JP2011142473A - Apparatus and method for estimating users' waiting time, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To estimate users' waiting time, even when a protocol for performing encryption with respect to an application layer, or the like, is used, by reducing the size of acquired data. <P>SOLUTION: An apparatus for estimating the users' waiting time includes the devices: for acquiring respective packets transmitted to a user terminal from a server providing the service of a TCP base, and storing the packets in a memory together with time information; for calculating the number of the packets by each time slot; for extracting as an extraction time slot group a time slot group where the number of packets is equal to or more than a predetermined detection threshold; for identifying a continuous section being a time section, where the packets continuously appear, while deviating a sliding window in a time progress direction, based on the total time of the extraction time slots included in the sliding window having a prescribed window time length and also on the window time length; and for output of the identified continuous section as the estimated users' waiting time. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for estimating a waiting time experienced by a user using a client / server type TCP-based application on a user terminal.

  Client / server type TCP-based applications are widespread. In order for the user to use the application comfortably, a waiting time (hereinafter referred to as this) from when the user performs an operation on the user terminal until the result of the operation is displayed on the screen of the user terminal. The user waiting time) is preferably short. Therefore, when evaluating the quality of an application, the user waiting time is one of important indexes, and it is required to appropriately estimate the user waiting time.

  Conventional techniques for estimating the user waiting time include a prior evaluation type and an in-service evaluation type.

  The pre-evaluation technique uses a pseudo-use environment instead of an actual use environment, asks the subject to use the application, and measures the waiting time. There is also a technique for measuring waiting time using a pseudo client in a pseudo use environment.

  As an in-service evaluation type technology, a technology that estimates user waiting time by analyzing logs accumulated in the server, collects and analyzes information sent and received between the server and the user terminal, and determines the user waiting time from the analysis result. There is a technique for estimating the waiting time by executing a pseudo client program on a user terminal in an actual usage environment.

  As a prior art document, there is Patent Document 1 that discloses a technique for estimating quality such as delay in data transfer over TCP.

JP 2004-140596 A

  However, the conventional prior evaluation technique cannot estimate the user waiting time when the user actually uses the application. Therefore, it is not possible to appropriately estimate the user waiting time that may change depending on the status of the communication network. Also, with the prior evaluation type technology, when the user waiting time deteriorates due to the state of the communication network or the like, it is not possible to take measures against it.

By using in-service evaluation type technology, it is possible to solve the problem of prior evaluation type. However, the conventional in-service evaluation technology has the following problems.
The technology that estimates the user waiting time by analyzing the logs accumulated in the server can only estimate the time related to the processing time at the server and cannot grasp the change in the user waiting time caused by the communication network. .

  In addition, the technique using the pseudo client program causes a measurement overhead in the server and the communication network, and there is a problem that the quality of the application may be deteriorated due to the measurement.

  In addition, in the conventional technique for collecting and analyzing information transmitted and received between the server and the user terminal, it is necessary to acquire all data transmitted and received bidirectionally between the user terminal and the server in order to estimate the user waiting time. There is a problem that the size of data to be acquired becomes very large. Furthermore, in the prior art, it is necessary to analyze information up to a layer higher than the transport layer, and therefore, when a protocol that encrypts a layer higher than the transport layer such as HTTPS is used. The obtained information cannot be analyzed, and the user waiting time cannot be calculated.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points. In the technology for estimating user waiting time by acquiring data transmitted and received between a user terminal and a server, the size of the data to be acquired is reduced, and It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique that makes it possible to estimate a user waiting time even when a protocol that performs encryption for a layer higher than a port layer is used.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the present invention is connected to an application server that provides a TCP-based application service via a communication network and estimates a user waiting time in a user terminal that uses the application service. A packet acquisition unit for acquiring each packet transmitted from the application server to the user terminal, and storing the packet in a storage unit together with information on a time at which the packet was acquired; Based on the number of packets for each time slot calculated by the packet number aggregation means, the packet number aggregation means for calculating the number of packets for each time slot having a predetermined time width from the packet group acquired by the acquisition means, Detection with predetermined number of packets Extracting means for extracting a time slot group that is equal to or greater than the value as an extracted time slot group, a sliding window having a predetermined window time length is defined, and the total time of the extracted time slots included in the sliding window and the window time length are Based on the above, the continuous section identifying means for identifying the continuous section that is the time section in which the packets appear continuously while shifting the sliding window in the time progress direction, and the continuous section identified by the continuous section identifying means are estimated. It comprises an output means which outputs as a user waiting time, It comprises as a user waiting time estimation apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.

