JP2002135316A - Integrated service network - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an integrated service network that can enhance communication flexibility. SOLUTION: The integrated service network where a best effort type network that provides a best effort type service not warranting a bandwidth used by communication applications and a quality assurance type network that provides a quality assurance type warranting the bandwidth used by the communication applications exist in parallel logically or physically, is provided with a bandwidth designation means that receives a revisable and explicit designation with respect to the bandwidth used for each communication and conducts processing corresponding to the designation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an integrated service network, and is suitable for use in, for example, integrating network services provided by telecommunications carriers into the Internet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A network service in a conventional network is either fixedly selected (for example, a dedicated line or the like) for a type of communication application or individual communication application, or is a uniform network service independent of the communication application. Service was selected.

A case where a uniform network service independent of a communication application is selected corresponds to, for example, the relationship between an ISDN network and the communication application. That is, the ISDN B channel is fixed at 64 kbps irrespective of the type of communication application or the user's desire for each communication application.

[0004]

However, with the explosive spread of the Internet, there is a possibility that network services provided by each communication carrier will be integrated into an IP (Internet Protocol) network. For this reason,
There has been a demand to simultaneously handle real-time data such as audio and video and conventional data as transactions on an IP network.

However, the actual IP network is
Designed to provide a best-effort service in which the bandwidth used for each communication is not guaranteed, and the state of operation has continued for a long period of time, and network services cannot be differentiated. In the best-effort service, the bandwidth that can be used for any one communication is not guaranteed. Therefore, when the traffic density is low, a wide bandwidth can be used and high-speed communication can be performed, but the traffic density is high. Then, the available bandwidth is narrowed, the communication speed is reduced, and the possibility of packet loss or the like is increased.

[0006] Recently, QoS (Quality of Service) has been developed for network services in IP networks.
There has been a movement to differentiate services for communication applications by classifying the services according to the application. Nevertheless, there was no room for the user of the communication application to intervene, depending on whether the communication application required the network or was determined by the network administrator.

Here, in the case where the communication application requests the network, the communication application reserves resources (bandwidth) using RSVP (a type of resource reservation protocol in IP: Resource Reservation Protocol), and In the case determined by the administrator, the router allocates resources using the TOS field or the like in the IP packet.

When an IP network is used as a backbone of a communication network in the future, a network group that provides the above-described QoS service and a network that can handle only the conventional best-effort service will coexist in the IP network. It is thought that it becomes.

At this time, the network usage fee is Qo
It can be expected that the network providing the S service is higher.

[0010] As described above, the communication quality such as the communication speed is not guaranteed in the best-effort service, but it is not necessarily the case that the real-time communication application cannot use the best-effort network. As long as the network is free, a sufficiently high communication speed can be obtained even in the best-effort service, and there is a possibility that the demand of the real-time communication application can be satisfied.

Then, the application user:
It is considered that there is a demand for explicitly using the high network service or the low network service depending on the time and the case. Further, even when using a network that provides a QoS service, a plurality of service classes that specify the service quality are set, and the amount of bandwidth allocated according to the service class (generally, It is assumed that the higher the allocated bandwidth, the higher the price will be.) If the user decides to use the service class explicitly, the application to be used depends on the network condition. There is a demand for negotiating with the network which service class can be reduced to the network service to be used.

[0012] On the contrary, from the standpoint of managing a network, it is considered that it is necessary to restrict all users from trying to use high network services.

[0013] However, it is difficult for current IP networks to meet such requirements and needs.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve this problem, the present invention provides a best effort network that provides a best effort service that does not guarantee the bandwidth used by a communication application, and a bandwidth used by the communication application. A quality assurance network that provides a quality assurance type service that guarantees a width is used for each communication from a communication terminal equipped with the communication application in an integrated service network in which logical or physical coexistence exists. There is provided a bandwidth designation processing means for receiving a changeable and explicit designation regarding the bandwidth and performing a process corresponding to the designation.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION (A) Embodiment Hereinafter, an integrated service network of the present invention is referred to as an IP service.
An embodiment will be described by taking as an example a case where the present invention is applied to the Internet as an integrated network.

Each of the following embodiments is characterized in that a user of a communication application explicitly specifies a service class or the like of a network to be used, and management, regulation, and business processes thereof are performed.

(A-1) Configuration of First Embodiment IP Integrated Network (Internet) of the First Embodiment
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a main part of the ten.

In FIG. 1, an IP integrated network 10
Is a communication application device 1 and a communication control device 2
And a policy management device 3, a best effort network (best effort NW) 32, and a QoS network (QoS NW) 33.

The communication application device 1 includes
For example, it is a communication terminal such as a personal computer or a PDA (portable information terminal device) equipped with a communication function including a communication application, and the communication control device 2 is a network-side communication device such as a router or an exchange. Yes, the best-effort network 32 corresponds to a portion of the Internet that can handle only conventional best-effort services, and the QoS network 33
Corresponds to a portion that can provide the QoS service.

