JP2010161634A - System and server for management of communication cost in video conference system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a system for management of communication cost in a video conference capable of ensuring the management of communication cost including the management of transmission bands. <P>SOLUTION: The system includes: a cost management part for computing a forecasted communication cost of video conference during a predetermined period based on reservation data and resource data, determining the validity of contents of reservation for video conference based on the forecasted communication cost and budget data and changing a transmission band of the reservation data if reservation contents are not valid; and a network selection part for selecting a communication network for connection from a plurality of communication networks in different bands prepared by a communication common carrier based on the reservation data. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication cost management system for a video conference system and a communication cost management server for a video conference system.

  There is a video conference system that enables conference communication by transmitting and receiving video and audio between remote locations via a communication line. Regarding the management of communication charges in a video conference system using ISDN as a communication channel, “two terminals that execute one video conference make calls alternately”, so that “the burden of communication charges is biased to one terminal” To avoid such a situation "has been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In addition, as a bandwidth reservation management system for performing bandwidth reservation of a communication line between specific terminals and managing the reservation information, “a charge calculation means for calculating a charge for use of the communication line reserved according to the reservation information” Have been proposed (for example, see Patent Document 2).

JP-A-7-7571 (5th page, FIG. 4) JP-A-2004-080612 (page 3, FIG. 7)

  However, for example, when a video conference is performed between a plurality of sites of a company, the communication fee between the sites can be equalized according to the technology of Patent Document 1, but the breakdown of the communication fee is equalized when viewed as a whole company. The entire communication fee will not change. According to the technique of Patent Document 2, a communication fee based on a bandwidth is transmitted to a bandwidth reservation request source, but the communication fee of the entire company cannot be grasped. As described above, the communication charge cannot be managed for the entire company.

  Nowadays, services are being provided by NGN (Next Generation Network). According to NGN, communication service quality is guaranteed, and large-capacity communication is possible. In the future, telecommunications carriers that provide NGN will provide new services (hereinafter referred to as on-demand bandwidth services) that selectively provide bandwidth according to the required specifications and connection environment of applications to be used. Is scheduled). When this on-demand bandwidth service is provided, it is assumed that the communication fee is charged on a pay-as-you-go basis according to the bandwidth used.

  When charging based on a pay-as-you-go system according to the bandwidth is introduced, there is a concern that if the communication charge for the entire company cannot be managed as in the past, the communication charge will be over budget. For example, when conducting a video conference, a network is set up between each site and the video conference server, and users at each site tend to select a video conference with high-quality, large-capacity video, and the network bandwidth also increases. . In this case, the communication charge in the department or company as a whole increases due to the pay-per-use billing according to the bandwidth. Therefore, a teleconference communication cost management system capable of managing communication charges including the bandwidth is desired.

The communication cost management system for a video conference according to the present invention includes a reservation information storage unit for storing reservation information for a video conference reservation including the date and time and band of the video conference, and budget information for storing budget information for communication costs related to the video conference. A storage unit, a performance information storage unit that stores performance information including a video conference execution result and communication cost, and a resource information storage unit that stores resource information including a band used in the video conference and the communication cost .
Based on the reservation information and the resource information, the predicted communication cost of the video conference in a predetermined period is calculated, and the validity of the reservation content of the video conference reservation is determined based on the predicted communication cost and the budget information. If it is not appropriate, a cost management unit is provided for changing the bandwidth of the reservation information.
Furthermore, it has a network selection part which selects the communication network connected from the some communication network of a different band provided by the communication carrier based on reservation information.

The communication cost management server of the video conference according to the present invention is based on the reservation information of the video conference reservation including the date and time of the video conference and the band, and the resource information including the band used in the video conference and the communication cost. A cost management unit for calculating a predicted communication cost of the video conference.
Then, the cost management unit determines the validity of the reservation content of the video conference reservation based on the predicted communication cost and the budget information of the communication cost related to the video conference, and if the reservation content is not valid, the bandwidth of the reservation information To change.
Furthermore, it has a network selection part which selects the communication network connected from the some communication network of a different band provided by the communication carrier based on reservation information.

  According to the present invention, the validity of the reservation content of the video conference reservation is determined based on the predicted communication cost and the budget information, and if the reservation content is not valid, the bandwidth of the reservation information is changed. Then, based on the reservation information, a network to be connected is selected from a plurality of networks of different bands provided by the communication carrier. For this reason, the communication cost of a video conference including the band to be used can be managed.

