JP2009055134A - Communication control unit, communication control method, and communication control program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the processing load on a processor. <P>SOLUTION: A communication control unit comprises a protocol processing circuit that is a hardware-wired circuit for performing protocol analysis processings on reception data by TCP; a protocol processing section for performing protocol analysis processings on reception data by TCP; an interface object for performing communication control of reception data on a plurality of network devices; a packet determining section for determining whether communication data is subjected to protocol analysis processings by the protocol processing circuit for each network device, based on the traffic of each network device; a lower hardware protocol layer delivery section for delivering communication data to the protocol processing circuit, when it is decided that protocol analysis processings are performed by the protocol processing circuit; and a lower protocol layer delivery section for delivering reception data to the protocol processing section, when it is decided that protocol analysis processings will not be performed by the protocol processing circuit. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication control apparatus, a communication control method, and a communication control program for performing communication control with a hardware-connected circuit.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a network environment including the Internet, there has been a tendency for high-speed and complicated networks. Along with this trend, the network server used in the network environment tends to increase the processing load in addition to the originally intended data processing, because the processing for transmitting and receiving data via the network increases. .

  In recent years, a technique called TOE (TCP / IP offload engine) has been proposed in order to reduce the load of network processing in the network server. This technology called TOE is a hardware that implements network protocol processing and network protocol checksum processing that place a high load on the CPU. And the said hardware performs a part or all of network processing, and reduces the load of CPU of a network server.

  For example, in the technique described in Patent Document 1, a server apparatus including a processor that can offload TCP protocol processing in addition to a host processor that processes a request from a user has been proposed.

  When the hardware is implemented using the TOE in this way, the layer model of the network has a structure as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 23, the layer below the socket layer is one layer realized by hardware.

  Since the TOE technology implements hardware from the interface for communication to the layer below the socket, when processing a protocol, the CPU processing load is reduced by hardware offload. It can be reduced.

JP 2005-316629 A

  However, in the current PC architecture, there is not only one network interface used to communicate over the network. For example, connecting to an external device or a network via a USB or the like is also considered.

  In such a current PC architecture, it is possible to assign appropriate communication packets to various network interfaces by defining roles for each network hierarchy.

  In other words, the device using the TOE has a problem that the processing load on the CPU can be reduced only when communication control is performed by a network device inside the TOE because the layers below the socket layer are integrated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a communication control device, a communication control method, and a communication control program that can appropriately reduce the processing load on the processor.

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a communication control apparatus according to the present invention includes a hardware protocol processing unit that is a hardware-connected circuit that performs protocol analysis processing by TCP on received data. Protocol processing unit implemented in software that performs protocol analysis processing on received data using TCP protocol, and communication control unit that controls reception of received data for multiple network devices connected to an external network And determining whether or not to cause the hardware protocol control unit to perform protocol analysis processing on the received data that is communication-controlled by the network device for each network device based on the reception amount of each network device And the hardware protocol controller When it is determined that the protocol analysis processing is to be performed, it is determined that the protocol analysis processing is not performed by the hardware delivery unit that delivers the received data to the hardware protocol processing unit and the hardware protocol control unit. A software delivery unit that delivers the received data to the protocol processing unit.

  Further, the communication control method according to the present invention includes a communication control step for performing reception control of received data for a plurality of network devices connected to an external network, and the network based on a reception amount of each network device. A determination step for determining, for each device, whether or not to perform a protocol analysis process on received data controlled by the network device in a hardware protocol control unit that is a hardware-connected circuit; and the hardware protocol control A hardware delivery step of passing the received data to the hardware protocol processing unit, and the received data delivered by the hardware delivery step , The hardware protocol processing Hardware protocol processing step for performing protocol analysis processing by TCP in the unit, and software delivery for passing the received data to the protocol processing unit when the hardware protocol control unit determines not to perform protocol analysis processing And a protocol processing step of performing a protocol analysis process by TCP on the received data transferred by the software transfer step.

  Further, the communication control program according to the present invention is based on a communication control step of performing reception control of received data for a plurality of network devices connected to an external network, and based on the reception amount of each network device. A determination step for determining, for each device, whether or not to perform a protocol analysis process on received data controlled by the network device in a hardware protocol control unit that is a hardware-connected circuit; and the hardware protocol control A hardware delivery step of passing the received data to the hardware protocol processing unit, and the received data delivered by the hardware delivery step The hardware proto A hardware protocol processing step for performing protocol analysis processing by TCP in the protocol processing unit, and if the hardware protocol control unit determines not to perform protocol analysis processing, the received data is transferred to the protocol processing unit A software delivery step and a protocol processing step for performing a protocol analysis process using TCP on the received data delivered in the software delivery step are executed by a computer.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently reduce the processing load on the processor by determining whether the protocol analysis processing of the received data is performed by the hardware protocol processing unit or the protocol processing unit based on the reception amount of the network device. There is an effect that can be made.

  Exemplary embodiments of a communication control device, a communication control method, and a communication control program according to the present invention will be explained below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the following embodiment, an example in which the communication control device is applied to an information processing device will be described.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing apparatus 100 includes a CPU 101, a protocol processing circuit 102, an arbiter 103 that connects the protocol processing circuit 102 to a bus, a RAM 104, a ROM 105, a wired LAN 106, a serial line 107, and a wireless A LAN 108 and a USB 109 are provided, and the hardware configuration is such that the protocol processing circuit 102 is connected to a normal computer.

  Then, the program stored in the ROM 105 is loaded onto the RAM 104. Then, the CPU 101 performs processing using the loaded program.

  The CPU 101 performs communication control using the wired LAN 106, the serial line 107, the wireless LAN 108, and the USB 109 using the program.

  The technology used for the protocol processing circuit 102 is to implement hardware such as network protocol processing that places a high load on the CPU 101 and network protocol checksum processing. The hardware performs part or all of the network processing, thereby reducing the load on the CPU 101.

  Further, the protocol processing circuit 102 applies the presently proposed TOE hardware circuit, and for the TCP / UDP / ICMP / IP protocol, a network protocol processing and a network protocol checksum that place a high load on the CPU. Processing and the like are processed by a hardware circuit.

  Further, the protocol processing circuit 102 is connected to the bus via the arbiter 103, and after analyzing the received data with a network device such as a wired LAN 106, a serial line 107, a wireless LAN 108, etc. by hardware, for example, Stored in the RAM 104. The protocol processing circuit 102 is assigned to the network device having the largest data transmission / reception amount among the above-described network devices.

  The arbiter 103 controls communication between the assigned network device and the protocol processing circuit 102. As a result, the processing of the network device with the largest amount of data transmission / reception is performed by the protocol processing circuit 102, so the processing load on the CPU 101 can be reduced.

  Next, the software configuration of the information processing apparatus 100 will be described. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the network of the information processing apparatus 100 in a layer structure. As shown in FIG. 2, the information processing apparatus 100 includes a user program layer 201, a socket layer 202, a protocol upper layer 203, a protocol layer 204, a hardware protocol layer 205, a protocol lower layer 206, an interface layer 207, The network device 208 is provided.

  In the information processing apparatus 100, the socket layer 202, the protocol layer 204, and the interface layer 207 that have been conventionally used can be almost used. This enables network processing implemented in OS kernels that are widely used. In the information processing apparatus 100, a protocol upper layer 203, a hardware protocol layer 205, and a protocol lower layer 206 are newly added, so that network processing by conventional software and hardware offload by the hardware protocol layer 205 can be performed. Coexistence is possible.

