JP2017169110A - Communication terminal and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To accurately estimate throughput.SOLUTION: A communication terminal 10 according to the present invention is a communication terminal comprising a service application 20 that generates communication and a monitoring application 30 that estimates throughput by monitoring the communication. The service application 20 has a communication determination unit 22 that determines whether at least one of communication traffic volume and communication type according to the communication occurring in the service application 20 satisfies a predetermined condition or not, and a cooperation unit 23 that notifies a measurement start instruction if it is determined by the communication determination unit 22 that the predetermined condition is satisfied. The monitoring application 30 has a throughput estimation unit 32 that starts throughput measurement of the communication using reception of a measurement start instruction as momentum.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication terminal and a program for estimating throughput.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there is known a method for estimating the throughput of a communication terminal at the time of executing the application by monitoring the communication amount at the time of executing the application in the communication terminal in which the application is installed (for example, see Patent Document 1). The throughput estimation method is advantageous in that it is not necessary to generate dedicated communication only for throughput estimation.

JP 2013-207731 A

  In the estimation method described above, an application that generates communication (service application) and an application that monitors the amount of communication (monitoring application) are usually separate applications. Here, for example, when a service application reads a large amount of small-capacity images, the overhead of the protocol increases even though the original communication amount (communication amount related to application execution) is small. There is a risk that throughput estimates in the app will be inaccurate. That is, the above-described estimation method has a problem that the details of communication are not known and throughput estimation is inaccurate.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to accurately estimate the throughput.

  A communication terminal according to an aspect of the present invention is a communication terminal including a service application that generates communication and a monitoring application that estimates throughput by monitoring the communication, and at least one of the service application and the monitoring application One of them includes a communication determination unit that determines whether at least one of a communication amount and a communication type related to communication generated in the service application satisfies a predetermined condition, and the monitoring application is determined by the communication determination unit. When it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the apparatus has a throughput estimation unit that starts communication throughput measurement.

  In this communication terminal, the throughput measurement is started by the monitoring application only when at least one of the communication amount and the communication type related to communication satisfies a predetermined condition. This makes it possible to estimate the communication throughput only when downloading large-capacity data or when performing streaming communication, for example. That is, it is possible to perform throughput estimation only when communication is a predetermined communication suitable for throughput estimation. This makes it possible to accurately estimate the communication throughput.

  The service application further includes a communication determination unit, and further includes a notification unit that notifies a measurement start instruction when the communication determination unit determines that a predetermined condition is satisfied, and the throughput estimation unit includes the measurement start instruction. The communication throughput measurement may be started with the reception of. Thereby, it can be set as the structure which starts a monitoring application only when throughput estimation is required, and the process in a communication terminal can be simplified more.

  In addition, the throughput estimation unit ends the communication throughput measurement when a predetermined time elapses from the start of the throughput measurement, or when the communication traffic related to the communication becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value after the throughput measurement is started. May be. By measuring the passage of time or the decrease in the communication amount as the timing for ending the throughput measurement, the throughput measurement can be ended at an appropriate timing. This makes it possible to estimate the communication throughput more accurately. Further, the processing timing of the service application can be reduced by determining the end timing of throughput measurement only by the processing on the monitoring application side.

  The communication determination unit determines whether or not the communication amount related to communication has become a predetermined value or less after the communication throughput measurement is started, and the notification unit determines whether the communication amount related to communication is reduced by the communication determination unit. When it is determined that the value is equal to or less than a predetermined value, the monitoring application may be notified of a measurement end instruction, and the throughput estimation unit may end the communication throughput measurement upon receiving the measurement end instruction. By making the decrease in the amount of traffic on the service application side that generates communication the end timing of throughput measurement, throughput measurement can be terminated at a more appropriate timing, and communication throughput can be estimated more accurately Can do.

  The monitoring application further includes a determination criterion storage unit that stores a determination criterion that defines a predetermined condition, and the communication determination unit acquires the determination criterion stored in the determination criterion storage unit, and sets the determination criterion as the determination criterion. Based on this, it may be determined whether at least one of the communication amount and the communication type related to communication satisfies a predetermined condition. In this way, by storing the determination criteria defining the predetermined condition on the monitoring application side that estimates the throughput, it is possible to centrally manage the throughput estimation criteria related to a plurality of service applications. The standard for throughput estimation related to the service application can be made common.