The fact that a certain part of the Internet can handle only the conventional best-effort service means that the router (or a part of one router device) or the like can provide only the best-effort service. However, the fact that a certain part of the Internet can provide a QoS service means that a router (or a part of one router device) or the like of the part can provide a QoS service.
This means that an S-type service can be provided.

Therefore, the communication application device 1 and the communication control device 2 according to the present embodiment include the QoS network 33 (and the best effort network 32).
Can be positioned as part of

Since a part of one router device or the like can be classified according to whether it provides a best-effort service or a QoS service, the best-effort network 32 and the QoS network 33 can be classified. Need to be at least logically separate networks, but physically or partially (their nodes and links) may overlap.

In other words, some or all of the routers and exchanges on the QoS network 63 are connected to the communication control device 2.
A communication device having the same function as the communication control device 2 may be a communication device having the same function as that of the communication control device 2.

Next, the internal configuration of the communication application apparatus 1 will be described.

(A-1-1) Internal Configuration of Communication Application Apparatus As shown in FIG. 1, the communication application apparatus 1 has a data generation unit 11, a tagging unit 12,
It comprises a user designating unit 13 and a QoS service requesting unit 14.

The data generation section 11 is a section for generating a data stream SD transmitted by the communication application apparatus 1. The data stream SD is constituted by IP packets.

The user specifying unit 13 outputs a specifying signal UD indicating a network service desired by the user in response to a user operation (eg, operation of a keyboard or the like) as an operator of the communication application apparatus 1. This is the part to do.

The designation signal UD designates whether the network service desired to be provided is paid or free,
It is possible to specify a QoS service class. As described above, when a plurality of service classes that specify the quality of service are set, the width of the allocated bandwidth is determined according to the service class. In general, the wider the allocated bandwidth is, the larger the allocated bandwidth is. , The fees are also high.

A default value is set in the designation signal UD, and when the user does not designate a service class, the default value is supplied to the QoS service request unit 14.

The default value is set on the basis of the characteristics of the communication application. For example, a communication application having a high real-time property and a large amount of data transmitted per unit time indicates a service class with a strict real-time property. Then, the required minimum guaranteed bandwidth is set.

The QoS service requesting unit 14, which receives the designation signal UD from the user designation unit 13, sends a resource reservation request signal RQ to the network when the contents of the designation signal UD require reservation of network resources (bandwidth resources). This is a part to be supplied to the QoS service management unit 24 in the communication control device 2.

The case where the content of the designation signal UD requires reservation of network resources means that the designation signal UD
This is when you are seeking service.

The QoS service requesting unit 14 also supplies the tagging unit 12 with a tagging control signal TC corresponding to a reservation status signal ST or a designation signal UD, which will be described later, received from the QoS service management unit 24 in the communication control device 2. It also has a function to do.

In the tagging section 12, in response to the tagging control signal TC, a TOS (Type of Type) of a service class designation field (for example, IPv4 (IP version 4)) of each IP packet constituting the data stream SD is used.
Service) field). Tagging is of course necessary when the designation signal UD requires a QoS service. The tag includes not only the designation of the QoS service but also the network (32 or 33) to which the IP packet is transmitted. Since the network specification information to be specified is also included, tagging is required in the present embodiment even when a best-effort service is specified. When the QoS is not required, the default tag of the network is used.

That is, in this embodiment, the tagging section 1
2 is always performed.

The name of the service class designation field differs for each version of IP.
Generally, it functions as an area indicating the QoS and priority of data (IP packets).

Next, the internal configuration of the communication control device 2 that receives the data stream SD and the resource reservation request signal RQ from the communication application device 1 will be described.

(A-1-2) Internal Configuration of Communication Control Device 2 As shown in FIG. 1, the communication control device 2 includes a QoS processing unit 21, a policy control unit 22, a distribution processing unit 23, Q
An oS service management unit 24 and a policy management unit 25 are provided.

When receiving the resource reservation request signal RQ, the QoS service management unit 24 receiving the resource reservation request signal RQ from the communication application apparatus 1 checks whether or not the resource requested by the RQ can be reserved by itself. If you decide that you can make a reservation,
A network reservation request signal RN for reserving resources is transmitted to the S network 33, and the size of the reservable bandwidth transmitted by each communication control device on the network in response to the network reservation request signal RN. This is a part for transmitting a reservation status signal ST indicating the size of a reservable network resource.

The QoS service management unit 24 also transmits the reservation content notification signal MS to the QoS processing unit based on the reservation status signal ST to notify the size of network resources that can be reserved for transmission of the data stream SD. 21
It also has a function to output to.

Qo for receiving the reservation content notification signal MS
The S processing unit 21 is a part that performs processing (queuing and priority control) according to the reservation content notification signal MS for each IP packet in the data stream SD.