1 is a configuration diagram of a video conference system and a cost management system according to Embodiment 1. FIG. It is a data structural example of a reservation information database. It is a data structural example of a budget information database. It is a data structural example of an implementation information database. It is an example of a data structure of a resource information database. It is an operation | movement flowchart in the budget formulation stage of the communication cost of a video conference. It is an example of the display screen in the budget formulation stage of the communication cost of a video conference. It is an operation | movement flowchart in the reservation stage of a video conference. It is an example of a display screen at the reservation stage of a video conference. It is an operation | movement flowchart in the reservation check stage of a video conference. It is an example of a display screen in the reservation check stage of a video conference. It is an operation | movement flowchart in the reservation detail check of a video conference. It is an example of a display screen in the reservation details check of a video conference.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
In the video conference system according to the first embodiment, a plurality of video conference terminals that can transmit video signals and audio signals and a video conference server that controls video signals and audio signals are connected by NGN, and each video conference terminal Communicates via a video conference server. And the communication cost management system of the video conference system according to the first embodiment is built in this video conference server. In addition, an explanation will be given assuming that the on-demand bandwidth service and the metered billing service according to the bandwidth are provided by the telecommunications carrier that provides the NGN.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a video conference system including a video conference cost management system 1 according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 1, the video conference system includes a video conference server 21 installed in a center 20 and video conference terminals 31a to 31c (hereinafter collectively referred to as video conference terminals 31) installed in bases A to C, respectively. May be connected by the NGN 40. The cost management system 1 is built in the video conference server 21.

First, the configuration of the video conference system will be described.
The video conference server 21 relays video data and audio data transmitted from the video conference terminal 31 and transmits them to other video conference terminals 31.
The video conference terminal 31 is configured by a PC or a dedicated terminal equipped with a video acquisition device such as a camera (not shown), a voice acquisition device such as a microphone, an audio output device such as a speaker, and the like.
For example, when a video conference is performed between the site A and the site B, when the video conference terminal 31a captures video and audio using a microphone or a camera, the video signal and audio signal are transmitted to the video conference server 21 via the NGN 40. Is transmitted. Then, the video signal and the audio signal relayed by the video conference server 21 are transmitted to the video conference terminal 31b at the site B via the NGN 40, and the video conference terminal 31b reproduces the video signal and the audio signal.

  Here, the video conference server 21 is connected to the NGN 40 via the bandwidth management device 22. The bandwidth management device 22 monitors the usage status of communication traffic, and dynamically changes and manages the bandwidth allocated to each transmission process in the network according to the determined bandwidth control rule and the usage status of communication traffic. Device. In the bandwidth control rule, a bandwidth assigned to each transmission process is determined. As the bandwidth management device 22, a dedicated device can be used, and for example, a router that realizes an equivalent function can be used. Similarly, the video conference terminal 31a to the video conference terminal 31a are connected to the NGN 40 via the bandwidth management device 30a to the bandwidth management device 30c (hereinafter may be collectively referred to as the bandwidth management device 30). The bandwidth management device 30 is the same device as the bandwidth management device 22.

