminal 120 is referred to as a management mode.

  FIG. 3 is another conceptual diagram showing aggregation of wireless interfaces. The wireless access point 130 has wireless interfaces wlan0, wlan1, and wlan2. The wireless interface wlan0 of the wireless access point 130 has an IP address composed of 10.0.0.1 and a MAC address composed of A: A: A: A: A: A. The wireless interface wlan0 of the wireless access point 130 has a network identifier consisting of ESSID_A, and performs wireless communication at a transmission rate of 11 Mbps using channel = 1.

  The wireless interface wlan1 of the wireless access point 130 has an IP address made up of 10.0.1.1 and a MAC address made up of B: B: B: B: B: B. The wireless interface wlan1 of the wireless access point 130 has a network identifier composed of ESSID_B, and performs wireless communication at a transmission rate of 11 Mbps using channel = 6.

  Further, the wireless interface wlan2 of the wireless access appointment 130 has an IP address composed of 10.0.2.1 and a MAC address composed of C: C: C: C: C: C. The wireless interface wlan2 of the wireless access point 130 has a network identifier composed of ESSID_C, and performs wireless communication at a transmission rate of 11 Mbps using channel = 13.

  The mobile terminal 140 has wireless interfaces wlan0, wlan1, and wlan2. The radio interface wlan0 of the mobile terminal 140 has an IP address composed of 10.0.0.2 and a MAC address composed of D: D: D: D: D: D. The wireless interface wlan0 of the mobile terminal 140 has a network identifier consisting of ESSID_A, and performs wireless communication at a transmission rate of 11 Mbps using channel = 1.

  The wireless interface wlan1 of the mobile terminal 140 has an IP address made up of 10.0.1.2 and a MAC address made up of E: E: E: E: E: E. The wireless interface wlan1 of the mobile terminal 140 has a network identifier consisting of ESSID_B, and performs wireless communication at a transmission rate of 11 Mbps using channel = 6.

  Further, the radio interface wlan2 of the mobile terminal 140 has an IP address composed of 10.0.2.2 and a MAC address composed of F: F: F: F: F: F. The radio interface wlan2 of the mobile terminal 140 has a network identifier consisting of ESSID_C and performs radio communication at a transmission rate of 11 Mbps using channel = 13.

  As described above, the wireless access point 130 establishes the wireless link A with the mobile terminal 140 using the wireless interface wlan0, establishes the wireless link B with the mobile terminal 140 using the wireless interface wlan1, A wireless link C is established with the mobile terminal 140 using the wireless interface wlan2. The wireless access point 130 and the mobile terminal 140 can perform wireless communication with each other using the wireless links A, B, and C.

  In the present invention, the aggregation module 40 aggregates the three radio interfaces wlan0, wlan1, and wlan2 into one aggregated radio interface bond0.

  The wireless interface wlan0 has a network identifier consisting of ESSID_A, a transmission rate of channels = 1 and 11 Mbps, the wireless interface wlan1 has a network identifier consisting of ESSID_B, a transmission rate of channels = 6 and 11 Mbps, and the wireless interface wlan2 is , ESSID_C network identifier, channel = 13 and 11 Mbps transmission rate. Therefore, the aggregation module 40 aggregates three radio interfaces wlan0, wlan1, and wlan2 having different network identifiers and different channels but having the same transmission rate into one aggregated radio interface bond0.

  The aggregated wireless interface bond0 of the wireless access point 130 has an IP address composed of 10.0.10.1 and a MAC address composed of A: A: A: A: A: A. The aggregated wireless interface bond0 has an IP address composed of 10.0.10.2 and a MAC address composed of D: D: D: D: D: D. That is, the aggregated wireless interface bond0 performs wireless communication using the IP address and MAC address of the wireless interface wlan0 before being aggregated.

  In this way, by consolidating the three wireless interfaces wlan0, wlan1, and wlan2 into one aggregated wireless interface bond0, the throughput of wireless communication is dramatically higher than when each wireless interface wlan0, wlan1, and wlan2 is used alone. To improve.

