JP2012074825A - Qos guaranteed network system, centralized controller, and control method of centralized controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make a highly reliable high quality next generation network available for a user at a desired timing.SOLUTION: In a network control system comprising a centralized controller which calculates and manages a route and a network controller, after calculating a route in response to a user request of centralized control, the route is reflected in a network at a required timing thus making the network available.

Description

  The present invention relates to a bandwidth quality assurance type network system, a centralized control apparatus, and a control method thereof, for example, a technique for guaranteeing QoS (Quality of Service) in a label switching network such as an MPLS (Multi Protocol Label Switching) network. About.

  In general, there are two types of networks, the best type network, which is simply assigned a route, and the QoS guaranteed type network which guarantees the quality of the bandwidth to be used. In recent years, with the widespread use of various data and usage methods such as video conferencing and video distribution and an increase in the amount of data, the best network so far has become a big problem in terms of quality. For this reason, a network having a high QoS for data transfer is required. As a result, many methods have been developed to guarantee QoS.

  Using such a technology, a network using a label switch technology such as MPLS has been developed as a network for guaranteeing QoS. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses centrally managing a network using a label switching technique for the purpose of further simplifying the structure of an MPLS network.

Patent Publication 2006-180494

  However, although the technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 solves the problem related to the centralized control for guaranteeing the bandwidth, the bandwidth required as a mechanism for temporarily securing the guaranteed bandwidth by the user is disclosed. It does not solve the management method or usage. Therefore, the network has not been used sufficiently effectively.

  The present invention has been made in view of such a situation, and provides a technique for temporarily controlling a route according to a user request and effectively utilizing a bandwidth in a network.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, in the label switching network, the centralized control device can use the available bandwidth management function and the use registration (contract) function of the user authenticated by the authentication device, and the maximum allocation for each user. It has a function of limiting allocation by bandwidth value. The centralized control device (user request reception management unit) manages the bandwidth limit specified by the user in advance. The above limiting function is realized by the centralized control device performing an excess check of the limited bandwidth with the sum of the bandwidth reserved when the user requests the route and the bandwidth to be secured.

  The central control apparatus manages topology information and executes route calculation in consideration of time. This centralized control device can select the final route in consideration of the time-dependent bandwidth state of the route based on the time-series link usage state in addition to the entire route search obtained by the general maximum flow rate calculation. It has become.

  Further, the centralized control device has a function of determining the degree of influence associated with a route (node, link) failure for each user by performing centralized management by a route management unit that manages the results of user requests and route calculation. . In addition, the centralized control device has a schedule management function for managing the time when the result of route calculation is reflected in the label switching network, thereby securing the route at the time or time zone specified in advance by the user. By doing so, the increase of the finite MPLS switching label is suppressed.

  That is, the present invention relates to a QoS guaranteed network system having a centralized control device, a network control device, and a plurality of label switches. Here, the recording central control device includes a user request reception management unit, a route calculation processing unit, a route management unit, a topology management unit, a schedule management unit, and a label control unit. Then, the user request reception management unit receives a user request related to network bandwidth use. The route calculation processing unit calculates a route that satisfies the user request. The label control unit issues a label to the label switch included in the calculated route while associating it with the specified time included in the user request.

  According to the present invention, a route can be temporarily controlled according to a user request, and a bandwidth in a network can be effectively used.

  Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will become apparent from the following embodiments for carrying out the present invention and the accompanying drawings.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the network system by embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of an internal structure of the centralized control apparatus of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the information which the user request reception management part in a centralized control apparatus manages. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the information which the path | route management part of a centralized control apparatus manages. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the information which the schedule management part of a centralized control apparatus manages.

  The present invention relates to network control that enables a user to set a route spontaneously at a timing that the user wants to use, not a route set by a general administrator.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that this embodiment is merely an example for realizing the present invention, and does not limit the technical scope of the present invention. In each drawing, the same reference numerals are assigned to common components.

  In the following description, the information of the present invention will be described using a “table” (see FIGS. 2 to 5). However, the information does not necessarily have to be represented by a data structure of a table, and a list, DB, queue It may be expressed by a data structure such as Therefore, “table”, “list”, “DB”, “queue”, etc. may be simply referred to as “information” to indicate that they do not depend on the data structure.

  In addition, when explaining the contents of each information, the expressions “identification information”, “identifier”, “name”, “name”, “ID” can be used, and these can be replaced with each other. It is.

<Network system configuration>
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a network system 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The network system 100 includes a user terminal 101 including necessary software (application software) used by a user, a central control device 102, a network control device 103, user-side edge routers 104 and 105, Provider-side edge routers 106 and 107, label switch routers 108 to 110, and a user authentication device 111 are provided.