Next, the cost management system 1 will be described. The video conference server 21 is constructed with a cost management system 1 for managing communication costs required for the video conference.
The cost management system 1 includes a cost management unit 2, a reservation management unit 3, a budget management unit 4, a performance management unit 5, a network selection unit 10, and a bandwidth control unit 11. In addition, a reservation information database 6, a budget information database 7, a performance information database 8, and a resource information database 9 stored in a storage device such as a hard disk drive are provided.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of the reservation information database 6. The reservation information database 6 stores reservation information related to the video conference. The reservation information shown in FIG. 2 includes “reservation number”, “scheduled start date / time”, “scheduled end date / time”, “department”, “conference name”, “user”, “type” uniquely set for each reservation. , “Use device”, “network”, “bandwidth”, “importance”, and “confirmation flag” indicating whether or not the reservation is confirmed.
“Type” indicates the type of signal that can be transmitted and received in a video conference, and there are two types of “video” that can transmit and receive video signals in addition to audio signals and “audio” that transmits and receives only audio signals.
“Network” represents a network type when a video conference is performed.
“Band” represents a band value secured by the band management device 22 or the band management device 30 when a video conference is performed, and the operation is guaranteed to be a “recommended value” that is an optimum band corresponding to the connection environment or the like. There are two types of “minimum value” smaller than “recommended value” in the band.
“Importance” is weighting information for each conference reservation, and is used when determining the validity of the reservation content (described later).
“Confirmation flag” indicates whether or not the reservation of the video conference has been confirmed. If the reservation is made by the reservation person but has not been approved by the approver, it is “unconfirmed”, and if the approval is made, it is “confirmed”. .
The reservation information database 6 corresponds to a reservation information storage unit of the present invention.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of the budget information database 7. The budget information database 7 stores budget information of communication costs required for the video conference. The budget information shown in FIG. 3 includes “month”, “department”, “budget”, which is a budget management unit, and “remaining money” for the budget, and also stores “prior term results” as comparison targets of the budget. In this example, budget management is performed in units of “months” for each “department”. The budget information database 7 corresponds to a budget information storage unit of the present invention.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of the record information database 8. The performance information database 8 stores the history of the video conference execution results as performance information. The performance information shown in FIG. 4 includes “reservation number”, “start date / time”, “end date / time”, “department”, “meeting name”, “user”, “type”, “use device”, and required for the conference. Provided with "approximate cost" and "importance" of the communication. In the reservation information database 6 and the record information database 8, items having the same item names represent the same contents. The record information database 8 corresponds to a record information storage unit of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a data configuration example of the resource information database 9. The resource information database 9 stores resource information such as devices and network types that can be selected when conducting a video conference. The resource information illustrated in FIG. 5 includes “type”, “device”, “network type”, “required bandwidth”, and “cost unit price”.
As described above, there are two types, “video” and “audio”.
The “device” is a video conference device that can be used for each “type”, such as a “microphone” or a “camera”.
“Network type” represents a network type that can be used in accordance with a combination of “type” and “device”.
“Necessary bandwidth” is a bandwidth required according to a combination of “type”, “device”, and “network type”, and stores a recommended value and a minimum value.
The “cost unit price” is a communication cost per unit time corresponding to a combination of “type” and “required bandwidth”. When “Type” is “Video”, a large bandwidth is required, so the cost unit price is larger than when “Type” is “Audio”. In addition, when “required bandwidth” is “recommended value” and “minimum value”, “recommended value” has a larger bandwidth and a higher unit cost.
The resource information database 9 corresponds to the resource information storage unit of the present invention.

  The reservation management unit 3 manages reservation information of the video conference using the reservation information database 6. The reservation management unit 3 provides information for reserving a video conference via a display (not shown) to the user, and accepts a video conference reservation input by a mouse or a keyboard (not shown). If reservation is possible, the reservation information is stored in the reservation information database 6.

  The budget management unit 4 manages budget information of communication costs required for the video conference using a budget information database 7. The budget management unit 4 can manage budget information for each budget management unit (year, half year, quarter, month, etc.) or for each department. The budget management unit 4 provides the user with information for budget formulation via a display (not shown) or the like, and accepts budget input using a mouse, a keyboard, or the like. The inputted budget information is stored in the budget information database 7.

  The track record management unit 5 manages track record information including the result of the video conference and its cost using the track record information database 8. When the video conference is conducted, the performance management unit 5 calculates the “estimated cost” (see FIG. 4) based on the time when the video conference was conducted, the bandwidth used, and other necessary information. The performance information including the “estimated cost” is stored in the performance information database 8.

  The cost management unit 2 determines the validity of the reservation contents of the video conference based on the information stored in the reservation information database 6, the budget information database 7, the performance information database 8, and the resource information database 9, and the reservation contents are valid. If not, necessary measures are taken such as changing the bandwidth of the reservation information via the reservation information management unit 3. Details will be described later.

The network selection unit 10 is connected to a network selection interface (referred to as a bandwidth I / F 41 in FIG. 1 and the following description), and based on reservation information stored in the reservation information database 6, a bandwidth required for a video conference. Select a communication network with
Here, the band I / F 41 is an interface provided by the NGN 40 for using an on-demand band service. When the network selection unit 10 outputs to the band I / F 41 the presence / absence of use of the on-demand band service, the band to be used and other necessary information, the communication network of the designated band is provided by the NGN 40.

  Based on the reservation information stored in the reservation information database 6, the bandwidth control unit 11 outputs a bandwidth control rule for the bandwidth management device 22 to manage the bandwidth to the bandwidth management device 22. The bandwidth control rule corresponds to the bandwidth securing request of the present invention. Further, the bandwidth control unit 11 acquires the usage status of communication traffic on the network from the bandwidth management device 22.