  The continuous section identifying means calculates a total time of extraction time slots included in a sliding window extending in a time progression direction from a continuity determination start position corresponding to a certain extraction time slot, and a ratio of the total time to the window time length A determination means for determining whether or not is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold; and when the determination means determines that the ratio of the total time to the window time length is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold. Sliding the sex determination start position to the next extraction time slot and performing processing by the determination means based on the shifted continuity determination start position; and processing by the determination means and the sliding means with respect to the window time length Until the ratio of the total time is determined to be less than the predetermined threshold. Repeatedly, the time from the initial continuity determination start position to the end of the sliding window at which the ratio of the total time is finally determined to be equal to or greater than the threshold is a time interval in which the packet appears continuously. And means for determining.

  According to the present invention, since the user waiting time can be estimated by acquiring a packet transmitted from the application server to the user terminal, it is necessary to acquire a packet that is transmitted and received bidirectionally between the user terminal and the server. Compared with the prior art, the amount of data to be acquired can be reduced. Further, in the present invention, since it is not necessary to refer to the contents of the header related to the protocol of the layer higher than the transport layer, a protocol for performing encryption on the layer higher than the transport layer was used. Even in this case, it is possible to estimate the user waiting time.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating "user waiting time." It is a functional block diagram of the user waiting time estimation apparatus 1. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the user waiting time estimation apparatus 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a packet stored in a packet storage unit 12. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a packet stored in a packet storage unit 12. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of the packet classified by the traffic classification | category part. 6 is a histogram showing a totaling result obtained by a packet number totaling unit 14. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process which the continuous area identification part 15 performs. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the process which the continuous area identification part 15 performs. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the process which the continuous area identification part 15 performs. It is a conceptual diagram for demonstrating the process which the continuous area identification part 15 performs.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(System configuration)
FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration diagram of a system including a user waiting time estimation apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the system according to the present embodiment includes a user waiting time estimation device 1, an application server 2, and a user terminal 3, which are connected to a communication network 4.

  The application server 2 is a server that provides application services to the user terminal 3. The application service provided by the application server 2 is, for example, a web page providing service.

  The user waiting time estimation device 1 is a device that estimates a waiting time experienced by a user who operates a user terminal 3 that communicates with the application server 2. The user terminal 3 is a general PC terminal equipped with a web browser or the like. The communication network 4 is a network capable of data communication by IP (Internet Protocol) including the Internet and LAN.

  Further, it is assumed that the communication network 4 is configured so that the user waiting time estimation apparatus 1 can receive all packets (IP packets) transmitted and received between the application server 2 and the user terminal 3. For example, the user waiting time estimation apparatus 1 is connected to a mirror port of a LAN switch that connects the application server 2 within the communication network 4.

  However, the user waiting time estimation apparatus 1 does not necessarily have to acquire a packet directly from the communication network 4. For example, it is good also as a structure which inputs the packet acquired by the other apparatus from the communication network 4 to the user waiting time estimation apparatus 1 from the said apparatus.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) is used as a transport layer protocol for data communication between the user terminal 3 and the application server 2. This is because TCP is suitable for the technology according to the present invention because communication for control such as flow control frequently occurs and a response corresponding to the request always occurs. Further, in FIG. 1, one application server 2 and one user terminal 3 are shown, but it goes without saying that a plurality of each of them may be provided.

