JP2005072720A - Communication network system, communication path selecting apparatus, and information communication means - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication system capable of utilizing the optimum channel corresponding to the quality necessary for an application in a communication network having a plurality of channels for performing communication from a terminal device connected to a mesh-like network configured by mutually connecting a plurality of nodes to an external network. <P>SOLUTION: When the terminal device connected to the mesh-like network configured by mutually connecting a plurality of nodes accesses the external network via this mesh-like network. In this case, if there are many channels from the mesh-like network to the external network, a node directly connected to the terminal device collates the communication quality required for transferring the data inputted from this terminal device with the communication quality of each of the communication channels, and selects the optimum communication channel for transferring the data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication network system, a communication path selection device, and an information communication method for performing information communication by accessing a server on an external network from a terminal device that joins a network composed of nodes connected in a mesh, for example.

  There is an ad hoc network as one of the recent wireless technologies. This ad hoc network takes a form (multi-hop communication) in which a large number of terminals are connected to each other without the intervention of an access point. A network is formed to enable use of multiple routes. For this reason, base stations and access points are not required in ad hoc networks, and it is possible to build a network at a low cost in a place without such infrastructure, which is effective as a means for building a simple network in a limited area. It is.

  However, in an ad hoc network, each node autonomously wirelessly connects and configures the network, so unlike a wired network, for example, the communication rate changes from moment to moment. It is difficult to ensure steady quality.

One countermeasure is to control the activation of application software (hereinafter referred to as an application) in accordance with the data communication rate in the network so that the application is always operated in a good operating state. For example, the data communication rate between the client terminal and the host terminal in the network is measured, and based on the measurement history, the communication rate is less than the communication rate for operating the predetermined application of the client terminal normally. When it is determined, there is a technique for restricting activation of a predetermined application of the client terminal (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-122672 A

  However, the device described in Patent Document 1 can be activated and normally operated in a client terminal according to a communication rate obtained by measuring a communication rate of a communication line between target terminals in a network. The control is performed so that only the application can be started, and there is a disadvantage that the target application cannot be started when the communication rate requested by the application cannot be obtained.

  In an ad hoc network, only the optimum route for each node is calculated, and communication is performed using the route. However, in this case, even if there are a plurality of nodes that access the outside of the ad hoc network, in the current situation of using general TCP / IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol), it is possible to use one session by application software or the like as one route. However, since it cannot be distributed during the same session, there is an inconvenience that the advantage of having multiple routes cannot be utilized.

  In view of such a point, the present invention provides a communication network having a plurality of paths for communicating with an external network from a terminal device connected to a mesh network configured by connecting a plurality of nodes to each other. The purpose of this paper is to propose a communication method that can use the optimum route that meets the required quality.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention provides a method for accessing an external network from a terminal device connected to a mesh network formed by connecting a plurality of nodes to each other via the mesh network. When there are a plurality of communication paths from the mesh network to the external network, the node directly connected to the terminal device is required to transfer the data input from the terminal device and the communication quality and each communication path. The communication quality is checked and the optimum communication path for transferring the data is selected, and more specifically, between the node directly connected to the terminal device and the server of the external network Tunnel setting means for setting a tunnel in the communication path and an application for recording the communication quality required by the application software type in advance. Type quality recording means, quality confirmation means for monitoring the communication quality of each communication path, communication path quality recording means for recording quality information obtained by monitoring of this quality confirmation means, and this node from one or more terminal devices It is determined which application software type recorded in the application type quality recording unit corresponds to each data input to the application type quality recording unit and the quality recorded in the communication path quality recording unit. It is characterized in that it is provided with route discriminating means for collating information and designating one or a plurality of communication routes ensuring the quality required for each data, and outputting each data to the designated communication route.

  According to the present invention, when there are a plurality of communication paths from the mesh network to the external network, a node directly connected to the terminal device is required to transfer data input from the terminal device. By comparing the communication quality with the communication quality obtained by monitoring each communication path, the communication path having the quality required to transfer the target data is selected and the optimum path is used. .

