JP2008219828A - Switching hub, priority control method thereof and priority control apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To perform priority communication by enabling a user himself/herself to automatically perform the priority setting of a switching hub by simple procedures without changing the setting of the switching hub. <P>SOLUTION: When a priority control box 200 is connected to a port P1 of a switching hub 300 in the case that priority control is required, a predetermined connection confirmation signal is transmitted from the priority control box 200 to the switching hub 300. When the connection confirmation signal is received, the port P1 of the switching hub 300 forcibly rewrites a priority (class-of-service (Cos) value/type-of-service (Tos) value) of a transmission frame inputted from a terminal 100 to the relevant port P1 to enable priority communication. If priority control is not required any more, priority forcible rewrite setting can be canceled only by removing the priority control box 200 from the port P1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a quality of service control technique in network communication, and more particularly to a method and a priority control apparatus for controlling priority of a switching hub. Note that “Quality of Service” means ToS (Type of Service) and / or CoS (Class of Service), and the priority control function described here uses these. Hereinafter, the value of ToS and / or CoS for performing priority control will be referred to as “Cos value / Tos value” and will be referred to as “priority” as appropriate.

  In recent years, a switching hub capable of priority control capable of setting packet priority has been used in many networks. A network using a switching hub capable of priority control will be briefly described below.

  FIG. 1A is a configuration diagram showing an example of a network using a conventional switching hub, and FIG. 1B is a configuration diagram showing another example of a network using a conventional switching hub.

  In FIG. 1A, a terminal 10 is a terminal equipped with an application that can give a value to the priority (Cos value / Tos value) of a transmission frame. When this application performs priority communication, the application rewrites the priority (Cos value / Tos value) of the transmission frame to a higher value than other transmission frames.

  When a frame in which a priority (Cos value / Tos value) is set is transmitted from the terminal 10, the switching hub 20 recognizes the priority (Cos value / Tos value) of the frame received from the terminal 10 at the port P8. Transfer to output queue buffer according to priority. The switching hub 30 recognizes the priority (Cos value / Tos value) of the frame received from the switching hub 20 at the port P9 and transfers it to the output queue buffer according to the priority. Thus, priority communication can be realized by trusting the priority of the received frame as it is and transferring it to the output queue according to the priority.

  In FIG. 1B, a terminal 11 is a terminal equipped with an application to which transmission frame priority (Cos value / Tos value) cannot be assigned. When priority communication is performed with respect to the terminal 11, the switching hub 21 is set so that the transmission frame is always rewritten to a high priority at the port 10 to which the terminal 11 is connected. The switching hub 30 can realize priority communication by recognizing the priority (Cos value / Tos value) of the frame received from the switching hub 21 at the port P11 and transferring it to the output queue buffer according to the priority. .

  Regarding the priority setting of the switching hub, Patent Document 1 discloses an example of a telephone system. In this telephone system, a main unit for connecting a legacy terminal such as an analog telephone to the Internet is connected between the legacy terminal and the switching hub, and the control unit of the main unit is connected to the priority control unit of the switching hub. The priority communication of the telephone is realized by instructing priority setting (see paragraphs 0019-0020 and 0027).

JP 2005-311853 A

  However, as shown in FIG. 1B, when priority cannot be given by the application, the priority (Cos value / Tos value) is forcibly rewritten at the corresponding port of the switching hub in advance. There is a need. In particular, when communication with high priority occurs in an environment where priority cannot be given by an application, the user himself / herself must change the priority setting of the switching hub. Such setting is not easy for general users.

  Further, in the telephone system disclosed in Patent Document 1, since the main apparatus issues a switching hub priority setting instruction, it is necessary to provide a control function in the main apparatus itself, thereby avoiding an increase in circuit scale and cost. I can't.

  As described above, the conventional technique cannot provide a method that is easy and reliable for the user to realize the priority communication.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and its purpose is to automatically set the priority of the switching hub in a simple procedure without the user himself changing the setting of the switching hub, and to perform priority communication. Is to make it possible.

