JP2001177569A - Network communication equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reliably insure a pleasant speed feeling desired by a user. SOLUTION: A user accessing a network via network communication equipment 100 preliminarily declares a data transfer time that brings a pleasant feeling to him/her. Access from the user reaches a data controlling means 120 via a group modem 110, and the frame of a data request is transmitted to the address of an information data file transmission source server desired by the user via a network transmitting and receiving means 140 and a router 150. In such a case, the router 150 is connected to the network, collects path information up to a target address on the network and calculates a prescribed optimum path. A response including information about the server from the transmission source server is sent to the means 120 via the router 150 and the means 140. A path optimizing means 130 calculates a band value at which an information data file obtained from the server can be transmitted with a data transfer time preliminarily set by the user, and each node insures the band. When the band cannot be insured, an insurable routing is retrieved and the path and the band are insured.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network communication device, and more particularly, to a network communication device that receives access from a user connected via a telephone line or a dedicated line and connects to a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, WWW (w
old wide web; hereinafter, Web)
E-mail, FTP (file transfer p
The number of users who use various services such as the Internet (rotocol) is increasing. Such a user is generally called an Internet connection provider (hereinafter referred to as an ISP (ISP);
t service provider) and to the Internet via the ISP operator's network. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a general Internet communication system.

[0005] Here, a case where the user 300 acquires a Web from a predetermined server 500 will be described. User 3
00 performs dial-up connection from the browser of the personal computer (PC) 320 to the network communication device 200 of the ISP through the modem 310.
When a request from the user 300 is received via the collective modem 210, a request frame is transmitted to the server 500 which transmits a desired Web via the router 220. At this time, the router 220 determines a transfer route to the target server 500. The frame transmitted from the router 220 is relayed to the selected router 410, 420, etc., and arrives at the server 500. The server 500 extracts the Web file requested by the data processing device 510 from the Web file database 520 and sends it. The transmitted Web file is stored in the PC 32 of the user 300 via the network communication device 200 of the ISP.
0 and the Web page is displayed.

[0004] The user 300 experiences a sense of speed of data transfer according to the time from when a request is issued to when data is transferred. Normally, the user 300 experiences the time until one Web page is updated. Compared to the update time assumed by the user, the actual Web
When the time for updating the page b is long, the user may be frustrated. This time is determined by
Excluding the processing capability of the PC 320, first, the data transfer rate of the modem 310 of the user 300, the second, the data transfer rate of the collective modem 210 of the network communication device 200 of the ISP, and third, The fourth is the speed of the line to the server 500, the fourth is the data transmission speed of the server 500, and the fifth is the size of the Web page file. For this reason, the user 300 who wants to shorten the Web page update time takes measures such as preparing a modem 310 with a high data transfer speed. In addition, some ISPs provide services that guarantee the data transfer speed of the second collective modem 210 and the minimum speed of the line from the third collective modem 210 to the server 500.

[0005]

However, there is a problem that the conventional network communication device cannot stably provide a comfortable feeling of speed desired by the user.

For example, the time required for updating a Web page varies depending on the five factors described above. Also,
Since the data transfer speed between the devices is limited by the bottleneck, even if some devices are increased in speed, they often do not contribute much to the increase in speed as a whole network. Even if the modem 310 of the user 300, which is the first factor, is of a high speed, the second factor, the IS
Collective modem 2 of network communication device 200 of P operator
If 10 does not support this, the data transfer rate between modem 310 and collective modem 210 will not be high.
The converse is also true. Even if the speed of the collective modem 210 is increased, if the data transfer speed of the modem 310 of the user 300 is low,
The data transfer speed is limited by the speed of the modem 310.

Further, the speed of the line from the third collective modem 210 to the server 500 is determined by selecting a transfer route according to the degree of congestion at each node (router) and the bandwidth that can be secured, and so on. fluctuate.

[0008] The data transmission speed of the fourth server 500,
The size of the file of the fifth Web page also varies depending on the information transmission capability of the server 500 and the information desired by the user.

As described above, in the conventional network communication apparatus, it is difficult to secure a stable data transfer rate because there are many fluctuation factors. In addition, it is difficult to set a capability of each device based on a feeling of speed desired by the user or to select a route, and to provide a comfortable use environment.