  Next, an operation example of the cost management system 1 according to the first embodiment will be described. In the first embodiment, a case will be described as an example where it is used in a budget formulation stage for video conference communication costs, a video conference reservation stage, and a reservation check stage in which the validity of video conference reservation is verified and approved. Here, a description will be given assuming that a user existing in any of the bases A to C performs budget formulation, reservation, and final decision using a PC (not shown) connected to the NGN 40. In the following explanation, a user who makes a budget is called a budget creator, a user who makes a video conference reservation is called a reservation person, and a user who verifies and verifies the validity of a video conference reservation is called an authorizer.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the operation of the budget management unit 4 of the cost management system 1 in the budget formulation stage, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the budget formulater's PC during budget formulation. Hereinafter, the operation will be described with reference to FIG. 7 based on FIG.

  When budgeting is started, the budget management unit 4 acquires and outputs video conference performance information from the performance information database 8 (S101). The budget management unit 4 acquires budget information based on the conditions specified by the budget creator. For example, when the budget for the fourth period of the current year of the department a is formulated, the budget formulater can specify conditions such as the performance information of the fourth period of the previous year of the department a or the previous year. FIG. 7A is an example of a display screen for performance information, and shows performance information for the fourth period of the previous year of the department a.

  Subsequently, budget plan candidates are calculated and output based on the performance information (S102). For example, the maximum value, average value, and minimum value of the actual cost may be obtained for each department, and these may be used as budget proposal candidates. FIG. 7B is an example of a display screen of the actual cost, and displays the maximum value, average value, and minimum value of the actual cost. In addition, the calculation method and calculation conditions of a budget plan candidate can be arbitrarily designated. For example, when there is a policy of reducing the video conference budget by 10% in the entire company, the budget plan candidate is calculated in consideration of the policy.

  The budget formulater creates a budget based on the output result information and (S101) the output result cost (S102). The budget created by the budget creator is input to the budget management unit 4 (S103).

  Then, when the budget is determined by the budget maker (S104), the determined budget information is stored in the budget information database 7 (S105).

  Thus, since the budget management part 4 outputs performance information and performance cost (S101, S102), the budget formulater can create a budget by referring to these information. Therefore, it is possible to effectively support the budget creator in creating an appropriate budget.

Next, the operation at the video conference reservation stage will be described.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation of the reservation management unit 3 of the cost management system 1 in the reservation stage according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a screen presented to the reservation person in the reservation stage. Hereinafter, based on FIG. 8, operation | movement is demonstrated, referring FIG.

  When the reservation is started, the reservation management unit 3 prompts the user to log in to the reservation management unit 3 and logs in the reservation person (S201).

  Then, the record information is acquired from the record information database 8 and output (S202). The reservation management unit 3 acquires the record information based on the conditions specified by the reservation person. For example, when a reservation person belonging to the department a makes a reservation, the result information of the department a may be acquired, or the result information of another department may be acquired. FIG. 9A shows an example of a display screen of the result information, in which the result information of the department a is displayed as a list.

  Subsequently, budget information is acquired from the budget information database 7 and output (S203). The reservation management unit 3 acquires budget information based on conditions specified by the reservation person. For example, when a reservation person belonging to department a makes a reservation, budget information of department a can be acquired. FIG. 9B shows an example of a budget information display screen that displays the monthly budget and balance of department a.

  Subsequently, the vacancy information of the video conference reservation is acquired and output from the reservation information database 6 (S204), and a reservation screen for the reservation person to make a reservation is output (S205). On the reservation screen, resources that can be selected by the reservation person are acquired from the resource information database 9 and displayed. In addition, “predicted cost” predicted for the reservation can be calculated and displayed according to the resource selected by the reservation person and the reservation time. FIG. 9C is an example of a reservation screen for reserving a video conference, and is an example of displaying vacant information together. In FIG. 9C, “predicted cost” is also displayed.

  The reservation person inputs a reservation on the displayed reservation screen (S205) with reference to the record information (S202), budget information (S203), and reservation availability information (S204) output in steps S202 to 204 (S206). ). For example, in the example of FIG. 9C, when “start date and time” and “end date and time” are designated, and “type”, “use”, “network”, “bandwidth”, “importance” and the like are input, “Predicted cost” is calculated and displayed according to the content.

  When the reservation input by the reservation person ends (S207), the input reservation information is stored in the reservation information database 6 (S208). At the stage where the reservation by the reservation person is completed, the “confirmation flag” (see FIG. 2) of the reservation information stored in the reservation information database 6 is “unconfirmed”.