  A switching hub having a priority control function according to the present invention includes a detecting means for detecting reception of a predetermined connection confirmation signal at each port, and an input signal input to the port in response to reception of the predetermined connection confirmation signal. Priority changing means for forcibly changing the priority.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, a predetermined connection confirmation signal is periodically received from a priority control device (priority control box) connected to a port, and an input signal input to the port is a communication terminal. Is received through the priority controller. The priority is a value of ToS (Type of Service) and / or CoS (Class of Service) included in a predetermined frame of the input signal.

  According to the present invention, when a communication to be prioritized occurs, the user simply connects the priority control device between the communication terminal and the switching hub, and the priority of the frame transmitted by the switching hub is automatically set. Can be changed. Therefore, priority communication is possible with the intention of the user with a simple configuration and operation.

1. Conceptual Description of the Present Invention FIG. 2 is a conceptual explanatory diagram for explaining basic operations of a priority control box and a switching hub according to the present invention. First, when a transmission frame with a priority (Cos value / Tos value) can be transmitted to the port P1 of the switching hub 300, the priority control box 200 is not connected as shown in FIG. The switching hub 300 receives the frame in which the priority (Cos value / Tos value) is set at the port P1, recognizes the priority at the port P1, and executes the transfer process according to the priority.

  On the other hand, when priority (Cos value / Tos value) cannot be given to the transmission frame, as shown in FIG. 2B, the priority control box 200 and the port P1 of the switching hub 300 are connected by a cable or the like. Connected. With this connection, a connection confirmation packet is sent from the priority control box 200 to the port P1 of the switching hub 300 as will be described later. When recognizing this connection confirmation packet, the switching hub 300 forcibly sets the priority (Cos value / Tos value) of the transmission packet input from the port P1 to a high value to enable priority communication.

2. FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing a network in which a priority control box and a switching hub are connected according to an embodiment of the present invention. Here, the terminal 100 is a terminal equipped with an application to which transmission frame priority (Cos value / Tos value) cannot be assigned. Therefore, when priority communication is performed for the terminal 100, the priority control box 200 is connected to the port P1 of the switching hub 300 as described above.

  Since the priority control box 200 only needs to be able to recognize that it is connected to the port of the switching hub 300, no special control device is required. It is only necessary to have a function of periodically sending a connection confirmation packet to the switching hub 300 in the connected state. In a state where the connection has been confirmed, it operates as a repeater that transfers the transmission packet from the terminal 100 to the switching hub 300 as it is. Therefore, here, a simple configuration in which a buffer is connected between the physical layer device PHY connected to the terminal 100 side and the physical layer device PHY connected to the switching hub 300 side is shown as an example.

  In the switching hub 300, each of the plurality of ports P1-Pn is connected to the buffer unit 301 through the physical layer device PHY. The buffer unit 301 has an input buffer and a priority-based output buffer for each port. Under the control of the control unit 304, known switching control is performed by the switch control unit 302 and the MAC address-port correspondence table 303. Further, when receiving a connection confirmation packet from the priority control box 200, the control unit 304 controls the priority changing unit 305 to prioritize the transmission packet input to the port (Cos value / Tos value). Forcibly write. Furthermore, the priority control unit 306 performs normal priority control on the transmission packet to which the priority (Cos value / Tos value) is given.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the priority setting operation of the switching hub according to this embodiment. The control unit 304 constantly monitors whether a connection confirmation packet from the priority control box 200 has been received at each port (step S401). When the connection confirmation packet from the priority control box 200 is received at the port Pi (YES in step S401), the control unit 304 determines that the transmission packet input to the port Pi needs to be set to a high priority, and the priority The changing unit 305 is set to forcibly write a high priority (Cos value / Tos value) to the transmission packet input to the port Pi (step S402). In this way, the switching hub 300 can forcibly set the priority (Cos value / Tos value) of the transmission packet input from the port Pi to a high value to realize priority communication.