  Next, “user waiting time” according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an outline of a TCP communication sequence between the application server 2 and the user terminal 3.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when the user performs a predetermined operation (for example, an operation of clicking a specific button displayed on the browser screen) for obtaining a desired display result on the user terminal 3, the packet is displayed. A result (for example, a Web page screen that was expected to be displayed) that is transmitted / received between the application server 2 and the user terminal 3 and that corresponds to the above operation is displayed on the user terminal 3.

  In the present specification and claims, the user waiting time is from the time when the predetermined operation is performed as described above to the time when the result corresponding to the predetermined operation is displayed.

  In FIG. 3, the functional block diagram of the user waiting time estimation apparatus 1 which concerns on this Embodiment is shown. As shown in FIG. 3, the user waiting time estimation apparatus 1 includes an input unit 11, a packet storage unit 12, a traffic classification unit 13, a packet number counting unit 14, a continuous section identification unit 15, and an RTT (Round Trip Time) providing unit 16. And an output unit 17.

  The contents of the processing of each functional unit will be described in detail in the description of the system operation described later, and the outline of the function of each functional unit will be described below.

  The input unit 11 acquires, from the communication network 4 or the like, packets that are transmitted from the application server 2 to the user terminal 3 among packets transmitted and received between the user terminal 3 and the application server 2, and each packet has a time stamp (current time, packet Is a functional unit that stores the packet in the packet storage unit 12.

  The traffic classifying unit 13 is a functional unit that classifies packets from the application server 2 toward the user terminal 3 for each destination. The packet count totaling unit 14 is a functional unit that performs a process of calculating the number of packets for each predetermined time width (time slot) for each packet group identified as being addressed to a specific user terminal.

  The continuous section identifying unit 15 uses the predetermined number of packets for each time width obtained by the packet number totaling unit 14 to determine whether or not a certain amount of packets continuously appear within a predetermined time width. Is a functional unit for obtaining a time interval in which it can be estimated that the waiting time by the user continues.

  Further, the RTT providing unit 16 obtains RTT (Round Trip Time: the time from when the user terminal 3 transmits a packet to the application server 2 until the acknowledgment packet is returned from the application server 2 to the user terminal 3), It is a functional unit that provides it to the continuous section identifying unit 15. The output unit 17 is a functional unit that outputs the time interval obtained by the continuous interval identification unit 15 as information on the estimated user waiting time.

  The user waiting time estimation device 1 can be realized by mounting a program for performing processing corresponding to each functional unit on a general computer including a storage unit such as a memory and a hard disk and a CPU. The program may be installed in the computer from a recording medium such as a portable memory or a disk, or may be downloaded from a server on a network to the computer and installed.

(System operation)
Next, an example of the operation of the user waiting time estimation apparatus 1 will be described along the flowchart of FIG. First, the input unit 11 of the user waiting time estimation apparatus 1 sequentially acquires packets originating from the application server 2 from the communication network 4 and attaches a time stamp that is information about the acquired time to the packet storage unit 12. (Step 1 in FIG. 4).

  The user waiting time estimation device 1 always stores a packet transmitted from a specific application server 2 in the packet storage unit 12, and when there is a need for user waiting time estimation regarding the application server 2, the user waiting time estimation device 1 The acquired packets may be analyzed, or packets may be collected for a specific time interval according to a user instruction or the like, and the collected packets may be analyzed. Alternatively, the packet may be always stored in the packet storage unit 12, and the user waiting time estimation process for a specific application server may be executed at regular time intervals. Of course, other forms may be used.

  An example of a packet stored in the packet storage unit 12 is shown in FIG. For example, the first line in FIG. 5A shows an IP whose source IP address is IP address 1, source port number is port number 1, destination IP address is IP address 3, and destination port number is port number 1. The packet is acquired and stored at time 1. The same applies to the other lines.

  In FIG. 5A, only the IP packet whose destination IP address is IP address 3 is shown, but in general, IP packets of various destination IP addresses are acquired. When the source IP address and the destination IP address of the packet to be stored in the packet storage unit 12 are determined in advance, the IP header is excluded from the acquired packet, and the TCP packet with the TCP header is added. It is good also as storing in the packet storage part 12 in a format.