  Thus, since the reservation management part 3 outputs performance information (S202), the reservation person can make a reservation efficiently, for example, the same meeting is reserved with the same content. In addition, the budget remaining amount is displayed as budget information (S203), and the “predicted cost” of the reservation is displayed on the reservation screen, so that the reservation person can determine the reservation contents so as to be within the budget remaining amount. For example, if the “type” of the video conference is changed from “video” to “audio”, the necessary bandwidth can be reduced and the “expected cost” can be reduced.

Next, the operation of the reservation check stage in which the validity of the video conference reservation is verified and approved will be described.
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the operation of the cost management unit 2 in the reservation check stage according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a screen presented to the approver in the reservation check stage. The operation will be described below with reference to FIG. 11 based on FIG.

When the check is started, based on the reservation information stored in the reservation information database 6 and the resource information stored in the resource information database 9, the estimated cost of the period to be checked is totaled and displayed (S301). Specifically, based on the “type” (“video” or “audio”) and “bandwidth” (“recommended value” or “minimum value”) of each reservation, the corresponding “cost unit price” is retrieved from the resource information database 9. Is extracted. Then, the communication cost for each reservation is calculated from this “cost unit price” and the reservation time of the video conference, and this is totaled to obtain the predicted cost.
For example, when checking the reservation of the department a in December, the estimated cost is totaled based on the reservation information reserved in December. FIG. 11A shows an example of a predicted cost display screen, which displays a list of reservation information for the department a in December and totals and displays the predicted costs.

  Subsequently, the record information is acquired from the record information database 8 and output (S302). At this time, the record information is acquired based on the conditions specified by the approver. For example, when checking a reservation in December of the current year, it is possible to acquire record information that can be compared with the check target, such as a record of December of the previous year. For example, when budget / result management is performed every quarter, the results of the fourth period of the current year may be acquired.

  Subsequently, budget information is acquired from the budget information database 7 and output (S303). At this time, budget information is acquired based on conditions specified by the approver. FIG. 11B is an example of a display screen for the performance information and the budget information. The actual information in December of the previous fiscal year and the actual result in the fourth period of the current fiscal year are displayed as the actual information, and the budget and balance of the current fiscal year are displayed as the budget information. is doing.

  Then, based on the acquired reservation information, performance information, and budget information, it is determined whether or not the predicted cost of the video conference is within the budget (S304). If it is within the budget, the process proceeds to step S307, and if it exceeds the budget, the reservation content is deemed invalid and the process proceeds to step S305.

  In step S305, it is determined whether or not the predicted cost can be allocated with the budget of the settlement unit. For example, when the cost of a video conference is settled every quarter, it is determined whether or not it can be applied within the budget for that period. Specifically, it is determined whether or not the surplus of the budgets for October and November can be used for the cost of the video conference in December. If possible, the process proceeds to step S305. Is not valid, the process proceeds to step S306 to check the details of the reservation.

  In step S307, the video conference reservation cost for the corresponding month is compared with the actual cost for the same month of the previous year (S307). If the actual cost of the previous year has been exceeded (S308), the process proceeds to step S306 to check the details of the reservation. On the other hand, if the cost is less than the actual cost (S308), the approval is received from the approver (S309) and the reservation is confirmed (S310). When confirming the reservation, the “confirmation flag” of the reservation information is set to “confirmed” and the reservation information database 6 is updated.

Next, the reservation detail check operation in step S306 in FIG. 10 will be described.
FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation of the cost management system 1 in the reservation detail check, and FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a screen presented to the approver in the reservation detail check. Hereinafter, the operation will be described with reference to FIG. 13 based on FIG.

  When the reservation details check is started, the authorizer is made to select a reservation changing method (S401). The reservation changing method includes a batch change for changing the bandwidth designated in the video conference reservation at once and an individual change for checking and changing reservations one by one.

  When the batch change is selected (S401), the “bandwidth” set in the reservation information is changed in a batch (S402). For example, the bandwidth allocated to all conference reservations can be changed so as to be uniformly reduced. At this time, the amount of bandwidth reduction may be adjusted according to the “importance” of the reservation information. Alternatively, reservations for which “recommended value” is set in “bandwidth” can be collectively changed to “minimum value”.