  The network device 208 includes network devices 262a to 262c and transmits / receives to / from an external network. The received data is transferred to the interface objects 261a to 261c of the interface layer 207.

  The interface layer 207 is a layer that exists between the lower network device 208 and the protocol lower layer 206. The interface layer 207 abstracts hardware included in the network device 208, thereby hiding specific hardware and providing an API for each hardware.

  The interface layer 207 includes interface objects 261a to 261c. The interface objects 261a to 261c are memory objects assigned one to one for each physical network device. The interface objects 261a to 261c include hardware information of the network device, access destination address information, and an interface for accessing the network device. Thereby, the assigned network device can be controlled by operating the interface objects 261a to 261c.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a class structure of the interface class. As shown in FIG. 3, the interface class includes address information and hardware information as attributes. This address information stores an IP address that is transmitted and received by the associated network device. The hardware information stores information related to the assigned network device. Further, these attributes are disclosed to the outside so that the “+” symbol is attached to the left side of the attributes in FIG. In addition, other operations are also disclosed to the outside when the “+” symbol is attached.

  The interface class includes, as operations, hardware and driver access control () and transmission control of the transmission data from the protocol layer to the network device (). With these operations, the network device can be used.

  By instantiating these interface classes, interface objects 261a to 261c are generated, and the attributes and operations described above can be used. Similarly, the interface objects 261a to 261c are generated with automatic detection at the time of activation.

  The protocol lower layer 206 includes a protocol determination unit 241, a transmission destination acquisition unit 242, an interface management table 243, a lower protocol layer transfer unit 244, a hardware interface management table 245, a processing destination determination unit 246, Hardware protocol layer delivery unit 247, lower data order guarantee unit 248, communication history storage unit 251, entry control unit 255, retransmission request unit 256, history update unit 257, history determination unit 258, and search unit 259 And a packet determination unit 260 and a lower number assigning unit 263.

  The interface management table 243 stores pointers for the interface objects 261a to 261c. The interface management table 243 can be referred to from the protocol layer 204, the protocol lower layer 206, and the interface layer 207.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the interface management table 243 and interface objects. As shown in FIG. 4, the interface object can be specified by referring to the object pointer registered in the interface management table 243. Further, every time an interface object is created and deleted, the interface layer 207 registers and deletes a record in the interface management table 243.

  Thus, by referring to the pointer stored in the interface management table 243, the interface objects 261a to 261c indicating the network devices 262a to 262c can be accessed. Thereby, information on the network device included in the network device 208 can be referred to.

  The hardware interface management table 245 stores a pointer of an interface object of a network device assigned so as to perform protocol processing by the protocol processing circuit 102. The hardware interface management table 245 can be referred to from the protocol upper layer 203 and the protocol lower layer 206. By referring to the hardware interface management table 245, the hardware protocol layer 205 can access an interface object to be protocol-processed.

  FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the interface management table 243, the hardware interface management table 245, and the interface object. As shown in FIG. 5, when an interface object is generated, it is registered in the interface management table 243. When the protocol processing circuit 232 is assigned to a predetermined network device, a pointer of the interface object indicating the network device is registered in the hardware interface management table 245. Then, when the protocol processing circuit 232 finishes assignment for the network device, the pointer of the interface object indicating the network device is deleted from the hardware interface management table 245. Such registration and deletion are performed by the packet determination unit 260.

  The communication history storage unit 251 includes a communication record table 252, the number of transmitted packets for each device 253, and the number of received packets for each device 254. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a table structure of the communication record table 252. As shown in FIG. 6, the communication record table 252 stores an address, a port number, a TCP sequence number, and a hardware busy flag in association with each other. Each record is entered by the entry control unit 255 when data transmission / reception is started. By referring to each entry, the port number communicating with the address stored in the entry can be recognized, and the TCP sequence number of the packet received at the port number can be confirmed. Further, the hardware in-use flag holds whether or not the protocol processing circuit 232 is used.

  The per-device transmission packet number 253 holds the number of packets transmitted for each network device 262a-c. The number of received packets per device 254 holds the number of packets received for each network device 262a-c.

  The communication history storage unit 251 includes the above-described table so that the protocol layer 204 or the hardware protocol layer 205 performs protocol processing on communication data that requires a protocol for performing retransmission control such as TCP. Can be determined. Also, based on the number of packets transmitted and received, it is possible to switch between the protocol layer 204 and the hardware protocol layer 205 to perform protocol processing.

  The entry control unit 255 controls entries in the communication record table 252. For example, the entry control unit 255 adds an entry for storing the port number and address when transmission / reception is started from a certain port number to an arbitrary address, and deletes the entry when transmission / reception ends. I do.

  The history update unit 257 updates the communication record table 252, the number of transmitted packets for each device 253, and the number of received packets for each device 254 according to the transmission / reception status of the information processing apparatus 100.

  As a specific example, when the network device 262a-c receives a packet, the history update unit 257 adds “1” to the received packet number of the network device in the received packet number 254 for each device. Otherwise, when the network device 262a-c transmits a packet, the history update unit 257 adds “1” to the transmission packet number of the network device in the transmission packet number 253 for each device.

  Further, when the protocol processing destination of the TCP packet is switched to either the protocol layer 204 or the hardware protocol layer 205, the history update unit 257 updates the hardware busy flag in the communication record table 252.

  The history determination unit 258, when the network device 262a-c receives a TCP packet with a sequential number, the sequential number stored in the communication record table and the number assigned to the received TCP packet. To determine whether or not the reception is normal. If it is determined that the packet has not been received normally, a retransmission request is made by the retransmission request unit 256.

  The packet determination unit 260 monitors the number of transmitted packets 253 for each device and the number of received packets 254 for each device every predetermined time, and the network in which the total of the number of received packets and the number of transmitted packets is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount within the predetermined time The hardware interface management table 245 is updated so that the devices 262a to 262c are determined and the protocol processing circuit 232 is assigned to the network device. Specifically, the pointer of the interface object of the network device that is determined that the sum of the number of received packets and the number of transmitted packets is greater than or equal to a predetermined amount is registered in the hardware interface management table 245. As a result, the hardware protocol layer 205 is used for packets that are transmitted and received by the network devices 262a to 262c whose total received amount of the packets is greater than or equal to the processing amount.

  Further, the packet determination unit 260 deletes the pointer of the interface object whose data transmission / reception amount has decreased to a predetermined amount or less from the hardware interface management table 245.

  The search unit 259 searches the communication record table 252.

  The protocol determination unit 241 determines the protocol of the received packet. The discrimination method is the same as the conventional method.

  The transmission destination acquisition unit 242 acquires a transmission source address, a transmission destination address, and a port number when the protocol determined by the protocol determination unit 241 is TCP.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the concept of data transmitted and received in the protocol layer 204, the hardware protocol layer 205, and the protocol lower layer 206. As shown in FIG. 7, transmission data and reception data to which serial numbers are assigned are transferred between the protocol layer 204 or the hardware protocol layer 205 and the protocol lower layer 206.

  Conventionally, the protocol layer performs transmission / reception with the interface layer 207, but the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the protocol lower layer 206 performs transmission / reception with the interface layer 207. For this reason, the protocol discrimination unit 241 and the transmission destination acquisition unit 242 that are conventionally provided in the protocol layer are provided in the protocol lower layer 206.

  When the protocol lower layer 206 receives received data from the interface objects 261a to 261c, the processing destination determining unit 246 determines whether or not the pointers of the interface objects 261a to 261c are registered in the hardware interface management table 245. To do. If the processing destination determination unit 246 determines that it is registered, the protocol analysis circuit 232 of the hardware protocol layer 205 performs protocol analysis processing.