  Further, according to the present invention, the tunnel setting means is configured to classify the tunnel into either a tunnel that is used only for data communication of a specific application software type or a tunnel that can be used for data communication of any application software type. It is characterized by.

  In the present invention, when the tunnel is set, the application of the input data is classified by classifying the tunnel into either a fixed one that is used for a specific application software or a general one that can be used for any application software. By simply specifying the software type, tunnels (communication paths) can be appropriately allocated according to the quality required by the application software type.

  According to the present invention, for example, information on communication quality such as the bandwidth and delay time of each route (tunnel) set for performing communication from an ad hoc mesh network to an external network, packet loss rate, and the like is obtained. Thus, it is possible to select an appropriate route for each communication, such as streaming and download data, audio data, moving image data, and text data input from the terminal device, and the bandwidth of each route can be effectively used. Therefore, it is possible to ensure steady communication quality when accessing the external network from the mesh network.

  Also, tunnels (communication paths) can be applied only by specifying the application software type of the input data by setting the tunnel for specific application software or general use that can be used for any application software. It is possible to allocate appropriately according to the quality required by the software type, and the bandwidth of each route can be effectively used more efficiently.

Hereinafter, an example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
This example is an example applied when accessing an external network such as the Internet from a terminal device subscribing to an autonomous distributed network that realizes communication by ad hoc coupling between nodes having a gateway function. The example ad hoc communication network itself forms a so-called substantially mesh (mesh) network using existing technology such as MANET (Mobile Ad-hoc Networks).

FIG. 1 shows an overall view of the communication network system of this example.
A terminal device 1 is connectable to an ad hoc network including nodes 2 to 7 having a gateway function. The nodes 2 to 7 are interconnected with a plurality of surrounding nodes, and in this example, a network (hereinafter referred to as NW) 10 is formed by IP (Internet Protocol). A server 8 is provided on an external network (hereinafter referred to as an external NW) 20 such as the Internet and receives a communication request and data from the node 6 or 7 on the ad hoc network. This server 8 also functions as a tunnel server that forms a tunnel described later with a node in the NW 10. Reference numeral 9 denotes a terminal device that is communicably connected to the server 8. In this example, the nodes 6 and 7 connected to the access line are access nodes, and the others are general nodes.

FIG. 2 shows a software module configuration of nodes forming the mesh network of this example.
As shown in the figure, a MANET module 30, a tunnel setting module 31, a node authentication module 32, a quality confirmation module 33, an application database (hereinafter referred to as application DB) 34, a tunnel information database (hereinafter referred to as tunnel DB). 35, a routing table 36, a packet input module 37, a packet determination module 38, and a packet output module 39, which are stored in a ROM (Read Only Memory) (not shown).

  The tunnel setting module 31 and the node authentication module 32 function as tunnel setting means, and transmit / receive tunnel formation information, tunnel setting request, node authentication, and the like necessary for setting the tunnel. Then, the quality confirmation module 33 that functions as a quality confirmation unit receives the tunnel setting information from the tunnel setting module 31, and the quality confirmation module 33 in a general node such as the node 2 directly connected to the terminal device is actually connected. Is periodically monitored, the quality information is registered in the tunnel DB 35, and compared with the communication quality required by the application type registered in the application DB 34, which will be described later.

  The application DB 34 is a database that functions as an application type quality recording unit that records communication quality required by an application software (hereinafter referred to as an application) type, and organizes and stores the quality required by data passing through a node for each application. Yes, for example, as shown in FIG. 11 described later, information such as application type, DSCP (DiffServ Code Point), delay time, packet loss rate, transmission band, number of sessions, and the like is registered. This number of sessions represents, for example, the number of sessions that can be controlled simultaneously by the node 2 in the same application type, assuming that a plurality of terminal devices are connected to the node 2 in FIG.

  The tunnel DB 35 functions as a communication path quality recording unit, and quality information obtained by constantly monitoring the tunnel set by the quality confirmation module 33, for example, the ID of an access node on the path as shown in FIG. Information such as IP address, delay time, packet loss rate, allocated bandwidth, and communication quality measurement time are stored.