The communication control device 2 such as a router usually has
Since a data stream is also supplied from a communication terminal device (not shown) other than the communication application device 1, Q
In the oS processing unit 21, there is a queue for each service class (queue constituted by IP packets: a first-in first-out type memory in terms of hardware). In this case, the best-effort service can be regarded as one service class having the lowest priority.

The speed of the data stream that each communication control device 2 can input from the transmission path (link) and the speed of the data stream that can be output to the transmission path include:
Due to the necessity of shaping and the like, there is a certain upper limit in terms of hardware and software.

On the other hand, at the output port or the input port of the communication control device 2 connected to each transmission line, congestion may occur with a different congestion degree (congestion degree) for each connected transmission line. If congestion occurs at an output port that outputs an IP packet of a certain queue, processing of the queue (transmission of IP packets constituting the queue) even if the speed of the data stream is lower than the upper limit of the communication control device 2. On the road). Since the queue length has a certain limit according to the capacity of the buffer (memory), new IP packets are accumulated in the queue where processing does not proceed, and if the queue becomes too long, overflow occurs in the buffer. As a result, packet loss occurs and communication quality is impaired.

Here, the priority control does not mean that the processing of each queue is performed evenly, but that the priority is set for each service class so that the queue having a higher priority is processed preferentially. Reservation means that when the queue of a data stream having a higher priority than the data stream to be transmitted from now on is small in consideration of the processing capacity and shaping of the communication control device (2), the data stream to be transmitted from now on is surely reserved. This is an operation to secure resources that can be delivered to the target communication device for each communication control device on the route.

The QoS processing unit 2 having the functions of executing the above queuing, priority control, shaping, etc.
1 examines the contents of the tag added to the service class designation field for the input IP packet of each data stream, determines which queue to accumulate according to the description about QoS, and executes the accumulation. .

The policy control unit 22, which receives the supply of the data stream SD from the QoS processing unit 21, performs a policy control (filtering on IP packets) based on the policy information PY stored in the policy management unit 25. is there.

The policy information PY is information used by a network administrator (: B) to restrict the behavior of the communication application apparatus 1 and is used by the policy management apparatus 3.
Is written from the internal policy registration unit 31 to the policy management unit 25.

Specific examples of the policy information PY include the following PYA, PYB, and PYC in a case where a plurality of communication application apparatuses 1 are installed in a certain office as a user (: A). Can be

PYA: wants to use the network X (X may be a part or all of the QoS network 33) up to a certain data amount PYA: a device on which the communication application device 1 operates (for example, a personal computer) Wants to limit the service class of the network that can be used by the communication application apparatus 1 PYC... A user who uses the communication application apparatus 1 (this user is a member of the establishment A, and uses the user ID to identify each user, for example) Want to limit the service class of the network that can be used by the communication application apparatus 1, of which the policy information PYA is, for example, the monthly budget of the business establishment A related to the usage fee of the IP integrated network 10. The fee is applicable The management order to fall within the scope of the calculation, the business office A is useful in the case such as that ask the network administrator B.

The policy information PYB requests the network administrator B to manage the budget when the budget is determined for each personal computer in the business office A or when each personal computer has a priority. This is useful in such cases.

Further, the policy information PYC requests the network administrator B to manage the budget when the budget is determined for each user as a member of the business establishment A or when each member has a priority. This is useful in such cases.

By performing the policy control based on the policy information PYA to PYC, the data traffic of the user A contrary to the intended use (policy) of the network administrator B can be restricted on the network side.

The distribution processing unit 23 that receives the data stream SD that has been subjected to the policy control by the policy control unit 22 performs the following processing according to the contents of the portion indicating the QoS in the tag added to the service class designation field of each IP packet. This is a part for distributing the destination of the IP packet at least between the best effort network 32 and the QoS network 33.

Hereinafter, the operation of this embodiment having the above configuration will be described.

(A-2) Operation of First Embodiment First, the operation of the communication application apparatus 1 will be described.

The user of the communication application installed in the communication application apparatus 1 uses the user designation unit 13 of the communication application apparatus 1 before performing data communication using the communication application.
Specify the desired network service.

Here, a pay network service, a free network service, a QoS class to be used, and the like can be specified.

When making this designation, the user, for example,
Based on general criteria such as relatively low traffic on the network during the day on weekdays,
The network to be used can be selected in consideration of the degree of inclusion of each network, the usage fee, and the like.

The designated user designation unit 13 uses the designation signal UD to assign the service class designated by the user to Qo.
Notify the S service request unit 14. When the user does not particularly specify a service class, the default value of the communication application device 1 is supplied to the QoS service request unit 14 as a specification signal UD.

The QoS service request unit 14 notifies the QoS reservation management unit 24 of the communication control unit 2 of the resource reservation request signal RQ when the request content of the designation signal UD requires reservation of network resources. I do. At this time, if only the tagging of the data transmitted by the communication application apparatus 1 is required, the QoS service request unit 14 performs only the operation of notifying the tagging control signal TC to the tagging unit 12 to that effect.