  When the processing destination determination unit 246 determines that the pointers of the interface objects 261a to 261c that have received the received data are not registered in the hardware interface management table 245, the lower protocol layer transfer unit 244 receives the received data, The data is transferred to the protocol processing circuit 232 of the hardware protocol layer 205.

  When the processing destination determination unit 246 determines that the pointers of the interface objects 261a to 261c that have received the received data are registered in the hardware interface management table 245, the lower hardware protocol layer transfer unit 247 transmits the received data. Received and transferred to the protocol processing unit 231 of the protocol layer 204.

  As described above, the packet determination unit 260 switches between the protocol layer 204 and the hardware protocol layer 205 that perform protocol processing and protocol analysis processing at regular intervals. For this reason, the switching may be performed during data transmission / reception. This means that the layers for performing the protocol processing and the protocol analysis processing are suddenly switched. If attention is paid to a certain time, processing for one network device is performed in two layers. For this reason, even when processing is performed in two layers, it is necessary to guarantee the order of data.

  For this reason, the protocol lower layer 206 and the protocol upper layer 203 provide a function for guaranteeing this order. The basic mechanism is as follows.

  First, when outputting transmission data, the protocol upper layer 203 assigns a serial number for each transmission data of each socket, and the protocol lower layer 206 refers to the serial number to guarantee the data order.

  Next, when receiving data, the protocol lower layer 206 assigns a serial number for each received data of each interface object, and the protocol upper layer 203 refers to the serial number to guarantee the data order. The detailed processing procedure will be described later. Next, a configuration used for guaranteeing the order in the protocol lower layer 206 will be described.

  The lower data order guarantee unit 248 includes an interface dispatcher 249, receives transmission data from the protocol layer 204 and the hardware protocol layer 205, and guarantees the order of these transmission data.

  That is, when the layer for performing the protocol processing is switched while the transmission data is being received, the transmission data that has been subjected to the protocol processing by the protocol layer 204 and the protocol processing by the hardware protocol layer 205 is passed. Transmitted data does not always follow the transmission order. Therefore, the lower data order guarantee unit 248 guarantees the order of the transmission data.

  The interface dispatcher 249 includes a data queue 250. The data queue 250 is provided for each socket and temporarily stores received transmission data.

  Then, the interface dispatcher 249 refers to the serial number stored in the transmission data stored in the data queue 250 for each socket, and monitors whether the transmission data is received according to the transmission order. The serial number stored in the transmission data is a number assigned sequentially by the protocol upper layer 203.

  The interface dispatcher 249 confirms that the transmission data is received according to the transmission order, and then transfers the transmission data to the associated interface objects 261a to 261c.

  The interface dispatcher 249 is generated at the same time when new interface objects 261a to 261c are generated in the interface layer 207. The interface dispatcher 249 has a one-to-one relationship with the interface object. When the interface objects 261a to 261c are deleted, the interface dispatcher 249 is also deleted.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a concept of processing using serial numbers of transmission data. As shown in FIG. 8, the protocol upper layer 203 first assigns a sequential serial number for each socket to the transmission data received from the socket 212a. This transmission data is output to the protocol lower layer 206 through the protocol layer 204 or the hardware protocol layer 205.

  The interface dispatcher 249 temporarily saves the transmission data in the data queue 250 provided for each socket, and confirms the serial number.

  At this time, if the protocol upper layer 203 fails to distribute to the protocol layer 204 and the hardware protocol layer 205, or the protocol processing in these layers fails, the protocol upper layer 203 detects these failures, and the protocol lower layer 206 The interface dispatcher 249 for each socket is notified that a missing number has occurred.

  When the interface dispatcher 249 confirms the serial number of the transmission data stored in the data queue 250 and is notified from the protocol upper layer 203 that there is a missing number, the interface dispatcher 249 skips the missing number and continues the confirmation process. To do.

  Thereby, the transmission data delivered to the interface dispatcher 249 is delivered to the corresponding interface object in the order stored in the data queue. The delivery process to the interface object 261a is abbreviated as the process performed in the existing protocol layer is used.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the lower number assigning unit 263 assigns a sequential number to each received data packet.

  The retransmission request unit 256 makes a retransmission request via the interface objects 261a to 261c when the protocol is TCP or the like and requires retransmission processing. Note that the retransmission request is omitted because it is the same as the conventional process. Next, the information processing apparatus 100 will be described in order from the upper layer of the network layer structure.

  The user program layer 201 includes network programs 211a to 211c that can be used by the user. And each network program 211a-c requests | requires a communication process with respect to the socket layer 202 mentioned later, when communicating.

  The socket layer 202 is a layer that holds sockets 212a to 212c, which are descriptors that summarize information related to network connections. The socket layer 202 hides the interface to the protocol upper layer 203 from the network programs 211a to 211c of the user program layer 201, and provides a network connection service endpoint.

  One or more sockets 212 a to 212 c are created for each network program 211 a to 211 c of the user program layer 201. In addition, when a socket is created, a protocol used for communication is set. In this way, the sockets 212a to 212c hold the association with the above-described network programs 211a to 211c, the address to be transmitted / received, the protocol information used for transmission / reception, the information regarding the data to be transmitted / received, and the routing information used for transmission / reception. . When the sockets 212a to 212c receive an instruction to transmit from the network to a predetermined IP address or an instruction to wait for reception from the predetermined IP address, the sockets 212a to 212c transmit the instruction to the protocol upper layer 203 described later. . The protocol upper layer 203 of the transmission destination can refer to the protocol information or IP address held by each of the sockets 212a to 212c.

  The socket API used in the socket layer 202 is a de facto standard for network programming and can be used regardless of the OS.

  The protocol upper layer 203 includes an upper protocol determination unit 221, a socket identification unit 222, an upper protocol layer delivery unit 223, an upper data order assurance unit 224, an upper number assignment unit 227, and an upper hardware protocol layer delivery unit 229. And the existing I / F for the socket layer 202 is held.

Further, when a data transmission request is made from the socket layer 202, the protocol upper layer 203 requests a protocol process from the protocol layer 204 based on a predetermined condition, or performs a protocol process to the hardware protocol layer 205. Switch what you want.

  When a transmission request is made from the sockets 212a to 212c, the upper protocol determination unit 221 identifies the protocol to be used from the protocol information held by the sockets 212a to 212c, and then identifies the identified protocol and the protocol lower layer 206 hardware. It is determined from the hardware interface management table 245 whether the protocol layer 204 performs protocol processing or the hardware protocol layer 205 performs protocol processing. The detailed processing procedure will be described later.

  If the upper protocol determination unit 221 determines that the protocol layer 204 performs the protocol processing, the upper protocol layer transfer unit 223 transfers the data to be transmitted to the protocol layer 204 and the protocol of the data according to the specified protocol. Request processing.

  When the upper protocol determination unit 221 determines that the hardware protocol layer 205 performs protocol processing, the upper hardware protocol layer transfer unit 229 transfers the data to be transmitted to the hardware protocol layer 205 and is specified. Request protocol processing of the data by protocol.

  The socket identification unit 222 identifies the sockets 212a to 212c that receive the reception data based on the transmission source address of the reception data and the transmission destination addresses of the sockets 212a to 212c.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the concept of data transmitted and received in the protocol layer 204, the hardware protocol layer 205, and the protocol upper layer 203. As shown in FIG. 9, transmission data and reception data to which serial numbers are assigned are exchanged between the protocol layer 204 or the hardware protocol layer 205 and the protocol upper layer 203.