  Further, when the wireless access point 130 and the mobile terminal 140 perform wireless communication in the round robin mode, the wireless access point 130 and the mobile terminal 149 transmit data alternately, so that the wireless interfaces wlan0, wlan1, and wlan2 Used for transmission, the load of each wireless interface wlan0, wlan1, wlan2 is balanced.

  FIG. 4 is still another conceptual diagram showing aggregation of wireless interfaces. Each of the mobile terminals 150 and 160 has wireless interfaces wlan0 and wlan1. Mobile terminals 150 and 160 are terminals constituting an ad hoc network and are adjacent to each other.

  The radio interface wlan0 of the mobile terminal 150 has an IP address consisting of 10.0.0.1 and a MAC address consisting of A: A: A: A: A: A. The wireless interface wlan0 of the mobile terminal 150 has a network identifier composed of ESSID_A, and performs wireless communication at a transmission rate of 11 Mbps using channel = 1.

  The wireless interface wlan1 of the mobile terminal 150 has an IP address made up of 10.0.1.1 and a MAC address made up of B: B: B: B: B: B. The wireless interface wlan1 of the mobile terminal 150 has a network identifier consisting of ESSID_B, and performs wireless communication at a transmission rate of 54 Mbps on channel = 13.

  The radio interface wlan0 of the mobile terminal 160 has an IP address consisting of 10.0.0.2 and a MAC address consisting of C: C: C: C: C: C. The wireless interface wlan0 of the mobile terminal 160 has a network identifier composed of ESSID_A, and performs wireless communication at a transmission rate of 11 Mbps using channel = 1.

  The wireless interface wlan1 of the mobile terminal 160 has an IP address made up of 10.0.1.2 and a MAC address made up of D: D: D: D: D: D. The wireless interface wlan1 of the mobile terminal 160 has a network identifier consisting of ESSID_B, and performs wireless communication at a transmission rate of 54 Mbps using channel = 13.

  In this way, the mobile terminal 150 establishes a radio link A with the adjacent mobile terminal 160 using the radio interface wlan0, and establishes a radio link with the adjacent mobile terminal 160 using the radio interface wlan1. Establish B. The mobile terminals 150 and 160 can perform wireless communication with each other using the wireless links A and B.

  In the present invention, the aggregation module 40 aggregates the two radio interfaces wlan0 and wlan1 into one aggregated radio interface bond0 in the ad hoc mode.

  The wireless interface wlan0 has a network identifier composed of ESSID_A, transmission rates of channels = 1 and 11 Mbps, and the wireless interface wlan1 has a network identifier composed of ESSID_B, channels = 13 and 54 Mbps. Therefore, the aggregation module 40 aggregates two radio interfaces wlan0 and wlan1 having different network identifiers, different channels and different transmission rates into one aggregated radio interface bond0.

  The aggregated wireless interface bond0 of the mobile terminal 150 has an IP address composed of 10.0.10.1 and a MAC address composed of A: A: A: A: A: A. The wireless interface bond0 has an IP address made up of 10.0.10.2 and a MAC address made up of C: C: C: C: C: C. That is, the aggregated wireless interface bond0 performs wireless communication using the IP address and MAC address of the wireless interface wlan0 before being aggregated.

  As described above, by consolidating the two wireless interfaces wlan0 and wlan1 into one aggregated wireless interface bond0, the throughput of the wireless communication jumps more than in the case of using each wireless interface wlan0 and wlan1 alone even in the ad hoc mode. Improve.

  In the above description, the case where the aggregation module 40 aggregates the two wireless interfaces wlan0, wlan1 or the three wireless interfaces wlan0, wlan1, wlan2 into one aggregated wireless interface bond0 has been described. In general, the aggregation module 40 aggregates the n radio interfaces wlan0 to wlan-1 into one aggregated radio interface bond0.

  Next, detection of the operating state of the wireless interface will be described. The detection of the operation state is classified into an operation state detection in the infrastructure mode and an operation state detection in the ad hoc mode.

