JP2012075005A - Normality confirmation method of wireless communications and wireless base station device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a normality confirmation method and a wireless base station device capable of reliably checking normality of wireless communications.SOLUTION: One of a pair of wireless base station devices generates a test packet including test data, stores replicated data having the same content as that of the test data, and transmits the test packet to the other wireless base station device together with originator information via a wireless communication network. The other wireless base station device receives the test packet that has arrived via the wireless communication network, generates a response packet including reception data included in the received test packet, and transmits the generated response packet to said one wireless base station device via a wired communication network by setting the originator as a destination. Said one wireless base station device receives the response packet via the wired communication network, compares the reception data included in the received response packet and the replicated data, and performs a device control process based on a result of the comparison.

Description

  The present invention relates to a normality confirmation method for confirming normality of wireless communication between wireless base station devices and a wireless base station device capable of wireless communication with a wireless terminal via a wireless communication network.

  For example, in a wireless communication field such as a wireless local area network (LAN), a wireless communication system including a plurality of wireless base station devices that relay wireless signals is known. Conventionally, a technique for improving the reliability of wireless communication has been developed. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a wireless transmission device that detects radio waves in a predetermined frequency band, collects information about interference waves, and controls transmission timing of transmission data based on the information. Further, Patent Document 2 discloses that the own device transmits a test packet, determines whether or not the own device can receive the test packet, and determines whether or not there is radio communication interference. A wireless loopback test method for transmitting a packet by a slot is disclosed.

JP-A-5-130053 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-4390

  However, in the case of a wireless LAN, for example, due to the spread of wireless communication methods such as Bluetooth (Bluetooth) and WiMAX (Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access) that operate in the same frequency band as 2.4 GHz and in the vicinity thereof, The situation is more likely to cause an interference state in wireless communication than before.

  In spite of such a situation, in the case of the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 1, although the packet can be transmitted so as to avoid the interference timing, the packet actually transmitted by the transmission-side apparatus can avoid the influence of the interference. It cannot be determined whether or not the transmission to the receiving apparatus has been successfully performed.

  Further, in the case of the configuration disclosed in Patent Document 2, since the device itself wirelessly receives a packet transmitted by the device itself, when interference occurs at a position away from the device, When the distance between the transmission-side device and the reception-side device is long, it is impossible to confirm the normality of wireless transmission / reception packets.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a normality confirmation method and a radio base station apparatus that can more reliably check the normality of radio communication.

  The normality confirmation method according to the present invention is a normality confirmation method for confirming the normality of wireless communication between at least two wireless base station devices capable of wireless communication with a wireless terminal via a wireless communication network, In one radio base station apparatus, a test packet including test data is generated to store duplicate data having the same contents as the test data, and the test packet is transmitted to the other radio base via the radio communication network together with source information. A wireless transmission step of transmitting to the station device; and the other wireless base station device receiving the test packet arriving via the wireless communication network and receiving a response packet including received data included in the received test packet A wired transmission step of generating and transmitting the generated response packet with the source as a destination via a wired communication network; and the one radio base station device A device control step of receiving the response packet via the wired communication network, comparing the received data included in the received response packet with the duplicate data, and performing device control processing based on the comparison result; , Including.

  A radio base station apparatus according to the present invention is a radio base station apparatus capable of radio communication with a radio terminal via a radio communication network, generating a test packet including test data and having the same contents as the test data. The wireless transmission means for storing the duplicate data and transmitting the test packet together with the source information via the wireless communication network, and receiving the test packet arriving via the wireless communication network, Wired transmission means for generating a response packet including the received data included and transmitting the generated response packet to the source via the wired communication network, and receiving the response packet via the wired communication network Device control means for comparing the received data contained in the received response packet with the duplicate data and performing device control processing based on the comparison result; Characterized in that it contains.

  According to the normality confirmation method and the radio base station apparatus of the present invention, the normality of radio communication in the radio base station can be more reliably checked.

1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless communication system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing data included in a response packet in the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration example of data stored in a storage unit of the own device in FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a device control processing routine by a wireless base station device which is the own device of FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a packet normality determination processing routine by a normality confirmation unit of the own apparatus of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the radio | wireless communications system which is a 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the structural example of the data memorize | stored in the memory | storage part of the own apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the data contained in the response packet in a 2nd Example. It is a figure which shows the weighting table memorize | stored in the memory | storage part of the own apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the apparatus control processing routine by the wireless base station apparatus which is the own apparatus of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows the packet normality determination processing routine by the normality confirmation part of the own apparatus of FIG.

Hereinafter, embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
<First embodiment>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a wireless communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The wireless communication system 1 includes a wireless base station device 10, a wireless base station device 20, and a wired LAN 30. Each of the wireless base station devices 10 and 20 is a wireless base station in a wireless LAN, for example. The wireless base station device 10 and the wireless base station device 20 are connected to each other via a wired LAN 30 so that wired communication is possible. Hereinafter, a case will be described in which the radio base station apparatus 10 is used as its own apparatus, the radio base station apparatus 20 is functioned as an external radio monitor apparatus, and the normality of radio communication by the radio base station apparatus 10 is confirmed.