  Subsequently, in step 2 of FIG. 4, the traffic classification unit 13 performs processing for classifying the packets stored in the packet storage unit 12 for each destination user terminal. In classification, in this embodiment, one set of destination IP address and destination port number corresponds to one destination user terminal, and a process of classifying packets for each set of destination IP address and destination port number is performed. .

  However, in the case of communication via NAT, the same destination IP address is considered in consideration that one destination IP address and a plurality of consecutive destination port numbers may be assigned to one destination user terminal. If a plurality of packets having consecutive port numbers appear within a predetermined short time (for example, 0.5 seconds), the packets are addressed to one user terminal. I consider it.

  For example, if the packet stored in the packet storage unit 12 is as shown in FIG. 5A, the destination IP address is the same, so the traffic classification unit 13 uses the packet as shown in FIG. Sort (sort). In the example of FIG. 5B, an IP packet with destination port number 1 can be regarded as a packet destined for user terminal A, a packet with destination port number 8 can be regarded as a packet destined for user terminal B different from user terminal A, and the like.

  Further, for example, the packet stored in the packet storage unit 12 is as shown in FIG. 6A, and each of the time from time 1 to time 4 and the time from time 5 to time 7 is a predetermined time. If shorter, the traffic classification unit 13 classifies the packet as shown in FIG. In the example of FIG. 6B, packets with destination port numbers 1 to 4 can be regarded as packets destined for user terminal X, and packets with destination port numbers 10 to 12 can be regarded as packets destined for user terminal Y different from user terminal X. .

  Note that the processing described below is processing for a packet addressed to one specific user terminal in the classified packet group. Further, the classified packets may be stored in the packet storage unit 12 or may be stored in a storage unit such as a memory other than the packet storage unit 12.

  In addition, the method of acquiring the packet classified for each destination user terminal is not limited to the above method. As a result, any means can be used as long as the packet classified for each destination user terminal can be acquired. It may be used.

  Next, in step 3 of FIG. 4, the packet counting unit 14 of the user waiting time estimation apparatus 1 calculates the number of classified packets for each predetermined time width (denoted by W and also referred to as a time slot). Perform the process.

  For example, assume that the traffic classification unit 13 extracts the packet shown in FIG. 7 from the application server 2 as a packet addressed to the user terminal 3 (a user terminal identified by the IP address 3 and the destination port number 10). For example, it is assumed that the time slot size W is 0.1 second (hereinafter, the unit of time is seconds).

  In this case, the packet counting unit 14 calculates the number of packets in the time slot between time 0 and time 0.1 as 3, and sets the number of packets in the time slot between time 0.1 and time 0.2 as 4. Ask. The same applies to other time slots. The histogram shown in FIG. 8 is obtained from the results calculated in this way.

  Subsequently, in step 4 of FIG. 4, the continuous section identification unit 15 can estimate the user waiting time based on the number of packets for each time slot obtained by the packet count totaling unit 14. The process of identifying is performed.

  In the present embodiment, the continuous section identification unit 15 uses RTT, which is the time from when a packet is transmitted from the user terminal 3 to the application server 2 until the confirmation response packet is returned from the application server 2 to the user terminal 3. Thus, continuous sections can be identified, and continuous sections can be identified without using RTT. Whether or not to use RTT can be determined, for example, by the location of application server 2 (whether domestic or foreign), the state of communication network 4, etc., and whether or not to use RTT can be set by the user. .

<When not using RTT>
First, processing when RTT is not used will be described using the flowchart of FIG. 9 and the conceptual diagram of processing shown in FIG.

  As a premise of the following processing, a detection threshold that is a threshold of the number of packets in a time slot, a sliding window time length L, and a continuity determination threshold S are input to the continuous section identification unit 15 in advance, and the memory or the like. It is assumed that

First, in step 10 of FIG. 9, the continuous section identification unit 15 extracts all time slots whose number of packets is equal to or greater than the detection threshold. Here, the detection threshold is an integer of 0 or more. The detection threshold is provided to prevent detection of a packet related to communication other than target communication (communication caused by user operation) in the user waiting time estimation.
Each time slot is information identified by its start time position and end time position. The process of step 10 corresponds to the process of extracting a time slot in which the number of packets overlaps or exceeds the dotted line in FIG. Hereinafter, the extracted time slot is referred to as an extracted time slot.