  The monitoring application further includes a collection unit that collects network quality information for realizing communication, and the throughput estimation unit evaluates the communication throughput in consideration of the quality information collected by the collection unit. May be. Thereby, it is possible to specify whether or not the estimated throughput depends on the network quality. Thus, the network quality can be evaluated with high accuracy using the throughput.

  In addition, when the communication determination unit determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the notification unit notifies the monitoring application of the identifier indicating the communication type together with the measurement start instruction, and the throughput estimation unit is notified by the notification unit. The communication throughput may be evaluated in consideration of the identifier. Thereby, it is possible to specify what type of communication the estimated throughput relates to. In this way, the estimated throughput can be used in a suitable application for each throughput.

  A program according to an aspect of the present invention provides a computer including a service application that generates communication and a monitoring application that estimates throughput by monitoring the communication. A communication determination unit that determines whether or not at least one of the types satisfies a predetermined condition, and throughput estimation that starts communication throughput measurement when the communication determination unit determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied Function as part.

  According to the present invention, communication throughput can be accurately estimated.

It is a figure which shows the function structure of the communication system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of the communication terminal contained in the communication system shown in FIG. It is a sequence diagram which shows the throughput estimation process of the communication system which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the throughput estimation process of the communication terminal which concerns on 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the throughput estimation process of the communication system which concerns on a comparative example. It is a figure which shows the function structure of the communication system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a sequence diagram which shows the throughput estimation process of the communication system which concerns on a modification.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same reference numerals are used for the same or equivalent elements, and redundant descriptions are omitted.

[First Embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a communication system according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 1 includes a communication terminal 10 and a service server 50. The communication system 1 is a system that executes an application (service) installed in the communication terminal 10 by performing communication between the communication terminal 10 and the service server 50. Further, the communication system 1 estimates the throughput of the communication terminal 10 when an application is executed in the communication terminal 10. The service server 50 is a server that executes an application installed in the communication terminal 10 by communicating with the communication terminal 10.

  The communication terminal 10 is a device that executes an installed application by communicating with the service server 50. The communication terminal 10 is, for example, a mobile phone such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal that is used (carried) by a user. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication terminal 10 includes a service application 20 (service application) and a monitoring application 30 (monitoring application) as applications. The communication terminal 10 estimates the accurate throughput from the traffic by linking these applications.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the communication terminal 10 included in the communication system 1 illustrated in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the communication terminal 10 physically includes one or a plurality of CPUs 101, a RAM 102 and a ROM 103 which are main storage devices, an input device 104 such as a keyboard and a mouse which are input devices, and an output device such as a display. 105, a computer including a communication module 106 which is a data transmission / reception device such as a network card, an auxiliary storage device 107 such as a semiconductor memory, and the like.

  Each function of the communication terminal 10 reads one or a plurality of predetermined computer software on the hardware such as the CPU 101 and the RAM 102 shown in FIG. 2, so that the input device 104, the output device 105, This is realized by operating the communication module 106 and reading and writing data in the RAM 102 and the auxiliary storage device 107.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the service application 20 is an application that is executed when communication is performed between the communication terminal 10 and the service server 50, and an application that generates communication between the communication terminal 10 and the service server 50. It is. The communication terminal 10 has a plurality of service applications 20 mounted thereon. The service application 20 is, for example, a video browsing application or a browser. For example, when the service application 20 is a video browsing application, communication between the service application 20 and the service server 50 for downloading a video for offline browsing (hereinafter referred to as file download communication), for online browsing. Streaming communication (hereinafter referred to as streaming communication) and other communication for passing small data in detail occur.

  The monitoring application 30 is an application that estimates the throughput related to the communication by monitoring the communication between the communication terminal 10 and the service server 50. The monitoring application 30 monitors communication between the service application 20 and the service server 50 that occurs when the service application 20 is executed, and estimates the throughput. The monitoring application 30 typically grasps communication between the service application 20 and the service server 50 by monitoring a communication amount of a network interface card (NIC) provided in the communication terminal 10. Throughput is processing capacity per unit time. The monitoring application 30 measures the communication amount between the service application 20 and the service server 50, and estimates the communication throughput by deriving the communication amount per unit time.

  Detailed functions of the service application 20 and the monitoring application 30 will be described.

