JP2018142891A - Internet connection processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem in which: an Internet connection processing method is demanded for managing apparatuses provided in a subscriber's home connected to the Internet with a vCPE provided for a common carrier.SOLUTION: An Internet connection processing method for an information terminal provided in a subscriber's home with a vCPE provided for a common carrier includes the steps of: receiving an IP address request from the information terminal; providing an IP address to the information terminal; receiving a request to connect to the Internet from the information terminal; and determining whether the information terminal sending the connection request can be connected to the Internet. The step of determining whether the information terminal can be connected to the Internet includes referring to connection number information indicating the number of apparatuses that can be connected to the Internet, and when the number of apparatuses connected to the Internet is within an allowable number, receiving the connection request from the information terminal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an Internet connection processing method for an information terminal provided in a subscriber's house by a vCPE (virtualized customer premises equipment) provided on a telecommunications carrier side.

  Conventionally, when using the Internet, a home gateway (hereinafter appropriately referred to as “HGW (Home GateWay)”) is installed in a general subscriber's house. The HGW has a wireless local area network (LAN) function and a dynamic host configuration protocol (DHCP) server function. Thereby, a plurality of communication terminals such as PCs (Personal Computers) and smartphones in the subscriber's home can be connected to the Internet. Moreover, HGW can also protect a subscriber's communication terminal from the internet by installing various security functions.

  By the way, in order to connect to the Internet, it is necessary to go through an access network and a core network managed by a communication carrier. If these networks are updated as technology advances, the HGW will also need to be updated accordingly. Thus, when a service using a new network is deployed, it is very expensive to update or exchange the HGW.

  In order to solve such problems, a technique called vCPE has recently been proposed and put into practical use (see, for example, Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 1). In vCPE, the minimum necessary hardware (CPE) such as a telephone interface is left inside the subscriber's house, and other functions and the like that the HGW was responsible for are transferred to the telecommunications carrier side. More specifically, vCPE is a process for migrating processing at the network layer in the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) reference model performed by HGW to the center device side in the telecommunications carrier network as a vCPE function by virtualization. . Thereby, even when it is necessary to add a new function in the network layer, only the network on the telecommunications carrier side is updated, and an update such as addition of a function on the CPE side becomes unnecessary.

  In addition, in a conventional system, when a network operator performs NAT (Network Address Translation) processing as a countermeasure against exhaustion of IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4) global addresses necessary for Internet connection, NAT processing is also performed by the HGW. May result in double NAT. In this case, depending on the application used by the subscriber, it is not possible to connect to the Internet. On the other hand, when vCPE is used, NAT processing is performed only at one location on the telecommunications carrier side, and the problem of double NAT can be solved.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-57672

NEC, “vCPE Solution”, [online], [searched on August 23, 2016], Internet <URL: http://jpn.nec.com/tcs/pdf/vCPE_E.pdf>

  By the way, in the conventional system, the IPv4 local address of the device in the subscriber premises is concealed by NAT processing performed inside the subscriber premises, so the number of devices connected to the Internet is managed on the telecommunications carrier side. I could not. On the other hand, when vCPE is used, since the NAT processing is performed on the telecommunications carrier side, it is theoretically possible to manage the number of devices connected to the Internet inside the subscriber premises.

  However, the conventional vCPE has a problem that it does not have means for managing the number of connected devices when connecting the devices provided in the subscriber's home to the Internet. Therefore, recently, in order to solve such problems, there is a demand for an Internet connection processing method for managing devices provided in subscriber premises connected to the Internet by vCPE provided in a communication carrier.

  An Internet connection processing method according to the present invention is an Internet connection processing method for an information terminal provided in a subscriber premises by a vCPE provided on a telecommunications carrier side, the step of receiving an IP address request from the information terminal; A step of assigning an IP address to the information terminal, a step of receiving a connection request to the Internet from the information terminal, and a step of determining whether or not the information terminal making the connection request can connect to the Internet. And in the step of determining whether or not connection to the Internet is possible, referring to connection number information indicating the allowable number of units connectable to the Internet, and when the number of devices connected to the Internet is within the allowable number Accepts the connection request of the information terminal.

  As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to manage devices installed in subscriber premises connected to the Internet by determining whether or not an information terminal that requests connection to the Internet can be connected by referring to the information on the number of connected devices. can do.

1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an Internet connection system according to a first embodiment. It is the schematic which shows an example of connection apparatus information. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the flow of the connection number management process by the internet connection system of FIG. 1, and an authentication process. 6 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an Internet connection system according to Embodiment 2. FIG.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
Hereinafter, the Internet connection system according to the first embodiment will be described. The Internet connection system according to the first embodiment is provided with various IP (Internet Protocol) functions, which are installed in a conventional CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) such as DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol), on the telecommunications carrier equipment side. This system uses vCPE (virtualized CPE), and manages the authentication and the number of connected devices on the Internet on the telecommunications carrier side.