  Next, in step 20 of FIG. 9, the continuous section identification unit 15 is first in time among the extracted time slots that have not reached the continuity determination start position described later among the plurality of extracted time slots. The start position (denoted as time T) of the extraction time slot located at is specified.

  Then, the continuous section identification unit 15 initializes C (set to C = 0), which is a variable indicating the time length for shifting the sliding window for continuous section identification (step 30). Subsequently, the continuous section identification unit 15 obtains the total time length of the extracted time slots included in the sliding window starting from the time T, which is the start position of the extracted time slot, and performs the extraction with respect to the time length L of the sliding window. A ratio R of the total time length of the time slots is obtained (step 40). Hereinafter, the start position of the sliding window will be referred to as the continuity determination start position.

  In step 40, the time width of the time slot is W, and M extraction time slots (time slots in which the number of packets is equal to or greater than the detection threshold) are included in the time length L of the sliding window starting from the continuity determination start position. In this case, since the total time length of the extracted time slots is W × M, R = W × M / L. Also, in the case of FIG. 10, if the time slot width is 0.1 and the length of each sliding window is 1, since eight extraction time slots are included in the sliding window A, R = 0. 1 × 8/1 = 0.8.

  Subsequently, the continuous section identification unit 15 determines whether or not R is greater than or equal to the continuity determination threshold S (step 50). In the present embodiment, S is a constant between 0 and 1, for example, S = 0.5.

  If it is determined in step 50 that R is greater than or equal to the continuity determination threshold S, the continuous section identification unit 15 sets the continuity determination start position as the start position of the next extracted time slot positioned in the time progression direction. . Further, the length of shifting the continuity determination start position (time from the previous continuity determination start position to the next continuity determination start position) is set as K, and C = C + K (step 60). Thereafter, the process returns to step 40.

  If it is determined in step 50 that R is not equal to or greater than the continuity determination threshold S, the continuous section identification unit 15 proceeds to step 70, sets C = C−K, and sets a section from T to T + C + L as a continuous section. Is recorded in a storage means such as a memory, and the process returns to step 20. However, in the determination process of step 50, if the determination of Yes is never made and it is determined No from the beginning, the process returns to step 20 without passing through step 70. In step 20, the start position of the extraction time slot next to the current continuity start determination position is T, and the subsequent processing is repeated. If there is no next extraction time slot, the process is terminated (step 80).

  The concept of the above processing will be described with reference to FIG. In the example of FIG. 10, it is assumed that the time length of the sliding window is the length of 10 time slots, and the continuity determination threshold S = 1/2 = 0.5. That is, in this case, when five or more extracted time slots are included in the sliding window, YES is determined in step 50.

  In the example of FIG. 10, a time slot having a larger number of packets than the dotted line is first extracted. Then, the start position T of the sliding window A becomes the first continuity determination start position, and since eight extraction time slots are included in the sliding window A, YES is determined in step 50, and the continuity determination start position is The position is shifted to the start position of the sliding window B, and the same determination process and the process of shifting the continuity determination start position are repeated.

  In the example of FIG. 10, the sliding window E includes five extracted time slots, but the sliding window F includes only four extracted time slots. Here, the determination in step 50 is No. Accordingly, the time section from the start position T of the sliding window A to the end position (T + C + L) of the sliding window E is recorded in the storage means as a continuous section corresponding to the user waiting time.

  In step 80, when the process is completed, the continuous section information (= user waiting time information) stored in the storage means is passed to the output unit 17 and output (step 5 in FIG. 4). For example, the output unit 17 uses the IP address and port number of the target application server 2 as the user waiting time information, the IP address and port number corresponding to the user terminal 3, and the user waiting time (continuous section). Output start time and end time. If the user terminal or user name can be identified from the IP address and port number corresponding to the user terminal 3, the user terminal or user name may be output.