  The label switch routers 108 to 110 are one or more routers forming a label switching network. Further, the routers 104 and 105 on the user side are routers for connecting the user terminal 101 and the label switching network. The provider side routers 106 and 107 are routers for connecting the label switching network and the user side network.

  The central control apparatus 102 is an apparatus for processing a request from a user. The network control device 103 is a device for reflecting the label switch information and the QoS information created by the central control device 102 to the routers 106 to 110 in the label switching network. The authentication device 111 is a device for authenticating the use of the centralized control device 102. In the present embodiment, the provider routers 106 and 107 and the label switch routers 108 to 110 have no structural distinction, so the following description will be continued using only the term “label switch”.

  In the present embodiment, since the central control apparatus 102 performs LSP (Label Switched Path) calculation, the label switches 106 to 110 do not need to perform the LSP calculation and have a simple label transfer function. To do.

  Note that the network control apparatus 103 changes the setting of the label switching router according to a general setting procedure as described in Patent Document 1, and does not affect the implementation procedure, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

<Configuration of centralized control device>
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the central control apparatus 102 according to the present embodiment. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the central control apparatus 102 has a CPU (processor), a memory, and a communication interface, and executes a software program for the functions provided by the central control apparatus 102. It may be provided by. In this case, each program component 1021 to 1026 functions as a part of the processor.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the central control apparatus 102 includes a user request reception management unit 1021 for receiving a user request, a route calculation unit 1022 for calculating a route corresponding to the user request, and a route calculation result. A route management unit 1023 for managing, a topology management unit 1024 for managing topology information necessary for route calculation, a schedule management unit 1025 for managing the schedule of route calculation results, and a label for managing labels And a control unit 1026.

  The user request reception management unit 1021 manages the registration of available bandwidth for each user. As a result, the user can use the guaranteed bandwidth when necessary using the use terminal 101. The user transmits a request to the user request reception management unit 1021 after being authenticated by the authentication device 111 using the use terminal 101. The user request reception management unit 1021 confirms the authentication status of the user (or the use terminal 101) in cooperation with the authentication device 111, and then designates the specified section, band, start / end time (conference, late-night use, etc. It accepts and manages information such as start / end information), use time (estimate and specify use time from bandwidth when data amount is known, etc.), data amount, etc. The user request reception management unit 1021 also manages the maximum bandwidth that can be used by the user. This is necessary to prevent one user from monopolizing resources, and is specified at the time of user registration (contract). Furthermore, the user request reception management unit 1021 records the user request (see FIG. 3). This makes it possible to use the registration information for a billing system for usage, usage time, and the like, usage restrictions, and usage restrictions in an actual usage system. In this embodiment, the user request reception management unit 1021 has an information exchange function such as an XML (Extensible Markup Langage) structure data transfer using HTTP (HiperTextTransportProtocal). However, it is assumed that necessary information is performed through a network, and the data format and transmission / reception mode can be other methods.

  The route management unit 1023 converts the user request received by the user request reception management unit 1021 into information necessary for route calculation and performs management. Further, the route management unit 1023 manages all routes and route usage times by managing the routes determined by the route calculation processing unit 1022. Furthermore, the route management unit 1023 manages the user request received by the user request reception management unit 1021 and the link information of the route determined by the route calculation processing unit 1022. Note that the route management unit 1023 manages only route information that is currently used, and discards requests that have already been used. Thereby, the amount of information held by the route management unit 1023 is reduced.

  The topology management unit 1024 manages topology information (network resource information) in the present embodiment. It is assumed that this topology information is input from the outside, and a change in topology at the time of a failure or a configuration change is also input from the outside. For example, the topology information is input by reading data output by a topology information output function of a commercial product such as a network tool.

  Further, the topology management unit 1024 assigns an internal ID in order to manage the topology information given manually or by data so that the centralized control apparatus 102 can use it. For example, it is assumed that the topology information includes connection information between nodes, interfaces, ports, and bandwidth information.

  The schedule management unit 1025 holds the setting state of the user request, thereby changing the setting state of the request at a necessary timing based on the route information and the current time that the route management unit 1023 has, and the setting request information including the bandwidth, The quality information is notified to the network control unit 103.

  The label control unit 1026 uses the label switching 106 to 110 with respect to the route managed by the route management unit 1023 based on the confirmation start time (start 232 in FIG. 4) and the confirmation end time (end 233 in FIG. 4). Issue or delete labels.

<Information managed by the user request reception management unit>
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of information managed by the user request reception management unit 1021. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the user request reception management unit 1021 includes a reception ID 210, a transmission source 211, a transmission destination 212, a start 213 that is a use start time, an end 214 that is a use end time, and information about a use band. , A delay 216 that is information relating to quality, a data amount 217 that indicates the amount of data to be handled, and an option 218 relating to quality are included as configuration items.
The ID 210 is a management ID issued when requested by the user.

