JP2014158078A - QoS CONTROL METHOD AND DEVICE - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and a device which can achieve QoS control easily without changing or modifying an existing application or terminal.SOLUTION: An interlocking function unit 14 specifies any one or both of a name resolution request in accordance with the host name of an incoming side terminal 2 issued from an originating side terminal 1 to a DNS server 5, and a response transmitted from the DNS server 5 to the originating side terminal 1 in response to the name resolution request, specifies a QoS control content applied to a data stream between the originating side terminal 1 and the incoming side terminal 2, and designates the data stream becoming the object of QoS control and the QoS control content for a QoS management function unit 13.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for performing QoS control of a data stream between terminals in a network.

  In order to realize QoS (Quality of Service) control in an IP network provided by a communication carrier, a method using a call control protocol SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) / SDP (Session Description Protocol) has been standardized and widely used. ing. The SDP portion in the SIP message includes information such as an IP address and a port number. The CSCF (Call Session Control Function), which is a call control function unit in the network that has received the SIP message from the terminal, instructs QoS control to the QoS management function unit based on these pieces of information. Actually, QoS control and generation of billing information are performed (Non-Patent Documents 1 to 4).

"Resource and Admission Control Sub-System (RACS): Functional Architecture", ETSI ES 282 003, [online], [searched January 15, 2013], Internet <URL: http: //www.etsi.org/ deliver / etsi # es / 282000 # 282099/282003 / 03.05.01 # 60 / es # 282003v030501p.pdf> "Policy and charging control architecture", 3GPP TS 23.203, [online], [searched January 15, 2013], Internet <URL: http: //www.3gpp.org/ftp/Specs/archive/23#series /23.203/> "SIP: Session Initiation Protocol", RFC3261, [online], [searched January 15, 2013], Internet <URL: http://www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc3261.txt> "SDP: Session Description Protocol", RFC4566, [online], [searched January 15, 2013], Internet <URL: http: //www.ietf.org/rfc/rfc4566.txt>

  In the case of SIP, which is a conventional technology, an application needs to support SIP in order to receive provision of a QoS function provided by a communication carrier. Therefore, it is necessary to additionally develop a function related to SIP for each application, but since this development burden is very large, it is difficult to use.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus capable of easily realizing QoS control without changing or modifying an existing application or terminal. is there.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a name resolution server that resolves an address from a host name, QoS control execution means that performs QoS control of a data stream between terminals, and QoS that manages QoS control by the QoS control means. A QoS control method and apparatus in a network having a control management means, wherein the cooperation function means arranged in the network includes a name resolution request relating to the host name of the called terminal issued from the calling terminal to the name resolution server, and Data between the calling terminal and the called terminal is specified by identifying the calling terminal and the called terminal based on one or both of the responses transmitted from the name resolution server to the calling terminal in response to the name resolution request. The QoS control content to be applied to the stream is specified, and the data control target for QoS control and QoS control within the QoS control management means Wherein the instructing.

  According to the present invention, since name resolution technology that is widely used in communication is used, it is not necessary to change or modify an existing application or terminal, thereby easily realizing QoS control.

Network configuration diagram illustrating QoS control according to the present invention Sequence chart for explaining QoS control according to the first embodiment Sequence chart for explaining QoS control according to the second embodiment Sequence chart for explaining QoS control according to the second embodiment

  QoS control according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a network configuration diagram illustrating QoS control according to the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the telecommunications carrier network 10 includes QoS implementation function units 11 and 12 that perform QoS control of the data stream between the terminals 1 and 2 connected to the telecommunications carrier network 10, and each QoS implementation function. The QoS management function unit 13 that manages the QoS control by the units 11 and 12, and performs QoS control in cooperation with the QoS management function unit 13 based on communication between the terminals 1 and 2 and the existing DNS (Domain Name System) server 5. Cooperation function units 14 and 15 are arranged. In an actual implementation, the cooperation function units 14 and 15 may be integrated into the same device as the DNS server 5 or the QoS management function unit 13. Moreover, the cooperation function parts 14 and 15 function when the terminals 1 and 2 become the calling side terminals, respectively.

  The cooperation function unit 14 operates as a proxy between the originating terminal 1 and the DNS server 5 and relays a DNS message. Alternatively, it operates transparently from the originating terminal 1 and snoops (monitors) the DNS message.

  When the calling terminal 1 communicates with the called terminal 2, it inquires of the DNS server 5 about the IP address of the called terminal 2 using the host name of the called terminal 2 as a key, as in the conventional communication. The DNS server 5 notifies the calling terminal 1 by including the IP address of the called terminal 2 in a response message.