  The information output from the output unit 17 is transferred to, for example, a network administrator's terminal and displayed.

  By using the technique in the present embodiment described above, it is possible to appropriately estimate the user waiting time in a stable network environment. When using TCP packets, it is possible to estimate the user waiting time by determining the start and end of data transfer from the information in the TCP header, but the data on the TCP within the user waiting time Since the transfer start and end may occur continuously a plurality of times, the user waiting time cannot be estimated appropriately from the information in the TCP header.

  As in the present embodiment, when packets transmitted from the TCP-based application server 2 to the user terminal 3 are continuously generated at a certain short time interval, it is determined that the user wait is continued. By this technique, it is possible to estimate the user waiting time more appropriately. The technique in the present embodiment is such that the application server 2 side performs a relatively short time for performing data processing (such as writing data to a hard disk) without sending a TCP packet to the user terminal 3. Is suitable.

  In the above example, the time width W of the time slot, the time length L of the sliding window, and the continuity determination threshold value S may be determined appropriately by experiments or the like. However, an example in a stable network environment By using 0.1 as the time width W of the time slot, using 1 which is 10 timeslots as the time length L of the sliding window, and using 1/2 as the continuity determination threshold S, The result is obtained.

<When using RTT>
Next, FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of identification processing of continuous sections when using RTT. The following description will focus on the differences from when RTT is not used.

  When the RTT is not used, a predetermined length is used as the sliding window time length L. On the other hand, when the RTT is used, the process in step 35 of FIG. Is calculated based on RTT, and in subsequent processing, continuous sections are determined using L obtained based on RTT. Other processes are the same as those in FIG. More details are as follows.

  In the present embodiment, the input unit 11 uses, as data for obtaining the RTT, some of the packets from the user terminal 3 to the application server 2 in addition to the packets from the application server 2 to the user terminal 3. Packets can be acquired and stored in the packet storage unit 12. By referring to the data stored in the packet storage unit 12, the RTT providing unit 16 can identify, for example, a transmission packet and a response packet corresponding to the sequence number, and calculate an RTT for each predetermined time. . Note that calculating the RTT from the TCP packet is a conventional technique. Of course, the RTT providing unit 16 may calculate the RTT by other methods. For example, an RTT may be acquired by a device outside the user waiting time estimation device 1 and the RTT may be received from the device.

  In step 35, the continuous section identifying unit 15 acquires an RTT corresponding to the time closest to the continuity determination start position from the RTT providing unit 16. Here, when RTT is expressed as TR, the continuous section identification unit 15 calculates L as L = (TR + W) × N (N is a natural number). For example, if TR = 0.01, W = 0.1, and N = 10, then L = 0.11 × 10 = 1.1. For example, if R = 0.05, W = 0.1, and N = 10, then L = 0.15 × 10 = 1.5.

  The concept of processing when RTT is used will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 12, the part shown by (A) is a case where L = 1.1, and the part shown by (B) shows a case where L = 1.5. As shown in FIG. 12, by extending the sliding window length L according to the RTT, even if the packet appearance interval is extended due to the RTT, the continuous interval (estimated to be the user waiting time) Can be identified).

(Effects of the embodiment)
As described above, according to the technique described in the present embodiment, the user waiting time can be estimated by acquiring a packet transmitted from the application server 2 to the user terminal 3, and therefore, between the user terminal and the server. The amount of data to be acquired can be reduced as compared with the conventional technique in which packets transmitted and received in both directions must be acquired. Further, in the technique of the present embodiment, there is no need to refer to the contents of a header related to a protocol in a layer higher than the transport layer, so a protocol for performing encryption on a layer higher than the transport layer. Even when is used, the user waiting time can be estimated.