The tagging section 12 receives the tagging control signal T
It operates according to C, and embeds a tag corresponding to the TC in the service class designation field at the time of data transmission.

Next, the operation of the communication control device 2 will be described.

The QoS service management unit 2 of the communication control device 2
4 receives the resource reservation request signal RQ from the QoS service request unit 14 of the communication application apparatus 1, and if the resource requested by itself can be reserved,
A notification for reserving network resources is transmitted to the QoS network 33.

The resources, that is, the bandwidth resources, are finite for each communication control device 2, and the available bandwidth varies every moment according to the traffic volume at each time when the communication control device is processing. Therefore, in order to perform communication of the specified service class, all communication control devices (for example, routers) on the path connecting the source and the destination of the data stream SD to the end-end of the destination require the service class. It is necessary to secure a corresponding bandwidth.
Here, since the communication control device closest to the transmission source is the communication control device 2 shown in FIG. 1, the resources of the network are all communication control devices existing on the path of the data stream SD other than the communication control device 2. Is synonymous with the resource.

In the QoS network 33, if resources of this network can be secured,
Notify the oS service management unit 24.

In response to this, the QoS service management unit 24
Supplies the reservation content notification signal MS to the QoS processing unit 21 so as to use the resources of the specified service class as specified. The QoS processing unit 21 performs a process based on the description related to QoS among the tags added by the tagging unit 12 to the data generated by the data generation unit 11 of the communication application device 1.

Next, in the policy control unit 22, the QoS processing unit 21 applies the data stream SD supplied with the bandwidth authorized in response to the reservation content notification signal MS in accordance with the policy information PY specified by the policy management unit 25. To process. At this time, if necessary, the tag is replaced.

For example, a service class having a tag attached to the service class designation area of the IP packet in the data stream SD is designated, and the QoS network 3
Even if it is requested to send the IP packet to the QoS network 33, if the data amount exceeds a certain amount in the policy information PYA, the tag is set to the best effort network 3.
2. Replace the tag with the tag that requires transmission to 2.

In the distribution process 23, the network to be used is distributed according to the contents of the area indicating the QoS in the tags in the received data. The policy control unit 2
If the tag is changed in step 2, the tag is sorted according to the contents of the changed tag.

(A-3) Effects of the First Embodiment According to the present embodiment, the user of the communication application device (1) operates the device (1) in the IP integrated network to thereby reduce the network to be used. The service class can be explicitly specified, and it is possible to flexibly cope with a user's request that changes according to the situation, thereby improving communication flexibility.

As a result, for example, although the fee for use is high, Qo
If there is a network (X) that firmly guarantees S and a best-effort network (32) with a low usage fee, the user considers the degree of incorporation of these networks, the level of the usage fee, the nature of the communication application, and the like. , You can select the network to use.

Also, within a QoS network that provides QoS, communication at the QoS specified by the user becomes possible.

Moreover, since the user is specified for each service class, the user is required to specify the service application unit (1), the communication control device (2), and the QoS network (33) as compared with the case where the user specifies at all. The load on the processing capacity of the communication control device (not shown) is reduced, and the feasibility is excellent.

(B) Second Embodiment Hereinafter, only the points of this embodiment different from the first embodiment will be described.

In this embodiment, two-way communication is performed between a communication application client device on the client side and a communication application server device on the server side.

(B-1) Configuration of the Second Embodiment FIGS. 2 and 3 show the IP integrated network 100 of the present embodiment. FIG. 2 shows the components on the client side,
FIG. 3 shows components on the server side, both of which are part of the same IP integrated network 100.

In FIG. 2, the IP integrated network 100 includes a communication application client device 4
, A communication control device 5, a policy management device 6, a best effort network 62, and a QoS network 63.

Of these, Best Effort Network 6
2 corresponds to the best effort network 32,
The QoS network 63 is the QoS network 33.
, The policy management unit 6 corresponds to the policy management unit 3, and the policy registration unit 61 corresponds to the policy registration unit 31.

The communication application client device 4 is the same as the communication application device 1 except that it is on the client side.

The communication application client device 4 includes a data generation unit 41 and a tagging unit 42
In addition to the user designation unit 43 and the QoS service request unit 45, the data processing unit 46
And a data receiving unit 47 and a QoS processing unit 48,
Further, an application request unit 44 is provided.

Here, the user designation section 43 corresponds to the user designation section 13, the data generation section 41 corresponds to the data generation section 11, the tagging section 42 corresponds to the tagging section 12, and the QoS service request The unit 45 corresponds to the QoS service request unit 14.

