JP2005072679A - Band sharing system, band sharing method, band control apparatus and gateway apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable simultaneous data communication by a plurality of terminals under a single band contract. <P>SOLUTION: A communication monitoring means 21 monitors a connection request with an external network which has been transmitted from a terminal existing in a communication network, and when finding the connecting request, the means 21 notifies a QoS management means 11 of the terminal identification information of this terminal 1. The means 11 checks whether or not the notified terminal identification information is stored in a user DB storing means 12 (2), acquires contractor information and contract band information corresponding to the terminal identification information (3) if the information is stored, grasps a terminal during communication among the terminals of terminal identification information corresponding to the contractor information (4), and calculates a communication band which the terminal during communication and each terminal of the above terminal identification information can use (5-8). Then, a QoS control means 22 is informed of a combination of the terminal identification information of each terminal and the communication band information (9), and control of assigning the communication band for each terminal is performed (10). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a band sharing system, a band sharing method, a band control apparatus, and a gateway apparatus that monitor a communication status of a terminal connected to a communication network and capable of data communication, and manage and control a communication band based on pre-registered information. About.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, when a user performs data communication using a terminal (for example, a mobile phone, a PDA, a notebook personal computer, etc.), a line contract is concluded with a communication company for each terminal, and a line provided by each line contract is set. Each terminal uses it individually and exclusively.
[0003]
Also, for example, in the following Patent Document 1, when individual ID information is given to each of a plurality of terminals and those terminals are within the effective range of the specific low-power wireless communication, a call is made between these terminals. The number of specified lines can be obtained by temporarily disabling the communication function of the terminal that has received and received the number usage right and can only communicate with the terminal that has the right to use. A technology that enables communication using a plurality of terminals with a contract for (for example, one line) is mentioned.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2000-224656 A
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional form in which a line contract is concluded for each terminal, an individual line contract is required even for a terminal that is less frequently used. In some cases, the use of communication at the terminal is abandoned in consideration of cost. This is very inconvenient for the user. Also, in recent years, flat-rate communication services with fixed usage charges using PHS terminals have been provided, but in the conventional form, when multiple PHS terminals are used, contracts for flat-rate communication services for multiple units are also concluded. Was necessary.
[0006]
Further, in the technique of Patent Document 1, since all terminals that use the contracted line for communication need to be located within the effective range of specific low-power wireless communication, the convenience of the terminal that can be carried anywhere Will be greatly impaired.
[0007]
Furthermore, there is a serious problem that while a certain terminal obtains the right to use a telephone number and performs communication, other terminals cannot perform communication, so that the terminal does not substantially function as a terminal. Occur.
[0008]
The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and a band sharing system, a band sharing method, a band control apparatus, and a gateway that enable simultaneous data communication by a plurality of terminals under one band contract. An object is to provide an apparatus.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a band sharing system according to the present invention is provided between a communication network and an external network, and a communication monitoring means for monitoring communication between the communication network and the external network, and a communication band based on QoS. A gateway device comprising QoS control means for performing allocation control, QoS management means connected to the gateway device for managing information relating to QoS, contractor information for each user, contract bandwidth information, and the contract bandwidth A bandwidth sharing system comprising: a bandwidth control device including a user DB holding unit that holds terminal identification information of one or more terminals used in units of users, wherein the communication monitoring unit includes: Monitoring the connection request with the external network transmitted from the terminal existing in the communication network, and when the connection request is found, the terminal identification information of the terminal The QoS management means confirms whether the terminal identification information notified from the communication monitoring means is held in the user DB holding means, and if it is held, the terminal The contractor information and the contract bandwidth information corresponding to the identification information are acquired, the terminal in communication among the terminals of one or more terminal identification information associated with the contractor information is grasped, the terminal in communication, A communication bandwidth that can be used by each terminal of the notified terminal identification information is calculated, a set of terminal identification information and communication bandwidth information for each terminal is notified to the QoS control means, and the QoS control means Based on a set of terminal identification information and communication band information for each terminal notified from the management means, control is performed so that the communication band is allocated to communication by each terminal.