[Configuration of Internet connection system]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the Internet connection system 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, in the Internet connection system 1, a telecommunications carrier facility 10 and a subscriber premises facility 20 are connected. In addition, the telecommunications carrier equipment 10 is connected to the Internet 2. Note that the configuration of FIG. 1 describes only the portion related to the present invention, and the illustration and description of the other portions are omitted.

(Telecommunications carrier equipment)
The telecommunications carrier equipment 10 is equipment installed in the telecommunications carrier network, and includes a vCPE 11, a control device 12, and an access network 13.

  The vCPE 11 is provided for each user, and each has various IP functions such as DHCP, NAT (Network Address Translation), and firewall that are installed in the conventional CPE. For example, the vCPE 11 uses the DHCP server function to perform processing for assigning an IP address in response to a request from the information terminal 22 provided in the subscriber premises equipment 20 described later. In addition, the vCPE 11 performs a connected number management process for managing the number of devices such as the information terminal 22 connected to the Internet 2. Details of the IP address assignment process and the connected number management process will be described later.

  The vCPE 11 is provided with an authentication function unit 110. Based on the user ID and password, the authentication function unit 110 performs user authentication processing when the information terminal 22 is connected to the Internet 2 in cooperation with the control device 12 described later. Details of the authentication process will be described later.

  Further, the vCPE 11 is provided with a first interface 111 and a second interface 112. The first interface 111 is an interface on the Internet 2 side, and controls communication with various external devices connected via the Internet 2 according to a predetermined protocol. The second interface 112 is an interface on the access network 13 side, and controls communication with a CPE 21 (described later) in the subscriber premises equipment 20 connected via the access network 13 according to a predetermined protocol.

  The control device 12 performs integrated management of each vCPE 11 separated for each user. The control device 12 stores user information including information on users who are subscribers. The user information includes, for example, a unique user ID (IDentification) for each of a plurality of users and a password associated with the user ID. The user information is used in authentication processing performed when the information terminal 22 connects to the Internet 2.

  In addition, the control device 12 stores allowable connection number information used when managing the number of connections to the Internet 2. The connected number information is information indicating the allowable number of devices connectable to the Internet 2. The allowable number of devices that can be connected is determined, for example, in consideration of the size and performance of the network of the carrier.

  Further, the connected device information is stored in the control device 12. The connected device information is information related to a device currently connected to the Internet 2. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of connected device information. As shown in FIG. 2, the information terminal 22 is assigned with information indicating the currently connected device, for example, the Internet connection address, the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the connected device, and the device. IP address is displayed.

  The Internet connection address indicates a global IP address when connecting to the Internet 2. The MAC address indicates identification information unique to each information terminal 22. The IP address indicates the IP address assigned to the information terminal 22 in step S2 and step S3 in FIG.

(Mechanical equipment for subscribers)
Returning to FIG. 1, the customer premises equipment 20 is equipment installed inside the subscriber premises, and is provided with a CPE 21 and an information terminal 22.

  The CPE 21 virtualizes various IP functions such as DHCP, NAT, and firewall installed in the conventional CPE and moves them to the vCPE 11 described above. The CPE 21 according to the first embodiment includes an ONU (Optical Network Unit) function that terminates the access network 13, an L2 switch function that performs data link layer processing, and an access point function in a wireless LAN (Local Area Network). It is what has.

  The CPE 21 is provided with a third interface 120 and a first wireless LAN interface 121. The third interface 120 is an interface on the access network 13 side, and controls communication with the vCPE 11 in the communication carrier facility 10 connected via the access network 13 according to a predetermined protocol. The first wireless LAN interface 121 is an interface on the information terminal 22 side, and controls communication with the information terminal 22 connected by the wireless LAN according to a predetermined protocol.

  The information terminal 22 is a terminal provided to connect to the Internet 2 such as a PC (Personal Computer), a smartphone, or a tablet, for example, and one or more information terminals 22 are provided in the subscriber premises equipment 20. When connecting to the Internet 2, the information terminal 22 makes an IP address assignment request and authentication for connecting to the Internet 2 to the vCPE 11 of the carrier equipment 10.

  The information terminal 22 is provided with a display unit and an operation unit (not shown). When this information terminal 22 is connected to the Internet 2, a WEB authentication screen described later is displayed on the display unit. At this time, when the user operates the operation unit, information regarding the user such as an ID can be input.

  The information terminal 22 is provided with a second wireless LAN interface 122. The second wireless LAN interface 122 is an interface on the CPE 21 side, and controls communication with the CPE 21 connected by the wireless LAN according to a predetermined protocol.