  When the priority control box 200 is removed from the port Pi, a connection confirmation packet is not received from the priority control box 200 at the port Pi (NO in step S401), so the control unit 304 checks the current setting state of the port Pi. (Step s403) If the priority changing unit 305 is set to the priority compulsory rewriting mode (YES in Step S403), it is canceled (Step S404). As a result, the priority is not forcibly rewritten.

  The control unit 304 of the switching hub can also realize the same function by executing a priority compulsory setting program as shown in FIG. 4 on a program control processor or microprocessor.

  FIG. 5 is a network diagram for explaining the basic operation of this embodiment. FIG. 5A shows the connection when priority control is not required. Here, the terminal 100 to which priority cannot be assigned by an application is directly connected to the port P2 of the switching hub 300. In this case, since the priority control box 200 is not connected, the control unit 304 of the switching hub 300 sets the priority changing unit 305 so as not to rewrite the priority (Cos value / Tos value) of the input frame at the port P2. Set. Therefore, the switching hub 300 transfers the input frame with the priority of the input frame as it is.

  FIG. 5B shows a connection when priority control is required. As described above, if the terminal 100 is connected to the port P1 of the switching hub 300 via the priority control box 200, the priority control box 200 transmits a connection confirmation packet and detects the control packet 304 of the switching hub 300. Controls the priority changing unit 305 to set the port P1 to forcibly rewrite the priority (Cos value / Tos value) of the input frame to a higher priority. Thereby, a high priority is given to the transmission frame to which the priority is not given, and the transmission frame 300 is transmitted from the switching hub 300.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram of an IP network system using a priority control box and a switching hub according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The terminal 100 cannot be assigned priority by a terminal or an application installed in the terminal, but temporarily needs priority communication.

  The terminal 101 is a communication partner of the terminal 100 and is a terminal to which priority cannot be given by the terminal or an application installed in the terminal. However, the switching hub 300b uses the priority (Cos value / Tos) Value) is forcibly changed to a higher value.

  The switching hubs 300a and 300b and the priority control box 200 have the same functions as the switching hub 300 and the priority control box 200 described with reference to FIGS.

  The IP network is composed of network devices having a priority function based on the Diffserv method, and these network device groups are interposed between the terminals 100 and 101. All network devices in the IP network have a function of realizing priority communication by trusting the priority (Cos value / Tos value) of the input frame at the input port and transferring it to the output queue corresponding to the priority.

  In such a network, the user of the terminal 100 connects the priority control box 200 between the terminal 100 and the switching hub 300a because the port P3 of the partner switching hub 300b is set to a high priority. . This connection means that the priority control box 200 is connected to the port P1 of the switching hub 300a with a cable. However, the connection is not limited to this, and a route that passes through the priority control box 200 and a route that does not pass can be selected. A circuit may be configured.

  By connecting the priority control box 200, a connection confirmation packet is sent from the priority control box 200 to the port P1 of the switching hub 300a, and the port P1 of the switching hub 300a automatically receives the priority (Cos value / (Tos value) is forcibly changed to a higher value. Therefore, thereafter, the transmission frame from the terminal 100 is subjected to priority control, and priority communication with the counterpart terminal 101 can be realized.

  In this way, simply by connecting the priority control box 200 between the communication terminal and the switching hub 300, the switching hub 300a automatically changes the priority of the transmission frame. Priority communication is possible. Therefore, a user who is unfamiliar with the network system can easily use the priority communication. Since it functions regardless of the terminal type or priority setting assignment in the application installed in the terminal, there is an advantage that priority communication is possible in any terminal device.

3. Application Example By using the combination of the priority control box 200 and the switching hub 300 according to the present embodiment described above as a test machine, it can be used for a test for confirming the priority control setting of the network.

  FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a network test system using a priority control box and a switching hub as an application example of the present invention. Here, the IP network 500 is a network device group having a priority control function, and is a test target of the test system.

