JP2015106899A - Wireless communication system, management device of wireless lan communication device, and management method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wireless communication system in which reduction of communication quality can be minimized, and to provide a management device of wireless LAN communication device, and management method thereof.SOLUTION: A wireless communication system 1 includes AP20a-20c, and an authentication server 30. The AP20a-20c can be connected with WiFi terminals 40a, 40b via a wireless LAN. The authentication server 30 selects an AP for housing the WiFi terminals 40a, 40b, out of the plurality of AP20a-20c, depending on the housing state thereof. The authentication server 30 connects the WiFi terminals 40a, 40b forcibly with the selected AP.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication system, a management device for a wireless LAN communication device, and a management method therefor.

  In recent years, wireless communication terminals having a WiFi (registered trademark) function such as smartphones have become widespread. In addition, access points that provide a wireless local area network (LAN) are being installed in public places (event venues, stations, hotels, etc.).

  Patent Document 1 discloses a reservation processing device that detects a wireless terminal that exists in a certain store and notifies the detected wireless terminal of information on other stores that can be reserved.

Japanese Patent No. 5172029

  There are cases where a plurality of access points are installed and a communication path (wireless LAN) is provided at an event venue where many users having WiFi terminals gather. In such a case, the WiFi terminal may be automatically connected (accommodated) to a certain specific access point due to the influence of the radio wave intensity of the access point. As a result, the WiFi terminal is accommodated up to the upper limit of the number that can be accommodated by a specific access point, and there is a problem that the communication quality is degraded, such as a decrease in communication speed and disconnection.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and provides a wireless communication system, a wireless LAN communication apparatus management apparatus, and a management method thereof that can suppress a decrease in communication quality. It is an object.

  A wireless communication system according to the present invention includes a plurality of wireless LAN communication devices capable of communicating with a wireless terminal, and a plurality of wireless LAN communication devices according to the accommodation status of the wireless terminal in the wireless LAN communication device, Selecting means for selecting the wireless LAN communication apparatus accommodating the wireless terminal; and connection setting means for forcibly connecting the wireless terminal to the selected wireless LAN communication apparatus.

  The wireless LAN communication device management device according to the present invention is a plurality of wireless LAN communication device management devices capable of communicating with a wireless terminal, and a plurality of wireless LAN communication device management devices according to an accommodation status of the wireless terminal in the wireless LAN communication device. Selecting means for selecting the wireless LAN communication apparatus that accommodates the wireless terminal, and connection setting means for forcibly connecting the wireless terminal to the selected wireless LAN communication apparatus; , Are provided.

  A wireless LAN communication device management method according to the present invention is a management method for a plurality of wireless LAN communication devices capable of communicating with a wireless terminal, and the plurality of wireless LAN communication device management methods can be used according to the accommodation status of the wireless terminal in the wireless LAN communication device. Selecting the wireless LAN communication device that houses the wireless terminal among the wireless LAN communication devices, and forcibly connecting the wireless terminal to the selected wireless LAN communication device; Is provided.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wireless communication system, a wireless LAN communication apparatus management apparatus, and a management method thereof that can suppress a decrease in communication quality.

It is a figure which shows the structure of the radio | wireless communications system concerning Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the authentication server concerning an embodiment. It is a figure which shows the contractor table concerning embodiment. It is a figure which shows the allocation information table concerning embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows operation | movement of the radio | wireless communications system concerning Embodiment. It is a block diagram of the management apparatus concerning this invention.

Embodiment Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. A configuration of a wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment is shown in FIG. FIG. 1 shows an example in which the wireless communication system 1 is applied to an event venue 900. The event venue 900 is a building, a hall, a park, or the like, and is an area that provides services to users who have WiFi terminals 40a and 40b (wireless terminals).

<Configuration of Wireless Communication System 1>
First, the configuration of the wireless communication system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The wireless communication system 1 includes a WiFi detection sensor 10, access points (hereinafter simply referred to as APs) 20a to 20c, and an authentication server 30.