[0010] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has as its object to provide a network communication apparatus that stably secures a comfortable feeling of speed desired by a user.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a network communication apparatus for receiving access from a user connected via a telephone line or a dedicated line and connecting to a network. A modem that modulates and demodulates the exchanged data and transmits / receives the data, a router that connects to the network and collects path information on a transfer path to a destination address on the network, and transfers data by a predetermined optimal path; Network transmission / reception means for performing transmission / reception processing of data exchanged with a server which is a target address on a network, and data for controlling a flow of a data file exchanged between a user connected to the modem and the server Control means and beforehand to meet the predetermined data transfer time Network communication device characterized by having an a route optimization means for optimizing said transfer path based on the router routing information and information obtained from the server, is provided.

In the network communication apparatus having such a configuration, when an access from a user connected via a telephone line or a dedicated line is received via a modem, the data control means connects to the network and supplies a data file desired by the user. Data is exchanged with the server which is the sending source via the network transmitting / receiving means. When transmitting data to the server, when data is transmitted from the network transmitting / receiving means, the router collects path information, calculates an optimal path, and transmits a frame. Response data from the server is input to the network transmission / reception means via the reverse route. Usually, the information obtained from the server includes the size of the data file to be sent,
The information obtained from the server and the route information obtained by the router are sent to the route optimizing means. The route optimizing means calculates a route for transmitting the data file to be transmitted to the user within a predetermined data transfer time and a band value thereof based on the acquired information, and sets the calculated route as an optimized route.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention. This network communication device is a device that performs a network connection process of an ISP.

The network communication device 100 according to the present invention
Is a collective modem 110 for connecting to a user and exchanging data with the user, and a data control means 1 for controlling data exchange between the user and a data source server desired by the user.
20, a route optimizing unit 130 for optimizing a data transfer route on a network, a network transmitting / receiving unit 140 for transmitting / receiving data on the network, and a router 150 for collecting route information and selecting a route. .

The collective modem 110 connects the network communication device 100 to a modem owned by the user, and modulates and demodulates data transmitted and received between the user and the network communication device 100. The user's access is demodulated and sent to the data control means 120. The data file transmitted from the data control means 120 is modulated and transmitted to the user's modem. Collective modem 11
The data transfer rate between 0 and the user's modem is set to the highest selectable rate. That is, it is set to the lower one of the maximum speeds. Or collective modem 1
It can also be made variable according to the size of the information data transmitted from.

The data control means 120 controls the data flow between the user and the transmission source server which is the transmission source of the data desired by the user, and controls the data flow between the router 150 and the route optimization means 130. . A source server that accepts access from a user input from the collective modem 110 and sends out information requested by the user.
An information data request message for the address is output to network transmitting / receiving means 140. The data received via the network transmission / reception means 140 is output to the collective modem 110 and transmitted to the user via the collective modem 110. Further, the route information acquired by the router 150 and information about the server such as the size of the information data file acquired via the network transmitting / receiving means 140 are
It is sent to the route optimization means 130. Further, it acquires the optimized route calculated by the route optimizing unit 130 and performs processing for securing the optimized route.

The route optimizing unit 130 obtains, via the data control unit 120, route information including the congestion degree and the reservable bandwidth in each node from the router 150 to the destination address, and similarly transmits the network information from the network transmitting / receiving unit 140 to the source server. The server information such as the size of the information data file to be transmitted and the data transmission capability is acquired. A bandwidth value that allows the transmitted information data file to be transmitted to the user within a predetermined time is calculated, and the bandwidth is secured at each node. If it cannot be secured, search for a route that can be secured.

The network transmission / reception means 140 performs transmission / reception processing with a target transmission source server address in accordance with the data control means 120. The transmission of the request frame such as information data is output to the network via the router 150. Further, it receives a response from the transmission source server input via the router 150 and transmits the response to the data control means 120.

The router 150 selects a route for transmitting a frame transmitted from the network transmitting / receiving means 140 to a destination address, and transmits the frame. For this reason, it connects to a network, collects route information on a transfer route to a destination address on the network, and calculates a predetermined optimal route. There are various methods for the optimum route, and it is assumed that the router 150 adopts any one of them. For example, RIP (routing
information protocol)
It uses a distance vector algorithm that dynamically determines the shortest route according to the number of routers (hops) through which it passes.