  In this example, the routing table 36 holds a routing table in an ad hoc network and a set tunneling route table as general routing.

  The MANET module 30 autonomously constructs a network with adjacent nodes, and various proposals have been made, for example, by a working group (WG) of IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) based on the routing table of the routing table 36 described above. Communicates using a simple MANET routing protocol.

  The packet input module 37 processes packets input from a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), or the like on the general node side. The same applies to the access node. The packet input module 37 supplies a packet received from the outside to the packet determination module 38.

  The packet determination module 38 functions as a route discrimination means, specifies the tunnel (communication route) through which the packet information extracted by the packet input module 37 is transferred to the external network by collating the application DB 34 and the tunnel DB 35. Transmit to the packet output module 39. The packet output module 39 outputs the packet to the route specified by the packet determination module 38.

  These modules of each node constitute a control unit by a node authentication module 32, a tunnel setting module 31, a quality confirmation module 33 and a MANET module 30, and a packet input module 37, a packet determination module 38 and a packet output module 39. The packet processing unit is configured, and the control unit and the packet processing unit perform appropriate communication control of packets according to information stored in the application database 34, the tunnel information database 35, and the routing table 36.

The main functions of the general node of each node configured as described above are as follows.
1. Build an ad hoc network autonomously using existing technology.
2. A broadcast from an access node is received, and a tunnel is set based on the information.
3. A connection request is made by tunneling to the access node.
4). Regularly monitor the quality of connected tunnels.
5). It holds a DB that stores the quality required by the input / output application.
6). The database storing the quality of the tunnel monitored in (1) is held.
7). Holds ad hoc network and tunnel route information.
8). It processes packets input from other nodes such as LAN and WAN.
9. Based on the packet information extracted by the packet input module, the packet transfer destination is determined.
10. Output the packet to the route specified by the packet determination module.

The main functions in the access node are as follows.
1. Build an ad hoc network autonomously using existing technology.
2. Information on the access line to which it is connected and the communication band allowed for each node are advertised in the ad hoc network by a technique such as broadcasting.
3. Authenticates connection requests from general nodes.
4). Holds ad hoc network and tunnel route information.
5). It processes packets input from other nodes such as LAN and WAN.
6). Based on the packet information extracted by the packet input module, the packet transfer destination is determined.
7). The packet is output to the route specified by the packet judgment module.

With reference to FIG. 3, information transmission performed between an access node and a general node in the network will be described.
First, the access node periodically broadcasts (distributes) default route (default communication path) information used as tunnel formation information to an unspecified general node from the tunnel setting module 31a. The general node receives the default route information in the tunnel setting module 31a, and makes a connection (tunnel setting) request by tunneling to the access node based on the information.

  In response to the tunnel setting request from the general node, the tunnel setting module 31b outputs a node authentication request signal to the node authentication module 32b. The node authentication module 32b notifies the general node that has requested tunnel setting that node authentication is to be performed. Upon receiving the node authentication notification, the tunnel setting module 32a responds to the access node with respect to the node authentication if there is no problem such as a clearly narrow bandwidth of the tunnel or a high packet loss rate.

  The access node receives a node authentication response from the general node at the node authentication module 32b, supplies a tunnel setting permission signal to the tunnel setting module 31b, and transmits tunnel setting information from the tunnel setting module 31b to the general node. To do.

  In the general node, the tunnel setting module 31a receives the tunnel setting information and registers it in the routing table 36 shown in FIG. 2, and the quality confirmation module 33a regularly monitors the tunnel quality based on the tunnel setting information. The tunnel quality is registered as tunnel information in the tunnel DB 35a. As will be described later, the quality confirmation module 33a refers to the application information registered in the application DB 34a to determine the consistency between the registered tunnel information and the quality required by the application type, and the QoS (Quality of Service). Is realized.