Therefore, the data stream SD1 generated and transmitted by the data generation unit 41 is the same data stream as the data stream SD. However, in the present embodiment, the data generation unit 41 is used to distinguish streams transmitted bidirectionally. The data stream generated and transmitted to the server is called a server direction data stream SD1, and the data processing unit 46, the data receiving unit 47, and the QoS processing unit 48
Is a client-side data stream SD2.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the data streams SD1 and SD2 are video stream data that require a large amount of data to be transmitted per unit time and generally require high real-time performance.

In each signal in FIG. 2, the designation signal UD1 corresponds to the UD (the conversion designation signal UA1 also substantially corresponds to the designation signal UD), and the tag control signal TC1 corresponds to the TC. The resource reservation request signal RQ1 is
, The reservation content notification signal MS11 corresponds to the MS, the policy information PY1 corresponds to the PY, the network reservation request signal RN1 for reserving resources of the QoS network 63 corresponds to the RN, The signal ST1 corresponds to the reservation status signal ST. Also,
The reservation content notification signal MS12 also corresponds to the MS.

The reservation status signal ST1 is a signal transmitted via the QoS network 63 to notify the communication application client device 4 of the bandwidth reserved by the communication application server device 7 for the client direction data stream SD2. is there. The contents of the reservation status signal ST1 are transmitted to the application request unit 44 via the QoS service request unit 45, and the application request unit 44 performs an operation according to the reservation status signal ST1.

That is, when the reservation status signal ST1 indicates that the reservation of the band for transmitting the server direction data stream SD1 can be executed on the QoS network 63 and the communication control device 5, the application request unit 44 Supplies the band reservation signal BR to the QoS processing unit 48, and reserves a band for SD1 in its own device.

Also, the QoS service request unit 45 in FIG.
The network reservation request signal R for which no signal corresponding to FIG.
N2 and a network reservation response signal RR2 are present.

The QoS service requesting unit 45 of the present embodiment receives the network reservation request signal RN2 from the QoS service management unit 54 for receiving the client direction data stream SD2, and receives a bandwidth corresponding to the network reservation request signal RN2. It checks whether a width reservation is possible and if so, makes the reservation.

The QoS service request unit 45 sends a network reservation response signal RR2 indicating that the bandwidth reservation is possible or impossible even if the bandwidth reservation is not possible.
4 will be supplied.

Communication application client device 4
Is equipped with the capability to receive multiple client-direction data streams at the same time,
Even in the QoS processing unit 48 inside the communication application client device 4 itself, the bandwidth is already used to receive another client-direction data stream, and it is impossible to reserve the bandwidth required for SD2. May occur. For example, in such a situation, when receiving the network reservation request signal RN2 for receiving the client-direction data stream SD2, the QoS service request unit 45 notifies the QoS service management unit that the reservation is impossible by the network reservation response signal RR2. Notify 54.

At this time, it is preferable to notify the user of the communication application client apparatus 4 of the fact (such as displaying a screen on a display).

Also, the designation signal UA among the signals in FIG.
1. A signal generated by converting the designation signal UD1 by the application request unit 44, which is substantially the designation signal UD1.
The signal has the same content as

Further, transmission signals (inter-terminal transmission signals) ME1, ME2 exchanged between the application requesting unit 44 and the application receiving unit 74 in the communication application server device 7 via the dedicated line 95.
Is a signal related to the type of service. The user of the communication application client device 4 specifies the service class of the client-direction data stream SD2 via the application request unit 44, and a response to the specification on the communication application client device 7 side is transmitted as a transmission signal ME2.

On the contrary, the service class of the server-direction data stream SD1 is changed to the transmission signal ME2.
When the communication application server device 7 designates, the transmission signal ME1 becomes a response to the designation.

The client direction data stream S
The data receiving unit 47 provided inside the communication application client device 4 for receiving D2 includes:
The data processing unit 46 is a unit that functions as a decoder for decoding the client direction data stream SD2. The data processing unit 46 processes the decoding result of the data receiving unit 46 by the communication application client device 4 (for example, screen display in the case of video stream data). ) Is the part that converts it into a format that can be used.

This conversion is performed by the application request unit 44
This is executed based on the conversion control signal PC supplied from.

Next, the communication control device 5 is the same as the communication control device 2 except that it is on the client side.

However, the communication control device 5 includes a QoS processing unit 51, a policy control unit 52, a distribution processing unit 53,
A QoS processing unit 56 is provided in addition to the QoS service management unit 54 and the policy control unit 55.

Here, the QoS processing section 51 corresponds to the QoS processing section 21, the policy control section 52 corresponds to the policy control section 22, and the distribution processing section 53 corresponds to the allocation processing section 2.
3, the QoS service management unit 54 corresponds to the QoS service management unit 24, and the policy management unit 55 corresponds to the policy management unit 25.

Further, the function of the QoS processing section 56
This is the same as the oS processing unit 21.

On the other hand, in FIG. 3, the IP integrated network 100 is
, A communication control device 8, a policy management device 9, a best effort network 62, and a QoS network 63.

