JP2008283306A - Method of setting radio communication system, radio communication system, program, and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To optimally select communication terminals with respect to a communication speed, security, and usability, and to construct a communication path for connecting them. <P>SOLUTION: One of a plurality of radio devices is selected as a master device, which selects a plurality of devices to communicate out of the plurality of radio devices. The plurality of selected devices transmit predetermined identification information to the master device, which transmits the identification to the plurality of selected devices, so that the plurality of selected devices communicate with radio devices based upon the identification information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless network communication technology.

  In recent years, the use of mesh networks has been widely studied (see, for example, JP-A-2006-211406).

  The mesh network is a kind of network type such as a star type, a bus type, and a ring type. The mesh network constructs a mesh-like network by communication devices communicating with each other.

  Since a plurality of communication paths can be constructed in a mesh-like network, a network that is resistant to failures can be constructed. The current power transmission network and the Internet network can be said to be a kind of mesh network.

  With the spread of the Internet, the number of wireless LAN users has increased rapidly, and the application range is not limited to corporate networks, but covers a wide range such as home networks and outdoor hotspot services. Reasons for the widespread use of wireless LANs include lowering the price of wireless LAN products such as base stations and wireless LAN cards, and ensuring interconnectivity through IEEE 802.11WG and WiFi Alliance, which are standardization mechanisms. It is thought that it is because the user feels great convenience by releasing from the troublesomeness of the communication cable above all.

  However, the radio wave reach distance of the wireless LAN is about several hundred meters at the maximum and is not so large. Therefore, in order to provide a wireless LAN area over a wide range, it is necessary to install a plurality of base stations (APs: access points). Usually, the connection between APs requires the installation of a wired network as a backbone, so that there is a problem that costs are increased and flexibility and expandability are poor.

  Therefore, the mesh network is an attempt to solve the above problem by realizing the connection between the above-mentioned APs by wireless communication. Such a communication form is called a wireless mesh network because a plurality of APs are connected in a network form by wireless links, and is attracting attention as a next-generation wireless communication technology.

  In addition, even if an AP is not used, the wireless terminal device communicates with each other so that the network expands regardless of the AP or service area. Packets including communication data travel one after another using a bucket relay system between a plurality of wireless terminal devices, and finally reach a destination. Communication with the outside is also possible through the gateway. Therefore, the existing communication technology can be easily used even in a place where infrastructure is not established.

  The advantage of the mesh network is that there is no need to worry about the arrangement of individual devices, and there is flexibility in changing the layout. In addition, since the communication distance is relatively short, high-speed communication with low output is possible, which is effective for power saving. And because multiple communication paths can be secured, it is resistant to failures.

  However, when the number of wireless communication devices to be transferred (the number of multi-hop stages) increases because wireless communication devices transfer packets, wireless packets that are relayed when relaying packets received from adjacent wireless stations are increased. Becomes a source of interference for other radio stations, and there is a problem that throughput is reduced due to radio packet collision and transmission wait delay. Since an acknowledgment ACK packet is returned for each relay packet, the proportion of the ACK packet occupying the radio band is also a factor in reducing the throughput.

  Here, the wireless terminal is set to the infrastructure mode, connected to the base station, joined to the infrastructure network, the print request is transmitted to the wireless network server, the wireless network server has a print server function, receives the print request, The wireless network server confirms the communication port number of the printing apparatus that is the transmission destination, and in the case of the lpr printing service, transmits the print packet to the printing apparatus of the ad hoc network. The printing apparatus outputs the print data, and the printing apparatus When the communication port number is any other communication port number, the wireless network server transmits a print packet to another printing device in the infrastructure network, thereby managing a service with a large traffic volume on the ad hoc network. Channels used in infrastructure mode due to concentration Radio band only throughput discloses a technique capable of avoiding that the lowered (e.g., see Patent Document 1).

Further, the wireless terminal device has an ID different from the domain ID (ESSID), sends an ID together with a connection request to a device having a LAN function, and the device having a LAN function sends the sent ID. , Collate with the ID that you have, and if the two match, allow the wireless terminal device to connect, prepare for specific data communication, otherwise reject the connection, the specific domain A technology capable of providing a wireless LAN system that can enjoy a communication service without using a network is disclosed (for example, see Patent Document 2).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-080024 JP 2002-198971 A

  However, the wireless mesh network has various merits such as being relatively easy to construct, but conversely has problems in selecting an efficient communication route and in terms of security.

  Therefore, in the present invention, in order to configure a mesh network from a plurality of communication devices, it is necessary to select a communication terminal and to construct a communication path for connecting them, but it is optimal from the viewpoint of communication speed, security, and usability. An object is to provide a selection method and a route construction (setting) method.