The radio base station apparatus 10 includes a radio transmission unit 11, a radio reception unit 12, a radio monitor unit 13, a test packet generation unit 14, a device control unit 15, a response packet generation unit 16, and a wired communication unit 17. , A storage unit 18 and a normality confirmation unit 19.

  The wireless transmission unit 11 has a function of transmitting communication packets wirelessly. The wireless transmission unit 11 can transmit a communication packet to a wireless terminal (not shown) such as a personal computer having a wireless communication function.

  The wireless reception unit 12 has a function of receiving communication packets wirelessly. The wireless receiving unit 12 can receive a packet from a wireless terminal (not shown) such as a personal computer having a wireless communication function.

  The wireless monitor unit 13 measures the reception level (that is, the received radio wave intensity) when receiving a test packet transmitted wirelessly by the wireless base station device 20 and the test packet, and wire-links it. A function of notifying the communication unit 17. These functions are used when the radio base station apparatus 10 functions as an external radio monitor apparatus.

  The test packet generator 14 generates a test packet including arbitrary test data every predetermined period (for example, 3 seconds), and gives an instruction to wirelessly transmit the test packet to the wireless transmitter 11. The test packet is transmitted to the radio base station apparatus 20 by the radio transmission unit 11 via almost the same path as the radio communication path of the normal communication packet. Only the radio base station apparatus 20 may be designated as the destination of the test packet, or may be transmitted by so-called broadcast transmission. The test packet includes identification data indicating that it is a test packet. Further, the test packet includes the IP address of the radio base station apparatus 10 as source information. For example, the test packet generation unit 14 can use a beacon signal packet as a test packet and periodically transmit the packet from the wireless transmission unit 11. The test data in this case is general data representing a beacon signal. Note that transmission of a normal communication packet may be stopped at the test packet transmission timing.

  In addition, the test packet generation unit 14 stores the duplicate data having the same content as the test data in the storage unit 18 prior to a transmission instruction for the test packet.

  Based on the data stored in the storage unit 18, the device control unit 15 starts and stops transmission processing by the wireless transmission unit 11, starts and stops reception processing by the wireless reception unit 12, and restarts the wireless base station device 10. Device control processing such as startup processing is performed.

  The response packet generator 16 has a function of generating a response packet for the test packet from the radio base station apparatus 20.

  The wired communication unit 17 has a function of transmitting and receiving response packets and a function of transmitting and receiving control packets to and from the wired communication unit 27 of the wireless base station device 20 via the wired LAN 30. When the radio base station apparatus 10 functions as its own apparatus, the response packet is received from the wired communication unit 27. The wired communication unit 17 causes the storage unit 18 to store data included in the received response packet.

  The storage unit 18 is a storage device such as a hard disk device that stores various data such as data for device control, data included in a test packet, and data included in a response packet.

  The normality confirmation unit 19 compares the duplicate data of the test data stored in the storage unit 18 with the data included in the response packet received by the wired communication unit 17 (hereinafter referred to as reception data). When the data matches, it is determined that the radio transmission by the radio base station apparatus 10 is normal, and when the data does not match, it is determined that it is abnormal.

  In addition, the normality confirmation unit 19 includes a reception counter that counts the number of response packets received by the wired communication unit 17 (hereinafter referred to as the number of received packets). The normality confirmation unit 19 also has a function of calculating and holding an average value of reception levels (hereinafter referred to as reception level average value or average intensity) included as additional information in each response packet. . The normality confirmation unit 19 calculates a reception level average value using the number of received packets and the total value of the reception levels of each response packet acquired up to now. Further, the normality confirmation unit 19 has a function of determining whether the wireless transmission is normal or abnormal based on the reception level average value.

  The radio base station apparatus 20 includes a radio transmission unit 21, a radio reception unit 22, a radio monitoring unit 23, a test packet generation unit 24, a device control unit 25, a response packet generation unit 26, and a wired communication unit 27. , A storage unit 28, and a normality confirmation unit 29. These functional blocks 21 to 29 have the same functions as those in the radio base station apparatus 10. When the wireless base station device 20 operates as an external wireless monitoring device, the wireless monitoring unit 23, the response packet generating unit 26, and the wired communication unit 27 perform the following processing.

  The wireless monitor unit 23 wirelessly receives a test packet transmitted by the wireless base station device 10. The wireless monitor unit 23 determines that a packet including identification data indicating a test packet is a test packet.

  The response packet generator 26 generates a response packet corresponding to the test packet received by the wireless monitor unit 23.