Next, tunnel setting of the communication network system of this example will be described with reference to the explanatory diagrams of FIGS. 4 to 6 and the flowcharts of FIGS.
First, each node constructs an ad hoc network (NW) 10 autonomously using existing technology. Each node has a layer 3 header in an OSI reference model such as an IP / ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) header and a layer 4 header such as a TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) / UDP (User Datagram Protocol) header for a specific application. And information such as delay, bandwidth, and packet loss rate required by the application are held as a database as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of default route information distribution when tunnel setting is performed. The access nodes 6 and 7 connected to the external NW 20 broadcast (distribute) default route (default communication path) information used as tunnel formation information to the effect that they are connected to the outside of the NW 10 to adjacent nodes ( Step S1).

  In this example, the node 2 receives the tunnel formation information of the route passing through the nodes 6 and 3 and the route passing through the nodes 7 and 4 as shown in FIG. The default communication path information that is the basis of this tunnel formation information is constantly broadcast on the NW 10 and is received when the terminal device 1 is connected to the NW 10, and is exchanged at the normal IP layer or at the application layer. Either exchange or not.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of tunnel setting in the ad hoc network of this example. The node 2 requests tunnel setting to the access nodes 6 and 7 according to the received default communication path information (step S2). Existing technology is used for tunnel setting. In order to prevent eavesdropping or the like in the NW 10, for example, the use of the tunnel mode of IPsec (Security Architecture for Internet Protocol) is more preferable than IP-in-IP (RFC 1853) or GRE (RFC 1701).

  The access nodes 6 and 7 determine whether or not to authenticate the requesting node 2 (step S3). If the access nodes 6 and 7 determine that the request is inappropriate as a connection target, the access nodes 6 and 7 reject the authentication and perform authentication for a predetermined number of times. It is determined whether or not the authentication has failed (step S4). If the specified number of times of authentication has not failed, the process returns to step S2 to repeat the tunnel request. When authentication for the specified number of times fails, the tunnel setting process ends. When the access nodes 6 and 7 determine that the node 2 is appropriate as a connection target and authentication is successful, the access nodes 6 and 7 transmit the tunnel information to the node 2 (step S5).

  The node 2 determines whether the tunnel information received from the access nodes 6 and 7 is valid for the node 2 (step S6), and if not valid, ends the tunnel setting process. If the node 2 is determined to be valid, the node 2 sets a tunnel between the node 2, the node 6 and the node 7 based on the received tunnel information (step S7).

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of tunnel setup outside the mesh network of this example. Tunnels 11 and 12 established between the node 2 connected to the terminal device 1 and the access nodes 6 and 7 are used, and a tunnel is set between the server 8 on the external network 20. The node 2 requests a tunnel connection from the respective tunnels 11 and 12 for which the default communication path is set to the server 8 outside the NW 10. At this time, authentication by the server 8 is performed. For node identification, the device ID of the node and the IP address in the NW 10 are transmitted and used for authentication.

  The tunnel server 8 performs the following registration in addition to the normal authentication process. There are a plurality of IP addresses used for the node 2 corresponding to the communication paths. By registering these IP addresses, communication from a plurality of tunnels is identified as one flow. The tunnel server 8 removes the headers of the packets arriving from a plurality of tunnels established between the node 2 and returns to one flow based on the IP address.

  When the server 8 determines that the connection target is inappropriate as a connection setting request from the node 2, the server 8 rejects the authentication. Further, if there is no problem as a connection target, it is determined that the connection is appropriate, and a message that authentication is permitted is returned to the node 2, and a tunnel is set between the node 2 and the server 8 using the tunnel 11. Similarly, a tunnel between the node 2 and the server 8 is set using the tunnel 12 set in the NW 10. The set tunnel information is registered in the tunnel DB. In the example of FIG. 6, there are two tunnels (communication paths) that can access the terminal device 1 of the NW 10 to the server 8 of the external NW 20.