  The cooperation function unit 14 acquires the physical address of the calling terminal 1 from the transmission source IP address field in the IP header of the inquiry message. Further, the IP address of the called terminal 2 is acquired from the RDATA field (A record) in the resource record of the response message. In addition, the host name of the called terminal 2 may be acquired from the NAME field of the resource record, and the DNS record type may be acquired from the TYPE field and used for QoS control. The cooperation function unit 14 determines whether or not to perform QoS control based on these pieces of information. In the determination, whether the IP address of the called terminal 2 is included in a specific IP address band, whether the host name of the called terminal 2 has a specific subdomain name, whether in the DNS record (NAPTR record) There are examples of service types.

  When performing the QoS control, the cooperation function unit 14 informs the QoS management function unit 13 of information for identifying the data stream to be controlled (IP address of the originating terminal 1 and the terminating terminal 2) and the contents of the QoS control. (Rewriting DSCP (Differentiated Services Code Point) value in the IP header, etc.) is instructed.

  QoS control content is determined by linking with a specific range such as an IP address band or subdomain, or a single target (such as a telephone number included in a host name, information that can identify a subscriber). It may be determined by linking. In the former case, for example, when a specific subdomain is included in the host name inquiring to the DNS server 5, a method of giving high priority to other cases, or a low priority in other cases, for example, an IP address resolved by the DNS server 5 Is included in a specific IP address band, high priority is given to other cases, and low priority is given otherwise. In the latter case, for example, QoS control content to be performed for each subscriber is set in advance in a subscriber information database (not shown) held by the communication carrier, and QoS control is performed by the cooperation function unit 14 inquiring. The content can be determined. In this way, in determining the QoS control content, what kind of identification unit and information are used to determine the QoS control content, where correspondence information necessary for determining the QoS control content is stored, etc. Various methods can be selected as appropriate for the specific implementation.

  Based on the instructed contents, the QoS management function unit 13 gives specific instructions to the QoS implementation function units 11 and 12 from the internal resource reservation state and the like, thereby realizing QoS control. At this time, if resource allocation fails, the QoS management function unit 13 notifies the cooperation function unit 14 that the QoS control has failed. Upon receiving the notification, the cooperation function unit 14 may rewrite the A / AAAAA record of the response message and transmit a message such as No Record indicating that name resolution has failed to the originating terminal 1 in some cases. The QoS management function unit 13 and the QoS implementation function units 11 and 12 may be integrated as one device.

  At this time, the cooperation function unit 14 may shorten the DNS cache holding time in the terminal 1 by rewriting the TTL (Time To Live) field representing the expiration date of the DNS record included in the response message to be short. . As a result, when the communication is performed again, the originating terminal 1 makes an inquiry to the DNS server 5 again, and the QoS function can be provided.

  The QoS execution function units 11 and 12 continue the QoS control until a predetermined time, a transfer amount or the number of packets is exceeded, or a communication interruption occurs for a certain time or longer. In addition, the QoS implementation function units 11 and 12 or the QoS management function unit 13 generates charging information based on the number of times the QoS function is provided, the transfer amount, the number of packets, the communication time, or the like.

  A first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the sequence chart of FIG. The first embodiment is an example in which the present invention is implemented in NGN (Next Generation Networks) of a TISPAN (Telecommunications and Internet converged Services and Protocols for Advanced Networking) model.

  In the case of NGN of the TISPAN model which is one of the architectures of the fixed network, the cooperation function unit 140 has an interface with a RACS (Resource and Admission Control Subsystem) 130 corresponding to the QoS management function unit 13, and the QoS in the RACS 130 is QoS. Direct control. The RACS 130 gives instructions to a C-BGF (Core-Border Gateway Function) or RCEF (Resource Control Enforcement Function) 110 corresponding to the QoS implementation function units 11 and 12, thereby causing the originating terminal 101 to the terminating terminal 102. QoS control is performed on the data stream between them (FIG. 2).

  The first embodiment shows a case where a QoS function is provided for communication addressed to a specific IP address.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the calling terminal 101 inquires of the DNS server 50 about the IP address of the called terminal 102 based on the host name of the called terminal 102 (step S101).

  The cooperation function unit 140 operates as a DNS proxy and relays a message between the terminal 101 and the DNS server (steps S101 to S104). The cooperation function unit 140 acquires the IP addresses of both the calling terminal 101 and the called terminal 102 from the transmission source address field in the IP header of the inquiry message and the ANSWER field in the DNS message of the response message. It is determined whether the IP address is included in an IP address band for performing QoS control (step S105).

  If it is included, the cooperation function unit 140 notifies the RACS 130 of the IP addresses of both the calling terminal 101 and the called terminal 102 (step S106), and the RACS 130 sends an IP header to the C-BGF / RCEF 110. Is instructed to rewrite the DSCP value (step S107), the data stream between the originating terminal 101 and the terminating terminal 102 is preferentially handled (steps S108 to S110).

  The time for performing the QoS control is a predetermined time (5 minutes in this embodiment), and billing information is generated every time the QoS function is provided (step S111).