[0010]
Also, the bandwidth sharing method according to the present invention is provided between a communication network and an external network, and a communication monitoring means for monitoring communication between the communication network and the external network, and QoS for performing communication band allocation control based on QoS. A gateway device including a control unit; a QoS management unit that is connected to the gateway device and manages QoS-related information; contractor information for each user; contract bandwidth information; and 1 used under the contract bandwidth A bandwidth sharing method in a bandwidth sharing system including a bandwidth control device including a user DB retaining unit that retains terminal identification information of two or more terminals in units of users, wherein the communication monitoring unit includes: Monitors a connection request with an external network transmitted from a terminal existing in the communication network, and when the connection request is found, the terminal identification information of the terminal is The first step of notifying the QoS management means, and the QoS management means confirms whether or not the terminal identification information notified from the communication monitoring means is held in the user DB holding means, and if it is held , Acquiring contractor information and contract bandwidth information corresponding to the terminal identification information, grasping a terminal in communication among terminals of one or more terminal identification information associated with the contractor information, and performing the communication A second step of calculating a communication band that can be used by each of the terminal and the terminal of the notified terminal identification information, and notifying the QoS control means of a set of terminal identification information and communication band information for each terminal; The QoS control means allocates the communication band for communication by each terminal based on the set of terminal identification information and communication band information for each terminal notified from the QoS management means. And having a third step of controlling so.
[0011]
According to the present invention as described above, the gateway apparatus including the communication monitoring unit and the QoS control unit configured as described above, and the bandwidth control apparatus including the QoS management unit and the user DB holding unit are configured. In the bandwidth sharing system, the communication monitoring unit monitors a connection request with an external network transmitted from a terminal existing in the communication network, and when the connection request is found, the terminal identification information of the terminal is sent to the QoS management unit. Notice. The QoS management unit that has received the notification confirms whether or not the notified terminal identification information is held in the user DB holding unit, and if it is held, the contractor information and the contract bandwidth corresponding to the terminal identification information. Information is acquired and the terminal in communication among the terminals of one or more terminal identification information matched with the said contractor information is grasped | ascertained. Then, the QoS management means calculates a communication band that can be used by each of the terminal in communication and the terminal of the notified terminal identification information, and sets the combination of the terminal identification information and the communication band information for each terminal to the QoS control means. Notice. Upon receiving the notification, the QoS control means controls to allocate the communication band for communication by each terminal based on the set of terminal identification information and communication band information for each terminal notified from the QoS management means.
[0012]
In accordance with the contractor information, contract bandwidth information, and terminal identification information held (registered) in advance in this way, the communication bandwidth to be allocated to the terminals that are to perform data communication at the same time is calculated in real time. Thus, simultaneous data communication by a plurality of terminals becomes possible.
[0013]
This eliminates the need for the user to conclude a line contract for each terminal used for communication, and only requires a single band contract. In addition, multiple terminals can be used under one contract. At that time, the total communication bandwidth contracted is shared by all the terminals communicating simultaneously, so the number of terminals that can be connected simultaneously Is not limited, and a plurality of terminals can be used simultaneously.
[0014]
In addition, information related to the terminals used under one contract is collectively held in the user DB holding means in the bandwidth control device, so that it is possible to operate the communication authority of each terminal on the network side. This eliminates the need for terminals to exchange communication authority, and places where terminals communicate are not limited.
[0015]
In addition, since the total communication bandwidth contracted is shared by multiple terminals, it is expected that the use efficiency of the contracted bandwidth will be improved due to the aggregation effect, rather than making a line contract individually for each terminal. it can.
[0016]
By the way, the bandwidth control apparatus constituting the bandwidth sharing system according to the present invention has the following characteristic configuration.
[0017]
A bandwidth control apparatus according to the present invention is provided between a communication network and an external network, and a communication monitoring means for monitoring communication between the communication network and the external network; and a QoS control means for performing communication band allocation control based on QoS. A user DB holding means connected to the gateway device, and for each user, holding the terminal identification information of the terminal used under the contract bandwidth, and the gateway device. Confirms whether or not the terminal identification information notified from the user DB holding means is held, and if it is held, obtains contractor information and contract bandwidth information corresponding to the terminal identification information, and The terminal in communication among the terminals of one or more terminal identification information associated with the person information, the terminal in communication and the terminal of the notified terminal identification information Calculating a communication bandwidth available by each, characterized by comprising a QoS management means for notifying the set of communication-bandwidth information with terminal identification information for each terminal to the gateway device.
[0018]
The QoS management means checks whether or not the terminal identification information notified from the gateway device is held in the user DB holding means, and if it is held, the contractor information and the contract bandwidth information corresponding to the terminal identification information To obtain a terminal in communication among terminals of one or more terminal identification information associated with the contractor information, and each of the terminal in communication and the terminal of the notified terminal identification information An available communication band is calculated, and a set of terminal identification information and communication band information for each terminal is notified to the gateway device. As a result, communication band can be calculated and allocated according to the contractor information, contract band information, and terminal identification information held (registered) in advance.