[Detection of operation status in infrastructure mode]
First, operation state detection in the infrastructure mode will be described. The infrastructure mode is a mode in which each terminal performs wireless communication with an access point, and wireless communication between the terminal and the access point is performed using a network identifier ESSID for specifying the access point. If the network identifier ESSID of the terminal is the same as the network identifier of the access point, the terminal can perform wireless communication with the access point.

  After confirming the network identifier ESSID, the cell ID is used for wireless communication between the terminal and the access point. The cell ID is composed of the MAC address of the access point. When the terminal performs wireless communication with the access point, the link state is set to “LINK UP”.

  On the other hand, when the terminal does not perform wireless communication with the access point, the cell ID in the terminal is composed of a special hardware address (= 44: 44: 44: 44: 44: 44). This address indicates that the terminal does not perform wireless communication with any access point.

  When the terminal does not perform wireless communication with the access point, the link quality of the wireless link is “0”. This link quality consisting of “0” is used to define a threshold value S that indicates when the terminal is connected to the access point. The threshold S is predefined and is used to take into account the wireless network environment, i.e. the number of radio interfaces, signal characteristics and user requirements. Also, the threshold value S may be changed during wireless communication. For example, when the user changes the request and requests highly reliable wireless communication, the threshold value S is set to a large value.

  By using the iwconfig command, the user can see the special address of the hardware consisting of 44: 44: 44: 44: 44: 44 and the link quality consisting of “0”. The link state is set to “LINK DOWN” by combining with other information about the operation state.

  When the terminal does not perform wireless communication with any access point, the operating state is displayed due to frequent changes in the wireless channel. If the terminal has an entry for the network identifier ESSID but cannot find the associated access point, the wireless card will start scanning all wireless channels to detect access points that have other channels To do. This frequent channel change can also be observed by the iwconfig command.

  It is also useful to check the entries for all access points accessible by the terminal. All accessible access points are listed, including signal strength, and can be observed with the iwlist command. If there is no entry of a communicating access point in the list showing all accessible access points, the terminal no longer accesses this access point. The link state is set to “LINK DOWN”.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of detecting the link state in the master mode. When a series of operations is started, the monitoring module 50 monitors whether there is an entry in the list of accessible terminals for each of the network interfaces 31 to 3n (step S1).

  When it is determined in step S1 that there is no entry in the list of accessible terminals, the link state is set to “LINK DOWN”, and the monitoring module 50 has an entry in the list of accessible terminals. The link state of the network interface (any one of the network interfaces 31 to 3n) determined not to be detected is detected as “LINK DOWN” (step S2).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S1 that there is an entry in the list of accessible terminals, the monitoring module 50 further determines whether or not the link quality is equal to or lower than the threshold value S (step S3). When it is determined that the link quality is equal to or lower than the threshold value S, the series of operations proceeds to step S2.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S3 that the link quality is not lower than the threshold value S, the link state is set to “LINK UP”, and the monitoring module 50 determines that the link quality is not lower than the threshold value S. The link state of the network interface (any one of the network interfaces 31 to 3n) is detected as “LINK UP” (step S4).

  Then, after step S2 or step S4, the series of operations ends.

  As described above, the monitoring module 50 of the mobile terminal detects the link state composed of “LINK UP” or “LINK DOWN” using the link quality in the master mode. Then, the monitoring module 50 of the mobile terminal repeatedly executes the flowchart shown in FIG. 5 to detect the link state for each of the network interfaces 31 to 3n and outputs the detected link state to the aggregation module 40.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of detecting the link state in the management mode. When a series of operations is started, the access point monitoring module 50 determines whether or not there is an entry in the list of accessible access points from the wireless cards 71 to 7n (step S11).