When the individual change is selected (S401), the reservation information is acquired from the reservation information database 6 and the record information is acquired from the record information database 8, and detailed information is output so that the approver can determine the validity of the reservation. (S403).
FIG. 13A shows an example of a screen that displays detailed information of reservation information. In FIG. 13A, among the conference reservations set with the same “conference name” (“regular”), those with a different “type” set (reservation number 0004 set with “video”) Is displayed in a prominently shaded manner to prompt confirmation of the approver.
FIG. 13B is another screen example that displays detailed information of reservation information. In FIG. 13B, the reservation information of the conference in which a specific “conference name” (“monthly”) is set, and the record information in which the same “conference name” (“monthly”) is set are displayed as a list. Compared with the actual results, the authors are urged to confirm whether or not the reservation contents are appropriate. In the example of FIG. 13B, it can be seen that “type” is “audio” before the previous year, whereas “type” set in the conference reservation in December this year is “video”. Therefore, the approver can confirm its validity.
In addition, reservations for which “recommended value” is set in “bandwidth” may be picked up and displayed, and the authorizer may be prompted to confirm the validity of each reservation.

  For each reservation, resource information that is a candidate for changing the reservation content is acquired from the resource information database 9 and displayed (S404).

The approver confirms the detailed information (S403) of the reservation information to determine its validity, and if it is not valid, selects the appropriate information from the resource information (S404) to be changed and makes a reservation. Make a temporary change. For example, in the example of FIG. 13A, the “type” of the reservation number 0004 can be changed to “voice” to make a temporary change.
Then, the temporarily changed reservation content is input to the cost management unit 2 (S405).

  When the temporary change of the reservation is input, the predicted cost is totaled according to the content and updated and displayed (S406). By updating and displaying the predicted cost, it is possible for the authorizer to easily determine the validity of the reservation. For example, in the example of FIG. 13A, when the “type” of the reservation number 0004 is changed to “audio”, the use band is smaller than that of “video”, so the predicted cost is also reduced.

  If the reservation is determined, the process proceeds to step S408, and if not determined, the process returns to step S401 to change the reservation again (S407).

  When the reservation is determined (S407), the reservation information in the reservation information database 6 is updated according to the determined content (S408).

If the bandwidth has not been changed in step 402 or step S405, the operation is terminated (S409). If the bandwidth has been changed, an instruction to change the bandwidth is given to the bandwidth management device 22 or bandwidth I / F 41 ( S409, S410). Here, whether the bandwidth change instruction is given to the bandwidth management device 22 or the bandwidth I / F 41 differs depending on the content of the bandwidth change.
If the bandwidth allocation in the network is simply changed, that is, if the bandwidth of the network itself to be used is not changed, a predetermined bandwidth control rule is output to the bandwidth management device 22 to Direct change.
On the other hand, when the bandwidth of the entire network can be reduced by reducing the bandwidth of the reservation information, necessary information is output to the bandwidth I / F 41 as a bandwidth change instruction.
For example, when the bandwidth for a specific period may be 90% of the conventional bandwidth, the information is output to the bandwidth I / F 41 to use the on-demand bandwidth service. Since the on-demand bandwidth service is charged on a pay-as-you-go basis according to the bandwidth, the communication cost can be reduced by reducing the bandwidth.

  Subsequently, the reservation holder whose bandwidth has been changed is notified by e-mail or the like that the bandwidth has been changed (S411).

  In the above description, the band change instruction is performed in step 410 of FIG. 12, but the band change instruction is not performed in the reservation detail check, and the same band change is performed before the reserved video conference is started. Instructions can also be given.

  Thus, the video conference is performed based on the video conference reservation determined through the budget formulation stage, the reservation stage, and the reservation check stage. When performing a video conference, the network selection unit 10 designates a necessary band as the band I / F 41 based on the reservation information stored in the reservation information database 6. For example, if a large bandwidth is required when multiple video conferences with video are reserved, the period and bandwidth are designated. If a small band is sufficient, the time and band are specified. Then, the network of the designated band can be provided by the NGN 40 to perform a video conference. Since the necessary bandwidth is designated in this way, it is not necessary to secure an unnecessarily large bandwidth network. Further, for example, even when there is a user who wants to hold a video conference with a bandwidth larger than the reserved bandwidth, since the bandwidth is designated in advance by the network selection unit 10, it is possible to prevent a network exceeding the reserved bandwidth from being secured. be able to.