[0019]
In the bandwidth control apparatus as described above, the QoS management means can adopt an algorithm for assigning a communication bandwidth to each terminal, and the user DB holding means adopts the algorithm in association with the terminal identification information. In response to the inquiry about the terminal identification information from the QoS management means that further retains the weighting information necessary at the time and adopts the algorithm, the contractor information corresponding to the terminal identification information, the contract bandwidth information, the terminal identification information, and the weighting information It is desirable to have a configuration that responds. As a communication bandwidth allocation algorithm, the QoS management means may employ an equally allocating algorithm, but may employ an algorithm that assigns a weight to each terminal, and provides a difference in the weighting information for each terminal. Thus, it is possible to give flexibility to the allocation of the communication band for each terminal.
[0020]
In addition, the bandwidth control device described above can use a line type of an available terminal (for example, a line type according to the type of a terminal such as a fixed telephone, PHS, second generation mobile phone, and third generation mobile phone) and the line type. A line DB that stores the maximum bandwidth information in association with the terminal, determines the line type from the terminal identification information notified from the QoS management means, and notifies the QoS management means of the maximum bandwidth information corresponding to the line type A QoS management unit that notifies the line DB holding unit of terminal identification information for each target terminal for which an available communication bandwidth has been calculated, and from the line DB holding unit for each target terminal. The notified maximum bandwidth is compared with the available communication bandwidth, and if the available communication bandwidth does not exceed the maximum bandwidth, the available communication bandwidth is passed to the QoS control means as the communication bandwidth. And, if the communication bandwidth available exceeds the maximum bandwidth, it is preferable to adopt a configuration that notifies the QoS control unit the maximum band as the communication band. In this case, assignment of a communication band exceeding the maximum band for each line type is avoided, and an appropriate communication band can be assigned according to the line type of the terminal.
[0021]
Furthermore, in the above bandwidth control device, the QoS management means calculates a difference bandwidth between the communication bandwidth available for the terminal and the maximum bandwidth when the communication bandwidth available for a certain terminal exceeds the maximum bandwidth, The calculated difference band is added to the available communication band for other terminals whose available communication band does not exceed the maximum band, and the added communication band is calculated as the communication band of the other terminal. It is desirable to adopt a configuration that does this. In this case, it is possible to calculate a more efficient communication band by allocating an excess band (corresponding to a difference band) allocated to a certain terminal to a terminal having a margin with respect to another maximum band. Become.
[0022]
The gateway device constituting the bandwidth sharing system according to the present invention has the following characteristic configuration.
[0023]
The gateway device according to the present invention includes QoS management means for managing information related to QoS, contractor information for each user, contract bandwidth information, and terminal identification information of one or more terminals used under the contract bandwidth. A gateway device that is connected to a bandwidth control device having a user DB holding means that is held in units of users and exists between a communication network and an external network, and is an external device transmitted from a terminal existing in the communication network Monitoring the connection request with the network, and when the connection request is found, the communication monitoring means for notifying the QoS management means of the terminal identification information of the terminal, and the terminal that has made the connection request and the terminal that is in communication, A set of terminal identification information and communication band information for each terminal is received from the QoS management means, and each terminal is based on the set of terminal identification information and communication band information. Characterized in that a QoS control means for controlling so that to communicate with allocating the communication band.
[0024]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0025]
[Configuration of bandwidth sharing system and main equipment]
FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration example of a band sharing system 1 according to an embodiment of the invention.
[0026]
In this example, the user 90 possesses a mobile terminal 101, an ISDN terminal 201, and a PHS terminal 301 as terminals used for communication. Among these, the mobile terminal 101 itself has the capability of performing data communication, and the ISDN terminal 201 and the PHS terminal 301 are connected to communication devices 92 and 93 that perform data communication, respectively, and are used as bearers for data communication. ing.
[0027]
The mobile terminal 101 can be connected to the mobile communication network 110 via the mobile communication line 100. The ISDN terminal 201 can be connected to the ISDN communication network 210 via the ISDN communication line 200. The PHS terminal 301 can be connected to the PHS communication network 310 via the PHS communication line 300. In addition to the above, any terminal / line / network such as an analog fixed terminal / line / network may be used.
[0028]
When applying the present invention, when a certain user has a plurality of terminals, each terminal does not require a line contract for each individual line for using each communication network. The following description will be made on the assumption that each communication network can be used as an access network by each terminal under the bandwidth contract by signing the bandwidth contract with the communication service company.
[0029]
That is, in each communication network, there is no need to hold line contract information for each individual line related to each terminal, and contract information related to all users is held in a batch in the user DB holding means 12 (FIG. 2) described later. The Only the terminals registered in advance in the user DB holding means 12 can use each communication network as an access network and can actually perform data communication with the external network 99.
[0030]
In the band sharing system 1, a gateway device (indicated as “GW device” in the drawing) 20 is provided as a device for interconnecting each communication network with an external network 99 (Internet, etc.). Data signals exchanged with the network 99 are always transmitted via the gateway device 20.
