JP2011223236A - Band confirmation system and computer program for server device thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a band confirmation system which can confirm whether or not a band required for providing a service is ensured between a server device and the terminal device side by a relatively simple configuration.SOLUTION: A center server 2 stores packet data 102 to be transmitted to or received from a router 3, transmits maximum number of packet data 102 that can be transmitted or received between the center server 2 and the router 3 per unit time, as transmission data 102a, to the router 3 within a unit time, receives reply data 102b from the router 3, and calculates the ratio of the number of packets of the transmission data 102a and the number of packets of the reply data 102b. In response to reception of the transmission data 102a, the router 3 returns the packet data 102 contained in the transmission data 102a, as the reply data 102b, to the center server 2.

Description

  The present invention relates to a bandwidth confirmation system that confirms a bandwidth that can be used when a server device and a terminal device communicate via a network.

  A system that provides various services from a server device to a terminal device by connecting the server device and a plurality of terminal devices via a network is widely used. As an example, a service in which a plurality of arcade game machines installed in a commercial facility such as a store are connected to a server apparatus via a network, and the server apparatus matches players according to a request from each game machine, A game system that provides a service for distributing game data from a server device to each game machine has been put into practical use (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  In addition, as a system for measuring a bandwidth between a server device and a terminal device connected via a network, for example, an access to a relay that relays information transmitted and received between the server device and the terminal device, A system for measuring a band based on information acquired from the repeater has been proposed (see Patent Documents 2 and 3).

JP 2004-194927 A JP 2002-152205 A JP 2005-277923 A

  When connecting a server device that provides a specific service and a dedicated terminal device that uses the service, such as the game system described above, using a network that is open to the public, such as the Internet, the server It is indispensable to grasp the available bandwidth between the device and the terminal device and set the system configuration or service content. However, for the system provider, the path between the server device and the terminal device is unknown, and it is difficult to acquire information from the relay device in the middle. It may be possible to install bandwidth measurement software on the terminal device and perform bandwidth measurement processing between the server device and each terminal device. In this case, however, the environment setting of each terminal device is complicated. In addition, the burden on the terminal device also increases.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a bandwidth confirmation system capable of confirming whether or not a bandwidth necessary for providing a service is ensured between a server device and a terminal device side with a relatively simple configuration, and the same It is an object to provide a computer program for a server device.

  The bandwidth confirmation system of the present invention includes a server device (2) connected to a network (4) and a terminal device (5) for the server device between the network and the terminal device to connect to the network. An intervening router (3), and a bandwidth confirmation system (1) for confirming whether or not a bandwidth of a predetermined value or more is secured between the server device and the router, the server device Includes a storage means (11) for storing packet data (102) to be transmitted / received to / from the router, and the server device and the router when the predetermined bandwidth is secured. Data transmission means for transmitting the maximum number of packet data that can be transmitted or received per unit time to the router as transmission data (102a) within the unit time 10), data receiving means (10) for receiving reply data (102b) returned from the router, and ratio calculating means (10) for calculating a ratio between the number of packets of the transmission data and the number of packets of the reply data And a data return means (22) for sending back packet data contained in the transmission data to the server device as return data in response to reception of the transmission data. Therefore, the above-mentioned problem is solved.

  According to the bandwidth confirmation system of the present invention, the server device transmits transmission data to the router. The transmission data transmitted from the server device is the maximum number of data that can be transmitted / received to / from the router per unit time, assuming that a predetermined bandwidth is secured with the router. Packet data is used. For example, assuming that a band in which a terminal device connected to a router can operate stably is a predetermined value band, the maximum number of packet data that can be transmitted / received per unit time in that band is transmitted as transmission data . The transmission data received by the router is returned from the router to the server device as reply data. The server device can confirm the bandwidth state of the target router from the ratio of the transmission data and the reply data. If there is an unreachable packet on any path between the server device and the router, the number of return data packets returned to the server device is reduced by that amount, and the ratio is lowered. It can be determined that a bandwidth of a predetermined value or more is secured with the router. The terminal device does not need to perform any processing for bandwidth confirmation, and the router only needs to be equipped with a function to send back the packet data included in the transmission data in response to reception of the transmission data sent from the server device. . Therefore, it is possible to confirm whether or not a necessary bandwidth is secured between the server device and the terminal device with a relatively simple configuration.