  Then, the bandwidth control unit 11 outputs a bandwidth control rule based on the reservation information stored in the reservation information database 6 to the bandwidth management device 22. For example, when a video conference with video and a video conference with only audio are performed in the same time zone, the necessary bandwidth is provided to each conference. By doing in this way, the communication quality in each video conference can be kept optimal.

  As described above, according to the cost management system 1 according to the first embodiment, the predicted cost is calculated based on the reservation information and the bandwidth of the video conference, and the reservation contents are determined depending on whether or not the predicted cost exceeds the budget. The validity was judged. And when the estimated cost exceeds the budget, the bandwidth of the reservation information is changed. For this reason, it can suppress that communication cost exceeds a budget in the reservation stage of a video conference.

And, when changing the bandwidth of reservation information, the bandwidth can be changed in a batch by reducing the bandwidth of each reservation uniformly or by reducing the bandwidth according to the “importance” of the reservation. . For this reason, it is possible to easily approximate the predicted cost to the budget value.
In addition, when the bandwidth is not changed at once, the reservation information is displayed in detail and the reservation change candidate is presented to the authorizer. For this reason, the approver can easily perform the simulation of the reservation contents, and can easily bring the predicted cost close to the budget value by optimizing the reservation contents.

  Furthermore, an on-demand bandwidth service provided by the NGN 40 via the bandwidth I / F 41 is used to select a network corresponding to the bandwidth of the reservation information. Since the on-demand bandwidth service is charged according to the bandwidth, the communication cost can be reduced by reducing the bandwidth. For this reason, it is possible to optimize the communication cost in the department or the entire company and to prevent the budget from being exceeded.

  Note that the data structure shown in the first embodiment is merely an example, and another structure that realizes the same function may be used.

  In the first embodiment, a screen display example is shown as an example of presenting various types of information to the user. However, this is an example, and the display can be performed by any display method that is easy for the user to understand. Furthermore, information necessary for the user may be presented audibly by a voice message or the like.

  In the first embodiment, an example in which the cost management system 1 is constructed in the video conference server 21 is shown. However, the construction method of the cost management system 1 is not limited to this, and an equivalent function can be realized. If so, each component may be configured by a physically independent device. For example, if there is an existing environment where budgeting is performed by a PC and reservation management is performed by a video conference server, a cost management system can be constructed in cooperation with these environments.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Cost management system, 2 Cost management part, 3 Reservation management part, 4 Budget management part, 5 Actual management part, 6 Reservation information database, 7 Budget information database, 8 Actual information database, 9 Resource information database, 10 Network selection part, 11 Band control unit, 20 center, 21 Video conference server, 22 Band management device, 30, 30a, 30b, 30c Band management device, 31, 31a, 31b, 31c Video conference terminal, 40 NGN, 41 Band I / F.

Claims (22)