  Note that the example shown in FIG. 1 shows the minimum configuration of the Internet connection system 1 according to the first embodiment, and is not limited to this. For example, a relay device that relays communication between devices, etc. It may be provided.

[Internet connection processing]
Next, a method for processing the connection of the information terminal 22 to the Internet 2 by the Internet connection system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, as a connection process to the Internet 2, an authentication process when connecting the information terminal 22 on the subscriber's premises side to the Internet 2 on the telecommunications carrier side, and an information terminal 22 connected to the Internet 2 Performs connected number management processing.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of the connected number management process and the authentication process by the Internet connection system 1 of FIG. First, in step S1, the information terminal 22 establishes a data link by wirelessly connecting to the CPE 21 via the second wireless LAN interface 122 and the first wireless LAN interface 121 in the CPE 21. At this time, wireless connection is established between the first wireless LAN interface 121 and the second wireless LAN interface 122 by performing encrypted communication using a common key acquired in advance from the user environment.

  When the connection between the information terminal 22 and the CPE 21 by the wireless LAN is completed, the information terminal 22 starts an IP address assignment process with the vCPE 11 in the communication carrier facility 10 in step S2. The information terminal 22 sends DHCP-Discover to the vCPE 11 via the CPE 21. At this time, the vCPE 11 functions as a DHCP server, and sends the received DHCP-Offer for the received DHCP-Discover to the information terminal 22.

  In step S3, when receiving the DHCP-Offer from the vCPE 11, the information terminal 22 requests the vCPE 11 to assign an IP address. The information terminal 22 sends a DHCP-Request to the vCPE 11 via the CPE 21. When the vCPE 11 receives the DHCP-Request, the vCPE 11 returns a DHCP-Ack for the DHCP-Request. As a result, an IP address is assigned to the information terminal 22.

  In step S4, the information terminal 22 makes a connection request to the Internet 2, and transmits an HTTP / HTTPS packet from the WEB browser to the vCPE 11 via the CPE 21. When receiving the HTTP / HTTPS packet, the vCPE 11 redirects the URL for WEB authentication.

  Next, in step S5, the Internet connection system 1 performs WEB authentication. The WEB authentication is a connection process when the information terminal 22 connects to the Internet 2. In this case, the information terminal 22 displays a WEB authentication screen for performing WEB authentication. When a user inputs an ID indicating the user and a password associated with the ID on the WEB authentication screen, the information terminal 22 transmits the input ID and information indicating the password to the vCPE 11 via the CPE 21. Send.

  When the vCPE 11 receives the ID and password from the information terminal 22, the vCPE 11 authenticates the user by the authentication function unit 110. The authentication function unit 110 cooperates with the control device 12 to perform user authentication by referring to the user ID and password received by the vCPE 11 based on user information stored in the control device 12 in advance.

  If the authentication is successful as a result of the user authentication (step S5; Yes), the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, the vCPE 11 determines whether or not the number of devices currently connected to the Internet 2 is within the allowable number based on the allowable connection number information stored in the control device 12.

  As a result of the determination, when the number of devices currently connected to the Internet 2 is within the allowable number (step S6; Yes), the process proceeds to step S7. In step S <b> 7, the vCPE 11 permits the information terminal 22 to connect to the Internet, and the information terminal 22 is connected to the Internet 2. When connected to the Internet 2, the information terminal 22 transmits information indicating the Internet connection address, the MAC address of the terminal itself, and the IP address assigned in step S3 to the vCPE 11. When the vCPE 11 receives information indicating the Internet connection address, the MAC address address, and the IP address from the information terminal 22, the vCPE 11 supplies the information to the authentication function unit 110.

  On the other hand, in step S6, when the number of devices currently connected to the Internet 2 has reached the upper limit of the allowable number (step S6; No), the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, the vCPE 11 prohibits the current Internet connection. On the WEB browser of the information terminal 22, information indicating the device currently connected to the Internet 2 is displayed based on the connected device information stored in the control device 12.

  The information displayed at this time is, for example, information related to the connected device as shown in FIG. Then, when the user selects a device that does not need to be connected from the displayed devices, such as a connection that is not currently required, the Internet connection of the selected device is disconnected. As a result, the number of devices connected to the Internet 2 is within an allowable number, so that the information terminal 22 making a connection request is connected to the Internet 2.

  Moreover, when authentication fails in step S5 (step S5; No), a process transfers to step S8. In step S <b> 8, the vCPE 11 transmits information indicating that the authentication has failed to the information terminal 22. When the information terminal 22 receives this information, it cannot connect to the Internet 2.