  Conventionally, the protocol layer performs transmission / reception with the socket layer 202, but the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is configured such that the protocol upper layer 203 performs transmission / reception with the socket layer 202. For this reason, the socket specifying unit 222 that is conventionally provided in the protocol layer is provided in the protocol upper layer 203.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the upper data order guarantee unit 224 includes a socket dispatcher 225, receives the received data from the protocol layer 204 and the hardware protocol layer 205, and guarantees the order of these received data.

  That is, when the layer for performing the protocol analysis processing is switched while receiving the received data, the protocol analysis processing is performed by the protocol layer 204 and the received protocol is processed by the hardware protocol layer 205. The received data delivered in this manner does not always follow the order of reception. Therefore, the upper data order guarantee unit 224 guarantees the order of received data.

  The socket dispatcher 225 includes a data queue 226. The data queue 226 is provided for each interface object, and temporarily stores received data received.

  Then, the socket dispatcher 225 refers to the serial number stored in the received data stored in the data queue 226 for each interface object, and monitors whether the received data is received according to the reception order. Note that the serial number stored in the received data is a number assigned sequentially by the protocol lower layer 206.

  Then, the socket dispatcher 225 confirms that the received data is received according to the order of reception, and then transfers the received data to the sockets 212 a to 212 c specified by the socket specifying unit 222.

  Further, the socket dispatcher 225 is generated at the same time when new interface objects 261 a to 261 c are generated in the interface layer 207. The socket dispatcher 225 has a one-to-one relationship with the interface object. When the interface objects 261a to 261c are deleted, the socket dispatcher 225 is also deleted. The function of the socket specifying unit 222 may be provided in the socket dispatcher 225.

  FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the concept of processing using serial numbers of received data. As shown in FIG. 10, first, the lower number assigning unit 263 assigns sequential serial numbers for each interface object to the received data received from the interface object 261a. This received data is output to the protocol upper layer 203 through the protocol layer 204 or the hardware protocol layer 205.

  Then, the socket dispatcher 225 temporarily stores the received data in the data queue 226 provided for each interface object, and confirms the serial number.

  At this time, when the distribution to the protocol layer 204 and the hardware protocol layer 205 fails in the protocol lower layer 206, or the protocol analysis processing in these layers fails, the protocol lower layer 206 detects these failures, and the protocol upper layer Inform the socket dispatcher 225 of each interface object 203 that a missing number has occurred.

  When the socket dispatcher 225 confirms the serial number of the received data stored in the data queue 226 and is notified from the protocol lower layer 206 that there is a missing number, it skips the missing number and continues the confirmation process. To do.

  As a result, the received data transferred to the socket dispatcher 225 is transferred to the sockets 212a to 212c of the socket layer 202 in the order stored in the data queue. The delivery process to the sockets 212a to 212c is omitted because it uses an existing process.

  Returning to FIG. 2, the upper number assigning unit 227 assigns a sequential number to each packet of data to be transmitted.

  The protocol layer 204 includes a protocol processing unit 231, and performs data transmission / reception control with the protocol upper layer 203 existing above and data transmission / reception control with the protocol lower layer 206 existing lower.

  The protocol processing unit 231 performs a protocol process for transmitting the communication data transferred from the upper protocol layer transfer unit 223. Protocol processing refers to processing such as generating a packet in the format of the protocol from the communication data in order to transmit the communication data using an arbitrary protocol.

  Further, the protocol processing unit 231 performs a protocol analysis process on the received data delivered from the lower protocol layer delivery unit 244. This protocol analysis processing refers to processing such as acquiring stored data from a received packet in the format of the protocol.

  The protocol processing unit 231 can use any protocol that can be protocol-processed or analyzed, for example, any protocol currently supported by NetBSD.

  The hardware protocol layer 205 includes a protocol processing circuit 232, and is a circuit connected by hardware, and performs protocol processing and protocol analysis processing according to a predetermined protocol. Thereby, the hardware protocol layer 205 can perform hardware offload of a predetermined protocol (for example, TCP / IP) whose processing data amount and speed tend to increase.

  The protocol processing circuit 232 performs a protocol process on the communication data transferred from the upper hardware protocol layer transfer unit 229 of the protocol upper layer 203 using a predetermined protocol. The protocol processing circuit 232 performs a protocol analysis process on the communication data transferred from the lower hardware protocol layer transfer unit 247 of the protocol lower layer 206 using a predetermined protocol. Protocols that can be protocol-processed and protocol-analyzed by the protocol processing circuit 232 are TCP, UDP, IP, and ICMP.

  In the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the socket layer 202 and the interface layer 207 are completely separated by the protocol upper layer 203, the protocol layer 204, the hardware protocol layer 205, and the protocol lower layer 206, and are conscious of each other. Processing can be performed without any problem.

  The information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment assigns sequential serial numbers in the above-described protocol upper layer 203 and protocol lower layer 206, and includes an upper data order guarantee unit 224 and a lower data order guarantee unit 248. Even when the protocol layer 204 and the hardware protocol layer 205 are switched, the order can be guaranteed.

  Next, transmission processing in the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating the above-described processing procedure in the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the network programs 211a to 211c output data to be transmitted to the sockets 212a to 212c (step S1101). next. The sockets 212a to 212c output data to be transmitted to the protocol upper layer 203 (step S1102).

  When data to be transmitted is input to the protocol upper layer 203, the upper protocol determination unit 221 of the protocol upper layer 203 determines whether or not the data transfer destination is the hardware protocol layer 205 (step S1103). This determination is based on whether or not the protocol is TCP / UDP / IP / ICMP and whether or not the protocol processing circuit 232 is assigned to the network device that transmits data.

  When the upper protocol determination unit 221 determines that the transfer destination is the hardware protocol layer 205 (step S1103: Yes), the upper hardware protocol layer transfer unit 229 transfers data to the hardware protocol layer 205, and the hardware protocol layer 205 Performs protocol processing on the data (step S1104).

  When the upper protocol determination unit 221 determines that the transfer destination is not the hardware protocol layer 205 (step S1103: No), the upper protocol layer transfer unit 223 transfers data to the protocol layer 204, and the protocol layer 204 receives the data. Protocol processing is performed on the server (step S1105).

  The data for which the protocol processing has been completed is stored in the data queue 250 of the lower data order assurance unit 248. When it is confirmed that the order of data to be transmitted is correct, the data is transferred to the interface objects 261a to 261c that perform transmission processing (step S1106). The transfer destination interface objects 261a to 261c are specified by the address information of the transmission destination.

  Then, when the data to be transmitted is delivered, the interface objects 261a to 261c perform transmission processing by controlling the network devices 262a to 262c (step S1107).

  Next, processing until transmission data is transferred in the protocol upper layer 203 according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the above-described processing procedure in the protocol upper layer 203 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the protocol upper layer 203 receives a protocol processing request from the sockets 212a to 212c of the socket layer 202 (step S1201). The processing procedure is a detailed description of the processing in step S1103 in FIG.

  Next, the protocol upper layer 203 determines the protocol to be used from the address information held by the sockets 212a to 212c that have made the request (step S1202).

  Then, the upper protocol determination unit 221 of the protocol upper layer 203 determines whether or not the determined protocol is TCP / UDP / ICMP / IP (step S1203). If it is determined that it is not TCP / UDP / ICMP / IP (step S1203: No), the upper protocol layer delivery unit 223 delivers data to be sent to the protocol layer 204 and sends a transmission instruction according to the request ( Step S1204).