  The wired communication unit 27 transmits the response packet generated by the response packet generation unit 26 to the radio base station apparatus 10 via the wired LAN 30. The wired communication unit 27 transmits the source IP address included in the test packet to the radio base station apparatus 10 as a destination.

  In the above example, the radio base station apparatus 20 is used as an external radio monitor apparatus, but the same normality confirmation process can be performed using a dedicated external radio monitor apparatus.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating data included in the response packet generated by the response packet generator 26.

  Element 311 is data indicating an Ether header, an IP header, and a TCP header. The data is generated by the wired communication unit 27 in order to transmit the response packet with the radio base station apparatus 10 as a destination.

  Element 312 is data indicating an external wireless monitor header. The data is also generated by the wired communication unit 27 in order to transmit the response packet to the radio base station apparatus 10.

  Element 313 is data (that is, received data) included in the test packet received by the radio monitor unit 23 of the radio base station apparatus 20.

  Element 314 is a reception level (hereinafter also referred to as current intensity) when the wireless monitor unit 23 receives a test packet. The reception level is measured by the wireless monitor unit 23.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of data stored in the storage unit 18.

  The transmission packet comparison data 300 includes a reception packet error number 301, a reception level average value 302, a reception packet number 303, and test packet replication data 304.

  The number of received packet errors 301 is the number of received packets determined to be abnormal by the normality confirmation unit 19 and is updated by the normality confirmation unit 19.

  The reception level average value 302 is an average value of the reception levels calculated by the normality confirmation unit 19 and is updated by the normality confirmation unit 19. The reception level is included in the response packet received by the wired communication unit 17.

  The number of received packets 303 is the number of response packets received by the wired communication unit 17 counted by the normality confirmation unit 19 and is updated by the normality confirmation unit 19.

  The test packet copy data 304 is copy data of the test data generated by the test packet generation unit 14 and is copied by the test packet generation unit 14 prior to the transmission instruction for the test packet and stored in the storage unit 18. It is.

  The external wireless monitor data 310 includes an element 311, an element 312, an element 313, and an element 314. Each of the elements 311 to 314 is data (data shown in FIG. 2) included in the response packet received by the wired communication unit 17, and is stored in the storage unit 18 by the wired communication unit 17.

  The fixed value data 320 includes a reception packet error frequency threshold value 321, a reception level threshold value 322, and external wireless monitor registration data 323.

  The reception packet error frequency threshold value 321 is a threshold value for comparison with the reception packet error number 301 described above, and is used for updating the state data 330 described later.

  The reception level threshold 322 is a threshold for comparison with the above-described reception level average value 302, and is used for updating the above-described reception packet error number 301.

  The external radio monitor registration data 323 is identification data such as an IP address for specifying the external radio monitor device (that is, the radio base station device 20).

  The status data 330 is data that is updated based on a comparison between the received packet error number 301 and the received packet error frequency threshold value 321, and is updated by the device control unit 15. For example, the initial state of the state data 330 is “0”, and thereafter, the state data 330 can be updated to the states “1” and “2”.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a device control processing routine performed by the wireless base station device 10 that is the device itself. Hereinafter, the apparatus control process by the radio base station apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, the state indicated by the state data 330 is simply referred to as “state”.

  First, the radio base station apparatus 10 is activated, and processing is started from the state “0” (step S100). After the start of processing, the device control unit 15 updates the state to “1” (step S110). Next, the device control unit 15 initializes (that is, resets) the transmission packet comparison data 300 and the external wireless monitor data 310 (step S111).

  Next, the device control unit 15 transmits a control packet including an instruction to enable the function of the wireless monitoring unit 23 of the wireless base station device 20 from the wired communication unit 17 to the wireless base station device 20 (step S112). Thereby, the radio monitor unit 23 can receive the test packet from the radio base station apparatus 10.

  Next, the apparatus control unit 15 gives an instruction to enable the functions of the wireless transmission unit 11 and the wireless reception unit 12 (step S113). As a result, wireless packets such as test packets can be transmitted and received.

  Next, the test packet generator 14 generates a test packet including the test data, and stores the duplicate data of the test data in the storage unit 18 (step S114). The test packet is, for example, a beacon signal packet. The test data may be any appropriate data according to the type and format of the test packet. As the destination of the test packet, only the radio base station apparatus 20 may be designated, or broadcast transmission may be performed.

  Next, the test packet generator 14 gives a test packet transmission instruction to the wireless transmitter 11 (step S115). The wireless transmission unit 11 wirelessly transmits the test packet to the wireless base station device 20 (step S116).

  The radio monitor unit 23 of the radio base station apparatus 20 receives a test packet from the radio base station apparatus 10 by radio. The wireless monitor unit 23 measures the reception level at the time of reception (that is, the received radio wave intensity of wireless communication). The reception level is represented by a value such as −60 dBm.