  The service application 20 includes a communication unit 21, a communication determination unit 22, and a cooperation unit 23 (notification unit). The communication unit 21 is a function for communicating with the service server 50. Only when the communication determination unit 22 determines that the communication satisfies a predetermined condition, the cooperation unit 23 notifies the monitoring application 30 of a meter-side start instruction (details will be described later). In addition, the cooperation unit 23 transmits a determination criterion acquisition request defining the predetermined condition to the monitoring application 30 at the timing of starting communication with the service server 50 (details will be described later). The cooperation unit 23 outputs the determination criterion transmitted from the monitoring application 30 in response to the acquisition request to the communication determination unit 22.

  The communication determination unit 22 determines whether or not the communication is suitable for throughput estimation by determining whether or not at least one of the communication amount and the communication type related to communication with the service server 50 satisfies a predetermined condition. This is a function for determining whether or not. That the traffic volume satisfies a predetermined condition means that the traffic volume is larger than a predetermined threshold, for example. Further, that the communication type satisfies a predetermined condition means that the communication is a predetermined specific communication, for example. The specific communication is communication with a relatively large communication volume, for example, file download communication or streaming communication.

  The communication determination unit 22 can specify the communication amount (assumed communication amount) and the communication type according to, for example, application design information and HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) used for transmission / reception of content with the service server 50. It is configured.

  Whether the communication determination unit 22 satisfies at least one of a communication amount and a communication type related to communication with the service server 50 based on a determination criterion acquired from the monitoring application 30 via the cooperation unit 23. Determine whether or not. The determination standard defines the predetermined condition described above. That is, the determination criterion defines at least one of a threshold value of communication amount and specific communication that increases the communication amount. The communication determination unit 22 determines that the communication is suitable for throughput estimation when the communication amount is larger than the communication amount threshold defined in the determination criterion. The communication determination unit 22 determines that the communication is suitable for throughput estimation when the communication type is a specific communication defined in the determination criterion. After the determination by the communication determination unit 22, communication between the service application 20 and the service server 50 is started.

  The monitoring application 30 includes a linkage unit 31, a throughput estimation unit 32, and a determination criterion storage unit 33. The cooperation unit 31 is a function that cooperates with the service application 20. In response to the determination criterion acquisition request transmitted from the service application 20 (specifically, the cooperation unit 23), the cooperation unit 31 uses the determination criterion (details will be described later) stored in the determination criterion storage unit 33. Send to. Further, upon receiving the measurement start instruction notified from the cooperation unit 23, the cooperation unit 31 acquires the position information of the communication terminal 10. The position information is acquired by, for example, base station positioning or GPS (Global Positioning System) positioning. The cooperation unit 31 outputs the acquired position information and measurement start instruction to the throughput estimation unit 32. In addition to the location information, the linkage unit 31 associates the measurement start time, the network type (WiFi, 3G network, LTE network, etc.), the connected communication carrier, the terminal type related to the communication terminal 10, and OS information. Information may be acquired and the related information may be output to the throughput estimation unit 32.

  The throughput estimation unit 32 is a function that starts communication throughput measurement in response to reception of a measurement start instruction. The throughput estimation unit 32 measures the communication amount between the service application 20 and the service server 50 and derives the communication amount per unit time, thereby estimating the communication throughput. Further, the throughput estimation unit 32 performs communication throughput measurement when a predetermined time elapses after the throughput measurement is started or when the communication amount related to communication becomes equal to or less than a predetermined value after the throughput measurement is started. finish. The throughput estimation unit 32 continuously measures the amount of communication and estimates the throughput from the start to the end of the throughput measurement. The throughput estimated by the throughput estimation unit 32 may be stored in the monitoring application 30 in association with the position information, and may be transmitted to an external server (not shown) of the communication carrier at a predetermined interval.

  The determination criterion storage unit 33 is a database that stores a determination criterion that defines the predetermined condition relating to the traffic and the communication type. When there are a plurality of service applications 20, the determination criterion storage unit 33 stores a determination criterion for each combination of each service application 20 and the service server 50. Note that the determination criterion storage unit 33 may set all the determination criteria regarding the plurality of service applications 20 as the same criterion or different criteria. The determination criterion storage unit 33 stores, for example, a threshold value (lower limit value) of communication amount suitable for throughput estimation and a communication type suitable for throughput estimation as a determination criterion.

  Next, the throughput estimation process of the communication system 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing throughput estimation processing of the communication system 1 according to the first embodiment.