  On the other hand, if the upper protocol determining unit 221 determines that the determined protocol is TCP / UDP / ICMP / IP (step S1203: Yes), a serial number is assigned to each packet of data transmitted by the protocol upper layer 203. (Step S1205).

  Next, the upper protocol determination unit 221 repeats the processing from step S1207 as many times as the number of records in the hardware interface management table 245 (step S1206). Each time the process is repeated, the record of the hardware interface management table 245 used in step S1207 is changed.

  Next, the upper protocol determination unit 221 repeats the processing from step S1208 onward for the number of addresses registered in the interface objects 261a to 261c indicated by the pointers of the records in the hardware interface management table 245 (step S1207). Each time the process is repeated, the IP addresses set in the interface objects 261a to 261c used in step S1208 are changed.

  Then, the upper layer protocol determination unit 221 determines whether or not the IP address set in the requesting socket 212a-c is the IP address set in the interface object 261a-c indicated by the pointer (step S1). S1208).

  Next, the higher-level protocol determination unit 221 uses the IP address set in the socket 212a-c that has made the request as the IP address set in the interface object 261a-c indicated by the pointer indicated by the pointer. If it is determined that there is not (step S1208: No), the processing is repeated from step S1207 again.

  When the loop from step S1207 to step S1201 is completed, the processing is repeated again from step S1206 (step S1212).

  On the other hand, when the higher-level protocol determination unit 221 determines that the IP address set in the sockets 212a to 212c that made the request is the IP address set in the interface objects 261a to 261c indicated by the pointers (Step S1). (S1208: Yes), the upper protocol determination unit 221 determines whether or not the data transmission destination IP address can be transmitted from the routing information set in the sockets 212a to 212c that output the request (step S1209). If it is determined that transmission is not possible (step S1209: NO), the processing is repeated again from step S1207 (step S1211).

  On the other hand, when the upper protocol determination unit 221 determines that transmission is possible (step S1209: Yes), the upper hardware protocol layer transfer unit 229 transfers the data to be transmitted to the hardware protocol layer 205 and is specified. The network device 261a-c instructs the hardware protocol layer 205 to transmit data to the input IP address (step S1210). In response to the instruction, processing in and after step S1106 in FIG. 11 is performed.

  If all the loop processing up to step S1212 is completed and the data to be transmitted to the hardware protocol layer 205 cannot be delivered, the upper protocol layer delivery unit 223 delivers the data to be transmitted to the protocol layer 204 (step S1213). ).

  Next, a processing route when a transmission request is made from the network program 211a will be described. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a movement path of data to be transmitted from the network program 211a until transmission processing is performed by the network device 262a.

  First, it is assumed that data transmitted from the network program 211a is output (step S1301). In this case, the socket 212a outputs the data to be transmitted to the protocol upper layer 203. At this time, the upper protocol determination unit 221 receives the data to be transmitted by either the protocol layer 204 or the hardware protocol layer 205. Determine if you should give it.

  If it is determined that the data is to be transferred to the protocol layer 204, the data is transferred from the socket 212a to the upper protocol layer transfer unit 223 (step S1302).

  Next, the upper protocol layer delivery unit 223 delivers the data to be transmitted to the protocol processing unit 231 of the protocol layer 204, and requests the protocol processing of the data by the specified protocol (step S1303).

  The data subjected to the protocol processing by the protocol processing unit 231 is stored in the data queue 250 (step S1304).

  On the other hand, after step S1301, when the upper protocol determination unit 221 determines that the data to be transmitted is transferred to the hardware protocol layer 205, the data is transferred from the socket 212a to the upper hardware protocol layer transfer unit 229 ( Step S1305).

  Next, the upper hardware protocol layer delivery unit 229 delivers the data to be transmitted to the protocol processing circuit 232 of the hardware protocol layer 205 and requests protocol processing of the data by the specified protocol (step S1306). ).

  The data subjected to the protocol processing by the protocol processing circuit 232 is stored in the data queue 250 (step S1307).

  Next, after the data order stored in the data queue 250 is guaranteed by the lower data order guaranteeing unit 248, the interface dispatcher 249 transfers the data to the interface object 261a (step S1308).

  The interface object 261a outputs data to be transmitted to the associated network device 262a and controls the network device 262a to perform transmission processing (step S1309). Thereby, the data is transmitted.

  Next, processing when data is received by the network devices 262a to 262c in the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 14 is a flowchart showing the above-described processing procedure in the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the network devices 262a to 262c perform data reception processing (step S1401). This process is performed by the interface objects 261a-c controlling the network devices 262a-c.

  Next, the processing destination determination unit 246 of the protocol lower layer 206 determines whether or not the received data is transferred to the hardware protocol layer 205 (step S1402).

  If it is determined that the destination of the received data is the hardware protocol layer 205 (step S1402: Yes), the hardware protocol layer 205 performs a protocol analysis process on the received data (step S1403). Thereafter, the hardware protocol layer 205 outputs the received data for which the protocol analysis process has been completed to the data queue 226 (step S1404).

  If it is determined that the received data delivery destination is not the hardware protocol layer 205 (step S1402: No), the protocol layer 204 performs a protocol analysis process on the received data (step S1405). Thereafter, the protocol layer 204 outputs the received data for which the protocol analysis process has been completed to the data queue 226 (step S1406).

  Next, after the data order stored in the data queue 250 is guaranteed by the upper data order guarantee unit 224, the socket dispatcher 225 delivers the data to the sockets 212a to 212c (step S1407).

  The sockets 212a to 212c output the received data to the network programs 211a to 211c (step S1408).

  According to the above-described processing procedure, the data received by the network devices 262a to 262c can be output to the network programs 211a to 211c after the hardware protocol layer 205 or the protocol layer 204 performs protocol analysis processing.

  Next, processing for determining a delivery destination according to the protocol of the data received in the protocol lower layer 206 in step S1402 will be described. FIG. 15 is a flowchart illustrating the above-described processing procedure in the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the protocol determination unit 241 determines the protocol of the received data. Then, the processing destination determination unit 246 determines whether the determined protocol is TCP / UDP / IP / ICMP (step S1501). If the processing destination determination unit 246 determines that the determined protocol is not TCP / UDP / IP / ICMP (step S1501: No), it passes the received data to the protocol layer 204 (step S1502).

  Next, the processing destination determination unit 246 determines whether or not the determined protocol is TCP (step S1503). When it is determined that the protocol is not TCP (step S1503: No), the hardware protocol layer 205 or the protocol layer 204 is selected as the protocol analysis processing destination, and the received data is transferred to the selected layer (step S1503). S1504).

  Next, when the processing destination determination unit 246 determines that the determined protocol is TCP (step S1503: Yes), the search unit 259 searches the communication record table for a record of the transmission source address and port number. Then, it is determined whether or not the record is detected (step S1505).

  If the search unit 259 does not detect the record (step S1505: No), the entry control unit 255 selects the hardware protocol layer 205 or the protocol layer 204 as a protocol analysis processing destination after processing as a new TCP communication, The received data is delivered to the selected layer (step S1506).

  On the other hand, if the search unit 259 detects a record (step S1505: Yes), whether the sequence number added to the received data by the history determination unit 258 is the same as the sequence number stored in the record. Judgment is made (step S1507).