  The response packet generation unit 26 generates a response packet including reception data included in the test packet received by the wireless monitor unit 23 and data (data shown in FIG. 2) such as a reception level measured by the wireless monitor unit 23. To do. The wired communication unit 27 transmits the response packet generated by the response packet generation unit 26 to the radio base station apparatus 10 via the wired LAN 30.

  The wired communication unit 17 of the wireless base station device 10 receives the response packet that has arrived via the wired LAN 30. The normality confirmation unit 19 performs a packet normality determination process when the wired communication unit 17 receives the response packet (step S200).

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a packet normality determination processing routine by the normality confirmation unit 19. Hereinafter, the packet normality determination process by the normality confirmation unit 19 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the normality confirmation unit 19 acquires the response packet received by the wired communication unit 17 and stores the data (data shown in FIG. 2) included in the response packet in the storage unit 18 as the external wireless monitor data 310. (Step S210).

  Next, the normality confirmation unit 19 updates the number of received packets 303 in the storage unit 18 by incrementing the count value of the reception counter included therein by one (step S211).

  Next, the normality confirmation unit 19 updates the reception level average value 302 in the storage unit 18 (step S212). The normality confirmation unit 19 divides the total value of the reception levels (including the latest reception level (that is, the element 314) stored in the storage unit 18) of each response packet acquired so far by the number of received packets 303. The reception level average value 302 is calculated.

  Next, the normality confirmation unit 19 matches the test packet copy data 304 stored in the storage unit 18 with the element 313 (that is, received data) of the external wireless monitor data 310 stored in the storage unit 18. It is determined whether or not (step S213).

  If the normality confirmation unit 19 determines that these two data do not match, the normality confirmation unit 19 updates the received packet error number 301 stored in the storage unit 18 by one (step S215). If the test packet is affected by radio communication interference and the data contained in the test packet has changed (for example, the data that should be “0” has changed to “1”), both these data are It does not match.

  If the normality confirmation unit 19 determines that both data match in step S213, the normality confirmation unit 19 proceeds to step S214. The normality confirmation unit 19 determines that the difference between the element 314 (that is, the reception level) of the external wireless monitor data 310 stored in the storage unit 18 and the reception level average value 302 stored in the storage unit 18 is the reception level. It is determined whether or not the threshold is 322 or less (step S214). For example, when the element 314 (that is, the reception level) is −80 dBm, the reception level average value [1] 302 is −70 dBm, and the reception level threshold 322 is 20 dBm, the element 314 (that is, the reception level) and the reception level average value [1] The difference 10 dBm from 302 is determined to be 20 dBm or less, which is the reception level threshold 322.

  If the normality confirmation unit 19 determines that the difference is larger than the reception level threshold value 322, the normality confirmation unit 19 increments the received packet error number 301 stored in the storage unit 18 by one (step S215). If the normality confirmation unit 19 determines in step S214 that the difference is equal to or less than the reception level threshold value 322, the normality confirmation unit 19 ends the packet normality determination process.

  Hereinafter, description will be given with reference to FIG. 4 again. The device control unit 15 determines whether or not the received packet error number 301 is less than the received packet error frequency threshold value 321 (step S118). If the device control unit 15 determines that the value is below, the state data 330 stored in the storage unit 18 remains “1” and the process proceeds to step S102 (step S103). Thereafter, the same processing is performed for the steps after step S114.

  After moving to step S102, the test packet generator 14 waits for e.g. 3 seconds from the previous test packet generation, and generates a new test packet (step S114). Thus, for example, a test is performed every 3 seconds. That is, the test mode is shifted periodically, for example, every 3 seconds.

  If the apparatus control unit 15 determines in step S118 that the received packet error number 301 is equal to or greater than the received packet error frequency threshold value 321, the apparatus control unit 15 proceeds to step S119.

  The device control unit 15 determines whether or not the current state data 330 is “1” (step S119). If the device control unit 15 determines that the current state data 330 is “1”, the device control unit 15 transmits a wireless packet including an instruction to stop the function of the wireless monitoring unit 23 of the wireless base station device 20 from the wireless transmission unit 11. It transmits to the radio base station apparatus 20 (step S120). Thereby, the radio monitor unit 23 does not receive the test packet from the radio base station apparatus 10.

  Next, the apparatus control unit 15 gives an instruction to reset (that is, restart) the wireless transmission unit 11 and the wireless reception unit 12 (step S121). As a result, functions such as automatic radio channel selection can be reactivated to eliminate the cause of problems with transmission and reception. Furthermore, the apparatus control unit 15 updates the state data 330 to “2” (step S104), and proceeds to step S101. Thereafter, the same processing is performed for the steps after step S111.

  If the current state data 330 is determined to be “2” in step S119, the device control unit 15 restarts the radio base station device 10 to which the device control unit 15 belongs (step S122). Thereby, all the functions of the radio base station apparatus 10 can be set and restarted from the initial sequence, and the problem can be solved. Furthermore, the device control unit 15 updates the state data 330 to “0” (step S105), and proceeds to step S100. Thereafter, the same processing is performed for the steps after step S110.