  Tester 1 and tester 2 are connected to IP network 500. The tester 1 includes a terminal 100a, a priority control box 200a, a switching hub 300a, and a load device 501. The priority control box 200a is connected to the port P6 of the switching hub 300a, and the load device 501 is connected to the port P4. To do. Similarly, the tester 2 includes a terminal 100b, a priority control box 200b, a switching hub 300b, and a load device 502. The priority control box 200b is connected to the port P7 of the switching hub 300b, and the load device 501 is connected to the port P5. It is assumed that The terminals 100a and 100b, the priority control boxes 200a and 200b, and the switching hubs 300a and 300b are the same as the terminal 100, the priority control box 200, and the switching hub 300 described above, respectively. Therefore, the port P6 of the switching hub 300a and the port P7 of the switching hub 300b are forcibly changed priority ports, and the port P4 of the switching hub 300a and the port P5 of the switching hub 300b are respectively It is a non-priority port. The load devices 501 and 502 are devices that generate a large amount of packets, and are for putting the IP network 500 into an overload state.

  In the test, with the load devices 501 and 502 generating a large number of packets, the communication speed is measured at the terminals 100a and 100b. And even if the network 500 is in an overload state, by confirming that the communication between the terminals 100a and 100b is prioritized, the network devices constituting the IP network 500 to be tested are normally set to priority control. It is possible to confirm that this is done.

  The above-described embodiments are illustrative in all respects and are not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the scope of the claims, regardless of the above description of the embodiments, and includes all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

(A) is a block diagram which shows an example of the network using the conventional switching hub, (b) is a block diagram which shows the other example of the network using the conventional switching hub. It is a conceptual explanatory diagram for explaining the basic operation of the priority control box and the switching hub according to the present invention. 1 is a schematic block diagram showing a network connecting a priority control box and a switching hub according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the priority forced setting operation | movement of the switching hub by a present Example. It is a network diagram for demonstrating the basic operation | movement of a present Example. 1 is a configuration diagram of an IP network system using a priority control box and a switching hub according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the network test system using a priority control box and a switching hub as one example of application of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

100, 101 Terminal 200 Priority control box 300 Switching hub 500 IP network 501, 502 Load device

Claims (10)

A switching hub having a priority control function,
Detecting means for detecting reception of a predetermined connection confirmation signal at each port;
Priority changing means for forcibly changing the priority of an input signal input to the port in response to reception of the predetermined connection confirmation signal;
A switching hub comprising:   The switching hub according to claim 1, wherein the predetermined connection confirmation signal is periodically received from a priority control device connected to the port.   The switching hub according to claim 2, wherein an input signal input to the port is received from a communication terminal through the priority control device.   The said priority is the value of ToS (Type of Service) and / or CoS (Class of Service) contained in the predetermined frame of the said input signal, The any one of Claims 1-3 characterized by the above-mentioned. Switching hub. A priority control device for connecting a switching hub having a priority control function and a communication terminal,
First connection means for connecting to one port of the switching hub;
Second connection means for connecting to the communication terminal;
Connection confirmation means for periodically transmitting a predetermined connection confirmation signal to the port;
Have
A priority control device for forcibly changing the priority of a transmission signal to be transmitted to the port of the switching hub by the predetermined connection confirmation signal.   6. The priority control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the priority is a value of ToS (Type of Service) and / or CoS (Class of Service) included in a predetermined frame of the transmission signal. A switching hub priority control method having a priority control function,
Determine whether each port of the switching hub has received a predetermined connection confirmation signal;
When the predetermined connection confirmation signal is received, the priority of the input signal input to the port is forcibly changed.
A priority control method characterized by the above.   8. The priority control method according to claim 7, wherein the priority is a value of ToS (Type of Service) and / or CoS (Class of Service) included in a predetermined frame of the transmission signal.   The network system which connected the switching hub of any one of Claims 1-4 to an IP network, and connected the priority control apparatus of Claim 5 or 6 to the said switching hub. Computer
Detecting means for detecting reception of a predetermined connection confirmation signal at each port;
Priority changing means for forcibly changing the priority of an input signal input to the port in response to reception of the predetermined connection confirmation signal;
A program for functioning as a switching hub.

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