Next, a steady tunnel monitoring phase for monitoring the quality of the set tunnel will be described.
First, when the node 2 sets a tunnel, the newly set tunnel information is additionally registered in the tunnel DB (step S8). The tunnel addition flow at this time will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

  The node 2 determines whether or not an application that requests a special transfer rule such as streaming data exists in the application DB. The node compares the application DB and the tunnel DB and confirms whether there is a tunnel that can ensure the communication quality required by the individual application type (step S21). If no special forwarding rule exists, a new tunnel is added to the general tunnel (step S22). Here, the general tunnel is a tunnel used for other purposes, not limited to communication for a specific application. The special tunnel refers to a tunnel used only for a specific application.

  Next, if an application that requires a special forwarding rule exists in the application DB, is there a tunnel that is optimal for this special forwarding rule among the tunnels registered in the tunnel DB, including the newly set tunnel? If it does not exist, a new tunnel is additionally registered in the general tunnel (step S24).

  If there is an optimum tunnel for the special transfer rule in step S23, first, if it is one, it is determined whether or not that one tunnel is a new tunnel (step S25). If it is a new tunnel, the new tunnel is set as a special (individual) tunnel limited to communication of special transfer rule applications and registered in the tunnel DB (step S26). If it is not a new tunnel, the new tunnel is set and registered as a general tunnel and the corresponding tunnel is set as a special tunnel (step S27).

  If there is an optimum tunnel in the tunnel DB for the special transfer rule in the process of step S23, first, if there are a plurality of tunnels, whether or not a new tunnel is included in the plurality of tunnels. Judgment is made (step S28). When a new tunnel is included, the tunnel group including the new tunnel is set and registered as a special tunnel limited to communication of the application of the special transfer rule exclusively (step S29). When the new tunnel is not included, The new tunnel is set as a general tunnel, and the corresponding tunnel group is set as a special tunnel and registered (step S30).

  In this way, by allocating tunnels for general use and special use in advance and registering them in the database, an appropriate tunnel (communication path) can be immediately established according to the quality required by the data application input from the terminal device to the node. You can choose.

  Then, a beacon for alive confirmation / quality information request is periodically transmitted to the tunnel established between the quality confirmation module of the node 2 and the server 8 at intervals of 1 second, for example (step S9). Quality information such as delay time, packet loss rate, etc. returned from the tunnel communication quality response module (not shown) is collected and recorded in the tunnel DB. At this time, it is determined whether or not there is a response from the tunnel to the transmission of the beacon (step S10). When there is a response and a response to the quality information request is returned, the returned tunnel quality information is displayed. While reflecting in the database, the valid period set based on the measurement time of FIG. 12 is updated (step S11), the process proceeds to step S8, and regular tunnel monitoring is continued.

  If there is no response from the tunnel within the valid period, the tunnel information is deleted from the tunnel DB and disconnected (step S12). For example, if there is no response after sending a beacon a predetermined number of times, it is determined that the communication path is down and the tunnel is deleted from the tunnel DB and disconnected, or if the quality of the tunnel falls below a certain standard, You may make it cut | disconnect a tunnel even if it does not correspond by monitoring. These tunnel quality information is stored in a database.

  Note that, in the series of tunnel addition flows in step S8, a method of registering all newly set tunnels as general tunnels is conceivable. That is, the general node registers the tunnel set first as a general application tunnel, and transfers all applications using the general tunnel until an application-specific tunnel is set. After that, when a new tunnel is set, the tunnel is initially added and registered as a general tunnel, and the usage is changed as needed according to the communication quality of the tunnel that changes from moment to moment during the routine tunnel monitoring process. To.

  The node compares the application DB and the tunnel DB, and periodically checks whether there is a tunnel that can ensure the communication quality required by the individual application type. If quality cannot be ensured with a single tunnel, the application is transferred using a general tunnel until it is secured. Individual tunnels can be added until only one general tunnel remains. By leaving at least one general tunnel, it is possible to deal with all applications, and depending on the application type, it is possible to avoid a situation in which communication is not possible because there is no corresponding tunnel.

  FIG. 9 shows an example in which the terminal device 1 connected to the NW 10 in the communication network system of the present example communicates with the terminal device 9 of the external network 20, and can be implemented in the following packet format format.