  As described above, in the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment, the wireless base station device 10 that is the own device and the wireless base station device 20 that is the external wireless monitoring device are connected to each other via the wired LAN 30. The radio base station apparatus 20 receives the test packet transmitted by the radio base station apparatus 10 and transmits a response packet including data included therein to the radio base station apparatus 10 via the wired LAN 30. The radio base station apparatus 10 receives the response packet via the wired LAN 30 and determines whether or not the data included in the response packet matches the copy data of the test packet held by itself.

  As described above, since the response packet is transmitted to the own device via the wired LAN 30, normality of packet transmission from the own device to the external wireless monitoring device (that is, the packet is not received without being affected by radio communication at the time of the transmission). It is possible to check reliably whether or not transmission to the receiving apparatus has been performed normally. In addition, when the radio base station apparatus 20 functions as an external radio monitor apparatus and the own apparatus and the external radio monitor apparatus are connected to each other via the wired LAN 30, interference occurs at a position away from the own apparatus. Even when the distance between the device itself and the external wireless monitor device is long, the normality of the packet transmission can be surely checked.

  Also, the radio base station apparatus 10 restarts itself when the number of received packet errors calculated from the result of normality determination for radio communication exceeds a threshold value. By restarting its own device, its own problems can be resolved, and the packet can be reliably transmitted to the destination wireless terminal (not shown).

The above example is an example in which the radio base station apparatus 10 operates as its own apparatus and the radio base station apparatus 20 as an external radio monitor apparatus, but the same effect can be achieved even in the opposite case.
<Second embodiment>
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment. Hereinafter, differences from the first embodiment will be mainly described. The radio communication system 1 includes radio base station apparatuses 20-1 to 20-n (n is an integer of 2 or more) each having functional blocks similar to those of the radio base station apparatus 20 in the first embodiment. Each of the radio base station apparatus 10 and the radio base station apparatuses 20-1 to 20-n is connected to each other via a wired LAN 30. Hereinafter, the radio base station apparatus 10 is also referred to as its own apparatus, and each of the radio base station apparatuses 20-1 to 20-n is also referred to as an external radio monitor apparatus.

  Each of the radio base station apparatuses 20-1 to 20-n further includes an error determination unit 26b. The error determination unit 26b determines whether there is an error in the received data included in the test packet. The error determination unit 26b performs, for example, CRC (Cyclic Redundancy Check) processing on the received data to determine whether there is an error in the received data. Data indicating the presence / absence of an error (hereinafter referred to as error determination data) is included in the response packet by the wired communication unit 27 and transmitted to the wireless base station device 10 which is its own device via the wired LAN 30.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of data stored in the storage unit 18 of the radio base station apparatus 10.

  The transmission packet comparison data 300 includes a reception packet error number [1 to n] 301, a reception level average value [1 to n] 302, and a reception packet number [1 to n] 303.

  The number of received packet errors [1 to n] 301 is the number of received packets determined to be abnormal by the normality confirmation unit 19 and is updated by the normality confirmation unit 19. The number of received packet errors [1] is the radio base station apparatus 20-1, the number of received packet errors [2] is the radio base station apparatus 20-2, ..., and the number of received packet errors [n] is the radio base station apparatus 20-. The number of errors for n.

  The reception level average value [1 to n] 302 is an average value of the reception levels calculated by the normality confirmation unit 19 and is updated by the normality confirmation unit 19. The reception level average value [1] is the radio base station apparatus 20-1, the reception level average value [2] is the radio base station apparatus 20-2,..., And the reception level average value [n] is the radio base station apparatus 20-. The average value for n.

  The number of received packets [1 to n] 303 is the number of response packets received by the wired communication unit 17 counted by the normality confirmation unit 19 and is updated by the normality confirmation unit 19. The number of received packets [1] is for the radio base station apparatus 20-1, the number of received packets [2] is for the radio base station apparatus 20-2,..., And the number of received packets [n] is for the radio base station apparatus 20-n. The number of received packets.

  The external wireless monitor data 310 includes an element 311, an element 312, an element 313, and an element 314. Each of the elements 311 to 314 is data included in the response packet received by the wired communication unit 17 and is stored in the storage unit 18 by the wired communication unit 17.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating data included in the response packet. Element 311 is data indicating an Ether header, an IP header, and a TCP header. Element 312 is data indicating an external wireless monitor header. Element 313 is error determination data generated by the error determination unit 26b. An element 314 is a reception level as additional information regarding the test packet.

  The fixed value data 320 includes a reception packet error frequency threshold value 321, a reception level threshold value 322, external wireless monitor registration data [n] 323, a weight 1 reception level 324, a weight 2 reception level 325, and a weight 3 The reception level 326 includes a reception level 327 with a weight of 4 and a reception level 328 with a weight of 5.