[0031]
Further, the band sharing system 1 is provided with a single band control device 10 connected to each gateway device 20, and this band control device 10 collects information on the communication status of each terminal from the gateway device 20. Then, according to information registered in advance for each terminal, the communication band usable in each terminal is calculated in real time, and the calculated communication band information is returned to the gateway device 20.
[0032]
The gateway device 20 that has received the calculated communication band information controls to limit the communication band that can be used by each terminal according to the communication band information (details will be described later).
[0033]
FIG. 2 shows a configuration diagram of the bandwidth control device 10 and the gateway device 20. As shown in FIG. 2, the bandwidth control device 10 includes a QoS management unit 11, a user DB holding unit 12, and a line DB holding unit 13, and the gateway device 20 includes a communication monitoring unit 21 and a QoS control unit. 22.
[0034]
In this example, the bandwidth control device 10 includes the line DB holding unit 13 in order to perform more efficient bandwidth sharing by referring to the maximum bandwidth information for each line type. However, in some cases (that is, when the maximum bandwidth information for each line type is not referred to and more efficient bandwidth management is not performed), the line DB holding unit 13 is not essential, so the line DB holding unit 13 It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which no exists.
[0035]
The communication monitoring means 21 provided in the gateway device 20 monitors access from a terminal that is newly establishing a connection to communicate with the external network 99 as needed. When an access from a terminal to newly establish a connection is detected, information for identifying the terminal (such as a telephone number assigned to the terminal) is added, and the information is notified to the bandwidth control apparatus 10.
[0036]
Further, the QoS control means 22 provided in the gateway device 20 plays a role of adjusting a communication band that can be used by the terminal according to information (a set of terminal identification information and communication band information) notified from the band control device 10. Fulfill. At this time, the QoS control means 22 can use any QoS control method / technology / algorithm, and is not limited to a specific QoS control method / technology / algorithm.
[0037]
The QoS management means 11 provided in the bandwidth control device 10 plays a role of calculating the communication bandwidth available at that time by each terminal in real time and notifying the QoS control means 22. When the QoS management unit 11 receives information on the target terminal for calculating the available communication bandwidth from the communication monitoring unit 21, the QoS management unit 11 inquires of the user DB holding unit 12 about the information on the terminal. Then, the QoS management unit 11 calculates a communication band that can be used by the terminal from the information acquired from the user DB holding unit 12 and, in some cases, information about the line type of the terminal acquired from the line DB holding unit 13. To do. This procedure will be described in detail later.
[0038]
In addition, the user DB holding means 12 provided in the bandwidth control device 10 includes, for each user, information related to the total communication bandwidth contracted by the user and the terminal identification of the terminal registered to be used under the contract. Holds (stores) information. Further, the line DB holding means 13 provided in the band control device 10 holds (stores) information on the maximum communication band that can be used for each line type.
[0039]
Here, specific examples of the user DB holding unit 12 and the line DB holding unit 13 will be described in order with reference to FIGS.
[0040]
FIG. 3 shows a specific example of the user DB holding unit 12. In this example, 384 Kbps is set as the contract bandwidth information. In addition, a telephone number is used as terminal identification information for identifying a terminal sharing this band. However, any identification information that can uniquely identify the terminal and can be acquired by the communication monitoring unit 21 is used. You don't have to worry about your phone number.
[0041]
FIG. 3 shows an example in which weighting information for each terminal is held. This is information that can be set according to the user's intention so that when a plurality of registered terminals communicate simultaneously, the method of allocating communication bands to the plurality of terminals can be adjusted according to the convenience of the user.
[0042]
The QoS management means 11 described above has a function of adjusting a communication band allocation method for each terminal and calculating a usable communication band for each of a plurality of terminals. In the present embodiment, for the sake of simplification of explanation, it is assumed that a specific and simple algorithm that uses weighting information set for each terminal is set in the QoS management unit 11. Therefore, FIG. 3 shows an example in which the user DB holding unit 12 holds the weighting information for each terminal that is necessary for the communication band allocation adjustment in the QoS management unit 11.
[0043]
Note that an algorithm other than the weighting algorithm may be used as an algorithm for adjusting the communication band allocation method for each terminal used in the QoS management unit 11. In that case, the information necessary for adjusting the allocation method used in the algorithm is also held in the user DB holding means 12. Furthermore, there is no need to devise any method for allocating the communication band, and the total communication band may be simply divided equally by the number of terminals performing simultaneous communication and allocated to each terminal. In this case, the weighting information shown in FIG. 3 is unnecessary, and the structure of the information held in the user DB holding unit 12 is simplified.
[0044]
Next, FIG. 4 shows a specific example of the line DB holding means 13. As shown in this example, the line DB holding means 13 holds (stores) the line type information indicating the line type and the maximum bandwidth information related to the maximum bandwidth available for the line type in association with each other.