This example is an application form of IPsec (tunnel mode) + NAT (Network Address Translation) traversal. At this time, the server 8 performs the following functions.
-It has a function to look at the device ID and convert it to an appropriate IP address.
Buffer in an appropriate time queue (queue) and send as many TCP sequence numbers as possible.
・ For UDP, send it as it is.

  An IP address is assigned to each device. For example, the terminal device 1 has an IP address “IP-z” and a device ID “E-ID”, and the node 2 which is a communication route selection device has an IP address “IP-Z” by NAT. To do. The nodes 6 and 7 connected to the access circuit are IP addresses “IP-A” and “IP-B” by NAT from the NW 10 side, and IP addresses “IP-1” by NAPT (Network Address Port Translation) from the external NW 20, respectively. ”And“ IP-2 ”. Furthermore, the server 8 has an IP address “IP-3” by NAPT, and the terminal device 9 has an IP address “IP-4”.

  When a plurality of tunnels are established from the node 2 to the server 8, the node 2 assigns a plurality of IP addresses to data transmitted from the terminal device 1 by a method such as round-robin, and the like. Forward to the tunnel that can be used by itself. At this time, the packet information of communication from the terminal device 1 to the node 2 is only “DATA” and “TCP header (z → 4)”. When the node 2 distributes and transfers to the two communication paths of the tunnels 11 and 12, the packet information of communication from the node 2 to the node 6 and the node 7 is “DATA”, “IP header”, “IPsec header”. A “tunnel IP header” is added, and an “IPsec header” indicating the IP address information of nodes at both ends of the tunnels 11 and 12 and a “tunnel IP header” for transmitting the inside of the tunnel are added.

  Further, when transferred from the node 6 to the server 8 in the external NW 20, the communication packet information disappears using the tunnels 11 and 12 on the NW 10, and here, the protocol for communication between the NW 10 and the NW 20 "UDP header" is added by using UDP. The server 8 determines that the source of the packet transmitted from the nodes 6 and 7 is from the same node 2 based on the device ID and the TCP header, and reconstructs the information distributed in units of packets. . At this time, since communication is based on UDP in this example, the packet is reconfigured in consideration of the round trip time, and the packet is transmitted from the server 8 to the terminal device 9 as information of “DATA” and “TCP header (3 → 4)”. The terminal device 9 can receive data from the terminal device 1 by transferring the reconfigured information into one piece of communication information.

  When a plurality of tunnels are established from a single node 2, the server 8 recognizes that the tunnels are different from the same node 2 depending on the device ID of the corresponding node 2 and the IP address in the NW 10. Packets from the same node transferred via the tunnel are reconfigured into one communication. For example, in the case of TCP, a sequence number is used, and in the case of UDP, reconfiguration is performed in the correct order using a difference in round trip time (RTT: Round Trip Time), and is transferred to the outside.

  By implementing the above mechanism, a terminal device connected to the node 2 can use a plurality of routes to adjacent nodes, and one session can be distributed over a plurality of bands. It is possible to reduce the burden on the per-communication path and greatly improve the upper limit of the communication speed. Furthermore, a plurality of sessions can be communicated simultaneously.

  Selection of a communication path when data is input from a terminal device in the communication network system of this example will be described with reference to FIG. Compared with FIG. 1 and FIG. 6 to FIG. 8, FIG. 12 shows that the access nodes 6 and 7 on the ad hoc network are connected to a server (not shown) of the network 22 via the external networks 21 and 23, respectively. , 25 are set to communicate with the terminal device 9, but the other configuration is the same.

  When viewed from the terminal device 1 or 9, data is communicated directly between the node 2 and a server (not shown) on the network 22 through the tunnels 11 and 24 or the tunnels 12 and 25. In reality, data communication between the terminal device 1 and the terminal device 9 is actually performed via the thick line portions.

  When the node 2 directly connected to the terminal device 1 receives data (packets) from the terminal device 1, a layer 3 header such as an IP / ICMP header and a layer 4 header such as a TCP / UDP header, By referring to the layer L5 to L7 header such as the application header, it is determined what application the packet is.