  The received packet error total threshold 321 is a threshold for comparison with a later-described received packet error total 340, and is used to update state data 330 described later.

  The reception level threshold 322 is a threshold for comparison with the above-described reception level average value 302, and is used for updating the above-described reception packet error number 301.

  The external radio monitor registration data 323 [n] is identification data such as an IP address for specifying the external radio monitor device (that is, the radio base station devices 20-1 to 20-n). The number of received packet errors [1] is the radio base station apparatus 20-1, the number of received packet errors [2] is the radio base station apparatus 20-2, ..., and the number of received packet errors [n] is the radio base station apparatus 20-. This is registration data for n.

  Setting when the reception level 324 of the weight 1 is the weight value “1”, the reception level 325 of the weight 2 is the weight value “2”,..., And the reception level 328 of the weight 5 is the weight value “5” This is a reception level range (hereinafter also referred to as a set reception intensity range). FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a weighting table stored in the storage unit 18 of the radio base station apparatus 10. A set reception level range is associated with each of the weight values 1 to 5. The higher the reception level (that is, the received radio wave intensity), the larger the weighting value is associated. This is to emphasize the reception level of response packets from an external wireless monitoring device located closer to the own device. For example, a set reception level range of ˜−50 dBm (reception level is relatively high) is associated with a weight value of 5, and for example, a reception level of −80 to dbm (reception level is relatively low) is associated with a weight value of 1. It is attached.

  The status data 330 is data that is updated based on a comparison between the received packet error number 301 and the received packet error frequency threshold value 321, and is updated by the device control unit 15. For example, the initial state of the state data 330 is “0”, and thereafter, the state data 330 can be updated to the states “1” and “2”.

  The total number of received packet errors 340 is the total value of the number of received packet errors [1 to n] 301.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a device control processing routine performed by the wireless base station device 10 that is the device itself. Hereinafter, the apparatus control process by the radio base station apparatus 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

  The processing in steps S110 to S113 is the same as that in the first embodiment. Subsequent to step S113, the test packet generation unit 14 generates a test packet including test data, and gives a transmission instruction of the test packet to the wireless transmission unit 11 (step S114). Unlike the first embodiment, the test packet generator 14 does not need to store duplicate data of the test packet. The wireless transmission unit 11 wirelessly transmits the test packet to each of the wireless base station devices 20-1 to 20-n (step S116). The wireless transmission unit 11 may perform so-called broadcast transmission of a test packet (for example, a beacon signal).

  The radio monitor unit 23 of the radio base station apparatus 20-1 receives the test packet from the radio base station apparatus 10 by radio. The error determination unit 26b performs error detection processing such as CRC processing on the reception data included in the test packet, and generates error determination data indicating whether or not there is an error in the reception data. The wired communication unit 27 generates a response packet including the error determination data generated by the error determination unit 26b and data such as the reception level measured by the wireless monitor unit 23 (data shown in FIG. 8). The wired communication unit 27 transmits the response packet to the wireless base station device 10 via the wired LAN 30. Similarly, each of the radio base station apparatuses 20-2 to 20-n transmits a response packet to the radio base station apparatus 10 via the wired LAN 30.

  The normality confirmation unit 19 performs packet normality determination processing when the wired communication unit 27 receives one of the response packets from each of the radio base station apparatuses 20-1 to 20-n via the wired LAN 30 ( Step S200).

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a packet normality determination processing routine by the normality confirmation unit 19. Hereinafter, the packet normality determination process performed by the normality confirmation unit 19 will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the normality confirmation unit 19 performs a wired communication with a response packet transmitted from one of the radio base station devices 20-1 to 20-n (hereinafter, as an example, the radio base station device 20-1). The reception data acquired from the unit 17 and included in the response packet is stored in the storage unit 18 as the external wireless monitor data 310 (step S211). The normality confirmation unit 19 can determine from the transmission source address included in the response packet that the response packet is transmitted from the radio base station apparatus 20-1.

  Next, the normality confirmation unit 19 updates the number of received packets [1] 303 for the radio base station device 20-1 by one (step S212).

  Next, the normality confirmation unit 19 updates the reception level average value [1] 302 for the radio base station apparatus 20-1 (step S213). The normality confirmation unit 19 includes the total of the reception levels (including the latest reception level (that is, the element 314) stored in the storage unit 18) of each response packet for the radio base station device 20-1 acquired so far. The reception level average value [1] 302 is calculated by dividing the value by the number of received packets [1] 303 for the radio base station apparatus 20-1.

  Next, whether the normality confirmation unit 19 indicates that the element 313 of the external radio monitor data 310 stored in the storage unit 18 (that is, error determination data for the radio base station device 20-1) is normal. It is determined whether or not (step S214).