  The invention according to claim 1 is a method of setting a wireless communication system configured to include a plurality of wireless devices and a network constructed independently by a plurality of wireless devices directly or via other wireless devices. Then, one of the plurality of wireless devices is selected as a master device, the master device selects a plurality of devices to communicate from among the plurality of wireless devices, the selected plurality of devices, Predetermined identification information is transmitted to the master device, the master device transmits the identification information to a plurality of selected devices, and the selected devices perform communication between wireless devices based on the identification information. This is a method for setting a wireless communication system.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the setting method of the wireless communication system according to claim 1, wherein the master device transmits the identification information of all the devices constituting the group to the selected devices. The plurality of selected devices can communicate only with the device having the received identification information.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the setting method of the wireless communication system setting method according to the first or second aspect, the device identification information is a network IP address assigned to each device.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the wireless communication system setting method according to the first or second aspect, the device identification information is a MAC address of a network that each terminal has individually.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the method for setting a wireless communication system according to the first or second aspect, the device identification information includes a network IP address assigned to each device and a network that each terminal individually has The MAC address is a relative comparison value.

The invention according to claim 6 is a wireless communication system configured to include a plurality of wireless devices and a network constructed by a plurality of wireless devices independently or directly via other wireless devices. ,
One of the plurality of wireless devices is selected as a master device, and the master device selects a plurality of devices that communicate with each other from the plurality of wireless devices, and the plurality of selected devices are designated as master devices. The master device transmits the identification information to a plurality of selected devices, and the selected devices perform communication between wireless devices based on the identification information. A wireless communication system.

  According to a seventh aspect of the invention, in the wireless communication system according to the sixth aspect, the master device transmits the identification information of all the devices constituting the group to the selected plurality of devices, and is selected. The plurality of devices can communicate only with the device having the received identification information.

  The invention described in claim 8 is the wireless communication system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the device identification information is a network IP address assigned to each device.

  According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the wireless communication system according to the sixth or seventh aspect, the device identification information is a MAC address of a network that each terminal has individually.

  According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the wireless communication system according to the sixth or seventh aspect, the device identification information includes a network IP address assigned to each device and a network MAC address individually owned by each terminal. It is a relative comparison value.

  The invention according to an eleventh aspect is a program that causes a computer system to realize the function according to any one of the sixth to tenth aspects.

  A twelfth aspect of the invention is a recording medium in which a program for causing a computer system to realize the function according to any one of the sixth to tenth aspects is stored.

  According to the present invention, in order to configure a mesh network from a plurality of communication devices, it is necessary to select a communication terminal and to construct a communication path for connecting them, but it is optimal from the viewpoint of communication speed, security, and usability. The selection method and the route construction (setting) method can be provided.

  FIG. 1 shows a connection configuration example of a mesh network. Nine terminal devices having a wireless function are connected to a wired LAN via a wireless LAN access point (hereinafter referred to as AP). Each terminal device is always connected or appropriately connected by radio, and data communication is possible between them. When the terminal devices communicate with each other, the transmitting side adds the address of the target destination terminal device to the transmission data. At the same time, add your own address to the transmitted data. The address may be, for example, a device-specific ID, or an IP address or a MAC address used in a wireless LAN.

  For example, if you want to send data from terminal A to terminal I, you can of course transfer it directly. However, if the distance between the terminals is too long and wireless radio waves do not reach, terminal A is close to Find a possible terminal and send data to it. In the mesh network, data is transmitted to neighboring terminals, but when there are a plurality of neighboring terminals, broadcast communication is performed simultaneously to the plurality of terminals. In FIG. 1, it is a terminal B or a terminal D.

  The terminal B and the terminal D that have received the data detect the transmission destination address and the transmission source address added to the data, and if it is determined that the transmission destination address is not addressed to the terminal, the terminal B and the terminal D that are nearby Explore.

  At this time, since the terminal A is a transmission source device, it is excluded from transmission partners. In FIG. 1, terminal B is terminal C and terminal E, and terminal D is terminal G and terminal E.

  If terminal C, terminal E, and terminal G to which data has been passed determine that the data is not addressed to themselves by the same method, search for nearby terminals and pass the data. In the case of FIG. Since the terminals F and H to which the data has been transferred are determined not to be addressed to themselves, the terminal F and the terminal H are searched for nearby terminals. As a result, a target transmission destination terminal I is found and data is transmitted.

  When the terminal I that received the data compares the destination address and determines that the data is addressed to itself, it returns a response signal (hereinafter referred to as an ACK signal) to the source address as a result of the data reception. The ACK signal is transferred to the terminal A in the reverse direction, and when the terminal A receives the ACK signal, a series of data transmission / reception operations are completed. If data is transmitted from a plurality of terminals to one terminal during data transfer, the data that arrives earlier is received.

  In addition, when data is transmitted from a plurality of terminals at the same time, the transmission data may be broken due to radio wave interference, and transmission may not be successful. In this case, the data is retransmitted after a predetermined time by a CSMACA (carrier sense multiple access / collision avoidance) method adopted in a wireless LAN or the like. The same operation as described above is performed when data is transmitted to the terminal device on the wired LAN through the AP.

  FIG. 2 shows that nine devices (9 devices from A to I in the diagram) are selected from the terminal devices (13 devices from A to M in the diagram) constituting the mesh network, and the group is selected. This is an example.