  In the throughput estimation process of the communication system 1, first, a determination criterion is acquired by the cooperation unit 23 of the service application 20 (step S1). Specifically, a determination criterion acquisition request is transmitted from the cooperation unit 23 to the monitoring application 30, and the determination criterion transmitted from the monitoring application 30 in response to the acquisition request is received by the cooperation unit 23. Then, the cooperation unit 23 outputs the determination criterion to the communication determination unit 22.

  Subsequently, communication determination is performed by the communication determination unit 22 (step S2). Specifically, the communication determination unit 22 determines whether or not at least one of the communication amount and the communication type related to communication with the service server 50 satisfies a predetermined condition based on the determination criterion. If it is determined in step S2 that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the cooperation unit 23 notifies the monitoring application 30 of a measurement start instruction (step S3).

  Subsequently, the position information of the communication terminal 10 is acquired by the cooperation unit 31 that has received the measurement start instruction (step S4). After acquiring the position information, the throughput estimation unit 32 starts measuring the throughput (step S5). Specifically, the throughput estimation unit 32 measures the communication amount between the service application 20 and the service server 50, and derives the communication amount per unit time, thereby estimating the communication throughput.

  When the throughput measurement is started, large-capacity communication is started between the service application 20 and the service server 50 (step S6). During the large-capacity communication, a measurement end determination is performed by the throughput estimation unit 32 (step S7). Specifically, the throughput estimation unit 32 determines whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the throughput measurement, or whether the communication amount related to communication has become equal to or less than a predetermined value after the throughput measurement is started. If it is determined in step S7 that the predetermined time has elapsed or the communication amount has become equal to or less than the predetermined value, the throughput measurement ends (step S8). From the throughput measurement start timing in step S5 described above to the throughput measurement end timing in step S8 is the throughput estimation period.

  Thereafter, when new communication between the service application 20 and the service server 50 is started, communication determination is performed by the communication determination unit 22 as in step S2 (step S9). In the communication determination, when neither the communication amount or the communication type related to communication satisfies the predetermined condition (when the communication is a small capacity communication), the throughput estimation by the monitoring application 30 is not performed, and the service application 20 And small capacity communication is started between the service server 50 and the service server 50 (step S10). The above is the description of the throughput estimation process in the communication system 1.

  Next, details of the throughput estimation process in the communication terminal 10 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the throughput estimation process of the communication terminal 10 according to the first embodiment.

  First, the service application 20 is activated (step FS1). Then, a determination criterion is acquired from the monitoring application 30 by the cooperation unit 23 of the service application 20 (step FS2).

  Subsequently, the communication determination unit 22 determines whether or not at least one of the communication amount and the communication type related to the communication with the service server 50 satisfies a predetermined condition based on the determination criterion (step FS3). . If it is determined in step FS3 that the predetermined condition is not satisfied, a measurement start instruction is not notified to the monitoring application 30, and communication between the service application 20 and the service server 50 is started (step FS4). And after communication is complete | finished (step FS5), execution of the service application 20 is complete | finished (step FS6).

  On the other hand, if it is determined in step FS3 that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the cooperation unit 23 notifies the monitoring application 30 of a measurement start instruction (step FS7, step FS8). In addition, after the measurement start instruction is notified by the cooperation unit 23, communication between the service application 20 and the service server 50 is started, and the above-described steps FS4 to FS6 are performed.

  In the monitoring application 30, after the position information is acquired, the throughput estimation unit 32 starts to acquire the communication amount (throughput measurement) (step FS9). Whether or not the end criterion is satisfied by the throughput estimation unit 32, that is, whether a predetermined time has elapsed since the start of the throughput measurement, or whether the communication amount related to the communication after the start of the throughput measurement has become a predetermined value or less. Determination is made (step FS10).

  If it is determined in step FS10 that the end criterion is not satisfied, the processes of step FS9 and step FS10 are performed again. On the other hand, if it is determined in step FS10 that the end criterion is satisfied, the communication amount acquisition (throughput measurement) ends (step FS11), and the execution of the monitoring application 30 ends (step FS12).

  The throughput estimation process in the communication terminal 10 described above may be realized by a program that causes the communication terminal 10 (computer) including the service application 20 and the monitoring application 30 to function as the communication determination unit 22 and the throughput estimation unit 32 described above. Good.

  Next, effects of the communication terminal 10 according to the first embodiment will be described.