  In one form of the bandwidth confirmation system of the present invention, the server device may comprise bandwidth management means for managing the ratio of the number of packets calculated by the ratio calculation means for each router. The server device can centrally manage the available bandwidth of each router.

  In one form of the bandwidth confirmation system of the present invention, the transmission data and the reply data may be transmitted and received using a UDP protocol. According to this aspect, since packet data is not sent back by transmitting packet data using the UDP protocol, packet loss can be easily grasped.

  In one form of the bandwidth confirmation system of the present invention, the data transmission means may transmit the transmission data to the router at a predetermined cycle. According to this aspect, since the bandwidth that can be used by each router can be confirmed at a predetermined cycle, it can be constantly monitored.

  A computer program (101) for a server device of the present invention is connected to the router via a network (4) with a router (3) interposed between the terminal device (5) and the router (3). When the computer of the server device (2) having storage means (11) for storing packet data (102) transmitted / received between the server device and the server device is assumed to be secured, Data transmitting means (10) for transmitting the maximum number of packet data that can be transmitted to or received from the router per unit time as transmission data (102a) to the router within the unit time, from the router Data receiving means (10) for receiving reply data (102b) to be returned, and a ratio between the number of packets of the transmission data and the number of packets of the reply data Calculated for ratio calculation means (10), in which is configured to function as a.

  By causing the computer of the server device to execute the program of the present invention, the server device can function as the server device in the bandwidth confirmation system of the present invention.

  In addition, in the above description, in order to make an understanding of this invention easy, the reference sign of the accompanying drawing was attached in parenthesis, but this invention is not limited to the form of illustration by it.

  As described above, according to the present invention, transmission data is transmitted from the server device to the router, and the transmission data received by the router is returned from the router to the server device as return data. The server device can confirm the bandwidth state of the target router from the ratio of the transmission data and the reply data. If there is an unreachable packet on any path between the server device and the router, the number of return data packets returned to the server device is reduced by that amount, and the ratio is lowered. It can be determined that a bandwidth of a predetermined value or more is secured with the router. The terminal device does not need to perform any processing for bandwidth confirmation, and the router only needs to be equipped with a function to send back the packet data included in the transmission data in response to reception of the transmission data sent from the server device. . Therefore, it is possible to confirm whether or not a necessary bandwidth is secured between the server device and the terminal device with a relatively simple configuration.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a game system to which a bandwidth confirmation system according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied. The block diagram which shows the structure of a center server and a router. The flowchart which shows the band confirmation process which a center server and a router perform. The graph which shows an example of transmission packet data and its reply packet data. The graph which shows the other example of transmission packet data and its reply packet data.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a game system to which a band confirmation system according to one embodiment of the present invention is applied. In the game system 1, the center server 2 and the router 3 are connected to each other via the network 4. A plurality of game machines 5 are connected to the router 3. Each game machine 5 is configured as a commercial or commercial game machine that collects a play fee as a price for the game. An appropriate number of game machines 5 are installed in a commercial facility such as a store 6, and the game machines 5 in the same store are connected to a network 4 via a common router 3. The router 3 is installed in association with each store 6 and the center server 2. The center server 2 corresponds to the server device in the present invention, and the game machine 5 corresponds to the terminal device in the present invention. The center server 2 is not limited to an example configured by a single physical device, and a single logical center server 2 may be configured by a server group as a plurality of physical devices. The network 4 implements network communication using the TCP / IP protocol, has openness, and typically the Internet is used as the network 4.

  The center server 2 is installed by an operator of the game system 1 and provides various services via the network 4 to the game machine 5 or a player who is a user of the game machine 5. As an example, the center server 2 authenticates the game program or data update service via the game machine 5, the player of the game machine 5 with its ID and password, and play data including the play history, save data, etc. of the player Are stored on the center server 3, and a matching service for executing a battle game between players via the network 4 is provided.

