JP2012070065A - Radio communication speed detection device and method for operating the same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve the problem that an actual network communication speed is unclear although it is understandable whether or not a radio wave interference occurs, only by measuring an electric field strength, and that it is impossible to clarify a transmission status only by measuring the transmission speed using a communication speed test server of the Internet, thus posing difficulty in taking proper steps.SOLUTION: An electric field strength determination section 18 determines whether or not the electric field strength of an electric wave from a wireless LAN base station W is smaller than an electric field strength reference value TH. When it is determined that the electric field strength is smaller than the electric field strength reference value TH, a communication speed detection section 19 communicates with a communication speed test server TS through a radio communication section 14 and the wireless LAN base station W to detect a communication speed. A display control section 110 displays the communication speed on a display unit 12 through a screen display section 16.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wireless communication speed detection device and an operation method thereof.

  One form of connecting a PC (personal computer) to a network for Internet use is a wireless LAN. When a wireless LAN is used, the radio wave condition varies greatly depending on the environment, and the communication speed of the wireless LAN may change greatly depending on slight differences in conditions. For example, even in the same room, there are cases where high-speed communication is possible depending on the location, and communication speed may be slow. For this reason, there is a case where the use place is changed slightly, and a sufficient communication speed cannot be obtained during use, which hinders use of a service using a wireless LAN.

  In general, the communication speed of a wireless LAN is such that the wireless LAN terminal receives radio waves transmitted from the wireless LAN base station at what strength (called electric field strength), and radio waves in the same frequency band are generated in the surroundings. It changes depending on whether or not. In particular, when radio waves in the same frequency band are generated, interference occurs and the communication speed is greatly reduced. Therefore, if sufficient communication speed cannot be obtained, it is necessary to measure the electric field strength and investigate the strength of radio waves received and whether radio waves in the same frequency band are being used around. is there.

  As a means for confirming the communication speed when using the Internet, there is a method of measuring the communication speed by accessing a communication speed test server on the Internet from a terminal such as a PC. In this case, the end-to-end communication speed from the PC to the server can be measured. Even in a PC using a wireless LAN, it is possible to measure the communication speed using a communication speed test server, and when the user feels that the network is slow, how much speed actually appears. It is possible to confirm.

  At this time, in order to investigate how many packets are actually transmitted, a protocol monitor tool is known that acquires packets transmitted over the network and measures the traffic volume from the number of packets and the packet length. (See WireShark, http://www.sireshark.org/).

  As another means for confirming the communication speed when using the Internet, there is a method using a traffic generator. For example, a traffic generation system including a plurality of packet transmission / reception devices and a traffic control device is connected to a network, and one packet transmission / reception device transmits a predetermined packet directed to another packet transmission / reception device. The packet transmitting / receiving apparatus that has received the packet confirms the communication speed of the network from the received packet (Patent Document 1).

  If you feel that the Internet communication speed is slow, use a PC with a wireless LAN access function to access the above communication speed test server via the wireless LAN and measure the speed from the PC to the server via the wireless LAN. There is a way.

  Similarly, when a traffic generator is used, the communication speed can be confirmed by inserting a wireless LAN between networks and generating traffic and receiving packets between the two ends.

  However, with these methods, even if the communication speed can be confirmed, the cause cannot be clarified when the communication speed is low. Therefore, the essential improvement is difficult.

  On the other hand, the method of measuring electric field strength and examining the strength of radio waves and the surrounding radio wave conditions can grasp the radio wave condition at the measurement point, but how much communication speed is obtained in the grasped radio wave condition. I can't understand what is done.

  In addition, since a wireless LAN generally has a smaller speed band than a wired LAN such as an Ethernet (registered trademark) cable, the wired LAN does not cause a decrease in speed, such as when a broadband multicast packet flows through the entire LAN. However, speed reduction may occur in the wireless LAN. In this case, it is difficult to elucidate the cause even by simply measuring the communication speed and electric field strength, and it is necessary to diagnose the packet flowing through the network.