  The WiFi detection sensor 10 (terminal identification information acquisition means) detects the WiFi terminals 40a and 40b existing in a predetermined area such as an event venue. Specifically, the WiFi detection sensor 10 exists in the event venue 900 by receiving a frame (a frame for scanning the APs 20a to 20c, such as a probe request) transmitted from the WiFi terminals 40a and 40b. The WiFi terminals 40a and 40b are detected. The predetermined area is, for example, an area of several tens of meters, and is a range where the radio waves of the APs 20a to 20c can reach. The WiFi terminals 40a and 40b are communication terminals that can be connected to a wireless LAN using the WiFi function, and are, for example, mobile phones, smartphones, tablet PCs, notebook PCs, portable game machines, and portable music players.

  Note that the frame includes information (terminal identification information) for identifying a terminal such as a request signal for information (SSID or the like) related to the wireless LAN and the MAC addresses and product information of the WiFi terminals 40a and 40b. The WiFi detection sensor 10 is connected to the authentication server 30 using a wired or wireless connection, and transmits terminal identification information to the authentication server 30 as a detection result.

  The APs 20a to 20c (wireless LAN communication devices) provide a wireless LAN to the WiFi terminals 40a and 40b in the event venue 900. The APs 20a to 20c have a MAC filter function. The MAC filter is a filter for connecting (accommodating) only WiFi terminals having a preset MAC address. That is, a WiFi terminal having a MAC address other than a preset MAC address cannot be connected to the AP because it is played by the MAC filter. The APs 20a to 20c filter all MAC addresses as an initial state. In other words, in the initial state, the APs 20a to 20c exclude connections of all the WiFi terminals 40a and 40b.

  The APs 20a and 20b are connected to the Internet 50 (WAN (Wide Area Network)). For this reason, the WiFi terminals accommodated in the APs 20a and 20b can be connected to the Internet 50 via the APs 20a and 20b. On the other hand, the AP 20 c is not connected to the Internet 50. For this reason, the WiFi terminal accommodated in the AP 20c cannot be connected to the Internet 50 via the AP 20c. In addition, since existing AP can be used for AP20a-20c, detailed description of an internal structure is abbreviate | omitted.

  Based on the terminal identification information received from the WiFi detection sensor 10 and the accommodation status of the APs 20a to 20c, the authentication server 30 (management device) selects the WiFi terminals 40a and 40b that exist in the event venue 900 among the plurality of APs 20a to 20c. Select the AP to be accommodated. Then, the authentication server 30 forcibly connects the WiFi terminal to the selected AP.

  A detailed configuration of the authentication server 30 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the authentication server 30. The authentication server 30 includes a receiving unit 31, a storage unit 32, an authentication unit 33, and a setting unit 34.

  The receiving unit 31 receives the terminal identification information of the WiFi terminals 40 a and 40 b from the WiFi detection sensor 10.

  The storage unit 32 is a memory such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a ROM (Read Only Memory). The storage unit 32 stores a contractor table 321 and an allocation information table 322.

  An example of the contractor table 321 is shown in FIG. The contractor table 321 stores the MAC addresses of service contractors (contract terminals). The service means a service using the AP's wireless LAN, such as an Internet connection service via the AP or a service for providing information unique to the event venue via the AP.

  An example of the allocation information table 322 is shown in FIG. The allocation information table 322 stores “area number”, “AP number”, “service presence / absence information”, “CH number”, “accommodated number”, “accommodated MAC address list”, and “accommodable number”.

  “Area No” indicates an identification number of a predetermined service providing area such as the event venue 900. “AP No” indicates an identification number of the AP. “Service presence / absence information” indicates whether or not the AP provides a service. “CH number” indicates the CH number set in the AP. “Accommodated number” indicates the number of WiFi terminals currently accommodated by the AP. The “accommodated MAC address list” is a list of MAC addresses of WiFi terminals accommodated in the AP. The “accommodable number” indicates the upper limit value of WiFi terminals that can be accommodated by the AP.