  At this time, if the destination of the packet is within the ad hoc network, there is little risk of being peeped or tampered with during transfer from the outside, so the ad hoc network transfer recorded in the routing table as it is without using the tunnel Forward the packet to the target node according to the rules.

  When the destination is outside the ad hoc network, communication is performed using a tunnel established between the node 2 and the external network 22. When a tunnel for the application is set, the packet is transferred using the tunnel. When multiple tunnels are assigned for the application, they are distributed and transferred to the tunnels assigned in units of packets by a procedure such as round-robin.

  The node 2 determines which application type in the application DB the application corresponds to, and selects a tunnel corresponding to the application type from the tunnel DB.

  The node 2 searches for a tunnel that satisfies both the delay required by the application and the packet loss rate, and one of the tunnels that hit the search has a tunnel that satisfies the total bandwidth (requested bandwidth × number of sessions). Assigns one of them to the application and transfers it. If one cannot be satisfied, a plurality of tunnels including a tunnel having the widest bandwidth are assigned to the application as one set and transferred. If it is not possible to satisfy even if a plurality of lines are used, or if the search is not hit, the application-specific tunnel is not set, and a general tunnel is used for forwarding.

  As shown in the figure, when two communication paths are set from the node 2 to the external network 22, for example, the ID of the access node 6 is ID-A of the tunnel DB of FIG. 4 and the access node 7 is ID-B of the same. Then, when the application A shown in FIG. 12 is the VoIP of the application DB shown in FIG. 3, the packet determination module considers the delay time, the packet loss, etc., and sets the route through the access node 6 (set in the VoIP tunnel). Data) is determined to be the optimum communication circuit.

  Similarly, when the application B is the streaming of the application DB in FIG. 3, the packet determination module 38 sets the optimum communication route through the access node 7 (streaming tunnel is set in consideration of delay time, packet loss, etc.). Packet data is transferred, and an optimum communication path can be selected according to the type of application and the communication quality of the communication path.

  As described above, when a special tunnel is not set, transfer is performed using a general tunnel, and a tunnel that best satisfies the communication quality requested by each of the applications A and B is selected and transferred. To do.

  In FIG. 12, if a user can register a frequently used application type in the application DB of the node 2, a tunnel that ensures the quality of the application type is set. A tunnel suitable for the type can be allocated, and more efficient communication can be performed.

  According to this example, by obtaining information such as the bandwidth, delay time, packet loss rate, etc. of each route (tunnel) set to perform communication from an ad hoc mesh network to an external network, streaming or It is possible to select an appropriate route for each communication such as download, audio data, moving image data, and text data. Further, by dividing the behavior of the tunnel by the communication from the terminal device to the outside of the ad hoc network and the communication closed in the network, the band can be effectively used.

  In the example of the above-described embodiment, the mesh network is configured by wireless connection. However, the present invention is not limited to wireless, and a terminal device directly connected to the mesh network is connected to a network outside the mesh network. What is necessary is just to have a plurality of communication paths on the mesh network when connecting. In general, wired networks have more stable communication path quality than wireless networks, but use best-effort services that have paths that change the transfer rate as traffic increases. Even in this case, the communication quality can be stabilized in a better state by applying the present invention to perform life / death monitoring / quality monitoring of the communication path (tunnel).

  Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various other configurations can be taken without departing from the gist of the present invention.

It is a communication network block diagram of the example of one embodiment of this invention. It is a module block diagram of the node of the example of one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the information transmission of the access node of the example of one embodiment of this invention, and a general node. It is explanatory drawing of default route information distribution of the example of one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the tunnel setting in the ad hoc network of the example of one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the tunnel setting outside an ad hoc network of the example of one embodiment of this invention. It is a tunnel setting flowchart of the example of one embodiment of the present invention. It is a tunnel addition flowchart of the example of one embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing of the data communication of the example of one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the communication path selection of the example of one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the application database of the example of one embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the tunnel information database of the example of one embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1,9 ... Terminal device, 2 ... Node (communication path selection device), 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 ... Node, 8 ... Server, 10 ... Mesh network, 11, 12, 24, 25 ... Tunnel, 20 , 21, 22, 23 ... external network, 31 ... tunnel setting module, 32 ... node authentication module, 33 ... quality confirmation module, 34 ... application database, 35 ... tunnel data information base, 38 ... packet determination module