[0045]
When performing more efficient bandwidth management, the QoS management unit 11 needs maximum bandwidth information that can be used for a line type of a certain terminal. In that case, the terminal DB information is notified to the terminal DB holding means 13. Upon receiving the notification, the line DB holding means 13 first identifies the line type. In particular, when a telephone number is used as terminal identification information, it is easy to specify the line type from the number system. Alternatively, “identification information—line type DB holding unit” in which terminal identification information registered in the user DB holding unit 12 and the line type of the terminal identification information are associated with each other is prepared in advance, and the QoS management unit 11 When a line type inquiry is made from the terminal identification information as a key to the line DB holding means 13, the line of the terminal corresponding to the terminal identification information is referred to by referring to the "identification information-line type DB" A mechanism for determining the type may be adopted.
[0046]
As described above, when the line type is determined from the terminal identification information, it is easy to quote the maximum bandwidth information for each line type. Accordingly, when the QoS management unit 11 makes an inquiry about the corresponding line type to the line DB holding unit 13 using the terminal identification information as a key, the line DB holding unit 13 obtains the maximum bandwidth information that can be used for the line type. It can be acquired.
[0047]
[Description of Processing in the Embodiment of the Invention]
Next, a specific procedure of a communication band sharing method by a plurality of terminals in the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, the information shown in FIGS. That is, an example of using a weighting algorithm is shown as a method of allocating available communication bands to terminals. In addition, in order to explain an example in which more efficient bandwidth use is performed using maximum available bandwidth information for each line type, a configuration example in which the bandwidth control device 10 includes the line DB holding unit 13 as shown in FIG. And
[0048]
As shown in FIG. 3, the user 90 contracts a band of 384 Kbps, and registers identification information of four terminals as terminals used under the contract. Also, in this example, in order to show a specific example of adjusting the communication band allocation method for each terminal, it is assumed that weighting information is preset for each terminal.
[0049]
It is assumed that the user 90 is in data communication with the external network 99 in advance using the mobile terminal 101 (terminal identification information: 090-xxxx-xxxx). Here, as an example, it is assumed that the mobile terminal 101 is a third generation mobile phone. Then, as can be seen from the line DB holding means 13 shown in FIG. 4, since the maximum bandwidth of the third generation mobile phone is 384 Kbps, the user 90 communicates with the external network 99 using the mobile terminal 101 with the communication bandwidth of 384 Kbps. It was in there.
[0050]
In this situation, it is assumed that the user 90 newly starts communication with the external network 99 using the PHS terminal 301 (terminal identification information: 070-zzzz-zzzz). Then, the communication monitoring means 21 of the gateway apparatus 20 connecting the PHS communication network 310 and the external network 99 detects a request for establishing a new communication connection, and indicates that there is a request for establishing a new communication connection. The terminal identification information of the terminal that has made the establishment request (in this example, the telephone number “070-zzzz-zzzz” given to the terminal) is notified to the QoS management means 11 (operation (1) in FIG. 5, FIG. 6). S01).
[0051]
Upon receiving the notification from the communication monitoring unit 21, the QoS management unit 11 inquires of the user DB holding unit 12 whether or not the terminal identification information is registered in the user DB holding unit 12 in advance (operation (2) in FIG. 5). S02 in FIG. 6).
[0052]
Here, when the terminal identification information is held in advance by the user DB holding means 12 (in the case of an affirmative determination in S03 of FIG. 6), the user DB holding means 12 displays various information related to the terminal corresponding to the terminal identification information. (Contractor information, contract bandwidth information, weighting information associated with the terminal identification information) is returned to the QoS management means 11 (operation (3) in FIG. 5, S04 in FIG. 6).
[0053]
On the other hand, when the terminal identification information is not held in advance by the user DB holding unit 12 (in the case of negative determination in S03 in FIG. 6), the user DB holding unit 12 sends the terminal identification information to the QoS management unit 11. A notification that it is not held by the user DB holding means 12 is made (S13 in FIG. 6). Upon receiving such notification, the QoS management unit 11 takes measures such as not allowing communication of the terminal having the terminal identification information (S14 in FIG. 6).
[0054]
The QoS management unit 11 that has received the reply in S04 in FIG. 6 uses the various types of information regarding the returned terminal for each user to check the communication status of the terminal that the user has registered in advance and is currently communicating. To grasp. Specifically, the subscriber information of the communicating user, the contract bandwidth information, the set of the terminal identification information and the weighting information of the communicating terminal, and the total sum of the weights associated with the communicating terminal are collectively grasped ( Operation (4) in FIG. 5, S05 in FIG.