  In the example of FIG. 4, it is shown that APs 20a to 20c are installed in area No. 900 (event venue 900). Further, the APs 20a and 20b (first wireless LAN communication devices) provide services, and the AP 20c (second wireless LAN communication device) does not provide services. Further, the frequency band of CH number 1 is assigned to AP 20a, the frequency band of CH number 6 is assigned to AP 20b, and the frequency band of CH number 11 is assigned to AP 20c.

  In the present embodiment, the CH number means a CH number that can be used in a 2.4 GHz band wireless LAN. In the same area, it is preferable that different CH numbers are assigned to the APs 20a to 20c. More preferably, it is preferable that a CH number that does not overlap the frequency band is assigned to each AP 20a to 20c.

  In the example of FIG. 4, the AP 20a currently accommodates three WiFi terminals. The AP 20b currently accommodates two WiFi terminals. The AP 20c currently accommodates 5 WiFi terminals. The number of APs 20a and 20b that can be accommodated is ten. The number of AP 20c that can be accommodated is 50. In FIG. 4, the MAC addresses of only some of the WiFi terminals currently accommodated by the AP are described in the “accommodated MAC address list”.

  The authentication unit 33 (authentication unit) performs authentication based on the terminal identification information. Specifically, the authentication unit 33 refers to the contractor table 321 stored in the storage unit 32 in advance, and determines whether or not the MAC address included in the terminal identification information is registered in the contractor table 321. . That is, the authentication unit 33 determines whether or not the WiFi terminal is a terminal contracted for service.

  Based on the allocation information table 322 stored in the storage unit 32 and the authentication result of the authentication unit 33, the setting unit 34 (selection unit, connection setting unit) performs WiFi processing of the plurality of APs 20a to 20c. Select the AP that houses the terminal. Then, the setting unit 34 forcibly connects the WiFi terminal on which the authentication process has been performed to the selected AP.

  Specifically, the setting unit 34 forcibly connects the WiFi terminal on which the authentication process has been performed to the selected AP by changing the settings of the MAC filters of the APs 20a to 20c. That is, the setting unit 34 sets the connection permission of the MAC address of the WiFi terminal to be connected to the selected AP for the MAC filter of the selected AP. Since the MAC filter of the AP that has not been selected is prohibited from connecting to the MAC address of the WiFi terminal on which the authentication process has been performed, the WiFi terminal cannot connect to these APs. On the other hand, only the MAC filter of the selected AP permits connection of the MAC address of the WiFi terminal on which the authentication process has been performed. For this reason, the WiFi terminal on which the authentication process has been performed is inevitably (forcedly) connected to the AP selected by the setting unit 34.

  Here, the AP selection processing by the setting unit 34 will be described in detail. First, the setting unit 34 selects an AP to which the WiFi terminal is connected based on the authentication result of the authentication unit 33. Specifically, when the authentication result is an authentication failure, that is, when the WiFi terminal is a terminal with no service contract, the setting unit 34 selects the AP 20c with no service provided from the APs 20a to 20c. Then, the connection permission of the MAC address that has failed in authentication is set for the MAC filter of the AP 20c. Thereby, the WiFi terminal with no service contract is forcibly connected to the AP 20c.

  On the other hand, if the authentication result is successful, that is, if the WiFi terminal is a service contracted terminal, the setting unit 34 refers to the allocation information table 322 and selects an AP. Specifically, the setting unit 34 selects an AP to which the WiFi terminal is connected based on the current accommodation status of the APs 20a and 20b that provide the service. The accommodation status indicates the accommodation status of the WiFi terminal by the AP, such as the number of accommodation, the number of accommodations, and the accommodation rate.