  When it is determined in step S11 that there is no entry in the list of accessible access points, the link state is set to “LINK DOWN”, and the monitoring module 50 has an entry in the list of accessible access points. The link state of the network interface determined to be absent (any one of the network interfaces 31 to 3n) is detected as “LINK DOWN” (step S12).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S11 that there is an entry in the list of accessible access points, the monitoring module 50 further determines whether or not the radio channel is frequently changed (step S13). When it is determined that the radio channel is frequently changed, the series of operations proceeds to step S12.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S13 that the radio channel is not frequently changed, the monitoring module 50 further determines whether or not the link quality is “S” or less (step S14). When it is determined that the link quality is “S” or less, the series of operations proceeds to step S12.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S14 that the link quality is not “S” or less, the link state is set to “LINK UP”, and the monitoring module 50 determines that the link quality is not “S” or less. The link state of the interface (any one of the network interfaces 31 to 3n) is detected as “LINK UP” (step S15).

  And a series of operation | movement is complete | finished after step S12 or step S15.

  In this way, the access point monitoring module 50 detects the link state consisting of “LINK UP” or “LINK DOWN” using the radio channel change and the link quality in the management mode. Then, the access point monitoring module 50 repeatedly executes the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 to detect the link status for each of the network interfaces 31 to 3n, and outputs the detected link status to the aggregation module 40.

[Operation status detection in ad hoc mode]
In the ad hoc mode, information on cell IDs of adjacent terminals is detected. When the network identifier ESSID is the same, the terminal performs wireless communication with an adjacent network. If the same network identifier ESSID is detected, the cell IDs are combined into one cell, and each terminal configuring the ad hoc network uses the same cell ID. If the cell IDs are different, the terminals constituting the ad hoc network cannot perform wireless communication with each other. Some wireless LAN (Local Area Network) cards frequently change their cell IDs in the ad hoc mode in order to search for neighboring terminals. Frequent cell ID changes are used to confirm that the wireless interface does not communicate wirelessly with the ad hoc network. Each wireless LAN card checks whether or not a communication link exists based on the link quality when the cell ID is not changed. If there is no communication between adjacent terminals, the link quality is “0”.

  FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of detecting the link state in the ad hoc mode. When a series of operations is started, the monitoring module 50 of the terminal constituting the ad hoc network determines whether or not the cell IDs of the wireless cards 71 to 7n are frequently changed (step S21). When it is determined that the cell ID is frequently changed, the link state is set to “LINK DOWN”, and the monitoring module 50 detects “LINK DOWN” (step S22).

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S21 that the cell ID is not frequently changed, the monitoring module 50 further determines whether or not the link quality is “S” or less (step S23). When it is determined that the link quality is “S” or less, the series of operations proceeds to step S22.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S22 that the link quality is not “S” or less, the link state is set to “LINK UP”, and the monitoring module 50 determines that the link quality is not “S” or less. The link state of the interface (any one of the network interfaces 31 to 3n) is detected as “LINK UP” (step S24).

  As described above, the monitoring module 50 of the terminal configuring the ad hoc network detects the link state including “LINK UP” or “LINK DOWN” using the radio channel change and the link quality in the ad hoc mode. And the monitoring module 50 of the terminal which comprises an ad hoc network detects a link state about each network interface 31-3n by repeatedly performing the flowchart shown in FIG. 7, and outputs the detected link state to the aggregation module 40 To do.

[Detect transmission rate]
When aggregating radio interfaces having different transmission rates and aggregating a plurality of radio interfaces having different transmission rates, it is necessary to check the transmission rate of each radio interface.

  Detecting the current transmission rate of each air interface provides an adaptive load balance that optimizes throughput and avoids packet loss.

  In IEEE 802.11b mode, possible transmission rates are 1 Mbps, 2 Mbps, 5.5 Mbps, and 11 Mbps, and in IEEE 802.11a mode, transmission rates up to 54 Mbps are possible.

  The transmission rate depends on the distance and link quality between the access point and the mobile terminal. It is also possible to fix the transmission rate.