Claims (8)

A communication network system for accessing an external network through a mesh network from a terminal device connected to a mesh network constituted by connecting a plurality of nodes to each other,
When there are a plurality of communication paths from the mesh network to the external network, the communication quality and each communication path required for the node directly connected to the terminal apparatus to transfer the data input from the terminal apparatus A communication network system, comprising: a communication path selection unit that compares the communication quality of the data and selects an optimal communication path for transferring the data. The communication network system according to claim 1,
The communication path selection means, a tunnel setting means for setting a tunnel in a communication path between a node directly connected to the terminal device and a server of the external network;
Application type quality recording means for recording the communication quality required by the application software type in advance;
Quality confirmation means for monitoring the communication quality of each communication path;
Communication path quality recording means for recording quality information obtained by monitoring of the quality confirmation unit;
It is determined whether each data input to the node from one or a plurality of terminal devices corresponds to which application software type recorded in the application type quality recording unit, and the application type quality recording unit and the communication path Comparing the quality information recorded in the quality recording means, and comprising a path discriminating means for designating one or a plurality of communication paths for ensuring the quality required for each data,
The data is output to the designated communication path. A communication network system, wherein: The communication network system according to claim 2, wherein
The tunnel setting means divides and sets the tunnel into either a tunnel that is used only for data communication of a specific application software type or a tunnel that can be used for data communication of an arbitrary application software type. Communication network system. A node directly connected to the terminal device when accessing an external network from the terminal device connected to the mesh network configured by connecting a plurality of nodes to each other, and the mesh network When there are a plurality of communication paths from the terminal to the external network, the communication quality required for transferring the data input from the terminal device is compared with the communication quality of each communication path, and the data is transferred. A communication path selection device characterized by selecting an optimal communication path for the device. In the communication path selection device according to claim 4,
The communication path selection means, a tunnel setting means for setting a tunnel in a communication path between a node directly connected to the terminal device and a server of the external network;
Application type quality recording means for recording the communication quality required by the application software type in advance;
Quality confirmation means for monitoring the communication quality of each communication path;
Communication path quality recording means for recording quality information obtained by monitoring of the quality confirmation means;
It is determined whether each data input to the node from one or a plurality of terminal devices corresponds to any application software type recorded in the application type quality recording unit, and the application type quality recording unit and the communication Path quality recording means, collating quality information recorded in the path quality recording means, and route determining means for designating one or a plurality of communication paths to ensure the quality required for each data,
The communication path selection device, wherein each data is output to the designated communication path. The communication path selection device according to claim 5, wherein
The tunnel setting means divides and sets the tunnel into either a tunnel that is used only for data communication of a specific application software type or a tunnel that can be used for data communication of an arbitrary application software type. Communication path selection device. An information communication method for accessing an external network through the mesh network from a terminal device connected to a mesh network configured by connecting a plurality of nodes to each other,
When there are a plurality of communication paths from the mesh network to an external network, setting a tunnel in a communication path between a node directly connected to the terminal device and the server of the external network as the communication path;
Recording the communication quality required by the application software type in advance;
Monitoring the communication quality of the tunnel set in the communication path;
Recording the tunnel quality information obtained by monitoring;
It is determined whether each data input from the terminal device to the node corresponds to which application software type recorded in the application type quality recording unit, and communication quality required by the application type and communication of the tunnel Collating the quality and designating one or more communication paths to ensure the communication quality required by the data;
Outputting the data to the designated communication path. An information communication method comprising: The information communication method according to claim 7,
In the step of setting the tunnel, the tunnel is classified into a tunnel that is used only for data communication of a specific application software type or a tunnel that can be used for data communication of an arbitrary application software type. Information communication method.

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