Among them, the best effort network 62 and the QoS network 63 assigned the same reference numerals as those in FIG.
Are the same networks as the respective networks in FIG.

In this embodiment, the data streams SD1 and SD2 are both video stream data.
It may be a communication device such as a video server. In this case, since the data stream SD1 is merely a request signal for requesting the supply of the video data stream SD2, the bandwidth used is extremely small, and bidirectional communication asymmetric in terms of traffic volume is performed. Will be

The situation where both data streams SD1 and SD2 are video stream data is as follows, for example.
Occurs when using a communication system such as a video conference.

It is also conceivable that the function of the communication control device 8 and the function of the communication control device 5 are mounted on one communication device to give both functions to the communication device. It is assumed that the communication device is a communication device separate from the communication control device 5.

The IP integrated network 100 has a completely symmetrical configuration and function on FIGS. 2 and 3.

Therefore, the communication application server device 7 and the communication application client device 4 completely correspond to each other, and the communication control device 8 and the communication control device 5
Corresponds completely, and the policy management device 9 and the policy management device 6 completely correspond.

Such a correspondence is also applied to the internal configuration of each component.

That is, the data generation unit 71 in the communication application server device 7 corresponds to the data generation unit 41, and the tagging unit 72 is
, The user specifying unit 73 corresponds to the user specifying unit 43, the application receiving unit 74 corresponds to the application requesting unit 44, and the QoS service requesting unit 75
Corresponds to the QoS service request unit 45, the data processing unit 76 corresponds to the data processing unit 46, the data receiving unit 77 corresponds to the data receiving unit 47, and the QoS processing unit 7
Reference numeral 8 corresponds to the QoS processing unit 48.

The Qo within the communication control device 8
The S processing unit 81 corresponds to the QoS processing unit 51, the policy control unit 82 corresponds to the policy control unit 52, the distribution processing unit 83 corresponds to the distribution processing unit 52, and the QoS service management unit 84 Corresponding to the QoS service management unit 54,
The policy management unit 85 corresponds to the policy management unit 55,
The QoS processing unit 86 corresponds to the QoS processing unit 56.

Further, the policy registration unit 91 in the policy management device 9 corresponds to the policy registration unit 61.

Accordingly, these correspondences also hold for each signal in FIGS.

That is, UD2 corresponds to UD1,
UA2 corresponds to the UA1, ST2 corresponds to the ST1, TC2 corresponds to the TC1, PY2 corresponds to the PY.
1, MS21 corresponds to MS11 and MS2
Reference numeral 2 corresponds to the MS 12.

[0115] Also, the dedicated lines 95 given the same reference numerals in FIGS. 2 and 3 are the same dedicated lines, and the data streams SD1 and SD2 are the same data streams, respectively. ME1 and ME2 are also the same signal.

The operation of the present embodiment having the above configuration will be described below. FIG. 4 shows an operation sequence of the present embodiment. The operation sequence of FIG.
It consists of each step of S29. Step S1
Procedure PH1 corresponding to S11 to S18 among 0 to S29
Is a procedure for securing network resources necessary for transmission of the server-direction data stream SD1.
Procedure PH2 corresponding to 1 to S27 is a procedure for securing network resources for transmitting the client-direction data stream.

(B-2) Operation of Second Embodiment In FIG. 4, the user C of the communication application sets his / her desired service class in the communication application client device 4 prior to the transmission of the server direction data stream SD1. It can be specified to the user specification section 43 (S10).

If there is a designation from user C, user designation section 43 outputs designation signal UD1 corresponding to the designation, and if there is no designation, accommodates network service class, which is the default value of this communication application, in designation signal UD1. To the application request unit 44.

The application request unit 44 supplies a designation signal UA1 corresponding to the designation signal UD1 to the QoS service request unit 45.

In response to this, the QoS service request unit 4
5 outputs the tagging control signal TC1 to the tagging unit 42 based on the content of the designation signal UA1, and communicates the use of the resource reservation request signal RQ when the reservation of network resources is required. Q in the control device 5
It notifies the oS service management unit 54 (S11).

The QoS service management unit 54
, And notifies the QoS processing unit 51 to that effect using the reservation content notification signal MS11, and requests the QoS network 63 (the communication control device in the QoS network 63) for a network reservation. A notification for performing resource reservation or the like is made using the signal RN1 (S12).

This notification is transmitted after the communication control devices on the route existing in the QoS network 63 are sequentially transmitted (the transmission direction is the server direction).
It is delivered to the S service management unit 84 (S13).

The QoS service management unit 84 reserves resources based on the content of the received network reservation request signal RN1 if resources can be reserved.
The processing unit 86 is notified to that effect. At the same time, the QoS service management unit 84 notifies the QoS service request unit 75 of a network reservation request signal RN1 for reserving resources of the communication application server device 7 (S
14).