  Moreover, in the technique of the present embodiment, the sliding window time length can be changed according to the RTT, so that the user waiting time can be estimated according to the state of the communication network.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications are possible within the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 User waiting time estimation apparatus 2 Application server 3 User terminal 4 Communication network 11 Input part 12 Packet storage part 13 Traffic classification part 14 Packet count total part 15 Continuous section identification part 16 RTT provision part 17 Output part

Claims (6)

A user waiting time estimation device that is connected to an application server that provides a TCP-based application service through a communication network and estimates a user waiting time in a user terminal that uses the application service,
A packet acquisition means for acquiring each packet transmitted from the application server to the user terminal, and storing the packet in a storage means together with information on a time at which the packet was acquired;
From the packet group acquired by the packet acquisition means, a packet number counting means for calculating the number of packets for each time slot having a predetermined time width;
Based on the number of packets for each time slot calculated by the packet number counting means, an extraction means for extracting a time slot group whose number of packets is equal to or greater than a predetermined detection threshold as an extraction time slot group;
A sliding window having a predetermined window time length is defined, and a time at which packets continuously appear while shifting the sliding window in the time progress direction based on the total time of extraction time slots included in the sliding window and the window time length. Continuous section identifying means for identifying continuous sections that are sections;
An output means for outputting the continuous section identified by the continuous section identifying means as an estimated user waiting time. The continuous section identifying means includes
The total time of the extraction time slots included in the sliding window extending in the time progression direction from the continuity determination start position corresponding to a certain extraction time slot is calculated, and the ratio of the total time to the window time length is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value Determination means for determining whether or not there is;
When the determination means determines that the ratio of the total time to the window time length is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold, the continuity determination start position is shifted to the next extraction time slot, and the shifted continuity is Sliding means for performing processing by the determination means based on the determination start position;
The determination unit and the sliding unit repeat the processing until it is determined that the ratio of the total time to the window time length is less than the predetermined threshold, and from the initial continuity determination start position to the last The means for determining that the time until the end of the sliding window, in which the ratio of the total time is determined to be equal to or greater than the threshold, is a time interval in which the packet appears continuously. The user waiting time estimation apparatus described.   3. The user waiting time estimation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a calculation unit configured to calculate a window time length of the sliding window based on an RTT in the communication network.   4. The user waiting time estimation according to claim 3, wherein the calculating means calculates a window time length of the sliding window from a value obtained by adding the value of the RTT to a predetermined time length. apparatus. A user waiting time estimation method executed by a user waiting time estimation apparatus that estimates a user waiting time in a user terminal that is connected to an application server that provides a TCP-based application service via a communication network and uses the application service, ,
A packet acquisition step of acquiring each packet transmitted from the application server to the user terminal and storing the packet in a storage unit together with information on a time when the packet is acquired;
From the packet group acquired by the packet acquisition step, a packet number counting step for calculating the number of packets for each time slot having a predetermined time width;
Based on the number of packets for each time slot calculated by the packet number counting step, an extraction step for extracting a time slot group whose number of packets is equal to or greater than a predetermined detection threshold as an extraction time slot group;
A sliding window having a predetermined window time length is defined, and a time at which packets continuously appear while shifting the sliding window in the time progress direction based on the total time of extraction time slots included in the sliding window and the window time length. A continuous section identification step for identifying continuous sections that are sections;
An output step of outputting the continuous section identified by the continuous section identification step as an estimated user waiting time. A program for connecting a computer to an application server that provides a TCP-based application service via a communication network and functioning as a user waiting time estimation device that estimates a user waiting time in a user terminal that uses the application service. Computer
Packet acquisition means for acquiring each packet transmitted from the application server to the user terminal, and storing the packet in a storage means together with information on the time when the packet was acquired;
A packet number counting means for calculating the number of packets per time slot having a predetermined time width from the packet group acquired by the packet acquisition means;
Extraction means for extracting a time slot group in which the number of packets is equal to or greater than a predetermined detection threshold based on the number of packets for each time slot calculated by the packet number counting means, as an extraction time slot group;
A sliding window having a predetermined window time length is defined, and a time at which packets continuously appear while shifting the sliding window in the time progress direction based on the total time of extraction time slots included in the sliding window and the window time length. Continuous section identifying means for identifying continuous sections that are sections;
Output means for outputting the continuous section identified by the continuous section identifying means as the estimated user waiting time;
Program to function as.

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