A communication cost management system of a video conference system in which a plurality of video conference terminals are connected via a communication network,
A reservation information storage unit for storing reservation information of a video conference reservation including the date and time and band of the video conference;
A budget information storage unit for storing budget information of communication costs related to video conferencing;
A performance information storage unit for storing performance information including the result of the video conference and the communication cost;
A resource information storage unit for storing resource information including a band used in a video conference and a communication cost thereof;
A predicted communication cost of a video conference for a predetermined period is calculated based on the reservation information and the resource information, and the validity of the reservation content of the video conference reservation is determined based on the predicted communication cost and the budget information. A cost management unit that changes the bandwidth of the reservation information if it is not appropriate;
A communication cost management system for a video conference system, comprising: a network selection unit that selects a communication network to be connected from a plurality of communication networks of different bands provided by a communication carrier based on the reservation information. . The communication cost management system for a video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the cost management unit uniformly reduces the bandwidth of the reservation information when the reservation content is not appropriate. The reservation information includes information on the importance of individual video conferences,
The communication cost management system for a video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the cost management unit reduces the bandwidth according to the importance of each video conference reservation when the reservation content is not appropriate. 4. The cost management unit according to claim 1, wherein the cost management unit calculates and presents a predicted communication cost when the bandwidth is changed before changing the bandwidth of the reservation information. 5. Communication cost management system for video conference system. The reservation information includes information on the importance of individual video conferences,
The cost management unit, if the reservation content is not valid, the bandwidth change candidate according to the importance of each video conference reservation based on the reservation information and resource information, and the predicted communication cost when the bandwidth is changed The communication cost management system of the video conference system according to claim 1, wherein the bandwidth of the reservation information is changed according to the bandwidth specified by the user. The budget information includes a budget remaining amount within the predetermined period,
The cost management unit obtains a budget balance within the predetermined period;
The communication cost management of the video conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the validity of the reservation content is determined based on whether or not the predicted communication cost is within the budget remaining amount. system. The cost management unit obtains a communication cost of past information in a past period that can be compared with the predetermined period,
The validity of the said reservation content is further determined by whether the said estimated communication cost is less than the communication cost of the track record information of the said past period, The claim 1 characterized by the above-mentioned. Communication cost management system for video conference system. The communication cost management system for a video conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the network selection unit temporarily changes a communication network to be selected based on a bandwidth of the reservation information. . 9. A bandwidth control unit that outputs a bandwidth securing request based on the reservation information for a bandwidth management device that manages allocation of a bandwidth to be used in a communication network. A communication cost management system for the video conference system according to claim 1. A budget management unit is provided that calculates and presents budget plan candidates based on the performance information, receives budget information input from a user, and stores the budget information in the budget information storage unit. The communication cost management system of the video conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 9. A candidate for a video conference reservation proposal is presented by presenting at least one of the actual information, a budget remaining amount for a predetermined period extracted from the budget information, the resource information, and a vacancy information for a video conference reservation extracted from the reservation information. The video conference system according to any one of claims 1 to 10, further comprising a reservation management unit that receives input of reservation information from a user and stores the reservation information in the reservation information storage unit. Communication cost management system. A communication cost management server for video conferencing that manages the communication cost of a video conference system in which a plurality of video conference terminals are connected via a communication network,
Based on the reservation information of the video conference reservation including the date and time and the bandwidth of the video conference, and the resource information including the bandwidth used in the video conference and the communication cost thereof, the predicted communication cost of the video conference for a predetermined period is calculated.
A cost management unit that determines the validity of the reservation content of the video conference reservation based on the predicted communication cost and the budget information of the communication cost related to the video conference, and changes the bandwidth of the reservation information when the reservation content is not appropriate; ,
A communication cost management server for a video conference system, comprising: a network selection unit that selects a communication network to be connected from a plurality of communication networks of different bands provided by a communication carrier based on the reservation information. . The communication cost management server of the video conference system according to claim 12, wherein the cost management unit uniformly reduces a bandwidth of the reservation information when the reservation content is not appropriate. The reservation information includes information on the importance of individual video conferences,
The communication cost management server of a video conference system according to claim 12, wherein when the reservation content is not valid, the cost management unit reduces the bandwidth according to the importance of each video conference reservation. The said cost management part calculates and shows the estimated communication cost at the time of changing a band, before changing the band of the said reservation information. Communication cost management server for video conferencing systems. The reservation information includes information on the importance of individual video conferences,
The cost management unit, if the reservation content is not valid, the bandwidth change candidate according to the importance of each video conference reservation based on the reservation information and resource information, and the predicted communication cost when the bandwidth is changed The communication cost management server of the video conference system according to claim 12, wherein the bandwidth of the reservation information is changed according to the bandwidth specified by the user. The budget information includes a budget remaining amount within the predetermined period,
The cost management unit obtains a budget balance within the predetermined period;
The communication cost management of the video conference system according to any one of claims 12 to 16, wherein the validity of the reservation content is determined based on whether or not the predicted communication cost is within the budget remaining amount. server. The cost management unit obtains a communication cost of past information in a past period that can be compared with the predetermined period,
18. The validity of the reservation content is further determined based on whether or not the predicted communication cost is within the communication cost of the performance information in the past period. 18. Communication cost management server for video conference system. The communication cost management server of the video conference system according to any one of claims 12 to 18, wherein the network selection unit temporarily changes a communication network to be selected based on a bandwidth of the reservation information. . 20. A bandwidth control unit that outputs a bandwidth securing request based on the reservation information to a bandwidth management device that manages allocation of a bandwidth to be used in a communication network. A communication cost management server for the video conference system described in Crab. 13. A budget management unit that calculates and presents budget plan candidates based on the performance information, receives budget information input from a user, and manages the budget information. The communication cost management server of the video conference system according to any one of 20. A candidate for a video conference reservation proposal is presented by presenting at least one of the actual information, a budget remaining amount for a predetermined period extracted from the budget information, the resource information, and a vacancy information for a video conference reservation extracted from the reservation information. The communication cost management server for a video conference system according to any one of claims 12 to 21, further comprising: a reservation management unit that receives input of reservation information from a user and manages the reservation information.

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