The QoS service requesting unit 75 that has received the network reservation request signal RN1 determines whether resources can be secured based on the notified contents, and controls the QoS processing unit 78 based on the determination result. One notifies the QoS service management unit 84 in the communication control device 8 of the determination result as a network reservation response signal RR1 (a signal corresponding to the RR1) (S15).

The network reservation response signal RR1 is
When the QoS service management unit 84 sends out to the QoS network 63 (S16), the communication control devices on the route existing in the QoS network 63 are sequentially transmitted (however, the transmission direction is the client direction), and then the communication control is performed. Via the QoS service management unit 54 in the device 5 (S17), the communication application client device 4
(S1).
8).

In response to this, the QoS service request unit 45
Responds to the application request unit 44 using the reservation status signal ST1 about the reservation status of resources on the QoS network 63 and the like. The application request unit 44
Based on the response, it is determined whether the network service intended to be used in the communication application is available. If the service is available, the data generation unit uses the data generation control signal DC to generate the server direction data stream SD1 with the reserved service. Instruct 41.

The data generation unit 41 transmits the server direction data stream SD1 according to this instruction. After the transmitted data stream SD1 is tagged by the tagging unit 42, it is transmitted to the distribution processing unit 53 via the QoS processing unit 51 and the policy control unit 52 of the communication control device 5.

During this time, the QoS processing unit 51 and the QoS processing unit 86 refer to a part of the tag and perform queuing or priority control based on the value. The policy control unit 52 controls a data stream to be sent downstream according to policies such as network use and access restrictions.

In the distribution processing unit 53, a network (for example, 62
Or 63) is determined and transmitted.

On the other hand, when the user C specifies a network service class to be used in the data stream SD2 from the communication application server device 7 to the communication application client device 4, the application request unit 44 of the communication application client device 4 This is notified to the application receiving unit 74 of the communication application server device 7 using the transmission signal ME1 (S19).

Upon receiving this notification, the application receiving unit 74 sends a reservation instruction for the requested service class to the QoS
The service request unit 75 is notified. The QoS requesting unit 75 that has received the notification notifies the tagging unit 72 using the tagging control signal TC2, and if a reservation of network resources is required, the QoS request in the communication control device 8
It notifies the service management unit 84 (S20).

The QoS service management unit 84 reserves resources and notifies the QoS processing unit 81 of the result. When reserving network resources, the QoS service management unit 84 transmits a network reservation request signal RN2 for the reservation and the like to the QoS network. The data is transmitted to 63 (S21).

The network reservation request signal RN2 is
After the communication control devices on the route existing in the QoS network 63 are sequentially transmitted (the transmission direction is the client direction), the data is transmitted to the QoS service management unit 54 of the communication control device 5 (S22), and the QoS service is transmitted. From the management unit 54 to the communication application client device 4
(S2).
3).

The QoS service request unit 45 notifies the QoS service management unit 54 of the communication control device 5 of a response indicating whether the resource can be reserved according to the notified contents (S24). This notification is sent via the QoS network 63 (S25),
Via the communication control device 8 (S26), it is transmitted to the QoS service request unit 75 of the communication application server device 7 (S27).

The QoS service requesting unit 75 transmits a resource reservation status and the like on the QoS network 63 to the transmission signal ME.
1 to the application receiving unit 74 (S
28). The application receiving unit 74 determines whether the network service used in the communication application is available based on the response (transmission signal ME1) and, if available, generates a data stream by using the reserved service. An instruction is given to the data generation unit 71 using the signal DC2, and a response to that effect is sent to the communication application requesting unit 44 (S29).

The data generator 71 transmits the client-direction data stream SD2 according to this instruction. The transmitted data SD2 is tagged by the tagging unit 82, and then transmitted to the distribution processing unit 83 via the QoS processing unit 81 and the policy control unit 82 of the communication control device 8.
Here, referring to a part of the tag, a network to be transmitted is determined and transmitted.

During this time, the QoS processing unit 81 and the QoS processing unit 46 refer to a part of the tag and perform queuing or priority control based on the value. Policy control unit 8
In 2, the data stream to be sent downstream is controlled in accordance with policies such as network use and access restrictions.

Next, an operation in the case where the user C gives a complex service class designation for a service class will be described using the present embodiment. The complex service class designation here means, for example,
This concept corresponds to a case where a plurality of service classes having different priorities, such as a second request, are specified.

(B-2-1) Operation for Complex Service Class Specification First, it is premised that service classes of the QoS network 63 are 1 to 5 depending on their characteristics. It is assumed that the bandwidth used for the data flow (one communication) is large.

The first class of service class specified by the user C is the service class grade 5, but if that is not possible, the service class is allowed up to the service class 3. First, the service class grade 2 is desired. , And if that is the case, it can be raised up to grade 3.

First, based on the first desired service grade of the user C, the IP integrated network 100 attempts to operate according to the steps S10 to S29.