[0055]
Next, the QoS management means 11 uses the weighting information of each terminal in communication, the sum of the above weights, and the contract bandwidth information, based on the following formula (1), and can be used by each terminal in communication. The bandwidth is calculated, and the calculation result is temporarily stored in the memory area in the QoS management means 11 as usable bandwidth information at each terminal (operation (5) in FIG. 5, S06 in FIG. 6).
Available bandwidth at terminal = contracted bandwidth × (weight of the terminal / sum of weights) (1)
[0056]
The available bandwidth at each terminal calculated here may be transmitted to the QoS control means 22 as it is. However, since the terminal having the identification number “070-zzzz-zzzz” is a PHS terminal here, only a communication band of 64 Kbps can be used at maximum. For this reason, of the allocated bandwidth of 153.6 Kbps, the unused communication bandwidth of 89.6 Kbps is wasted.
[0057]
Therefore, in order to solve such a problem, the QoS management unit 11 notifies the line DB holding unit 13 of the terminal identification information of the communicating terminal after the operation (5) in FIG. 5 (operation (6 in FIG. 5). ), S07 in FIG. Upon receiving the notification, the line DB holding means 13 identifies the line type of the terminal from the notified terminal identification information. In this example, since the telephone number assigned to the terminal is used as the terminal identification information, the line type can be specified by determining the telephone number numbering system.
[0058]
When the line DB holding means 13 specifies the line type in this way, it returns the maximum bandwidth information registered for each line type to the QoS management means 11. In this example, it is determined that “090-xxxx-xxxx” is the third-generation mobile phone and “070-zzzz-zzzz” is the PHS, so that the maximum bandwidth information of 384 Kbps and 64 Kbps is returned to the QoS management unit 11, respectively. (Operation (7) in FIG. 5, S08 in FIG. 6).
[0059]
By the operations (5) and (7) in FIG. 5 described above, the QoS management unit 11 obtains usable bandwidth information and maximum bandwidth information for each terminal in communication. Here, the QoS management unit 11 determines whether there is a terminal whose available bandwidth exceeds the maximum bandwidth (S09 in FIG. 6).
[0060]
If there is no terminal whose usable bandwidth exceeds the maximum bandwidth, the process proceeds to S11 in FIG.
[0061]
On the other hand, if there is a terminal whose available bandwidth exceeds the maximum bandwidth, the available bandwidth information is updated for the corresponding terminal so that the maximum bandwidth is the available bandwidth (S10 in FIG. 6). The reduced amount (difference between the maximum bandwidth and the available bandwidth) is assigned to other terminals as follows, and the available bandwidth information of the other terminals is updated (S10 in FIG. 6).
[0062]
For example, considering the maximum bandwidth, the execution bandwidth of the PHS terminal “070-zzzz-zzzz” is derived as 64 Kbps. Then, the remaining available bandwidth is 320 Kbps. Since 320 Kbps is within the range of the maximum bandwidth of the third generation mobile phone “090-xxxx-xxxx”, all (320 Kbps) are allocated to the third generation mobile phone “090-xxxx-xxxx” (FIG. 5). (8), S10 in FIG.
[0063]
In the above example, since there is only one terminal whose usable bandwidth does not exceed the maximum bandwidth, all of the excess communication bandwidth is allocated to the terminal, but the usable bandwidth is the maximum. When there are a plurality of terminals that do not exceed the bandwidth, the surplus communication bandwidth may be reassigned according to the weighting of each terminal. Of course, a separate allocation algorithm can be adopted for such reallocation of the excess communication band.
[0064]
Next, in S11 of FIG. 6, the QoS management unit 11 associates the available communication band information for each terminal with the terminal identification information of each terminal and notifies the QoS control unit 22 (FIG. 5). Operation (9)).
[0065]
Then, the QoS control means 22 performs QoS control corresponding to the available communication band for the terminal for the terminal performing data communication with the external network 99 using the corresponding terminal identification information (FIG. 5). Operation (10), S12 in FIG. Note that the algorithm employed in the QoS control here need not be limited to a specific one, and various algorithms can be selected and employed as appropriate.
[0066]
According to the embodiment described above, the communication bandwidth to be allocated to each of a plurality of terminals that are to communicate simultaneously is calculated in real time, and simultaneous communication by a plurality of terminals is realized under a single bandwidth contract. Can do. At this time, the number of terminals that can communicate simultaneously is not limited. In addition, it is not necessary for the user to conclude a line contract for each terminal used for communication, and only one band contract is required.
[0067]
In addition, the information about the terminals used under one contract is collectively held in the user DB holding means 12 in the bandwidth control apparatus 10, so that the operation of the communication authority of each terminal can be performed on the network side (band control It is possible for the administrator of the device 10) to perform the communication, and it is not necessary for the terminals to exchange communication authority, and the place where the terminals communicate is not limited.