  If the history determination unit 258 determines that they are not the same (step S1507: No), the history update unit 257 performs an update process on the communication record table 252 on the assumption that a new TCP communication sequence number has been received, The hardware protocol layer 205 or the protocol layer 204 is selected as the protocol analysis processing destination, and the received data is transferred to the selected layer (step S1508).

  On the other hand, if the history determination unit 258 determines that they are the same (step S1507: Yes), the protocol lower layer 206 performs re-reception data transfer processing (step S1509).

  The processing according to the received data packet is performed by the processing procedure described above.

  Next, the processing for determining the delivery destination of the received data in the protocol UDP / IP / ICMP in the protocol lower layer 206 in step S1504 will be described. FIG. 16 is a flowchart illustrating the above-described processing procedure in the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the processing destination determination unit 246 determines whether or not the interface objects 261a to 261c that have undergone reception processing are registered in the hardware interface management table 245 (step S1601). If it is determined that it is registered (step S1601: Yes), the lower hardware protocol layer delivery unit 247 delivers the received data to the hardware protocol layer 205 (step S1602).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the processing destination determination unit 246 is not registered (step S1601: No), the lower protocol layer transfer unit 244 transfers the received data to the protocol layer 204 (step S1603).

  Next, a process for determining a delivery destination of received data in the new TCP communication of the protocol lower layer 206 in step S1506 will be described. FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating the above-described processing procedure in the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the entry control unit 255 adds an entry corresponding to the new TCP communication to the communication record table (step S1701).

  Next, the processing destination determination unit 246 determines whether or not the interface objects 261a to 261c that have undergone reception processing are registered in the hardware interface management table 245 (step S1702). If it is determined that it is registered (step S1702: Yes), the history update unit 257 sets the in-use flag of the entry added in the communication record table to ‘Yes’ (step S1703). Thereafter, the lower hardware protocol layer delivery unit 247 delivers the received data to the hardware protocol layer 205 (step S1704).

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the processing destination determination unit 246 is not registered (step S1702: No), the history update unit 257 sets the in-use flag of the entry added in the communication record table to “No” (step S1702). S1705). Thereafter, the lower protocol layer delivery unit 244 delivers the received data to the protocol layer 204 (step S1706).

  Next, a process for determining a reception destination of received data in the TCP communication of the protocol lower layer 206 in step S1508 will be described. FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating the above-described processing procedure in the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the history update unit 257 adds “1” to the TCP sequence number of the corresponding entry in the communication record table (step S1801).

  Next, in the protocol lower layer 206, the hardware protocol layer 205 or the protocol layer 204 is selected as the protocol analysis processing destination, and the received data is transferred to the selected layer (step S1802). The details of the processing procedure are the same as the processing procedure shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, the history update unit 257 checks whether or not the in-use flag of the corresponding entry in the communication record table matches the delivery destination in step S1802 (step S1803). If they are different, the in-use flag of the entry is updated to an appropriate value.

  Next, processing for determining a delivery destination of received data retransmitted in the protocol lower layer 206 in step S1509 will be described. FIG. 19 is a flowchart illustrating the above-described processing procedure in the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment.

  First, the history determination unit 258 determines whether or not the in-use flag of the entry indicating the received data is 'Yes' in the communication record table (step S1901).

  If it is determined that the busy flag is 'Yes' (step S1901: Yes), the lower hardware protocol layer transfer unit 247 transfers the received data to the hardware protocol layer 205 (step S1902).

  If the in-use flag is determined to be “No” (step S1901: NO), the lower protocol layer delivery unit 244 delivers the received data to the protocol layer 204 (step S1903).

  According to the processing procedure described above, the re-received data can be subjected to protocol analysis processing in the same protocol layer 204 or hardware protocol layer 205 as the first received data. Thereby, the efficiency of the protocol analysis process can be improved.

  Next, a processing path when data is received from the network device 262a will be described. FIG. 20 is an explanatory diagram showing a movement route from the reception processing by the network device 262a to the output to the network program 211a.

  First, when the network device 262a performs data reception processing, the received data is output to the interface object 261a corresponding to the network device 262a (step S2001). After that, the interface object 261a outputs the received data to the protocol lower layer 206. At this time, the processing destination determination unit 246 transfers the received data to either the protocol layer 204 or the hardware protocol layer 205. Judgment should be made.

  If the processing destination determination unit 246 determines that the received data is to be transferred to the hardware protocol layer 205, the data is transferred from the interface object 261a to the lower hardware protocol layer transfer unit 247 (step S2002). At this time, the protocol discrimination unit 241 discriminates the protocol of the received data.

  Next, the lower hardware protocol layer delivery unit 247 delivers the data to be transmitted to the protocol processing circuit 232 of the hardware protocol layer 205 and performs protocol analysis processing of the data according to the protocol determined by the protocol determination unit 241. Is requested (step S2003).

  The data subjected to the protocol analysis processing by the protocol processing circuit 232 is stored in the data queue 226 (step S2004).

  On the other hand, if the processing destination determination unit 246 determines to transfer to the protocol layer 204 after step S2001, the data is transferred from the interface object 261a to the lower protocol layer transfer unit 244 (step S2005). At this time, the protocol discrimination unit 241 discriminates the protocol of the received data.

  Next, the lower protocol layer delivery unit 244 delivers the received data to the protocol processing unit 231 of the protocol layer 204, and requests protocol processing of the data according to the protocol determined by the protocol determination unit 241 (step S2006). .

  The data subjected to the protocol processing by the protocol processing unit 231 is stored in the data queue 226 (step S2007).

  Next, the data stored in the data queue 226 is transferred to the socket 212a by the socket dispatcher 225 after the data order is guaranteed by the higher-order data order guarantee unit 224 (step S2008).

  Then, the socket dispatcher 225 outputs the received data to the network program 211a (step S2009).

  Next, a case where the layer for performing the protocol analysis processing is switched during the processing of the reception data 1 to 4 input from the predetermined network device 262a will be described. FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram showing the concept in the case described above.

  First, as indicated by reference numeral 2102, it is assumed that in the protocol lower layer 206, the lower protocol layer transfer unit 244 has received the received data 1-2 to the protocol layer 204.

  Thereafter, the packet determining unit 260 switches to the layer that performs the protocol analysis processing for the network device 262a as the hardware protocol layer 205 (2102).

  As a result, after that, the lower hardware protocol layer delivery unit 247 delivers the received data 3 to 4 to the hardware protocol layer 205 (2103).

  Then, the socket dispatcher 225 stores the received data 1 to 2 before switching occurs in the first data queue 2111 (2104). Then, the socket dispatcher 225 performs reception processing on the data stored in the first data queue 2111. Then, the socket dispatcher 225 records the number assigned to the received data by the lower number assignment unit 263 in the serial number storage unit in the first data queue 2111.

  Then, since the layer for performing the protocol analysis process is switched, the second data queue 2112 is added to store the received data output from the hardware protocol layer 205 (2105).

  The received data 3 to 4 subjected to the protocol analysis processing by the hardware protocol layer 205 is stored in the newly added second data queue 2112 (2106). At this time, the socket dispatcher 225 records the number assigned to the received data first stored in the second data queue 2112 in the serial number storage unit in the second data queue 2112.

  A number obtained by adding “1” to the number recorded in the sequential number storage unit in the first data queue 2111 becomes the number recorded in the sequential number storage unit in the second data queue 2112, and When it is determined that the received data 1 and 2 stored in the first data queue 2111 are output and become empty, the first data queue 2111 is discarded (2107). Thereafter, the received data is stored in the second data queue 2112.