The operation of the network communication device having such a configuration will be described. A user who connects to a network via the network communication device 100 and makes a contract for obtaining desired information data has previously declared a data transfer time at which the user feels comfortable. For example, the data transfer speed of a Web1 page that allows the user to experience the speed at the time of use is “Web1
"Page 1 second". The ISP provider may indicate the renewable time for the data size of one normal Web page, including the data communication speed of the user's modem and the data communication speed of the collective modem 110, and allow the user to select this. . For a user who desires a faster data update, the recommended data transfer rate of the modem owned by the user can be indicated, or a contract for a more sophisticated service can be recommended.

An access from a user who has made a contract arrives at the data control means 120 via the collective modem 110. The data control unit 120 transmits a data request frame to the address of the information data file transmission source server desired by the user via the network transmission / reception unit 140. The router 150 connects to the network, collects path information on a transfer path to a target transmission source server address on the network, calculates a predetermined optimum path, and transmits a frame. The response from the transmission source server is input to the network transmission / reception unit 140 via the router 150 and sent to the data control unit 120. The response from the sending server generally includes information such as the size of the information data file to be transferred. In addition, information about the server such as the size of the information data file and the data transfer speed of the server may be sent by arranging with the server in advance.

The route information obtained by the router 150 and the information on the server are sent to the route optimizing unit 130 via the data control unit 120. Route optimization means 13
0 calculates a band value that allows the information data file obtained from the server to be transmitted within a data transfer time set in advance by the user, and secures the band at each node. If it cannot be secured, a search is made for a route that can be secured, and the route and bandwidth are secured. The secured optimization path is sent to the data control unit 120. The data control unit 120 performs router control under the control of the network communication device 100 or the ISP, so that data transfer is performed based on the secured optimization path. Furthermore, it is also possible to make an agreement between the operators in advance so that the secured route has priority.

As described above, a route and a band in which an information data file such as a Web page can be transferred within a comfortable data transfer time desired by the user are secured. Therefore, the user can stably obtain a desired comfortable speed feeling. That is, it does not take too much time to update the Web page. For the data transfer speed between the user and the network communication device required for this purpose, an appropriate value is secured in advance by the recommendation of the ISP who owns the network communication device.

In the above description, the information data file is W
Although the web page is used, the optimized route can be calculated by the same method for downloading and the like. Note that the above processing functions can be realized by a computer. In this case, the processing content of the function that the network communication device should have is described in a program recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. Then, by executing this program on a computer, the above processing is realized on the computer. Examples of the computer-readable recording medium include a magnetic recording device and a semiconductor memory. CD-ROM for distribution in the market
(Compact Disc Read Only Memory), or store the program on a portable recording medium such as a floppy disk and distribute it, or store it in a storage device of a computer connected via a network and transfer it to another computer via the network. You can also. When the program is executed by the computer, the program is stored in a hard disk device or the like in the computer, loaded into the main memory, and executed.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, a connection is made to a network by an access from a user, and data is exchanged with a source server. When transmitting to the server, the router collects the route information, calculates the route, and transmits the frame. Response data from the server is input via the reverse route. Based on the server information and the route information acquired at this time, a route for transmitting the data file to be transmitted to the user within a predetermined data transfer time and a band value thereof are calculated, and this is set as an optimized route. .

As described above, since the optimized path for realizing the data transfer time that the user feels comfortable is always calculated before the start of the data transfer, the user can obtain a stable and comfortable data transfer speed. it can.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network communication device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of a general Internet communication system.

[Explanation of symbols]

100: network communication device, 110: collective modem,
120: data control means, 130: route optimization means, 1
40: network transmission / reception means, 150: router

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A network communication apparatus for receiving access from a user connected by a telephone line or a dedicated line and connecting to a network, comprising: a modem for modulating and demodulating data exchanged with the user and transmitting and receiving the data; A router that connects to the network, collects path information on a transfer path to a destination address on the network, and transfers data along a predetermined optimum path, and is exchanged between a server that is a destination address on the network. Network transmission / reception means for performing data transmission / reception processing; data control means for controlling a flow of an information data file exchanged between a user connected to the modem and the server; and a data transmission time satisfying a predetermined time. From the router and obtained from the server Network communication device characterized by having an a route optimization means for optimizing said transfer path based on the information. 2. The route optimizing means obtains route information including a congestion degree and a securable band in each node from the router, an information data file size transmitted from the server, and data transmission capability. 2. The network communication device according to claim 1, wherein a route and a band value capable of transmitting the information data file within the predetermined data transfer time are calculated. 3. The predetermined data transfer time is:
The network communication device according to claim 1, wherein the user can arbitrarily set the network communication device.