  The center server 2 and the router 3 are assigned unique IP addresses for identifying them on the network 4. The IP address assigned to each router 3 is a fixed address unique to each router 3 on the network 4. In the game machine 5, a private address for uniquely identifying the game machine 5 on the network 4 is set as an IP address in combination with the fixed address. The private address is unique for each game machine 5 in the store 6, in other words, for one router 3. When communication is performed between the game machine 5 and the center server 2 or between the game machines 5, a virtual private network (VPN) is established between the communication partners, and each game machine 5 is configured on the VPN. Is uniquely identified using a private address.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the center server 2 and the router 3. The center server 2 is provided with a control unit 10 and an external storage device 11. The control unit 10 includes a microprocessor, a ROM in which a program such as an operating system to be executed by the microprocessor is recorded, and an internal storage device (not shown) such as a RAM that provides a work area for the microprocessor. A computer unit provided. Although an input device such as a keyboard and an output device such as a monitor are connected to the control unit 10, they are not shown. The external storage device 11 stores a server program 101 to be executed by the control unit 10 and various data referred to by the program 101. Packet data 102 is recorded in the external storage device 11 as a kind of data to be referred to by the control unit 10. The packet data 102 is band confirmation data having a predetermined size, and is counted as one packet when data is transmitted and received.

  When the control unit 10 reads and executes the server program 101 of the external storage device 11, the control unit 10 includes a packet management unit 12, a packet transmission / reception unit 13, a bandwidth calculation unit 14, and bandwidth management as logical devices. A part 15 is provided. The packet management unit 12 manages the setting of the number of packets to be transmitted to the router 3 based on the number of game machines 5 connected to each router 3, and prepares packet data 102 of the number of packets based on the setting. The packet transmitting / receiving unit 13 transmits the packet data 102 of the number prepared by the packet management unit 12 to the designated router 3 (sometimes referred to as transmission packet data 102a), and the packet data returned from the router 3 102 is received (sometimes referred to as reply packet data 102b). The bandwidth calculation unit 14 calculates the ratio of the transmission packet data 102a and the reply packet data 102b of each router 3 that has transmitted the packet data 102. The bandwidth management unit 15 manages the ratio obtained for each router 3.

  The router 3 is provided with a control unit 20 and an external storage device 21. The control unit 20 includes a microprocessor, a ROM in which a program such as an operating system to be executed by the microprocessor is recorded, and an internal storage device (not shown) such as a RAM that provides a work area for the microprocessor. A computer unit provided. An external storage device 21 such as a hard disk is connected to the control unit 20. The external storage device 21 stores a router program 201 to be executed by the control unit 20 and various data (not shown) referred to by the program 201.

  The internal storage device of the control unit 20 is provided with a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM, and a fixed address is recorded in the nonvolatile memory. Further, the control unit 20 reads and executes the router program 201 of the external storage device 21, thereby providing a packet transmission / reception unit 22 as a logical device inside the control unit 20. The packet transmitting / receiving unit 22 receives the packet data 102 transmitted from the center server 2 and sends the received packet data 102 back to the center server 2. In addition to the illustrated logical devices, the control unit 10 of the center server 2 and the control unit 20 of the router 3 may be provided with various logical devices as necessary.

  FIG. 3 shows the processing contents related to the bandwidth confirmation processing executed by the center server 2 and the router 3. The band confirmation process is a process for checking whether or not a band assumed to be used between the center server 2 and each router 3 connected can be used. The center server 3 executes a bandwidth confirmation process with each router 3. For convenience of explanation, FIG. 3 shows a process performed with one router 3 and will be described as a representative. As an example, assuming that the bandwidth used by one game machine 5 during a battle game is 80 kbps, when six similar game machines 5 are installed in the store 6, all game machines 5 use the bandwidth. If this is the case, the entire store 6 will use a bandwidth of 480 kbps. Since the usable bandwidth differs for each store 6 depending on the environment and settings, a bandwidth based on the number of game machines 5 installed in the store 6 is set for each store 6. A bandwidth set for each store 6, that is, for each router 3 (sometimes referred to as an assumed use bandwidth) is managed by the packet management unit 12 of the center server 2 and transmitted to each router 3 based on this assumed use bandwidth. The number of packets to be determined is determined. The assumed use band corresponds to a predetermined value in a band equal to or greater than a predetermined value.