  The communication terminal 10 is a communication terminal that includes a service application 20 that generates communication and a monitoring application 30 that estimates throughput by monitoring the communication, and the service application 20 includes communication amount and communication related to communication. When the communication determination unit 22 determines whether or not at least one of the types satisfies a predetermined condition and the communication determination unit 22 determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the monitoring application 30 starts measurement. The monitoring application 30 includes a throughput estimation unit 32 that starts communication throughput measurement triggered by reception of the measurement start instruction.

  In the communication terminal 10, the measurement start instruction is notified from the service application 20 to the monitoring application 30 only when at least one of the communication amount and the communication type related to communication satisfies a predetermined condition. Then, when the measurement start instruction is received, the monitoring application 30 starts the throughput measurement. This makes it possible to estimate the communication throughput only when downloading large-capacity data or when performing streaming communication, for example. That is, it is possible to perform throughput estimation only when communication is a predetermined communication suitable for throughput estimation. This makes it possible to accurately estimate the communication throughput. In the communication terminal 10, communication start information (measurement start instruction) is handed over from the service application 20 to the monitoring application 30, thereby avoiding the occurrence of dedicated communication for throughput estimation.

  Such effects of the communication terminal 10 will be described with reference to FIG. 5 in comparison with the communication terminal according to the comparative example. FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram illustrating the throughput estimation process of the communication system according to the comparative example. As shown in FIG. 5, in the communication system according to the comparative example, the communication terminal includes a service application 120 and a monitoring application 130. When communication between the service application 120 and the service server 150 is started, position information is acquired by the monitoring application 130 (step S101), and throughput measurement is started (step S102). Thereafter, regardless of whether communication between the service application 120 and the service server 150 is large-capacity communication (step S103) or small-capacity communication (step S104), until the predetermined throughput measurement end timing (step S105), the throughput measurement by the monitoring application 130 is continued. Here, for example, when the service application 120 reads a large amount of images with a small capacity, the overhead of the protocol becomes large even though the original communication amount is small, so that the throughput estimation in the monitoring application 130 is inaccurate. There is a risk. That is, there is a possibility that the throughput cannot be estimated with high accuracy because the small-capacity communication is a target of throughput measurement.

  In this regard, in the communication terminal 10 according to the present embodiment, as described above, since the throughput measurement is started only when at least one of the communication amount and the communication type satisfies the predetermined condition, the communication is estimated as a throughput. It is possible to estimate the throughput only when the communication is suitable for the case. This makes it possible to accurately estimate the communication throughput.

  Note that the communication terminal 10 described above uses the throughput estimation technique that combines the service application and the monitoring application that have been used in the past, and uses the communication determination unit 22, the linkage unit 23, the throughput estimation unit 32, and the like. It achieves accurate throughput estimation with minimal modifications. That is, the communication terminal 10 improves the throughput estimation accuracy by a simple method as compared with the conventional case.

  Further, in the communication terminal 10 according to the present embodiment, a predetermined time elapses after the throughput estimation unit 32 starts the throughput measurement, or the communication amount related to the communication is less than the predetermined value after the throughput measurement is started. In this case, the communication throughput measurement is finished. As described above, the throughput measurement can be terminated at an appropriate timing by using the passage of time or the decrease in the communication amount as the timing for ending the throughput measurement. This makes it possible to estimate the communication throughput more accurately. Further, the processing load on the service application 20 can be reduced by determining the end timing of the throughput measurement only by the process on the monitoring application 30 side.

  In the communication terminal 10 according to the present embodiment, the monitoring application 30 further includes a determination criterion storage unit 33 that stores a determination criterion that defines a predetermined condition, and the communication determination unit 22 is included in the determination criterion storage unit 33. A stored determination criterion is acquired, and based on the determination criterion, it is determined whether at least one of the communication amount and the communication type related to communication satisfies a predetermined condition. In this way, by storing the determination criteria defining the predetermined condition on the monitoring app 30 side for estimating the throughput, the criteria for estimating the throughput related to the plurality of service apps 20 can be managed centrally, for example, A standard for throughput estimation related to a plurality of service applications 20 can be made common.

[Second Embodiment]
Next, with reference to FIG. 6, the communication terminal 10A included in the communication system 1A according to the second embodiment will be described. In the description of the present embodiment, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described.

  The throughput is used as one index for evaluating the network quality, for example. However, when the throughput fluctuates due to factors other than the network quality, the network quality cannot be accurately evaluated from the throughput. Factors other than the network quality include, for example, an application communication processing method, a server processing method, server performance, and a geographical location of the server.