  A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the sequence charts of FIGS. The second embodiment is an example in which the present invention is implemented in a mobile network.

  In the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) architecture of 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), which is one of mobile network architectures, the QoS management function unit 13 is a PCRF (Policy and Charging Rules Function) 230, and QoS implementation function units 11 and 12. Becomes PCEF (Policy and Charging Enforcement Function) 210. The cooperation function unit 240 cooperates with the DNS server 50 and the PCRF 230.

  In the second embodiment, a plurality of different host names for each service are assigned to the called terminal 102, thereby providing different QoS depending on the service.

  First, two host names are assigned to the destination terminal 102 in advance. Here, it is assumed that “abc.phone.example.com” and “abc.message.example.com” are assigned.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the first calling terminal 101a inquires the DNS server 50 using the host name “abc.phone.example.com” of the called terminal 102 as a key (step S201). Since the cooperation function unit 240 is “phone.example.com”, which is a subdomain indicating that the service provides the highest priority QoS, the data stream between the first calling terminal 101a and the called terminal 102 Is handled as the highest priority data stream (step S205), and QoS control is instructed to the PCRF 230 (step S206). The subsequent processing is the same as in the first embodiment.

  On the other hand, in the case of the second calling terminal 101b, as shown in FIG. 3, the DNS server 50 is inquired using “abc.message.example.com” as a key (step S251). Since the cooperation function unit 240 is “message.example.com”, which is a subdomain indicating that the service provides low-priority QoS, the data stream between the second calling terminal 101b and the called terminal 102 Conversely, it is determined that the data stream should be handled as a low priority data stream (step S255), and the QoS control is instructed to the PCRF 230 (step S256). The subsequent processing is the same as in the first embodiment. In this manner, even the same called terminal 102 can provide different QoS functions by using different host names.

  A third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the third embodiment, a case where a NAPTR record, which is a kind of DNS record, is used instead of a host name for determining whether or not QoS control is to be performed will be described.

  A NAPTR record used in an ENUM (E.164 NUmber Mapping) server or the like includes information about the URI / service type corresponding to the host name. Therefore, by using the NAPTR record, it is possible to resolve the type of service from the host name and determine the necessity of QoS control according to the service.

  Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described. The fourth embodiment shows a case where a session monitoring function is added to the QoS management function unit in the second embodiment.

  By monitoring communication between terminals by the session monitoring function, the QoS control is not terminated at a predetermined time as in the first to third embodiments, but communication is performed when there is no data stream of the flow for 30 seconds. By determining the end, QoS control can be continued for an indefinite time from the start of communication to the end of communication. Also, billing information can be generated based on the time from the start to the end of QoS control.

  A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described. The fifth embodiment shows a case where a packet counter function is added to the QoS management function unit in the second embodiment.

  With the introduction of the packet counter function, the number of packets flowing between terminals and the transfer amount can be acquired. These pieces of information can be used as a QoS control end trigger or when generating billing information.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,101,2,102 ... Terminal, 11, 12 ... QoS enforcement function part, 13 ... QoS management function part, 14, 15, 140, 240 ... Linkage function part, 5,50 ... DNS server, 110 ... C-BGF / RCEF, 130 ... RACS, 210 ... PCEF, 230 ... PCRF

Claims (4)

A QoS control method in a network having a name resolution server that resolves an address from a host name, QoS control execution means for performing QoS control of a data stream between terminals, and QoS control management means for managing QoS control by the QoS control means There,
The cooperation function means arranged in the network sends a name resolution request related to the host name of the destination terminal issued from the originating terminal to the name resolution server, and the name resolution server transmits to the originating terminal in response to the name resolution request Based on either or both of the responses, the originating terminal and the terminating terminal are identified, the QoS control content to be applied to the data stream between the originating terminal and the terminating terminal is identified, and the QoS control management means A QoS control method characterized by instructing a data stream subject to QoS control and a QoS control content. The QoS control method according to claim 1, wherein the linkage function means rewrites the lifetime of the response message included in the response transmitted from the name resolution server to the originating terminal in response to the name resolution request so as to reduce the lifetime. . The QoS control method according to claim 1, wherein the name resolution server is a DNS server. QoS arranged in a network having a name resolution server that resolves an address from a host name, QoS control execution means for performing QoS control of a data stream between terminals, and QoS control management means for managing QoS control by the QoS control means A control device,
Based on either or both of the name resolution request related to the host name of the called terminal issued from the calling terminal to the name resolution server and the response sent by the name resolution server to the calling terminal in response to the name resolution request. A terminal side terminal and a destination terminal are specified, a QoS control content to be applied to a data stream between the source terminal and the destination terminal is specified, and a data stream and a QoS target to be controlled by the QoS control management unit are specified. A QoS control apparatus comprising a linkage function means for instructing control contents.

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