  In order to solve the above problem, it is necessary to measure the electric field strength and, if necessary, the network communication speed. Moreover, it is necessary to capture and analyze the obtained packet. Performing these operations manually requires the labor of the operator, and there is a problem that it is difficult to accurately diagnose the situation unless the work contents are fully understood.

JP 2008-48096 A

  The present invention is for solving the above-mentioned problems, and although it can be understood whether radio wave interference has occurred only by measuring the electric field strength, the actual network communication speed is unknown, and the communication of the Internet The purpose is to solve the problem that the state of propagation is not clear only by measuring the communication speed using the speed test server, and the response is difficult.

  In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention includes a wireless communication unit that detects an electric field strength of a radio wave transmitted from a wireless LAN base station, an electric field strength storage unit that stores the electric field strength, When using a wireless LAN base station, the electric field strength is read from the electric field strength storage unit, and an electric field strength determination unit that determines whether the electric field strength is smaller than a predetermined electric field strength reference value; and the electric field strength Is determined to be smaller than the electric field strength reference value, a communication speed detecting unit for communicating with the wireless LAN base station via the wireless communication unit to detect a communication speed, and a predetermined display of the communication speed A wireless communication speed detecting device characterized by comprising a display control unit to be displayed on the device.

  For example, the wireless communication unit detects electric field strength of radio waves transmitted from each of a plurality of wireless LAN base stations and identification information of the wireless LAN base station modulated by the radio waves, and the electric field strength storage unit Stores the electric field strength and a set of identification information corresponding to the electric field strength, and the wireless communication speed detection device displays a screen according to the number of the detected identification information on the display device. A display unit, and a selection unit that selects the one option according to a predetermined operation content to the input device, and the electric field strength determination unit includes the electric field strength and the identification corresponding to the selected option. A set of information is read from the electric field strength storage unit, and it is determined whether or not the electric field strength is smaller than the electric field strength reference value. If it is determined that it is smaller than the field strength reference value, the communication speed is detected by communicating with the wireless LAN base station corresponding to the identification information using the read identification information via the wireless communication unit. is there.

  For example, the communication speed detection unit includes a decoding unit that decodes a wireless packet converted from a radio wave received by the wireless communication unit into an IP packet, and a network usage band measurement that measures a network usage band of the IP packet. A part.

  For example, the network usage bandwidth measuring unit measures a network usage bandwidth of a packet determination unit that determines the type of the decrypted IP packet, and an IP packet that is determined to be a TCP packet by the packet determination unit. A packet measuring unit; and a UDP packet measuring unit that measures a network usage band of the IP packet determined to be a UDP packet by the packet determining unit.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication speed detecting device detects the electric field strength of the radio wave transmitted from the wireless LAN base station and stores the electric field strength in a predetermined electric field strength storage unit. And the step of determining whether or not the electric field strength determination unit of the wireless communication speed detection device reads the electric field strength from the electric field strength storage unit and the electric field strength is smaller than a predetermined electric field strength reference value, The communication speed detection unit of the wireless communication speed detection device detects the communication speed by communicating with the wireless LAN base station via the wireless communication unit when the electric field strength is determined to be smaller than the electric field strength reference value. And a display control unit of the wireless communication speed detection device comprises a step of displaying the communication speed on a predetermined display device. Law and resolve means have.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, the wireless communication unit of the wireless communication speed detecting device detects the electric field intensity of the radio wave transmitted from each of the plurality of wireless LAN base stations and the identification information of the wireless LAN base station modulated by the radio wave A step of storing the electric field strength and a set of identification information corresponding to the electric field strength in a predetermined electric field strength storage unit, and the screen display unit of the wireless communication speed detecting device counts the number of the detected identification information. A step of causing the display device to display an option corresponding to the wireless communication speed detection device, a step of selecting the one option according to a predetermined operation content of the input device, and a step of selecting the wireless communication speed detection device; The communication speed detection unit of the communication speed detection device reads the electric field strength and identification information set corresponding to the selected option from the electric field strength storage unit, and the electric field strength is determined in advance. A step of determining whether or not the reference value is smaller than the reference value; and when the communication speed detection unit of the wireless communication speed detection device determines that the electric field strength is smaller than the electric field strength reference value, the read identification Using the information to communicate with the wireless LAN base station corresponding to the identification information via the wireless communication unit to detect the communication speed, and the display control unit of the wireless communication speed detection device And a step of causing the display device to display. The operation method of the wireless communication speed detecting device is characterized in that the solving means is used.