  In view of this point, the communication terminal 10 </ b> A acquires network quality information that has a strong causal relationship to fluctuations in throughput when monitoring the traffic on the monitoring application 30 </ b> A side that monitors communication. The communication terminal 10A considers network quality information and determines whether the throughput can be used as an index for network quality evaluation.

  As illustrated in FIG. 6, the communication system 1 </ b> A includes a communication terminal 10 </ b> A and a service server 50. The communication terminal 10A includes a service application 20 and a monitoring application 30A. Since the service server 50 and the service application 20 are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

  The monitoring application 30 </ b> A includes a collection unit 34 in addition to the cooperation unit 31, the throughput estimation unit 32, and the determination criterion storage unit 33. The collection unit 34 is a function that collects network quality information for realizing communication. The quality information is, for example, RTT (Round Trip Time), RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power), RSRQ (Reference Signal Received Quality), RSSI (Receive Strength Signal Indicator), etc., but may be information indicating the quality of the network. However, it is not limited to these. The collection unit 34 outputs the collected quality information to the throughput estimation unit 32.

  The throughput estimation unit 32 evaluates the communication throughput in consideration of the quality information collected by the collection unit 34. For example, when the quality information is good and the throughput is low, the throughput estimation unit 32 evaluates that the cause of the decrease in the throughput is a factor other than the network quality (for example, the processing capability of the service server 50) and monitors it. The determined throughput is unreliable (it does not accurately evaluate the network quality). On the other hand, for example, when the quality information is good and the throughput is high, the throughput estimation unit 32 determines that the monitored throughput is reliable (the network quality is accurately evaluated).

  In this way, for example, when it is desired to grasp the throughput depending on the network quality, the case where the throughput is deteriorated due to factors other than the network quality is eliminated by using the network quality information for the reliability evaluation of the throughput. Can do. That is, it becomes possible to specify whether or not the estimated throughput depends on the quality of the network, and the network quality can be evaluated with high accuracy using the throughput.

[Third Embodiment]
Next, the communication terminal 10 according to the third embodiment will be described. In the description of this embodiment, differences from the first embodiment and the second embodiment will be mainly described.

  In the communication terminal 10 according to the third embodiment, when the communication determination unit 22 determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the cooperation unit 23 of the service application 20 monitors the identifier indicating the communication type together with the measurement start instruction. Notify the application 30. The communication type is a classification for each communication process, for example, file download communication or streaming communication. Note that it is not always necessary to assign a communication type for each process of the same communication. For example, a communication type may be assigned for each process of similar communication. The cooperation unit 23 assigns an identifier for each communication type, such as an identifier X for file download communication and an identifier Y for streaming communication.

  Then, the throughput estimation unit 32 of the monitoring application 30 evaluates the communication throughput in consideration of the identifier notified by the cooperation unit 23. For example, the file download communication described above is normally performed at the maximum throughput (top speed) allowed by the communication line. On the other hand, the streaming communication is normally limited to a certain throughput by the control on the service server 50 or service application 20 side. Considering such characteristics, the throughput estimation unit 32 can determine that the throughput of the file download communication indicated by the identifier X is highly reliable with respect to grasping the top speed. Further, the throughput estimation unit 32 can determine that the throughput of the streaming communication indicated by the identifier Y is highly reliable with respect to grasping the relative throughput in the same type of communication indicated by the identifier Y.

  In this way, by considering the identifier indicating the communication type, it is possible to specify what communication type the estimated throughput relates to. In this way, the estimated throughput can be used in a suitable application for each throughput. Specifically, the throughput of file download communication can be used for grasping the top speed, and the throughput of streaming communication can be used for grasping the relative throughput within the same identifier.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment.

  For example, although it has been described that the throughput estimation unit 32 of the monitoring application 30 determines the timing of the end of the throughput measurement, the present invention is not limited to this. That is, the communication determination unit 22 of the service application 20 determines whether or not the communication amount related to communication has become a predetermined value or less after the start of communication throughput measurement. The unit 23 may notify the monitoring application 30 of a metering end instruction. Processing in this case will be described with reference to FIG.