  In the present invention, a current transmission rate in data transmission / reception with an adjacent terminal in an adjacent access point or ad hoc network is detected, and based on the detected transmission rate, transmission rates of a plurality of radio interfaces aggregated Is controlled.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of aggregation of radio interfaces reflecting the transmission rate. When a series of operations is started, the monitoring module 50 of the terminal acquires information about the rate from the wireless interface (network interfaces 31 to 3n) (step S31). Then, the monitoring module 50 performs processing for making the acquired rate usable by the aggregation module 40, and determines an effective rate (step S32). More specifically, the monitoring module 50 performs rate unit conversion, averaging processing, and rounding processing to make the rate usable by the aggregation module 40.

  Thereafter, the monitoring module 50 determines whether or not the transmission rate has been changed (step S33). When it is determined that the transmission rate has been changed, the monitoring module 50 sets the transmission rate to a new transmission rate (step S34), and outputs the set new transmission rate to the aggregation module 40.

  On the other hand, when it is determined in step S33 that the transmission rate has not been changed, the monitoring module 50 sets the transmission rate to the current transmission rate (step S35), and the set current transmission rate is sent to the aggregation module 40. Output. And a series of operation | movement is complete | finished after step S34 or step S35.

  The monitoring module 50 repeatedly executes the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 to set the transmission rate of each of the network interfaces 31 to 3n to the current transmission rate or a new transmission rate, and output the set transmission rate to the aggregation module 40. .

  Then, the aggregation module 40 aggregates the network interfaces 31 to 3n having the transmission rate received from the monitoring module 50.

  When a plurality of radio interfaces having different transmission rates are aggregated into one aggregated radio interface, and wireless communication is performed using the aggregated aggregated radio interface, the packet is in accordance with the ratio of the transmission rate of each radio interface. It is assigned to each wireless interface and transmitted.

  FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining an operation of aggregating a plurality of wireless interfaces. In FIG. 9, a case where the wireless interface wlan0 that is the network interface 31 and the wireless interface wlan1 that is the network interface 32 are aggregated will be described.

  When a series of operations is started, the aggregation module 40 of the communication device 100 is read (step S41). Then, the setting tool 10 of the communication device 100 confirms the wireless interfaces wlan0 and wlan1, confirms the confirmed wireless interfaces wlan0 and wlan1, main functions used for aggregation of the wireless interfaces wlan0 and wlan1 by the aggregation module 40, and aggregation. The parameters used in the above are output to the aggregation module 40. As a result, radio interfaces to be aggregated are prepared (step S42).

  Thereafter, the monitoring module 50 of the communication device 100 detects the operating state from the wireless cards 71 to 7n according to any of the flowcharts shown in FIGS. Then, the aggregation module 40 of the communication device 100 receives the operating state from the monitoring module 50 and detects that the wireless interfaces wlan0 and wlan1 are used for wireless communication.

  Then, the aggregation module 40 aggregates the wireless interface wlan0 (step S43), and then aggregates the wireless interface wlan1 (step S44). As a result, the wireless interfaces wlan0 and wlan1 are aggregated into one aggregated wireless interface. And a series of operation | movement is complete | finished.

  Note that when the n network interfaces 31 to 3n are aggregated into one aggregated radio interface, the n network interfaces 31 to 3n are aggregated into one aggregated radio interface according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  As described above, in the present invention, after the operational state of each wireless interface is detected and it is confirmed that each wireless interface is used for wireless communication, a plurality of wireless interfaces are integrated into one aggregated wireless interface. .

  Therefore, according to the present invention, a plurality of wireless interfaces can be aggregated.

  An operation in which a plurality of network interfaces 31 to 3n are aggregated into one aggregated radio interface by the above-described method and packets are transmitted using the aggregated aggregated radio interface will be described.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of transmitting packets using the aggregated wireless interface. When a series of operations is started, the setting tool 10 of the communication device 100 sets a communication mode and a reference (step S51). Then, the aggregation module 40 of the communication device 100 waits for a packet from the logical interface 20 (step S52).

  Thereafter, the monitoring module 50 of the communication device 100 reads the operation status of the network interfaces 31 to 3n (step S53). Then, the aggregation module 40 of the communication device 100 selects a wireless interface by a method described later (step S54), and transmits a packet to the selected wireless interface (step S55).