  For example, in the operation method of the wireless communication speed detection device, the communication speed detection unit decodes a wireless packet converted from a radio wave received by the wireless communication unit into an IP packet, and determines a network usage band of the IP packet. A step of measuring.

  For example, when measuring the network usage band, the type of the decrypted IP packet is determined, the network usage band of the IP packet determined to be a TCP packet is measured, and it is determined to be a UDP packet. Measure the network bandwidth of the IP packet.

  According to the present invention, although it is possible to understand whether radio wave interference has occurred simply by measuring the electric field strength, the actual network communication speed is unknown, and the communication speed is measured using the Internet communication speed test server. By just doing, it is possible to solve the problem that the situation of propagation is not clear and the response is difficult.

It is a block diagram which shows schematic structure of the radio | wireless communication speed detection apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a communication speed detection unit 19. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a network usage band measurement unit 196. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an electric field strength storage unit 15. FIG. It is a figure which shows the example of a display of the option containing SSID.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a wireless communication speed detecting apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  The wireless communication speed detection device 1 detects a wireless LAN communication speed, and a plurality of wireless LAN base stations W exist around it. Wireless LAN communication methods include IEEE 802.11 a / b / g / n. A plurality of wireless LAN base stations with different communication methods may be provided in the same apparatus.

  Each wireless LAN base station W is connected to a communication network N such as the Internet, and a communication speed test server TS is connected to the communication network N.

  The wireless communication speed detection device 1 receives radio waves from an input device 11 such as a keyboard and a mouse operated by a user (not shown), a display device 12 arranged in front of the user, and each wireless LAN base station W. An option for selecting the wireless LAN base station W, an antenna 13 for performing the operation, a wireless communication unit 14 for detecting the electric field strength of the received radio wave, an electric field strength storage unit 15 for storing the detected electric field strength A screen display unit 16 to be displayed on the device 12, a selection unit 17 that selects one option in accordance with the operation content of the input device 11, and a field strength reference value TH in which the field strength corresponding to the selected option is stored in advance. If it is determined that the electric field intensity is smaller than the electric field intensity reference value TH, communication with the communication speed test server TS is performed to detect the communication speed. It includes a communication speed detection unit 19 for, and a display control unit 110 to display the detected communication speed and the like on the display device 12.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of the communication speed detection unit 19.

  The communication speed detection unit 19 includes an SSID storage unit 191 that stores identification information (Service Set Identifier: hereinafter referred to as SSID) indicating a wireless LAN base station W corresponding to the selected option, and a wireless communication unit 14, a wireless packet receiving unit 192 that receives a wireless packet, a wireless packet selecting unit 193 that selects a received wireless packet that includes an SSID stored in the SSID storage unit 191, and a decryption of the selected wireless packet A decryption unit 194 for converting the IP packet into an IP packet, a decryption information storage unit 195 for storing decryption information such as an ID and a password necessary for decryption, and a network use band of the decrypted IP packet. And a network usage band measuring unit 196 for measuring. .

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of the network usage band measuring unit 196. As shown in FIG.

  The network usage bandwidth measuring unit 196 measures the network usage bandwidth according to the type of the packet transferred from the packet determination unit 1961 and the packet determination unit 1961 that determines the type of the decrypted IP packet. Part 1962.

  The packet type network use bandwidth measuring unit 1962 is a TCP packet measurement unit 19621 that measures the network use bandwidth of an IP packet that is determined to be a TCP packet by the packet determining unit 1961, and the packet determining unit 1961 is a UDP packet. A UDP packet measuring unit 19622 that measures the network use bandwidth of the determined IP packet.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of the electric field strength storage unit 15.