  For example, the setting unit 34 selects the AP having the lowest ratio of the current number of accommodations to the number of accommodations among the APs 20a and 20b that provide the service. In the example of FIG. 4, since the AP 20a has a current accommodation number of 3 with respect to 10 accommodations, the accommodation rate (current accommodation number / accommodable number × 100) is 30%. On the other hand, the accommodation rate of the AP 20b is 20%. For this reason, the setting part 34 selects AP20b with a low accommodation rate. Then, the connection permission of the MAC address that has been successfully authenticated is set for the MAC filter of the AP 20b. Thereby, the WiFi terminal with the service contract is forcibly connected to the AP 20b. That is, the setting unit 34 selects the AP that accommodates the WiFi terminal so that the ratio (accommodation rate) of the accommodated number to the accommodable number of the plurality of APs 20a and 20b is equal.

  Note that the AP selection method based on the accommodation status is not limited to the above method. For example, an AP having the smallest accommodation number may be selected. Moreover, you may select AP with the largest number of accommodation. Alternatively, the same AP may be selected until the number that can be accommodated, and another AP may be selected after the AP has accommodated up to the upper limit of the number that can be accommodated. In addition, APs may be selected in a predetermined order such as AP No. order.

<Operation of Wireless Communication System 1>
Subsequently, an operation example of the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing the operation of the wireless communication system 1. In the following description, it is assumed that the WiFi terminal 40a is a service contracted terminal and the WiFi terminal 40b is a service non-contracted terminal.

  First, the WiFi terminal 40a transmits a frame for scanning an AP (step S101). Similarly, the WiFi terminal 40b also transmits a frame for scanning the AP (step S102). As described above, terminal identification information is included in the frames transmitted from the WiFi terminals 40a and 40b.

  Next, the WiFi detection sensor 10 receives the frames transmitted from the WiFi terminals 40a and 40b, and detects the WiFi terminals 40a and 40b existing in the event venue 900 (step S103). Then, the WiFi detection sensor 10 transmits terminal identification information included in the received frame to the authentication server 30 (step S104).

  Next, the authentication server 30 performs an authentication process (step S105). Specifically, the authentication unit 33 determines whether or not the MAC address included in the terminal identification information received by the receiving unit 31 is registered in the contractor table 321. Then, when the received MAC address is present in the contractor table 321, the authentication unit 33 determines that the authentication is successful. On the other hand, when the received MAC address does not exist in the contractor table 321, the authentication unit 33 determines that the authentication has failed. In the present embodiment, since the WiFi terminal 40a is a service contracted terminal, the authentication result is successful. On the other hand, since the WiFi terminal 40b is a terminal with no service contract, the authentication result is an authentication failure.

  Next, the authentication server 30 performs an allocation process (step S106). Specifically, the setting unit 34 selects an AP to be a connection destination (accommodation destination) of the WiFi terminals 40 a and 40 b to be newly accommodated (additionally) based on the authentication result and the allocation information table 322.

  Since the WiFi terminal 40a has been successfully authenticated in step S105, the setting unit 34 selects one of the APs 20a and 20b that can provide the service as the connection destination of the WiFi terminal 40a. At this time, the setting unit 34 refers to the allocation information table 322 and selects a connection destination AP.

  As described in the example in FIG. 4, when the accommodation rate of the AP 20a is compared with the accommodation rate of the AP 20b, the accommodation rate of the AP 20b is lower. Therefore, the setting unit 34 selects the AP 20b as the connection destination of the WiFi terminal 40a.

  on the other hand. Since the WiFi terminal 40b has failed in authentication in step S105, the setting unit 34 selects the AP 20c that cannot provide the service as the connection destination of the WiFi terminal 40b.

  And the setting part 34 changes the setting of the MAC filter of AP20b so that the connection prohibition from the MAC address of the WiFi terminal 40a may be cancelled | released (step S107). That is, the setting unit 34 performs setting for permitting connection from the MAC address of the WiFi terminal 40a to the MAC filter of the AP 20b.