  If the normality confirmation unit 19 determines that the normality is not normal, the normality confirmation unit 19 updates the number of received packet errors 301 stored in the storage unit 18 (step S216). At this time, the normality confirmation unit 19 calculates a weighting value corresponding to the set reception level range including the current reception level average value [1] 302 among the plurality of set reception level ranges set in the weighting table. It is updated by adding to the number of received packet errors 301 [1]. For example, when the current reception level average value [1] 302 is −65 dBm, since the average value is included in the set reception level range −61 to −70 dBm, the weighting value 3 corresponding to the level range is set to the received packet error. It adds to number 301 [1].

  If the normality confirmation unit 19 determines that the normality is normal in step S214, the normality confirmation unit 19 proceeds to step S215. The normality confirmation unit 19 includes the element 314 of the external radio monitor data 310 stored in the storage unit 18 (that is, the reception level for the radio base station device 20-1), and the reception level average stored in the storage unit 18. It is determined whether or not the difference from the value [1] 302 is equal to or less than the reception level threshold 322 (step S215). For example, when the element 314 (that is, the reception level) is −80 dBm, the reception level average value [1] 302 is −70 dBm, and the reception level threshold 322 is 20 dBm, the element 314 (that is, the reception level) and the reception level average value [1] The difference 10 dBm from 302 is determined to be 20 dBm or less, which is the reception level threshold 322.

  If the normality confirmation unit 19 determines that the difference is larger than the reception level threshold value 322, the normality confirmation unit 19 updates the reception packet error number 301 stored in the storage unit 18 (step S216). At this time, the normality confirmation unit 19 calculates the weighting value corresponding to the reception level to which the current reception level average value [1] 302 belongs among the plurality of reception levels set in the weighting table [number of received packet errors [ 1] Add to 301 and update.

  If it is determined in step S215 that the difference is equal to or smaller than the reception level threshold value 322, the normality confirmation unit 19 adds the received packet error number 301 [1] to the total received packet error number 340 and updates it. (Step S217). Thus, the normality confirmation unit 19 ends the packet normality determination process for the response packet from the radio base station apparatus 20-1.

  The normality confirmation unit 19 performs the same processing when the wired communication unit 17 receives a response packet transmitted from one of the radio base station devices 20-2 to 20-n (Steps S210 to S210). S218).

  Hereinafter, description will be given again with reference to FIG. The device control unit 15 determines whether or not the total number of received packet errors 340 is less than the total number of received packet errors threshold 321 (step S118). If the device control unit 15 determines that the value is below, the state data 330 stored in the storage unit 18 remains “1” and the process proceeds to step S102 (step S103). Thereafter, the same processing is performed for the steps after step S114.

  If the apparatus control unit 15 determines in step S118 that the received packet error number 301 is equal to or greater than the received packet error frequency threshold value 321, the apparatus control unit 15 proceeds to step S119. Thereafter, the apparatus control unit 15 performs the same processing as in the first embodiment for step S119 and subsequent steps.

  As described above, in the wireless communication system 1 according to the present embodiment, each of the wireless base station device 10 that is the device itself and the wireless base station devices 20-1 to 20-n that are the plurality of external wireless monitoring devices are connected by the wired LAN 30. Connected to each other. Each of the radio base station devices 20-1 to 20-n receives the test packet transmitted by the radio base station device 10, and sends a response packet including error determination data (for example, CRC data) and a reception level via the wired LAN 30. Respectively to the radio base station apparatus 10. The radio base station apparatus 10 receives a response packet from each of the external radio monitor apparatuses via the wired LAN 30, and determines whether or not a radio communication error has occurred based on the error determination data and the reception level. Then, the radio base station apparatus 10 restarts itself when the total value of the number of received packet errors calculated from the result of the determination exceeds a threshold value.

  In this way, since the device itself receives response packets from a plurality of external wireless monitoring devices via the wired LAN 30, it is possible to more accurately determine the normality of wireless communication. If an abnormality is recognized in the wireless communication, the problem can be solved by restarting the own apparatus, and the packet can be reliably transmitted to the destination wireless terminal (not shown).

  Also, by transmitting the error detection result such as CRC processing in the response packet, it is possible to reduce the amount of transmission compared to transmitting the reception data included in the test packet. There is no need to determine whether or not there is an error.