  Thereafter, Steps S52 to S55 described above are repeatedly executed, and each packet is transmitted to the selected wireless interface.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining the detailed operation of step S54 shown in FIG. After step S53 shown in FIG. 10, the aggregation module 40 of the communication apparatus 100 sets a certain wireless interface as the current wireless interface (step S61).

  Then, the aggregation module 40 reads the list of wireless interfaces (step S62), and sets the wireless interface to the next wireless interface (step S63).

  Thereafter, the aggregation module 40 sets the operation state of the next wireless interface as X (step S64), and tests the conformity H (X) of the next wireless interface (step S65).

  This suitability H (X) is tested using the criteria set in step S51 shown in FIG. As this standard, for example, there are the following three standards. The first criterion is to set X = ESSID, set Y = BSSID-default, and if X = Y, then H (X) = 0 (NG) and if X = Y, This is a criterion for determining that (X) = 1 (OK).

  The second criterion is to set X = transmission rate, Y = minimum rate, and if X> Y, H (X) = 1 (OK), otherwise X> Y, H This is a criterion for determining that (X) = 0 (NG).

  The third criterion is to set X = RSSI (received signal strength), Y = minimum received signal strength-RSSI, and if X> Y, then H (X) = 1 (OK), If X> Y, it is a criterion for determining that H (X) = 0 (NG).

  Accordingly, the aggregation module 40 tests the suitability H (X) of the next wireless interface using any of the three criteria described above.

  Thereafter, the aggregation module 40 determines whether or not H (X) = 1 (step S66). When H (X) = 1 is not satisfied, the series of operations returns to step S63. Steps S63 to S66 described above are repeatedly executed until it is determined that (X) = 1.

  When it is determined in step S66 that H (X) = 1, the aggregation module 40 sets the next wireless interface as the current wireless interface (step S67). Then, a series of operation | movement transfers to step S55 shown in FIG.

  In step S65, the compatibility H (X) of the next wireless interface is tested based on the operation state X and the parameter Y of the next wireless interface. Then, when the operation state X of the next wireless interface indicates that the next wireless interface is active, it is determined that the compatibility H (X) is OK.

  Then, the next wireless interface whose conformance H (X) is OK is set as the current wireless interface (see step S67), and the packet is transmitted to the next wireless interface set as the current wireless interface. (See step S55).

  Steps S52 to S55 shown in FIG. 10 are repeatedly executed each time a packet arrives, and the packet is transmitted to a radio interface whose conformity H (X) is OK.

  In this way, the aggregated plurality of radio interfaces are selected one after another according to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, and packets are transmitted to the selected radio interfaces. As a result, packets are transmitted using a plurality of aggregated wireless interfaces.

  FIG. 12 is another flowchart for explaining the detailed operation of step S54 shown in FIG. After step S53 shown in FIG. 10, the aggregation module 40 of the communication device 100 reads the load L (j) (j = 1 to n) of the network interfaces 31 to 3n (step S71). When the packet size is M and the detected transmission rate is R, the load L (j) is determined by M / R.

  Then, the aggregation module 40 calculates the load ratio S (j) = L (j) / sum (L (k): 1, n) (k = 1 to n) and calculates the calculated load ratio S (j). Is used to calculate the cumulative load ratio C (j) (step S72). More specifically, when j = 0, the aggregation module 40 calculates the cumulative load ratio C (j) as C (j) = 0, and when j = 1 to n, the cumulative load ratio C ( j) is calculated as C (j) = sum (S (k): 1, j).

  Thereafter, the aggregation module 40 selects a random number R = Random (0, 1) (step S73). That is, the aggregation module 40 selects a random number between 0 and 1 as R. And ifslav. If C (j−1) <R ≦ C (j), the c module 11 sets the current wireless interface to the wireless interface j (step S74). Then, a series of operation | movement transfers to step S55 shown in FIG.

  As described above, the cumulative load ratio C (j) is determined by the transmission rate, and the wireless interface having the determined cumulative load ratio C (j) is selected as the current wireless interface, and the cumulative load ratio C A packet is transmitted to a radio interface having a larger (j).