  The electric field strength storage unit 15 stores the electric field strength and a set of SSIDs corresponding to the electric field strength. Specifically, the electric field strength storage unit 15 has a record for each communication channel CH1, CH2,. Each record stores at least one set of the electric field intensity of the radio wave transmitted from the corresponding wireless LAN base station W via the corresponding communication channel and the SSID of the wireless LAN base station W modulated to the radio wave. .

  The same wireless LAN base station W may transmit radio waves via a plurality of communication channels, and therefore, each SSID may be the same in a combination of electric field strength and SSID included in a plurality of records.

(Operation of the wireless communication speed detection device 1)
Next, the operation of the wireless communication speed detection device 1 will be described.

  The antenna 13 receives a radio wave transmitted from each wireless LAN base station W, converts it into a signal corresponding to the frequency band of the radio wave, and transmits the signal to the wireless communication unit 14.

  Next, the wireless communication unit 14 detects the electric field strength of the corresponding radio wave, the communication channel number and the SSID modulated by the radio wave from the signal from the antenna 13. Further, the wireless communication unit 14 converts a signal from the antenna 13 into a wireless packet and transmits the wireless packet to the communication speed detection unit 19.

  The wireless communication unit 14 performs this for each frequency band and each wireless LAN base station.

  Next, the wireless communication unit 14 searches the electric field strength storage unit 15 for a record corresponding to each communication channel number, and stores the set of the corresponding electric field strength and the corresponding SSID in the record.

  Next, the screen display unit 16 causes the display device 12 to display, for example, options SL1, SL2,... Including the SSID for each SSID detected by the wireless communication unit 14, as shown in FIG. The options may include the corresponding communication channel number and electric field strength.

  The user who sees the option displayed on the display device 12 performs an operation on the input device 11 by moving the mouse cursor to the option SL1 corresponding to the desired wireless LAN base station W and clicking, for example.

  Next, the selection unit 17 detects, for example, that the option SL1 has been clicked based on the operation content as described above for the input device 11, that is, selects the corresponding SSID, and detects the SSID for the communication speed. The data is stored in the SSID storage unit 191 of the unit 19.

  Next, the electric field strength determination unit 18 reads out the electric field strength including the SSID and the set of SSIDs from the electric field strength storage unit 15 and determines whether or not the electric field strength is smaller than the electric field strength reference value TH. The field strength determination unit 18 obtains the median value when the SSID is the same in a plurality of records, that is, when there are a plurality of corresponding field strengths, and the median value of the field strength is the field strength reference value. It is determined whether it is smaller than TH.

  Here, if it is determined that the electric field strength is equal to or greater than the electric field strength reference value TH, the processing is terminated.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the electric field strength is smaller than the electric field strength reference value TH, the communication speed detection unit 19 first establishes communication with the wireless LAN base station W corresponding to the SSID via the wireless communication unit 14. To do. Next, the communication speed detection unit 19 communicates with the communication speed test server TS via the wireless communication unit 14 and the wireless LAN base station W to detect the communication speed. Here, the communication speed detection unit 19 specifically transmits data of a predetermined size S to the communication speed test server TS or receives data from the communication speed test server TS, and measures the required time T at that time. The communication speed S / T is obtained. Since transmission and reception are different in communication speed, it is preferable to obtain both.

  Next, the communication speed detection unit 19 notifies the display control unit 110 of the detected communication speed.

  In the communication speed detection unit 19, the wireless packet reception unit 192 receives the wireless packet transmitted from the wireless communication unit 14 and transfers the wireless packet to the wireless packet selection unit 193. The wireless packet selection unit 193 reads the SSID from the SSID storage unit 191, selects a wireless packet including the SSID from the transferred wireless packet, and transfers the wireless packet to the decoding unit 194. The decryption unit 194 reads the decryption information from the decryption information storage unit 195, decrypts the transferred wireless packet using the decryption information, that is, converts it into an IP packet, and transfers it to the network usage bandwidth measuring unit 196. .