  This assumes a case where, for example, in an internal / external meeting, it is only necessary to communicate with terminals grouped to prevent information leakage. In the figure, nine terminals from terminal A to terminal I can exchange data with each other, but data in the group cannot be seen by four terminals J, K, L, and M outside the group. Also, for example, when the terminal A in the group wants to transmit data, it searches for a nearby terminal and passes the data, but in the case in the figure, the data is not passed to the terminal J. It is limited to data transmission / reception within the group.

The operation flow will be described with reference to FIG.
First, it is assumed that, for example, terminal E is selected as the master terminal (S41). As a selection method, a method in which the terminal that starts up the earliest is selected, or a method that is selected according to a user setting to be used can be considered. The master terminal E is operated from the display / operation unit to group nine terminals surrounded by a dotted line in FIG. 2 (S42).

  The master terminal E collects information such as an IP address and a MAC address that can identify the terminal from the other eight slave terminals other than itself (S43). The collected information is collected and transmitted to the slave terminals all at once (S44). The slave terminal that receives the transmission data selects a communication partner based on the identification information (for example, IP address or MAC address) included in the information, and performs communication within the group (S45, 46). .

  FIG. 3 shows an example of a data format for wireless communication. The MAC address and the IP address are arranged so that the destination and the transmission source can be understood. For example, the master terminal collects information on the MAC address and IP address in this data, and specifies a partner that can communicate. At the same time, the information is notified to each slave terminal in the group, and each slave terminal is limited to communication with the destination terminal described in the address information.

  That is, terminals in the group cannot communicate with terminals outside the group, and terminals outside the group cannot access terminals in the group. By doing so, it is possible to prevent data leakage and tampering.

  The master terminal can also communicate with an external network. For example, when a slave terminal must be connected to a network outside the group such as the Internet, the master terminal communicates through the master terminal.

  In this case, the group is accessed from the external network, but the master terminal refers to the destination address (IP address or MAC address) to determine whether or not the terminal is in the group, and the slave terminal Only when the response data is a response data to the request from the group, it is possible to pass into the group.

  By forming a group that can limit communication, data leakage and tampering can be prevented and security can be maintained. The master can operate by identifying a communication partner during communication.

  In addition, the slave terminal can communicate with each terminal in the group, and security is enhanced.

  In addition, security is enhanced by limiting communication partners by IP address. Security is strengthened by limiting communication partners by MAC address.

  In addition, by double management by relative comparison between the IP address and the MAC address, the communication partner selection method is further strengthened, and the security is enhanced.

  Each of the above-described embodiments is a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, the processing for realizing the function of the terminal may be performed by causing the terminal to read and execute a program for realizing the function of the master terminal or the like. Further, the program is transmitted to another computer system by a transmission wave via a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM or a magneto-optical disk, or via a transmission medium such as the Internet or a telephone line. Also good.

It is a figure which shows the example of a connection structure of the mesh network of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example which selects and groups the terminal device of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the data format communicated by radio | wireless of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

A to I terminal equipment AP access point

Claims (12)

A method of setting a wireless communication system configured to include a plurality of wireless devices and a network that a plurality of wireless devices autonomously constructs directly or via other wireless devices,
Select one of the plurality of wireless devices as a master device,
The master device selects a plurality of devices that perform communication from the plurality of wireless devices,
The plurality of selected devices transmit predetermined identification information to the master device,
The master device transmits the identification information to the selected devices;
The wireless communication system setting method, wherein the plurality of selected devices perform communication between wireless devices based on the identification information.   The master device transmits the identification information of all the devices constituting the group to the selected devices, and the selected devices can communicate only with the devices having the received identification information. The wireless communication system setting method according to claim 1, wherein:   3. The wireless communication system setting method according to claim 1, wherein the device identification information is a network IP address assigned to each device.   3. The wireless communication system setting method according to claim 1, wherein the device identification information is a MAC address of a network that each terminal has individually.   3. The wireless communication according to claim 1, wherein the device identification information is a relative comparison value between a network IP address assigned to each device and a network MAC address individually owned by each terminal. How to set up the system. A wireless communication system configured to include a plurality of wireless devices, and a network that a plurality of wireless devices autonomously constructs directly or via other wireless devices,
One of the plurality of wireless devices is selected as a master device,
The master device selects a plurality of devices that perform communication from the plurality of wireless devices,
The plurality of selected devices transmit predetermined identification information to the master device,
The master device transmits the identification information to the selected devices.
The wireless communication system, wherein the plurality of selected devices perform communication between wireless devices based on the identification information.   The master device transmits the identification information of all the devices constituting the group to the selected devices, and the selected devices can communicate only with the devices having the received identification information. The wireless communication system according to claim 6, wherein   8. The wireless communication system according to claim 6, wherein the device identification information is a network IP address assigned to each device.   The wireless communication system according to claim 6 or 7, wherein the device identification information is a MAC address of a network that each terminal has individually.   8. The wireless communication according to claim 6, wherein the device identification information is a relative comparison value between a network IP address assigned to each device and a network MAC address individually owned by each terminal. system.   The program which makes a computer system implement | achieve the function of any one of Claim 6 to 10.   A recording medium storing a program for realizing the function according to any one of claims 6 to 10 in a computer system.

Images