  Therefore, determining a wireless interface that transmits a packet according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 12 and transmitting the packet to the determined wireless interface balances the load on the wireless interface according to the transmission rate.

  As described above, since the communication device 100 includes the aggregation module 40, the plurality of network interfaces 31 to 3n can be aggregated. The communication device 100 can perform communication using the aggregated network interface (wireless interface).

  In the above description, it has been described that the aggregation module 40 selects the wireless interface used for communication according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 or FIG. 12, but in the present invention, the aggregation module 40 is not limited to this, and the The wireless interface used for communication may be selected using any one of the algorithms of RR, Active-Backup, Balance-XOR, Broadcastcast, 802.3ad, Balance-tlb, and Balance-alb.

  In the present invention, the network interfaces 31 to 3n when the wireless cards 71 to 7n are attached to the communication apparatus 100 constitute “a plurality of wireless interfaces”.

  The monitoring module 50 constitutes “detection means”, and the aggregation module 40 constitutes “aggregation means”. Further, the logical interface 20 and the aggregation module 40 constitute “communication means”.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is shown not by the above description of the embodiments but by the scope of claims for patent, and is intended to include meanings equivalent to the scope of claims for patent and all modifications within the scope.

  The present invention is applied to a communication apparatus that can aggregate a plurality of wireless interfaces.

It is the schematic which shows the structure of the communication apparatus by embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram which shows aggregation of a radio | wireless interface. It is another conceptual diagram which shows aggregation of a radio | wireless interface. It is another conceptual diagram which shows aggregation of a radio | wireless interface. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement which detects a link state in master mode. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement which detects a link state in management mode. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement which detects a link state in ad hoc mode. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement of aggregation of the radio | wireless interface reflecting a transmission rate. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement which aggregates several radio | wireless interfaces. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the operation | movement which transmits a packet using the aggregated radio | wireless interface. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the detailed operation | movement of step S54 shown in FIG. 12 is another flowchart for explaining detailed operation of step S54 shown in FIG. 10.

Explanation of symbols

  10 setting tools, 20 logical interfaces, 31 to 3n network interfaces, 40 aggregation modules, 50 monitoring modules, 71 to 7n wireless cards, 100 communication devices, 110, 130 wireless access points, 120, 140, 150, 160 mobile terminals.

Claims (11)

Multiple wireless interfaces;
Detecting means for detecting operating states of the plurality of wireless interfaces;
A communication apparatus comprising: an aggregating unit that aggregates the plurality of radio interfaces into one aggregated radio interface based on an operation state detected by the detection unit.   The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the detection unit detects operation information indicating whether or not the plurality of wireless interfaces are active and interface speeds in the plurality of wireless interfaces as the operation state.   The detection means determines whether or not the plurality of wireless interfaces are active by using link quality and communication registration status of the plurality of wireless interfaces, and uses the determination result as the operation information. The communication apparatus according to claim 2.   The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the aggregation unit aggregates a plurality of radio interfaces having the same transmission rate.   The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the aggregation unit aggregates a plurality of radio interfaces having the same transmission rate and different channels and network identifiers.   The communication device according to claim 1, wherein the aggregation unit aggregates a plurality of wireless interfaces having different transmission rates.   The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the aggregation unit aggregates the plurality of wireless interfaces into one aggregated wireless interface in a communication device configuring an ad hoc network.   The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the aggregation unit aggregates the plurality of radio interfaces into one aggregated radio interface at an access point.   The communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the aggregation unit aggregates the plurality of radio interfaces into one aggregated radio interface in a radio apparatus that accesses an access point. A communication means for performing wireless communication using the one aggregated radio interface aggregated by the aggregation means;
The communication device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the communication unit performs the wireless communication by balancing a load of a plurality of wireless interfaces configuring the one aggregated wireless interface.   The communication device according to claim 10, wherein the communication unit balances the load based on a plurality of transmission rates of the plurality of wireless interfaces.