However, the server direction data stream SD
If the service grade for 1 cannot satisfy the first request of the user C, the application requesting unit 44 of the communication application client device 4 executes a process of re-reserving resources with the second desired service grade. The application request unit 44 repeats the resource reservation process and the above-described procedure PH1 until the service grade, which is a compromise point designated by the user C, is reached.

When the service grade for the server-direction data stream SD1 cannot satisfy the first request of the user C, the application receiving unit 74 of the communication application server device 7 executes a process of re-reserving resources with the second desired service grade. I do. The application receiving unit 74 repeats the above procedure PH2 until the service grade, which is a compromise point designated by the user C, is reached.

According to such an operation, the method of designating the grade of the network service desired by the user C can be more complicated with a higher fidelity to the user C's desire. If you want to use but the network is crowded and you don't seem to get the specs you want, you're going to get the service up to this point. "Or" I really want to get the best network service, but the network is crowded. In this case, the performance of the application may be reduced to this level. "

(B-3) Effect of Second Embodiment According to the present embodiment, the first embodiment can be performed between a client and a server.
The same effect as that of the embodiment can be obtained.

As a result, the communication application user (C) can specify the service class and route of the data stream in the direction from the server to the client, and can use the network properly according to the usage fee. Even in two-way communication, communication flexibility is improved.

(C) Other Embodiments The functions of the distribution processing units 53 and 83 of the second embodiment are as follows. It has a function of counting the service grade of data transmitted and accumulating log data, and a function of accumulating the usage status of each user as log data in the application reception unit 74 of the communication application server device 7. You may make it.

According to this, using the log data collected in the distribution processing 53 of the communication control device 5, the communication fee from the communication application client device 4 to the communication application server device 7 is determined based on the service grade of the network used. Can be calculated.

Using the log data collected in the distribution process 83 of the communication control device 8, the communication fee from the communication application server device 7 to the communication application client device 4 is calculated based on the service grade of the used network. Can be.

Further, by using the log collected by the application receiving unit 74 of the communication application server device 7, it becomes possible to calculate the usage amount according to the application service provided to the user.

On the other hand, in the first and second embodiments, tagging in the tagging unit 12 is always performed. However, for example, when a best-effort service is specified, tagging is not performed. If the distribution unit 23 is configured to distribute an IP packet to which a valid tag is not added to the service class designation field to the best effort network 32, a best effort type service is designated. Can omit the tagging in the tagging unit 12.

In the second embodiment, the transmission signal ME
Although 1 and ME2 are transmitted using the dedicated line 95, they may be transmitted using the best effort network 62 or the QoS network 63.

[0153]

As described above, according to the present invention, a changeable and explicit designation of the bandwidth used for each communication can be made from the communication terminal to the integrated network. Flexibility is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of an IP integrated network according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a client side of an IP integrated network according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a server side of an IP integrated network according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an operation sequence of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Communication application apparatus, 2, 5, 8 ... Communication control apparatus, 3, 6, 9 ... Policy management apparatus, 10, 100 ... I
P-integrated network, 11, 41, 71 ... data generation unit, 12, 42, 72 ... tagging unit, 13, 43, 73
... User designation unit, 14, 45, 75 ... QoS service request unit, 21, 51, 56, 81, 86 ... QoS processing unit
25, 55, 85 ... policy control unit, 32, 62 ... best effort network, 62, 33, 63 ... QoS network.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A best-effort network that provides a best-effort service that does not guarantee the bandwidth used by a communication application, and a quality-guaranteed network that provides a quality-guaranteed service that guarantees the bandwidth used by the communication application Receives a changeable and explicit specification regarding the bandwidth to be used for each communication from a communication terminal equipped with the communication application in an integrated service network in which the communication application is installed logically or physically, and An integrated service network, comprising: a bandwidth designation processing means for performing a process corresponding to. 2. The integrated service network according to claim 1, wherein said communication application is a client-server type, wherein said bandwidth designation processing means uses a bandwidth to be used for communication in a first direction from said client to a server. A first-direction bandwidth specification processing unit that receives a changeable and explicit specification regarding the width and performs processing corresponding to the specification; and a change regarding the bandwidth to be used for communication in the second direction from the server to the client. An integrated service network, comprising: a second direction bandwidth specification processing unit that receives a possible and explicit specification and performs processing corresponding to the specification. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the designation is performed by adjusting a communication terminal side request and a network side congestion state, and using an adjustment designation for allocating a bandwidth as close as possible to the communication terminal side. 2. The integrated service network according to claim 1, wherein the bandwidth specification processing unit includes an adjustment specification processing unit that performs a process corresponding to the adjustment specification. 4. The integrated service network according to claim 1, wherein the bandwidth designation processing unit includes a log data collection unit for collecting log data from which a usage fee of the communication application is calculated. A featured integrated service network. 5. The integrated service network according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the best-effort network and the quality assurance network sets an operation policy for the communication application and responds to the operation policy. An integrated service network comprising a policy execution unit for executing flow control.