The network usage band measurement unit 196 measures the network usage band of the transferred IP packet.
Specifically, in the network usage bandwidth measuring unit 196, the packet determination unit 1961 analyzes the header of the decrypted IP packet to determine the type of the IP packet, and ignores the IP packet that is neither the TCP packet nor the UDP packet. Then, the TCP packet and the UDP packet are transferred to the packet type-specific network use band measuring unit 1962. The packet type-specific network use band measuring unit 1962 transfers the TCP packet to the TCP packet measuring unit 19621, and the UDP packet to the UDP packet measuring unit 19622. Transfer and count the number of TCP packets and the number of UDP packets.

  The TCP packet measuring unit 19621 measures the network usage band of the transferred TCP packet. For example, the TCP packet measuring unit 19621 measures the number of TCP packets and the packet length.

  The UDP packet measuring unit 19622 measures the network use band of the transferred UDP packet. For example, the UDP packet measuring unit 19622 measures the number of UDP packets and the packet length.

  The network usage band measurement unit 196 notifies the display control unit 110 of the measured network usage band.

  Next, the display control unit 110 causes the display device 12 to display the communication speed and the network usage band notified from the communication speed detection unit 19 via the screen display unit 16.

  Therefore, according to the wireless communication speed detection device 1, if the electric field strength of the radio wave from the selected wireless LAN base station is equal to or higher than the electric field strength reference value TH, the communication speed is not displayed, and the user knows that the electric field strength is strong. On the other hand, if the electric field strength is smaller than the electric field strength reference value TH, the communication speed is displayed, so that the user can know that the electric field strength is weak and the actual communication speed.

  Further, according to the wireless communication speed detection device 1, the type of IP packet is determined, and the network usage bandwidth of the TCP packet and the network usage bandwidth of the UDP packet are measured. Is very convenient. The reason is as follows.

  When the UDP packet is transmitted by multicast, it affects the bandwidth and may reduce the communication speed of other services.

  Therefore, by measuring the network usage bandwidth of the TCP packet and the UDP packet, when the network usage bandwidth of the UDP packet is high, the video service is viewed in the surroundings, and a large number of RTP packets (a kind of UDP packet) are used for that purpose. When the cause is investigated, it is possible to take measures such as changing the network configuration.

  Note that a computer program for causing a computer to function as the wireless communication speed detection device 1 according to the present embodiment can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a magneto-optical disk, or a magnetic tape. Further, it can be widely distributed by being transmitted through a communication network such as the Internet.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Wireless communication speed detection apparatus 11 ... Input apparatus 12 ... Display apparatus 13 ... Antenna 14 ... Wireless communication part 15 ... Electric field strength memory | storage part 16 ... Screen display part 17 ... Selection part 18 ... Electric field strength determination part 19 ... Communication speed detection part DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 110 ... Display control part 191 ... SSID memory | storage part 192 ... Radio | wireless packet receiving part 193 ... Radio | wireless packet selection part 194 ... Decoding part 195 ... Decoding information storage part 196 ... Network use band measurement part 1961 ... Packet determination part 1962 ... Packet Network use band measurement unit by type 19621 ... TCP packet measurement unit 19622 ... UDP packet measurement unit N ... Communication network TS ... Communication speed test server W ... Wireless LAN base station

Claims (8)