  In the above-described processing, the case where the protocol layer 204 is switched to the hardware protocol layer 205 has been described, but the same applies to the case where the hardware protocol layer 205 is switched to the protocol layer 204.

  Next, a case where the layer for performing the protocol processing is switched during the processing of the transmission data 1 to 4 output from the predetermined network device 262a will be described. FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing the concept in the above-described case.

  First, as indicated by reference numeral 2201, in the protocol upper layer 203, it is assumed that the upper protocol layer delivery unit 223 has passed the transmission data 1 to 2 to the protocol layer 204.

  Thereafter, the packet determining unit 260 switched to the hardware protocol layer 205 as a layer that performs protocol processing of transmission data transmitted from the network device 262a (2202).

  Thereby, thereafter, the upper hardware protocol layer delivery unit 229 delivers the received data 3 to 4 to the hardware protocol layer 205 (2203).

  Then, the interface dispatcher 249 stores the received data 1 to 2 before switching occurs in the first data queue 2211 (2204). Then, the interface dispatcher 249 performs reception processing on the data stored in the first data queue 2211. The interface dispatcher 249 records the number assigned to the transmission data by the higher-order number assigning unit 227 in the serial number storage unit in the first data queue 2211.

  Then, since the layer for performing the protocol analysis process is switched, the second data queue 2112 is added to store the transmission data output from the hardware protocol layer 205 (2205).

  Then, the transmission data 3 to 4 subjected to the protocol processing in the hardware protocol layer 205 are stored in the newly added second data queue 2212 (2206). At this time, the interface dispatcher 249 records the number assigned to the reception data first stored in the second data queue 2212 in the serial number storage unit in the second data queue 2212.

  A number obtained by adding “1” to the number recorded in the serial number storage unit in the first data queue 2211 and further adding the number of occurrences of missing numbers is stored in the serial number storage unit in the second data queue 2212. When it is determined that the transmission data 1 and 2 stored in the first data queue 2211 are output and become empty, the first data queue 2211 is discarded (2207). . Thereafter, transmission data is stored in the second data queue 2212.

  In the above-described processing, the case where the protocol layer 204 is switched to the hardware protocol layer 205 has been described, but the same applies to the case where the hardware protocol layer 205 is switched to the protocol layer 204.

  In addition, the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment described above may be any OS as long as the software group that controls the network is an OS controlled by a layer structure. As an applicable OS, for example, NetBSD exists.

  As described above, the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can coexist with an existing software protocol stack even when the hardware protocol layer 205 is provided.

  On the other hand, in the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the hardware protocol layer 205 can be used in the network devices 262a to 262c by providing the configuration as described above.

  As a result, the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment enables hardware offload by installing the protocol processing circuit 232, thereby reducing the processing load on the CPU 101 and supporting various protocols. It becomes possible.

  Furthermore, in the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the processing load on the CPU 101 can be efficiently reduced by assigning the hardware protocol layer 205 to the network devices 262a to 262c having a large transmission / reception amount.

  Further, in the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, it is possible to easily execute a process such as a retransmission request by holding a history of received data by the TCP protocol with a TCP sequence number. Further, since the TCP record number is held in the entry by address and port number in the communication record storage unit, it is possible to determine whether or not to make a retransmission request for each type of data at the transmission destination.

  Also, the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment can use various network devices. Such network devices are not limited to the wired LAN 106, the serial line 107, the wireless LAN 108, and the USB 109 as in the present embodiment, and various network devices that have been used in the past may be applied.

  The communication control program executed by the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment is a file in an installable or executable format, such as a CD-ROM, a flexible disk (FD), a CD-R, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), or the like. And recorded on a computer-readable recording medium.

  Further, the communication control program executed by the information processing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment may be provided by being stored on a computer connected to a network such as the Internet and downloaded via the network. Further, the communication control program executed by the information processing apparatus 100 of the present embodiment may be provided or distributed via a network such as the Internet.

  Further, the communication control program of the present embodiment may be provided by being incorporated in advance in a ROM or the like.

  The communication control program executed by the information processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment has a module configuration including the above-described units (user application layer, socket layer, protocol upper layer, protocol layer, protocol lower layer, interface layer). As the actual hardware, the CPU reads the communication control program from the recording medium and executes it to load the above units onto the main storage device. The user application layer, socket layer, protocol upper layer, protocol layer, protocol A lower layer and an interface layer are generated on the main storage device.

  As described above, the communication control device, the communication control method, and the communication control program according to the present invention are useful for communication control, and are particularly suitable for communication control using a hardware protocol processing circuit.

It is a figure showing hardware constitutions of an information processor concerning an embodiment. It is the figure which showed the software structure of information processing apparatus by the layer structure. It is the figure which showed the class structure with an interface class. It is explanatory drawing which showed the relationship between an interface management table and an interface object. It is explanatory drawing which showed the interface management table and hardware interface management table of the registration destination of an interface object. It is the figure which showed the table structure of the communication recording table. It is the figure which showed the concept of the data transmitted / received in a protocol layer, a hardware protocol layer, and a protocol lower layer. It is the figure which showed the concept of the process using the serial number of transmission data. It is the figure which showed the concept of the data transmitted / received in a protocol layer, a hardware protocol layer, and a protocol upper layer. It is the figure which showed the concept of the process using the serial number of received data. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the transmission process in the information processing apparatus concerning embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process until delivery data is delivered in the protocol upper layer concerning embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which showed the movement path | route of the data to transmit from the network program concerning embodiment to performing a transmission process in a network device. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure when data is received by a network device in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing for determining a delivery destination according to a protocol of received data in the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. 6 is a flowchart showing a procedure of processing for determining a delivery destination of received data in the protocol UDP / IP / ICMP in the protocol lower layer of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment; It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which determines the delivery destination of the received data in the new TCP communication of the protocol lower layer of the information processing apparatus concerning embodiment. 6 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of processing for determining a delivery destination of received data in TCP communication in a protocol lower layer of the information processing apparatus according to the embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the process which determines the delivery destination of the received data retransmitted in the information processing apparatus concerning this Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which showed the movement path | route from receiving processing with a network device to outputting to a network program. It is explanatory drawing which showed the concept at the time of the layer which performs a protocol analysis process being switched during the process of the reception data input from the predetermined | prescribed network device. It is explanatory drawing which showed the concept at the time of the layer which performs a protocol process being switched during the process of the transmission data output from the predetermined | prescribed network device 262a. It is explanatory drawing which showed the hierarchy model of the network in the information processing apparatus carrying the conventional TOE.