[0068]
Furthermore, since the total communication bandwidth contracted by a plurality of terminals is shared, the utilization efficiency of the contract bandwidth is improved due to the aggregation effect as compared with the case where a line contract is individually made at each terminal.
[0069]
Regarding the improvement of the utilization efficiency of the contracted bandwidth, FIG. 7 shows a comparison diagram of the bandwidth usage status according to the conventional technology and the bandwidth usage status when the present invention is applied.
[0070]
Conventionally, the user needs to conclude an individual line contract for each terminal. For example, since the maximum bandwidth of the third generation mobile phone is 384 Kbps, the usage status 71 of the total bandwidth 384 Kbps is 384 Kbps is fully used during communication with the third generation mobile phone, but communication with the third generation mobile phone is not possible. When it is not, it is in a situation where it is not used at all.
[0071]
On the other hand, by applying the present invention, the usage status of each terminal when a user enters into a contract for a total bandwidth of 384 Kbps and uses a third-generation mobile phone, ISDN terminal, or PHS terminal under the contract is used. Shown as situations 73, 74, 75. Here, for comparison, it is assumed that the usage times of the third-generation mobile phones are the same in the usage statuses 71 and 73. At this time, the usage status of the total bandwidth 384 Kbps when the present invention is applied is shown as usage status 72.
[0072]
As is apparent from a comparison of the usage statuses 71 and 72, when the present invention is applied (utilization status 72), there is less surplus bandwidth that is not used than in the past (utilization status 71), and the total bandwidth is 384 Kbps. It can be seen that is effectively used.
[0073]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, in accordance with the contractor information, contract bandwidth information, and terminal identification information held (registered) in advance, the communication bandwidth allocated to the terminals that are to perform data communication at the same time is calculated in real time. In addition, simultaneous data communication by a plurality of terminals becomes possible under one bandwidth contract. This eliminates the need for the user to conclude a line contract for each terminal used for communication, and only requires a single band contract. In addition, multiple terminals can be used under one contract. At that time, the total communication bandwidth contracted is shared by all the terminals communicating simultaneously, so the number of terminals that can be connected simultaneously Is not limited, and a plurality of terminals can be used simultaneously.
[0074]
In addition, information related to the terminals used under one contract is collectively held in the user DB holding means in the bandwidth control device, so that it is possible to operate the communication authority of each terminal on the network side. This eliminates the need for terminals to exchange communication authority, and places where terminals communicate are not limited.
[0075]
In addition, since the total communication bandwidth contracted is shared by multiple terminals, it is expected that the use efficiency of the contracted bandwidth will be improved due to the aggregation effect, rather than making a line contract individually for each terminal. it can.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a band sharing system according to an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of a bandwidth control device and a gateway device in a bandwidth sharing system.
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of user unit information held by a user DB holding unit;
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a specific example of maximum bandwidth information for each line type held by a line DB holding unit.
FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining processing in a bandwidth control device and a gateway device.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a series of processes in the bandwidth control device and the gateway device.
FIG. 7 is a diagram comparing a conventional bandwidth usage situation and a bandwidth usage situation when the present invention is applied.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Band share system, 10 ... Band control apparatus, 11 ... QoS management means, 12 ... User DB holding means, 13 ... Line DB holding means, 20 ... Gateway apparatus, 21 ... Communication monitoring means, 22 ... QoS control means, 90 ... User, 92 ... Communication equipment (for ISDN terminal connection), 93 ... Communication equipment (for PHS terminal connection), 99 ... External network, 100 ... Mobile communication line, 101 ... Mobile terminal, 110 ... Mobile communication network, 200 ... ISDN Communication line 201 ... ISDN terminal 210 ... ISDN communication network 300 ... PHS communication line 301 ... PHS terminal 310 ... PHS communication network

Claims (7)

A gateway device that exists between a communication network and an external network, and includes a communication monitoring unit that monitors communication between the communication network and the external network, and a QoS control unit that performs allocation control of a communication band based on QoS;
QoS management means connected to the gateway device for managing QoS-related information, contractor information for each user, contract bandwidth information, and terminal identification information for one or more terminals used under the contract bandwidth A bandwidth control device comprising user DB holding means held in units;
A band sharing system configured to include:
The communication monitoring unit monitors a connection request with an external network transmitted from a terminal existing in the communication network, and notifies the QoS management unit of terminal identification information of the terminal when the connection request is found.