  In FIG. 3, each piece of information other than ID 210 is designated by the user. For example, the user designates the transmission source 211 and the transmission destination 212 as a section for drawing a route based on the node name registered in advance using the use terminal 101. If a start / end time is desired to be specified at the time of request, start 213 and end 214 are specified at the time of request. Furthermore, the user can acquire a path of expected quality by designating the bandwidth 215, delay 216, and option 218 required at the time of request. Note that the option 218 is information on general QoS, and includes a quality state for a band, information on a request level for securing, and the like. In addition, the user request reception management unit 1021 manages the time for which each user wants to use the corresponding band.

<Route calculation processing>
When the start time 213 and the end time 214 are not specified, the route calculation processing unit 1022 calculates the time required for data transfer from the data amount 217 and the reserved bandwidth, and determines the start time, the end time, and the like. The securing time can be determined. When the start 213, the end 214, and the data amount 217 are not specified, a time determined as a route for continuous use is calculated, and the calculation result is held as route management information (see FIG. 4). ). The secured time is managed as the start 232 and end 233 (see FIG. 4) of the route management unit 1023.

  The route calculation processing unit 1022 holds the used bandwidth information of each link by time, and extracts and extracts a route connecting the transmission source 211 and the transmission destination 212 from the route calculated by the all route search in advance. For each route, the smallest available bandwidth among the links passing at the corresponding time is calculated, and the route that can secure the bandwidth is calculated among the extracted routes.

  In addition, the route calculation processing unit 1022 performs a calculation on a route that can secure a bandwidth according to the user request, based on information held by the user request reception management unit 1021, the route management unit 1023, and the topology management unit 1024. . Note that the route calculation processing unit 1022 extracts the route of the section of the transmission source 211 and the transmission destination 212 from the route calculated by the MaxFrow (maximum flow rate) algorithm as route calculation, and has a shorter hop count and a free bandwidth. The rough road is calculated. The route itself is calculated by the MaxFrow algorithm, and the route is selected by calculating the free bandwidth of each route from the above-mentioned link bandwidth by time.

<Information managed by the route management unit>
FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of information managed by the route management unit 1023. As shown in FIG. 4, the route management unit 1023 has, as configuration items, route management information 230 that is route data corresponding to the request and route hop information 237 that is route node data of the route.

  Here, the route management information 230 includes information on the ID 231, the start 232 that is the determined start time, the end 233 that is the end time, the bandwidth 234 that is the determined band, the determined delay 235, and the hop number of the route. And the route number information 236 as the configuration item. The ID 231 is held as the ID 210 managed by the user request reception management unit 1021, and the both are associated with each other. The route hop number information 236 corresponds to the number of route hop information 237 described later.

  The route hop information 237 is information for managing the information of the node through which it passes. In this node information, hops 1 to n (239a to 239n) are managed as one passing hop number in the order of passing through the node numbers handled in the topology information. A route passing through the same node is managed by a single route hop number. When the same route is calculated as a result of route calculation, the same route hop number is the route hop number 236 of the route management information 230. Set to

<Information managed by the schedule manager>
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of information managed by the schedule management unit 1025. As illustrated in FIG. 5, the schedule management unit 1025 has a route setting state 252 and an ID 251 included in the route management information 230 that is a route calculation result.

  Here, the route setting state 252 has two states of “set” and “not set”, and each means a reflection state on an actual route. The user operates the use terminal 101 to set a start 213 and an end 214 to make a reservation by specifying a time. A route is calculated based on the designated start time and end time, and is reflected on the label switching 106 to 110 in the actual network. The state waiting for the reflection to the label switching becomes the “unset” state, and the information is reflected on the label switching 106 to 110 at the same time as the start time, and the route setting state 252 becomes “set”.

  Then, the schedule management unit 1025 checks whether or not the current time is included in the time range defined from the start 232 and the end 233 included in the route management information 230, and is included in the time range but not set. When (Route is not set) or when it is set and out of range, the route setting state 252 is updated, and route information for addition / deletion is sent to the network control device 103 to set the route to the physical device. I do.

<Processing of label control unit>
The label control unit 1026 generates and manages a label associated with a necessary hop based on the route hop information managed by the route management unit 1023.

  The generated label is information assigned to each hop 239 of the route hop information 237. The label needs to be assigned a unique value for each node that implements the hop 239. The label control unit 1026 manages the label issued for each node and issues a minimum value that does not overlap. .

  Further, the label is issued when the path setting state 252 becomes “set”, and the label is released when “not set” or deleted. However, when a plurality of user requests share a route (using a route having the same route hop number), the label is not released if even one route setting state 252 is in the “set” state.