Explanation of symbols

100 Information processing apparatus 101 CPU
102 Protocol processing circuit 103 Arbiter 104 RAM
105 ROM
106 Wired LAN
107 Serial circuit 108 Wireless LAN
109 USB
201 User program layer 202 Socket layer 203 Protocol upper layer 204 Protocol layer 205 Hardware protocol layer 206 Protocol lower layer 207 Interface layer 208 Network device 211a-c Network program 212a-c Socket 221 Upper protocol determination unit 222 Socket specification unit 223 Upper protocol Layer transfer unit 224 Upper data order guarantee unit 225 Socket dispatcher 226 Data queue 227 Upper number allocation unit 229 Upper hardware protocol layer transfer unit 231 Protocol processing unit 232 Protocol processing circuit 241 Protocol determination unit 242 Destination acquisition unit 243 Interface management table 244 Lower protocol layer delivery unit 245 Hardware interface management table 246 Processing destination determination unit 247 Lower hardware protocol layer delivery unit 248 Lower data order guarantee unit 249 Interface dispatcher 250 Data queue 251 Communication history storage unit 252 Communication record table 253 Number of packets transmitted per device 254 Number of received packets per device 255 Entry control Unit 256 retransmission request unit 257 history update unit 258 history determination unit 259 search unit 260 packet determination unit 261a-c interface object 262a-c network device 263 lower number allocation unit

Claims (17)

A hardware protocol processing unit which is a hardware-connected circuit that performs protocol analysis processing by TCP on received data;
A protocol processing unit implemented in software that performs protocol analysis processing on received data using a protocol based on TCP;
A communication control unit for controlling reception of received data for a plurality of network devices connected to an external network;
A determination unit that determines, based on the reception amount of each network device, whether or not to cause the hardware protocol control unit to perform protocol analysis processing on reception data that is communication-controlled by the network device for each network device; ,
A hardware delivery unit that delivers the received data to the hardware protocol processing unit when it is determined to cause the hardware protocol control unit to perform a protocol analysis process;
When it is determined not to perform protocol analysis processing by the hardware protocol control unit, a software delivery unit that delivers the received data to the protocol processing unit;
A communication control apparatus comprising: A communication record storage unit for storing a TCP sequence number of the received data received by the communication control unit;
Based on the TCP sequence number stored in the communication record storage unit, a retransmission request unit that requests retransmission to an external network;
The communication control device according to claim 1, further comprising: The communication record storage unit stores a TCP sequence number of the received data received by the communication control unit in association with a communication destination address,
When the network device starts communication using a predetermined address and a TCP protocol, the communication record storage unit stores the predetermined address and the TCP sequence number of received data received from the predetermined address. The communication control apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an entry control unit that registers and associates the registration control unit. The communication record storage unit further stores a flag indicating whether or not to perform a protocol analysis process in the hardware protocol processing unit in association with each other,
The determination unit is further associated with the TCP sequence number when the TCP sequence number of the received data received by the network device matches the TCP sequence number registered in the communication record storage unit. Determining whether to perform protocol analysis processing in the hardware protocol control unit based on the flag being
The communication control device according to claim 3. A number assigning unit that assigns a number indicating the order of communication control for each packet of the reception data that is reception-controlled by the communication control unit;
Any one of the packet of the reception data after the protocol analysis processing is performed by the protocol processing unit and the packet of the reception data after the protocol analysis processing is performed by the hardware protocol processing unit An accumulator for accumulating the above,
An output unit that outputs the received data stored in the storage unit according to the number assigned to the packet of the received data;
The communication control apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: The determination unit determines whether or not to cause the hardware protocol control unit to perform protocol analysis processing on reception data that is communication-controlled by the network device for each network device at predetermined time intervals;
The communication control device according to claim 1. A hardware management storage unit that stores instruction information indicating the network device that receives the received data that is determined by the determination unit to cause the hardware protocol control unit to perform a protocol analysis process;
Based on whether or not the instruction information indicating the network device that receives the received data is stored in the hardware management storage unit, the hardware protocol control unit determines whether to perform protocol analysis processing. A processing destination determination unit;
The communication control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: A data amount storage unit for storing the received data amount controlled to be received for each network device;
An update unit that updates the received data amount of the data amount storage unit each time reception control of the received data is performed in the network device;
The determination unit, based on the received data amount for each network device stored in the data amount storage unit, receives received data that is controlled by the network device among the plurality of network devices. To determine whether the protocol analysis processing is performed by the hardware protocol control unit,
The communication control device according to claim 1, wherein: A communication control step for controlling reception of received data for a plurality of network devices connected to an external network;
Whether the received data controlled by the network device is subjected to protocol analysis processing by the hardware protocol control unit, which is a hardware-connected circuit, for each network device based on the received amount of each network device A determination step for determining whether or not,
A hardware delivery step of delivering the received data to the hardware protocol processing unit when it is determined that the hardware protocol control unit performs a protocol analysis process;
A hardware protocol processing step for performing protocol analysis processing by TCP in the hardware protocol processing unit on the received data passed by the hardware delivery step;
A software delivery step of delivering the received data to the protocol processing unit when it is determined not to perform a protocol analysis process by the hardware protocol control unit;
A protocol processing step for performing protocol analysis processing by TCP for the received data delivered by the software delivery step;
A communication control method characterized by comprising: A communication record storage step for storing a TCP sequence number of the received data received by the communication control step in a communication record storage unit;
Based on the TCP sequence number stored in the communication record storage unit, a retransmission request step for requesting retransmission to an external network;
The communication control method according to claim 9, further comprising: In the communication record storage step, a TCP sequence number of the received data received by the communication control unit and a communication destination address are associated with each other and stored in the communication record storage unit,
When the network device starts communication using a predetermined address and a TCP protocol, the communication record storage unit stores the predetermined address and the TCP sequence number of received data received from the predetermined address. The communication control method according to claim 10, further comprising an entry control step of registering in association with each other. The communication record storage step further stores a flag indicating whether or not to perform a protocol analysis process in the hardware protocol processing unit in association with the communication record storage unit,
The determination step is further associated with the TCP sequence number when the TCP sequence number of the received data received by the network device matches the TCP sequence number registered in the communication record storage unit. Determining whether to perform protocol analysis processing in the hardware protocol control unit based on the flag being
The communication control method according to claim 11. A number assigning step for assigning a number indicating the order of communication control for each packet of the reception data that is reception-controlled by the communication control step;
Any one of the packet of the reception data after the protocol analysis processing is performed in the protocol processing step and the packet of the reception data after the protocol analysis processing is performed by the hardware protocol processing unit An accumulation step for accumulating the above in the accumulation unit;
An output step of outputting the received data stored in the storage unit according to the number assigned to the packet of the received data;
The communication control method according to claim 9, comprising: The determination step determines whether to perform a protocol analysis process in the hardware protocol control step for received data that is communication-controlled by the network device for each network device at a predetermined time,
The communication control method according to claim 9. A hardware management storage step for storing instruction information indicating the network device that receives the received data that is determined to cause the hardware protocol control unit to perform a protocol analysis process by the determination step;
Based on whether or not the instruction information indicating the network device that receives the received data is stored in the hardware management storage step, it is determined whether or not the hardware protocol control unit performs protocol analysis processing. Processing destination determination step;
The communication control method according to claim 9, further comprising: A data amount storing step for storing the received data amount controlled to be received for each network device;
An update step of updating the received data amount in the data amount storing step each time reception control of the received data is performed in the network device,
In the determination step, based on the received data amount for each of the network devices stored in the data amount storage unit, the received data that is controlled by the network device among the plurality of network devices is stored in the hardware. Determine whether to perform protocol analysis processing at the hardware protocol control step,
The communication control method according to any one of claims 9 to 15. A communication control step for controlling reception of received data for a plurality of network devices connected to an external network;
Whether the received data controlled by the network device is subjected to protocol analysis processing by the hardware protocol control unit, which is a hardware-connected circuit, for each network device based on the received amount of each network device A determination step for determining whether or not,
A hardware delivery step of delivering the received data to the hardware protocol processing unit when it is determined that the hardware protocol control unit performs a protocol analysis process;
A hardware protocol processing step for performing protocol analysis processing by TCP in the hardware protocol processing unit on the received data passed by the hardware delivery step;
A software delivery step of delivering the received data to the protocol processing unit when it is determined not to perform a protocol analysis process by the hardware protocol control unit;
A protocol processing step for performing protocol analysis processing by TCP for the received data delivered by the software delivery step;
A communication control program for causing a computer to execute.

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