The QoS management means checks whether or not the terminal identification information notified from the communication monitoring means is held in the user DB holding means, and if it is held, the contractor information corresponding to the terminal identification information And the contracted bandwidth information, grasping the terminal in communication among the terminals of one or more terminal identification information associated with the contractor information, and the terminal in communication and the notified terminal identification information A communication band that can be used by each terminal is calculated, and a set of terminal identification information and communication band information for each terminal is notified to the QoS control means,
The QoS control means controls to allocate the communication band for communication by each terminal based on a set of terminal identification information and communication band information for each terminal notified from the QoS management means.
A bandwidth sharing system characterized by that. A gateway device that exists between a communication network and an external network, and includes a communication monitoring unit that monitors communication between the communication network and the external network, and a QoS control unit that performs allocation control of a communication band based on QoS;
QoS management means connected to the gateway device for managing QoS-related information, contractor information for each user, contract bandwidth information, and terminal identification information for one or more terminals used under the contract bandwidth A bandwidth control device comprising user DB holding means held in units;
A bandwidth sharing method in a bandwidth sharing system configured to include:
The communication monitoring means monitors a connection request with an external network transmitted from a terminal existing in the communication network, and notifies the QoS management means of the terminal identification information of the terminal when the connection request is found. One step,
The QoS management means checks whether or not the terminal identification information notified from the communication monitoring means is held in the user DB holding means, and if it is held, the contractor information corresponding to the terminal identification information And the contracted bandwidth information, grasping the terminal in communication among the terminals of one or more terminal identification information associated with the contractor information, and the terminal in communication and the notified terminal identification information A second step of calculating a communication band that can be used by each terminal and notifying the QoS control means of a set of terminal identification information and communication band information for each terminal;
A third step for controlling the QoS control means to allocate the communication band for communication by each terminal based on a set of terminal identification information and communication band information for each terminal notified from the QoS management means;
A bandwidth sharing method comprising: Connected to a gateway device that exists between a communication network and an external network, and includes a communication monitoring means for monitoring communication between the communication network and the external network, and a QoS control means for performing communication band allocation control based on QoS And
User DB holding means for holding user contractor information, contract bandwidth information, and terminal identification information of terminals used under the contract bandwidth in units of users,
Check whether the terminal identification information notified from the gateway device is held in the user DB holding means, if it is held, obtain the contractor information and the contract bandwidth information corresponding to the terminal identification information, Communication that can be used by each of the terminal in communication and the terminal of the notified terminal identification information by grasping the terminal in communication among terminals of one or more terminal identification information associated with the contractor information A QoS management means for calculating a bandwidth and notifying the gateway device of a set of terminal identification information and communication bandwidth information for each terminal;
A bandwidth control apparatus characterized by that. The QoS management means includes:
It is possible to adopt an algorithm that weights communication bandwidth allocation for each terminal,
The user DB holding means
In association with terminal identification information, further holding weighting information required when adopting the algorithm,
Responding to the inquiry about the terminal identification information from the QoS management means adopting the algorithm, the contractor information corresponding to the terminal identification information, the contract bandwidth information, the terminal identification information, and the weighting information,
The band control device according to claim 3. The band control device includes:
The line type of the available terminal and the maximum bandwidth information in the line type are stored in association with each other, the line type is determined from the terminal identification information notified from the QoS management unit, and the maximum bandwidth corresponding to the line type is determined. Line DB holding means for notifying the QoS management means of information,
The QoS management means includes:
The terminal identification information for each target terminal for which the available communication band is calculated is notified to the line DB holding unit, and the maximum band notified from the line DB holding unit and the available communication band for each target terminal If the available communication bandwidth does not exceed the maximum bandwidth, the available communication bandwidth is notified to the QoS control means as the communication bandwidth, and the available communication bandwidth exceeds the maximum bandwidth Notifies the QoS control means of the maximum bandwidth as a communication bandwidth,
The band control device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein The QoS management means includes:
When the available communication bandwidth of a terminal exceeds the maximum bandwidth, the difference bandwidth between the available bandwidth and the maximum bandwidth for the terminal is calculated, and the available communication bandwidth does not exceed the maximum bandwidth. Adding the calculated difference band to the available communication band for the terminal, and calculating the communication band after the addition as the communication band of the other terminal;
6. The bandwidth control apparatus according to claim 5, wherein QoS management means for managing information related to QoS, and user DB holding that holds contractor information for each user, contract bandwidth information, and terminal identification information of one or more terminals used under the contract bandwidth for each user A gateway device connected between the communication network and the external network.
A communication monitoring means for monitoring a connection request to an external network transmitted from a terminal existing in the communication network, and notifying the QoS management means of terminal identification information of the terminal when the connection request is found;
A terminal identification information and communication band information set for each terminal is received from the QoS management means for the terminal that has made the connection request and the terminal in communication, and based on the set of the terminal identification information and the communication band information, respectively. QoS control means for controlling to allocate the communication band for communication by the terminal of
A gateway device comprising:

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