  As described above, in the vCPE 11 provided on the telecommunications carrier side, the Internet connection processing method according to the first embodiment receives an IP address request from the information terminal 22 and assigns an IP address to the information terminal 22. A step of giving, a step of receiving a connection request to the Internet 2 from the information terminal 22, and a step of determining whether or not the information terminal 22 making the connection request can connect to the Internet 2. In the step of determining whether or not connection to the Internet 2 is possible, reference is made to connection number information indicating the allowable number of connections to the Internet 2, and if the number of devices connected to the Internet 2 is within the allowable number, The connection request of the information terminal 22 is accepted.

  Accordingly, the number of devices connected to the Internet 2 can be managed on the vCPE 11, that is, the communication carrier side. Since the number of devices connected to the Internet 2 can be managed, for example, a large amount of user traffic generated when a large number of terminals connect to the Internet 2 can be limited.

  Also, in this Internet connection processing method, when receiving a connection request to the Internet 2 from the information terminal 22, a step of receiving an ID and a password unique to the information terminal 22 from the information terminal 22, and a user including information about the user Querying the received ID and password based on the information. Thereby, the communication carrier side can perform the authentication process of the Internet connection by the information terminal 22.

Embodiment 2. FIG.
Next, an Internet connection system according to the second embodiment will be described. Also in the second embodiment, as in the first embodiment described above, authentication of devices connected to the Internet 2 and the number of connected devices are managed.

  FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of the Internet connection system 1 according to the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 4, the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the CPE 21 provided in the subscriber premises equipment 20 and the information terminal 22 are connected by wire. Note that, in the following description, portions common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The CPE 21 and the information terminal 22 in the second embodiment are connected by a wired LAN interface (not shown) provided in each. For this reason, the CPE 21 does not have the wireless LAN access point function of the CPE 21 in the first embodiment, and the first wireless LAN interface 121 is not provided. The information terminal 22 is also not provided with the second wireless LAN interface 122.

  Thus, even when the CPE 21 and the information terminal 22 are connected by wire, the connection terminal management process can be performed according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 3 as in the first embodiment. The second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment except that the process of step S1 in FIG. 3 is not required.

  As described above, the Internet connection system 1 according to the second embodiment can manage the number of devices connected to the Internet 2 by the vCPE 11 as in the first embodiment. Further, the vCPE 11 can perform an authentication process when the information terminal 22 connects to the Internet 2.

  Although the first and second embodiments have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the first and second embodiments described above, and various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the scope of the present invention. It is. For example, in the first embodiment, when the number of devices connected to the Internet 2 reaches the upper limit of the allowable number, devices that do not need to be connected are disconnected and the information terminal 22 is connected to the Internet 2. Although described, this is not limited to this example. For example, when the number of devices currently connected to the Internet 2 has reached the upper limit of the allowable number, the allowable number may be increased.

  In this case, for example, the information terminal 22 performs a display for selecting a device to be disconnected and a display for increasing the allowable number. Then, when the user selects to increase the allowable number, for example, an explanation about increasing the upper limit of the allowable number and the occurrence of an additional fee related to the increase in the allowable number are displayed on the information terminal 22 and allowed. Have them decide whether or not they agree to increase the number.

  When the user agrees to increase the allowable number, the information terminal 22 making the connection request is connected to the Internet 2. On the other hand, when the user does not agree with the increase in the allowable number, a display for selecting a device to be disconnected and a display for increasing the allowable number are performed again.

  1 Internet connection system, 2 Internet, 10 telecommunications carrier equipment, 11 vCPE, 12 control device, 13 access network, 20 subscriber premises equipment, 21 CPE, 22 information terminal, 110 authentication function unit, 111 first interface, 112 2nd interface, 120 3rd interface, 121 1st wireless LAN interface, 122 2nd wireless LAN interface.

Claims (4)

An internet connection processing method of an information terminal provided in a subscriber's house by vCPE provided on a telecommunications carrier side,
Receiving an IP address request from the information terminal;
Assigning an IP address to the information terminal;
Receiving a connection request to the Internet from the information terminal;
Determining whether to connect to the Internet by the information terminal making the connection request,
In the step of determining whether to connect to the Internet, referring to connection number information indicating the allowable number of units connectable to the Internet, and when the number of devices connected to the Internet is within the allowable number, An Internet connection processing method characterized by accepting an information terminal connection request. When receiving a connection request to the Internet from the information terminal,
Receiving an ID and password unique to the information terminal from the information terminal;
The Internet connection processing method according to claim 1, further comprising: inquiring the received ID and the password based on user information including information about the user.   3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the number of devices connected to the Internet is an upper limit of an allowable number, the device that disconnects the Internet connection is selected from the connected devices. 4. Internet connection processing method.   When the number of devices connected to the Internet is the upper limit of the allowable number, either select the device that disconnects the Internet from the connected devices, or increase the allowable number The Internet connection processing method according to claim 1, wherein the Internet connection processing method is selected.

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