  On the other hand, the setting unit 34 changes the setting of the MAC filter of the AP 20c so as to release the connection prohibition from the MAC address of the WiFi terminal 40b (step S108). That is, the setting unit 34 performs setting for permitting connection from the MAC address of the WiFi terminal 40b to the MAC filter of the AP 20c.

  Since the WiFi terminal 40a is not permitted to connect to an AP other than the AP 20b by a MAC filter other than the AP 20b, the WiFi terminal 40a necessarily connects to the AP 20b from which the MAC filter has been released. Then, communication between the WiFi terminal 40a and the AP 20b is established (step S109). Similarly, since the WiFi terminal 40b is not permitted to connect to an AP other than the AP 20c by a MAC filter other than the AP 20c, the WiFi terminal 40b necessarily connects to the AP 20c from which the MAC filter has been canceled. Then, communication between the WiFi terminal 40b and the AP 20c is established (step S110).

  When communication is established, a distribution server (not shown) connected to the Internet 50 provides information related to the event to the WiFi terminal 40a via the Internet 50 and the AP 20b. On the other hand, since the AP 20c is not connected to the Internet 50, the WiFi terminal 40b connected to the AP 20c cannot connect to the Internet 50 and cannot acquire information regarding events.

  When the accommodation of the WiFi terminal is completed, the setting unit 34 updates the “accommodated number” and “accommodated MAC address list” in the allocation information table 322 to the latest state (step S111). Note that the setting unit 34 also updates the allocation information table 322 when the WiFi terminal accommodated in the AP 20a to 20c moves out of the area from the event venue 900 and communication between the AP and the WiFi terminal is disconnected. You may update to a state.

  As described above, according to the configuration of the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment, the setting unit 34 selects an AP that newly accommodates a WiFi terminal according to the accommodation status of the APs 20a and 20b. Thereby, the bias | inclination of the accommodation condition can be prevented. As a result, it is possible to suppress a decrease in communication quality.

  In addition, the setting unit 34 selects the AP 20c that has not been provided as an AP that accommodates the WiFi terminal that has failed in authentication. Thereby, the WiFi terminal with no service contract is also accommodated in the predetermined AP. Therefore, it is possible to prevent a WiFi terminal with no service contract from transmitting a frame for scanning a connection destination AP. Accordingly, it is possible to prevent a frame (radio wave) transmitted from a WiFi terminal with no service contracting from interfering with a frame (radio wave) of another service contracted WiFi terminal. As a result, it is possible to improve the quality of the radio wave environment of a WiFi terminal with a service contract.

  Further, the setting unit 34 refers to the allocation information table 322 and selects an AP that accommodates the WiFi terminal so that the ratio of the number of accommodated units to the number of accommodable APs is equal. For this reason, it can prevent that only the accommodation rate of one AP becomes high. In general, as the number of WiFi terminals accommodated in an AP increases, the throughput per WiFi terminal decreases. However, it is possible to disperse the load per AP by preventing the accommodation rate of only one AP from increasing. As a result, a decrease in throughput can be suppressed.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be appropriately changed and combined without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the number of APs, WiFi terminals, and the like is not limited to the numerical values in the above-described embodiment.

  In the above-described embodiment, the MAC filter is used as a method for forcibly connecting the WiFi terminals, but other filters such as an IP address filter may be used. As a method other than the filter, an application for allocation may be installed in advance on the WiFi terminal, and the priority of the AP to be connected to may be set using the application. However, when the MAC filter is used, the above application is not necessary, and the convenience and versatility of the wireless communication system 1 is improved.