  First, the operation in the center server 2 will be described. The control unit 10 of the center server 2 determines whether or not it is a band confirmation time in step S1. If it is not time to check the bandwidth, the control unit 10 returns to step S1 and waits. On the other hand, the control unit 10 proceeds to the next step S2 if it is the band confirmation time. Thereby, the band confirmation process is repeatedly performed at a predetermined cycle. For example, by setting a cycle such as once a day, the bandwidth can be confirmed periodically. In step S <b> 2, the control unit 10 causes the packet management unit 12 to generate a predetermined number of packet data 102 in order to transmit a predetermined number of packets to the router 3 installed in each store 6. The number of packets takes into account the number of game machines 5 connected to the router 3, the band used by the game machine 5, and the band used by devices used for data transmission / reception such as the router 3. As an example, if 80 kbps is used per game machine 5 and 6 game machines 5 are connected to the router 3, if the bandwidth used by the router 3 is 32 kbps, 512 kbps is set as the minimum required bandwidth. The

  The control unit 10 proceeds to the next step S3 and transmits the packet data 102 group generated in step S2 to the router 3 as transmission packet data 102a. Here, it is assumed that N packets of the transmission packet data 102a are transmitted per second. If the data size of the transmission packet data 102a is S bytes, the bandwidth at the time of transmission is 8 × S × Nbps. Then, the control unit 10 receives the reply packet data 102b returned from the router 3 in the next step S4. The number of return packet data 102b returned at this time is n. The transmission packet data 102a and the reply packet data 102b are transmitted and received between the center server 2 and the router 3 using the UDP protocol. The packet transmission / reception unit 13 executes the transmission / reception processing of the packet data 102 in steps S3 and S4.

  In the next step S5, the control unit 10 causes the bandwidth calculator 14 to calculate the packet data ratio n / N. If the transmitted packet data 102 group exceeds the downstream or upstream performance band of the line between the center server 2 and the router 3, packet loss occurs. If the n / N ratio is calculated, it can be determined whether or not the bandwidth of the line of the store 6 is equal to or less than the bandwidth transmitted from the center server 2. Further, the line bandwidth of the store 6 can also be calculated by multiplying n / N by the transmission bandwidth. The control unit 10 manages the packet data ratio for each store 6 in the next step S6. The control unit 10 manages the n / N ratio obtained by the bandwidth management unit 15 of the center server 2 for each store 6. 4 and 5 are examples of graphs showing the transmission packet data 102a transmitted from the center server 2 and the reply packet data 102b. 4 and 5, the vertical axis represents the bandwidth [bps] and the horizontal axis represents the time [h]. In the graph, the hatched data is the transmission packet data 102 a and the solid line is the return packet. This is data 102b. For convenience of expression, the transmission packet data 102a is only shaded, and the upper boundary of the shaded area indicates the actual data of the transmission packet data 102a. In these graphs, the band confirmation process is executed at a predetermined cycle, and the transition with time is shown. In the center server 2, data as shown in these graphs is obtained for each router 3, and the packet data ratio n / N is calculated based on the data. In the graph of FIG. 4, the number of reply packet data 102b returned from the router 3 with respect to the transmission packet data 102a transmitted from the center server 2 is almost the same, indicating a state in which an assumed use band is secured. . On the other hand, in the graph of FIG. 5, the data amount of the reply packet data 102b is reduced with respect to the transmission packet data 102a, and it can be seen that the bandwidth with the router 3 is below the assumed use band. Further, the absence of data in a part of the graph of FIG. 5 indicates a case where the power of the game machine 5 is turned off due to maintenance or the like. Since the data amount of the packet data 102 to be transmitted to the router 3 is determined based on the assumed use band, the display range of the band [bps] on the vertical axis is not limited to FIG.