  The processes in steps S11 to S16 and the processes in S19 and 20 shown in FIG. 7 are the same as the processes in steps S1 to S6 and the processes in S9 and 10 in FIG. In the process of this modification, after the large-capacity communication (step S16) is started, the service application 20 notifies the monitoring application 30 of a metering end instruction (step S17). Specifically, the communication determination unit 22 determines whether or not the communication amount related to communication has become a predetermined value or less after the communication throughput measurement is started. 23 notifies the monitoring application 30 of a metering end instruction. The throughput estimating unit 32 of the monitoring application 30 that has received the measurement end instruction ends the communication throughput measurement (step S18).

  Thus, by setting the decrease amount of the communication amount on the service application 20 side that generates communication as the end timing of the throughput measurement, the throughput measurement can be ended at a more appropriate timing, and the communication throughput can be further increased. It can be estimated accurately.

  Further, although the communication terminal 10 has been described as including the service application 20 and the monitoring application 30, the functions of the service application 20 and the monitoring application 30 may be realized by one application.

  In the communication terminal 10, the service application 20 has been described as acquiring the determination criterion from the monitoring application 30 at the communication start timing. However, the communication terminal 10 is not limited to this, and the determination criterion is incorporated in the service application 20. There may be.

  Further, the service application 20 is described as determining whether or not at least one of the communication amount and the communication type related to communication satisfies a predetermined condition (determining whether or not communication is appropriate for throughput estimation). However, the determination is not limited to this, and the determination may be performed in the monitoring application 30. In this case, the assumed communication traffic is always notified from the service application 20 to the monitoring application 30. Then, the monitoring application 30 determines whether the communication is appropriate for throughput estimation from the assumed communication amount.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10,10A ... Communication terminal, 20 ... Service application, 22 ... Communication determination part, 23 ... Cooperation part (notification part), 30, 30A ... Monitoring application, 32 ... Throughput estimation part, 33 ... Determination reference | standard storage part, 34 ... Collection Department.

Claims (8)

A communication terminal comprising: a service application that generates communication; and a monitoring application that estimates throughput by monitoring the communication,
At least one of the service application and the monitoring application is
A communication determination unit that determines whether at least one of a communication amount and a communication type related to the communication generated in the service application satisfies a predetermined condition;
The monitoring application is
A communication terminal, comprising: a throughput estimation unit that starts measuring the throughput of the communication when the communication determination unit determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied. The service application is
While having the communication determination unit,
When the communication determination unit determines that the predetermined condition is satisfied, the communication determination unit further includes a notification unit that notifies a measurement start instruction,
The throughput estimation unit includes:
The communication terminal according to claim 1, wherein the communication throughput measurement is started upon reception of the measurement start instruction. The throughput estimation unit includes:
The throughput measurement of the communication is terminated when a predetermined time elapses after the throughput measurement is started, or when a communication amount related to the communication becomes a predetermined value or less after the throughput measurement is started. The communication terminal described. The communication determination unit
After the throughput measurement of the communication is started, it is determined whether or not the communication amount related to the communication has become a predetermined value or less,
The notification unit
When the communication determining unit determines that the communication amount related to the communication has become a predetermined value or less, notifies the monitoring application of a measurement end instruction,
The throughput estimation unit includes:
The communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein the communication throughput measurement is terminated when the measurement termination instruction is received. The monitoring application is
A determination criterion storage unit for storing a determination criterion defining the predetermined condition;
The communication determination unit
The determination criterion stored in the determination criterion storage unit is acquired, and based on the determination criterion, whether at least one of the communication amount and the communication type related to the communication satisfies the predetermined condition. The communication terminal as described in any one of Claims 2-4 which determines. The monitoring application is
A collection unit that collects network quality information for realizing the communication;
The throughput estimation unit includes:
The communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein the communication throughput is evaluated in consideration of the quality information collected by the collection unit. The notification unit
When it is determined that the predetermined condition is satisfied by the communication determination unit, together with the measurement start instruction, an identifier indicating a communication type is notified to the monitoring application,
The throughput estimation unit includes:
The communication terminal according to claim 2, wherein the communication throughput is evaluated in consideration of the identifier notified by the notification unit. A computer comprising: a service application that generates communication; and a monitoring application that estimates throughput by monitoring the communication;
When at least one of a communication amount and a communication type related to the communication generated in the service application satisfies a predetermined condition, and when the predetermined condition is satisfied by the communication determination unit A throughput estimation unit that starts measuring the throughput of the communication when it is determined;
Program to function as.

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