  Moreover, the WiFi detection sensor 10 and AP20a-20c may perform the various processes of the authentication server 30 in the above-mentioned embodiment. Similarly, the authentication server 30 may perform the detection process of the WiFi detection sensor 10. Further, the authentication server 30 may check the accommodation status of the APs 20a to 20c by periodically inquiring the APs 20a to 20c without providing the allocation information table 322.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the management device 90 that functions as an authentication server may include at least a selection unit 91 and a connection setting unit 92. The selection unit 91 selects an AP that accommodates a WiFi terminal among a plurality of APs according to the accommodation status of the AP. The connection setting unit 92 forcibly connects the WiFi terminal to the selected AP. With such a configuration, the authentication server 30 can confirm the accommodation status of the AP and allow the WiFi terminal to accommodate the WiFi terminal. Therefore, it is possible to achieve the effect of the present application that prevents a bias in the number of APs accommodated and suppresses a decrease in communication quality.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wireless communication system 10 WiFi detection sensor 20a-20c AP (access point)
30 Authentication Server 31 Receiving Unit 32 Storage Unit 33 Authentication Unit 34 Setting Units 40a, 40b WiFi Terminal 50 Internet 90 Management Device 321 Contractor Table 322 Allocation Information Table 900 Event Venue

Claims (10)

A plurality of wireless LAN communication devices capable of communicating with a wireless terminal;
A selection unit that selects the wireless LAN communication device that accommodates the wireless terminal among the plurality of wireless LAN communication devices according to the accommodation status of the wireless terminal in the wireless LAN communication device;
Connection setting means for forcibly connecting the wireless terminal to the selected wireless LAN communication device;
A wireless communication system comprising: Terminal identification information acquisition means for acquiring terminal identification information of the wireless terminal;
Authentication means for performing an authentication process based on the terminal identification information acquired by the terminal identification information acquisition means;
Further comprising
The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the selection unit selects the wireless LAN communication device that accommodates the wireless terminal based on the accommodation status and an authentication result of the authentication unit. The selection means includes
If the authentication result is authentication success, the wireless terminal is selected a first wireless LAN communication device included in a plurality of wireless LAN communication devices,
3. The second wireless LAN communication device according to claim 2, wherein when the authentication result is authentication failure, the wireless terminal is included in a plurality of wireless LAN communication devices, and a second wireless LAN communication device different from the first wireless LAN communication device is selected. Wireless communication system. The first wireless LAN communication device and the second wireless LAN communication device have a filter function set in advance to prohibit connection of all the wireless terminals,
The wireless communication system according to claim 3, wherein the connection setting unit performs setting for permitting connection of the wireless terminal that has been successfully authenticated, to the filter of the first wireless LAN communication device.   5. The wireless communication system according to claim 3, wherein the connection setting unit performs setting for permitting connection of the wireless terminal that has failed in the authentication to the filter of the second wireless LAN communication device. The first wireless LAN communication device is connected to the Internet;
The wireless communication system according to claim 3, wherein the second wireless LAN communication device is not connected to the Internet. A storage means for storing a table for storing the number of accommodated radio terminals and the number of accommodable radio terminals in the plurality of wireless LAN communication devices;
The said selection means selects the said wireless LAN communication apparatus which accommodates the said wireless terminal so that the ratio of the said accommodation number with respect to the said accommodable number of the said some wireless LAN communication apparatus becomes equal. A wireless communication system according to claim 1.   The wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein different frequency bands are assigned to the plurality of wireless LAN communication devices. A management device for a plurality of wireless LAN communication devices capable of communicating with a wireless terminal,
A selection unit that selects the wireless LAN communication device that accommodates the wireless terminal among the plurality of wireless LAN communication devices according to the accommodation status of the wireless terminal in the wireless LAN communication device;
Connection setting means for forcibly connecting the wireless terminal to the selected wireless LAN communication device;
A management apparatus for a wireless LAN communication device. A management method for a plurality of wireless LAN communication devices capable of communicating with a wireless terminal,
Selecting the wireless LAN communication device that accommodates the wireless terminal among the plurality of wireless LAN communication devices according to the accommodation status of the wireless terminal in the wireless LAN communication device; and
Forcing the wireless terminal to connect to the selected wireless LAN communication device;
A method for managing a wireless LAN communication device.

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