  On the other hand, the operation of the router 3 will be described. The control unit 20 of the router 3 receives the transmission packet data 102a transmitted from the center server 2 in step S11. In step S12, the control unit 20 returns the received packet data 102 to the center server 2 as reply packet data 102b. As described above, when the transmission packet data 102a is transmitted from the center server 2, the router 3 performs an operation of sequentially returning the transmission packet data 102b as the reply packet data 102b. This operation is performed by the router 3 executing the router program 201. If there is a loss of packet data 102 on the communication path between the center server 2 and the router 3, the number of reply packet data 102b to the center server 2 decreases. The packet transmission / reception unit 22 executes the processes in steps S11 and S12.

  By changing the number N of the transmission packet data 102a, it is possible to adjust the assumed bandwidth to be used, and to check whether or not the bandwidth according to the performance of the game machine 5 can be used. In the above-described bandwidth confirmation processing, the processing in step S3 executed by the packet transmission / reception unit 13 functions as a data transmission unit, the processing in step S4 performed by the packet transmission / reception unit 13 functions as a data reception unit, and the bandwidth calculation unit 14 The process of step S5 executed by the functioning device functions as a ratio calculation unit, and the process of step S6 performed by the bandwidth management unit 15 functions as a bandwidth management unit. On the other hand, in the router 3, the processing of step S11 and step S12 executed by the packet transmitting / receiving unit 22 functions as a data return unit.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described form and can be implemented in various forms. The center server 2 may be a server shared with other functions or a dedicated server. In the present invention, the terminal device is not limited to a game machine, and may be an appropriate device. For example, equipment of a sports facility may be used as a terminal device, and various terminal devices such as a personal computer, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone, etc. can be targeted as long as network connection is possible. Therefore, the band confirmation system of the present invention is not limited to the example configured as an amusement system.

1 Game system 2 Center server (server device)
3 router 4 network 5 game machine (terminal device)
6 Store 12 Packet management unit 13 Packet transmission / reception unit 14 Band operation unit 15 Band management unit 22 Packet transmission / reception unit 102 Packet data

Claims (5)

A server device connected to a network, and a router interposed between the network device and the terminal device to connect a terminal device for the server device to the network, and the server device and the router A bandwidth confirmation system for confirming whether or not a bandwidth greater than or equal to a predetermined value is secured,
In the server device,
Storage means for storing packet data to be transmitted to and received from the router;
When it is assumed that the predetermined bandwidth is secured, the maximum number of packet data that can be transmitted or received per unit time between the server device and the router is used as the transmission data for the unit time. Data transmission means for transmitting to the router within,
Data receiving means for receiving reply data returned from the router;
Ratio calculating means for calculating a ratio between the number of packets of the transmission data and the number of packets of the reply data is provided;
The router includes
Data return means is provided for returning packet data contained in the transmission data as return data to the server device in response to reception of the transmission data;
Bandwidth confirmation system.   The bandwidth confirmation system according to claim 1, wherein the server device includes bandwidth management means for managing the ratio of the number of packets calculated by the ratio calculation means for each router.   The band confirmation system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the transmission data and the reply data are transmitted and received by a UDP protocol.   The band confirmation system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the data transmission unit transmits the transmission data to the router at a predetermined cycle. A computer of a server device comprising a storage means for storing packet data that is connected to the router via a network with a router interposed between the terminal device and that is transmitted and received between the router,
When it is assumed that the predetermined bandwidth is secured, the maximum number of packet data that can be transmitted or received per unit time between the server device and the router is used as the transmission data for the unit time. Data transmission means for transmitting to the router within,
Data receiving means for receiving reply data returned from the router; and
A ratio calculating means for calculating a ratio between the number of packets of the transmission data and the number of packets of the reply data;
A computer program for a server device configured to function as:

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