  In addition, by performing weighting for each reception level range, it is possible to perform device control that places importance on the reception level of response packets from an external monitor device close to the own device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Radio | wireless communications system 10, 20, 20-1-20-n Radio base station apparatus 11, 21 Radio transmission part 12, 22 Radio reception part 13, 23 Radio monitor part 14, 24 Test packet generation part 15, 25 Apparatus control part 16, 26 Response packet generation unit 17, 27 Wired communication unit 18, 28 Storage unit 19, 29 Normality confirmation unit 30 Wired LAN

Claims (18)

A normality confirmation method for confirming normality of wireless communication between at least two wireless base station devices capable of wireless communication with a wireless terminal via a wireless communication network,
In one radio base station apparatus, a test packet including test data is generated to store duplicate data having the same contents as the test data, and the test packet is transmitted to the other radio base via the radio communication network together with source information. A wireless transmission step of transmitting to the station device;
In the other radio base station apparatus, the test packet that has arrived via the radio communication network is received, a response packet including reception data included in the received test packet is generated, and the generated response packet is transmitted via wired communication. A wired transmission step of transmitting the source as a destination via a network;
In the one radio base station apparatus, the response packet is received via the wired communication network, the received data included in the received response packet is compared with the duplicate data, and apparatus control is performed based on the comparison result An apparatus control step for performing processing, and a normality confirmation method comprising:   In the device control step, the number of times the received data does not match the duplicated data is counted as the number of received packet errors, and the device control process is performed when the number of received packet errors exceeds a predetermined threshold. The normality confirmation method according to claim 1. In the wired transmission step, the received radio wave intensity is measured when the test packet is received to generate a test packet including the received radio wave intensity,
The apparatus control step includes calculating an average strength of the received radio wave intensity included in each received response packet as an average intensity, and using the received radio wave intensity included in the currently received response packet as the current intensity. The normality confirmation method according to claim 1, further comprising: an intensity comparison step of comparing an average intensity with the current intensity.   In the apparatus control step, the number of times that the difference between the average intensity and the current intensity exceeds a predetermined threshold is counted as a received packet error number, and the apparatus control process is performed when the received packet error number exceeds a predetermined threshold. The normality confirmation method according to claim 1, wherein the normality confirmation method is performed. Further comprising storing a weighting value in association with each of the at least two set reception strength ranges;
The apparatus control step further includes a weight value addition step of adding a weight value corresponding to one set reception level range including the current strength in the set reception level range to the number of received packet errors. The normality confirmation method according to claim 4.   6. The normality confirmation method according to claim 1, wherein the device control process is a device restart process.   The normality confirmation method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the test packet is a beacon signal packet. An error determination step of performing error detection processing on the received data included in the received response packet to generate error determination data;
In the wired transmission step, a test packet further including the error determination data is generated,
The normality confirmation method according to claim 1, wherein the device control step further includes a step of performing the device control process in accordance with presence / absence of an error indicated by the error determination data.   In the apparatus control step, the number of times that the error determination data indicates an error is counted as the number of received packet errors, and the apparatus control process is performed when the number of received packet errors exceeds a predetermined threshold. Item 9. The normality confirmation method according to Item 8. A wireless base station device capable of wireless communication with a wireless terminal via a wireless communication network,
Wireless transmission means for generating a test packet including test data and storing duplicate data having the same content as the test data and transmitting the test packet together with source information via the wireless communication network;
The test packet arriving via the wireless communication network is received, a response packet including received data included in the received test packet is generated, and the generated response packet is addressed to the source via the wired communication network. Wired transmission means for transmitting as
Device control means for receiving the response packet via the wired communication network, comparing the received data contained in the received response packet with the duplicate data, and performing device control processing based on the comparison result; A radio base station apparatus comprising:   The device control means counts the number of times the received data and the duplicate data do not match as the number of received packet errors, and performs the device control processing when the number of received packet errors exceeds a predetermined threshold. The radio base station apparatus according to claim 10. The wired transmission means measures the received radio wave intensity when the test packet is received and generates a test packet including the received radio wave intensity,
The device control means includes an average strength calculating means for calculating an average value of the received radio wave strengths included in each received response packet as an average strength, and the received radio wave strength included in a currently received response packet as the current strength. The radio base station apparatus according to claim 10 or 11, further comprising strength comparison means for comparing an average strength with the current strength.   The apparatus control means counts the number of times that the difference between the average intensity and the current intensity exceeds a predetermined threshold as the number of received packet errors, and performs the apparatus control processing when the number of received packet errors exceeds a predetermined threshold. The radio base station apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the radio base station apparatus performs the radio base station apparatus. Means for storing a weighting value in association with each of the at least two set reception strength ranges;
The apparatus control means further includes weight value addition means for adding a weight value corresponding to one set reception level range including the current strength in the set reception level range to the number of received packet errors. The radio base station apparatus according to claim 13.   The radio base station apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the apparatus control process is an apparatus restart process.   The radio base station apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the test packet is a beacon signal packet. Error determination means for generating error determination data by performing error detection processing on the received data included in the received response packet;
The wired transmission means generates a test packet further including the error determination data,
The radio base station apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the apparatus control means further includes means for performing the apparatus control processing in accordance with presence / absence of an error indicated by the error determination data.   The apparatus control means counts the number of times the error determination data indicates an error as the number of received packet errors, and performs the apparatus control processing when the number of received packet errors exceeds a predetermined threshold. The radio base station apparatus according to 17.

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