<Summary>
As described above, the control for the user to secure a route as necessary when centrally managing the QoS guaranteed network system has been described.

  The present invention is one of the usage forms of a system that assumes a next-generation high-quality network, and can be applied to an apparatus that is required when a user needs to secure a route as necessary. In the near future, it is assumed that the application itself that uses the network itself will require the quality of the network line. In such a case, a basic device configuration for allocating time for each application and using the route will be described. It will be.

  In the embodiment of the present invention, in the QoS guaranteed network system, the centralized control device receives a user request relating to network bandwidth use, calculates a route that satisfies the user request, and applies to the label switch included in the calculated route. Thus, a label is issued in association with the specified time included in the user request. By doing so, it is possible to provide a desired route at a time when the user wants to use the band. In addition, since necessary labels are assigned at necessary timing, it is possible to expect a decrease in the number of labels at each label switching node.

  Further, the centralized control device performs route calculation that can make a route reservation based on time information of use start and end included in the user request. In this way, the user can use the route only for the required time, so that the band can be used effectively.

  When the time information is not included in the user request, the usage time is calculated based on the amount of data included in the user request. By doing so, it is possible to use the route only for the required time even without specifying the time.

  Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. Various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiments. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.

  In addition, each configuration, function, processing unit, processing unit, and the like described in the embodiments may be realized in hardware by designing a part or all of them with, for example, an integrated circuit. Further, each of the above-described configurations, functions, etc. may be realized by software by the processor interpreting and executing a program that realizes each function. Information such as programs, tables, and files for realizing each function is stored in a recording or storage device such as a memory, hard disk, or SSD (Solid State Drive), or in a recording or storage medium such as an IC card, SD card, or DVD. be able to.

  Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, control lines and information lines are those that are considered necessary for explanation, and not all control lines and information lines on the product are necessarily shown. All the components may be connected to each other.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... User terminal, 102 ... Central control apparatus, 103 ... Network control apparatus, 104 and 105 ... User side router, 106 and 107 ... Provider side router, 108 thru | or 110 ... Label switching router, 111 ... Authentication apparatus, 1021 ... User request reception management unit, 1022 ... route calculation processing unit, 1023 ... route management unit, 1024 ... topology management unit, 1025 ... schedule management unit, 1026 ... label control unit

Claims (11)

A QoS guaranteed network system,
A central control device, a network control device, and a plurality of label switches;
The centralized control device includes a user request reception management unit, a route calculation processing unit, a route management unit, a topology management unit, a schedule management unit, and a label control unit,
The user request reception management unit receives a user request related to network bandwidth use,
The route calculation processing unit calculates a route that satisfies the user request,
The label control unit issues a label while associating with a designated time included in the user request to the label switch included in the calculated route.
A QoS guaranteed network system characterized by the above. In claim 1,
Furthermore, it has an authentication device that executes user authentication processing,
The QoS-guaranteed network system, wherein the user request reception management unit operates in conjunction with a user authentication function of the authentication device and receives the user request. In claim 2,
The QoS-guaranteed network system, wherein the user request acceptance management unit rejects acceptance of a user request based on a maximum allocatable bandwidth included in use registration information. In claim 3,
The QoS-guaranteed network system, wherein the route calculation processing unit performs route calculation capable of making a route reservation based on use start and end time information included in the user request. In claim 3,
The QoS calculation type network system, wherein the route calculation processing unit calculates a usage time based on a data amount included in the user request when time information is not included in the user request. In claim 4,
The QoS guarantee type network system, wherein the route management unit manages the route and time information calculated by the route calculation processing unit. In claim 6,
The QoS control network system, wherein the centralized control device further includes a schedule management unit that processes user requests that need to be set from the current time based on time information managed by the route management unit. In claim 7,
The QoS-guaranteed network system, wherein the route calculation processing unit calculates a route by time using a link bandwidth by time. In claim 8,
The QoS guarantee type network system, wherein the label control unit issues a label based on a route calculation result managed by the route management unit. A centralized control device for managing access requests from users in a network having a plurality of label switches,
A user request reception management unit, a route calculation processing unit, a route management unit, a topology management unit, a schedule management unit, and a label control unit,
The user request reception management unit receives a user request related to network bandwidth use,
The route calculation processing unit calculates a route that satisfies the user request,
The label control unit issues a label while associating with a designated time included in the user request to the label switch included in the calculated route.
Centralized control device characterized by that. A control method for a centralized control device having a processor for managing access requests from users in a network having a plurality of label switches,
The processor receiving a user request transmitted from a user terminal and managing the user request;
The processor calculating a path considering usage time based on information included in the user request;
The processor managing a path setting state so as to make a path available based on a calculation result of the calculated path or an access request time included in the user request;
The control method characterized by including.

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