A wireless communication unit that detects electric field strength of radio waves transmitted from a wireless LAN base station;
An electric field strength storage unit for storing the electric field strength;
When using the wireless LAN base station, the electric field strength is read from the electric field strength storage unit, and an electric field strength determination unit that determines whether the electric field strength is smaller than a predetermined electric field strength reference value;
If it is determined that the electric field strength is smaller than the electric field strength reference value, a communication speed detecting unit that communicates with the wireless LAN base station via the wireless communication unit to detect a communication speed;
A wireless communication speed detection device comprising: a display control unit that displays the communication speed on a predetermined display device. The wireless communication unit
Detecting the electric field intensity of the radio wave transmitted from each of the plurality of wireless LAN base stations and the identification information of the wireless LAN base station modulated by the radio wave,
The electric field strength storage unit is
Storing a set of identification information corresponding to the electric field strength and the electric field strength;
The wireless communication speed detecting device is
A screen display unit that causes the display device to display options according to the number of pieces of the detected identification information;
A selection unit that selects the one option according to the operation content to a predetermined input device,
The electric field strength determination unit
A set of the electric field strength and identification information corresponding to the selected option is read from the electric field strength storage unit, and it is determined whether or not the electric field strength is smaller than the electric field strength reference value.
The communication speed detector is
If it is determined that the electric field strength is smaller than the electric field strength reference value, communication speed is established by communicating with the wireless LAN base station corresponding to the identification information using the read identification information via the wireless communication unit. The wireless communication speed detection device according to claim 1, wherein The communication speed detector is
A decoding unit that decodes a wireless packet converted from the radio wave received by the wireless communication unit into an IP packet;
The wireless communication speed detection device according to claim 1, further comprising: a network usage bandwidth measuring unit that measures a network usage bandwidth of the IP packet. The network usage bandwidth measuring unit
A packet determination unit for determining the type of the decrypted IP packet;
A TCP packet measuring unit that measures a network use bandwidth of an IP packet determined to be a TCP packet by the packet determining unit;
The wireless communication speed detecting device according to claim 3, further comprising: a UDP packet measuring unit that measures a network usage band of an IP packet determined to be a UDP packet by the packet determining unit. A step of detecting a field strength of a radio wave transmitted from a wireless LAN base station, and storing the field strength in a predetermined field strength storage unit by a wireless communication unit of the wireless communication speed detection device;
A step of reading out the electric field strength from the electric field strength storage unit and determining whether the electric field strength is smaller than a predetermined electric field strength reference value;
When the communication speed detection unit of the wireless communication speed detection device determines that the electric field strength is smaller than the electric field strength reference value, the communication speed is determined by communicating with the wireless LAN base station via the wireless communication unit. Detecting step;
The display control unit of the wireless communication speed detecting device includes a step of displaying the communication speed on a predetermined display device. An operation method of the wireless communication speed detecting device. The wireless communication unit of the wireless communication speed detecting device detects the electric field intensity of the radio wave transmitted from each of the plurality of wireless LAN base stations and the identification information of the wireless LAN base station modulated by the radio wave. Storing a set of identification information corresponding to the electric field intensity in a predetermined electric field intensity storage unit;
A step of causing the display device of the wireless communication speed detection device to display options on the display device according to the number of pieces of the detected identification information;
A step of selecting the one option in accordance with a predetermined operation content of the input device by the selection unit of the wireless communication speed detection device;
The communication speed detection unit of the wireless communication speed detection device reads the electric field strength and identification information set corresponding to the selected option from the electric field strength storage unit, and the electric field strength is a predetermined electric field strength reference value. Determining whether it is smaller,
When the communication speed detection unit of the wireless communication speed detection device determines that the electric field intensity is smaller than the electric field intensity reference value, the wireless LAN base corresponding to the identification information using the read identification information A step of communicating with a station via the wireless communication unit to detect a communication speed, and a display control unit of the wireless communication speed detection device includes a step of causing the display device to display the communication speed. Method of operating wireless communication speed detecting device. The communication speed detection unit includes a step of decoding a wireless packet converted from a radio wave received by the wireless communication unit into an IP packet, and measuring a network use band of the IP packet. Or the operation | movement method of the radio | wireless communication speed detection apparatus of 6. When measuring the network usage bandwidth, the type of the decrypted IP packet is determined, the network usage bandwidth of the IP packet determined to be a TCP packet is measured, and the IP determined to be a UDP packet The operation method of the wireless communication speed detecting device according to claim 7, wherein a network use bandwidth of the packet is measured.

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