JP2012169806A - Communication controller and optimization method for packet communication processing - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication controller and an optimization method for packet communication processing, capable of avoiding a packet transfer delay and insufficient processing capability and achieving high packet processing capacity.SOLUTION: A communication controller includes a totalization section (103) which allows firmware executing packet processing to package a plurality of predetermined protocols and totalizes traffic statistical data for each predetermined protocol from transmission and reception packets, and update sections (104, 106) that determines a determination processing order of the predetermined protocols based on totalization results to update the firmware.

Description

  The present invention relates to a packet communication control device, and more particularly to a communication control device capable of updating packet communication processing firmware and a packet communication processing optimization method thereof.

  In general, in a packet communication device, the traffic status processed by the device changes depending on the customer's network usage status. Even in such a situation, various techniques for efficiently executing packet communication control processing have been proposed.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a communication control device that can download a communication control module in accordance with a change in a network or a communication status, and dynamically change the module configuration even during communication, independently of application activation. Is disclosed.

International Publication No. 2004/100469 Pamphlet

  Since the packet communication control processing capacity is affected by the critical path protocol and the processing order of the type determination processing such as header information for each protocol, the type determination processing order is usually set from the traffic volume assumed at the beginning of the design. . Here, the “critical path” is a determination processing route such as a protocol that affects the processing capability and header information for each protocol. For example, when processing an IPv6 packet, if the packet type determination process first determines IPv6, the determination is immediately “YES”, and the corresponding determination process can be terminated. However, if the IPv4 determination is performed first, “No” is obtained. Subsequently, an IPv6 determination must be performed. Accordingly, how the order of packet type determination processing is set affects the time required for the corresponding determination processing.

  However, in actuality, due to environmental changes in operation, etc., the order of determination processing implemented is not necessarily optimal, and an extra packet transfer delay or insufficient processing capacity may occur. In the communication control of Patent Document 1 described above, although the module configuration can be changed, the order of protocol determination processing is not taken into consideration, and therefore the packet communication control processing capability itself in the communication device cannot be improved.

  Specifically, if the firmware that performs packet processing in the communication device implements various protocol processing, if the critical path information for each operating environment is known, change the implementation of the judgment processing order. It is possible to improve the processing capacity. However, the above-described background art does not have a function for identifying optimum firmware from such critical path information. As a result, packet transfer delay and processing capacity are insufficient, resulting in a decrease in packet processing capacity.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a communication control apparatus and a packet communication processing optimization method that can avoid packet transfer delay and insufficient processing capability and achieve an improvement in packet processing capability.

  The communication control device according to the present invention is a communication control device in which a packet processing firmware implements a plurality of predetermined protocols, totaling means for totaling traffic statistical data for each predetermined protocol from transmission / reception packets, Update means for determining the order of determination processing of the predetermined protocol based on the firmware and updating the firmware.

  The packet communication processing optimization method according to the present invention is a packet communication processing optimization method using firmware that implements a plurality of predetermined protocols for performing packet processing, in which the aggregation means calculates traffic statistical data for each predetermined protocol from transmission / reception packets. And updating means determines the determination processing order of the predetermined protocol based on the counting result and updates the firmware.

  According to the present invention, packet transfer delay and insufficient processing capacity can be avoided, and packet processing capacity can be improved.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a packet communication control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a firmware file, and FIG. 2B is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the packet communication control apparatus according to the present embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the determination table in FIG. FIG. 4 is an operation flowchart for specifically explaining the packet communication processing optimization method according to the present embodiment.

1. 1. Embodiment 1.1) Functional Configuration According to an embodiment of the present invention, critical path information can be collected from operating traffic statistics, and optimal firmware can be uploaded as appropriate, thereby improving packet processing capability. It becomes possible to make it.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in the packet communication control apparatus according to the present embodiment, a packet processing unit 102 is mounted on the firmware unit 101 by firmware (FW), and communication control of transmission packets and reception packets is executed. Further, the packet processing unit 102 provides necessary packet information to the traffic statistics information totaling unit 103 in accordance with a firmware optimization instruction to be described later.

  The traffic statistics information totaling unit 103 counts, for example, the number of transmission / reception packets for each protocol determination process, and outputs the totaled result to the critical path determination unit 104. The protocol of the determination processing unit is a transport layer or network layer protocol.

  The critical path determination unit 104 specifies an optimum FW file from the determination table 105 using the totaling result from the traffic statistical information totaling unit 103.

  The firmware update processing unit 106 applies the optimum FW file designated by the critical path determination unit 104 to the firmware unit 101 from the previously stored FW files LM1, LM2,.

  FW files LM1, LM2,... May be downloaded from an external server and stored. In addition, functions equivalent to the critical path determination unit 104, the traffic statistical information aggregation unit 103, and the firmware update processing unit 106 are realized by executing a program stored in a memory (not shown) on a program control processor (not shown). Is possible.

  As illustrated in FIG. 2A, the FW files LM1, LM2,... Stored in advance in the firmware update processing unit 106 include a plurality of protocols P1 to P4 each having a different protocol type determination processing order. For example, the FW file LM1 executes packet protocol determination in the order of protocols P1, P2, P3, and P4, and the FW file LM2 executes packet protocol determination in the order of protocols P2, P3, P1, and P4. . As an example, if the number of packets of the protocol P1 obtained by the traffic statistics information totaling unit 103 is the largest, the FW file LM1 is selected as the optimum FW file. Furthermore, a selection criterion weighted by the priority of the packet may be used.

1.2) Operation In FIG. 2B, in response to the firmware optimization instruction, the critical path determination unit 104 is designated with a time zone for collecting traffic data and a time zone for performing optimal firmware update from the result (step) 201). For example, if the time zone in which the traffic is most concentrated is in the morning on weekdays, the firmware update can be executed effectively by collecting the traffic during that time zone and using it as critical path information. In addition, the firmware update time can be controlled by specifying a nighttime zone with less traffic.

  When the critical path determination unit 104 instructs the packet processing unit 102 to collect the traffic statistical data in the specified time zone, the traffic statistical information aggregation unit 103 totals the traffic statistical data in the specified time zone, and sends it to the critical path determination unit 104. Output (step 202).

  The critical path determination unit 104 refers to the determination table 105 from the traffic statistics data, selects an optimum FW file, and designates the optimum FW file to the firmware update processing unit 106 at the FW update designation time (step 203). Accordingly, the firmware update processing unit 106 starts updating the designated FW file (step 204).

1.3) Effects As described above, according to the present embodiment, critical path information is determined based on traffic statistics data, and the most suitable FW file is selected based on the data, and update processing is performed. For this reason, it is possible to start firmware that accurately reflects changes in the network communication status in real time and execute packet processing, effectively avoiding packet transfer delays and insufficient processing capacity, and improving packet processing capacity as a whole. Can be achieved.

2. In the following, in this embodiment, an optimal firmware file (LM) is determined based on the amount of processing of priority parameters using the determination table 105 shown in FIG. . In FIG. 3, for example, when there are many processing statistics of IPv4 and UDP packets, the FW file LM1 is determined as the optimum FW file. The operation of the communication control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

  In FIG. 4, it is assumed that the packet processing unit 102 executes packet processing according to the current FW file. When the time period for collecting data for determining critical path information and the time period for updating the optimum FW file are specified by the firmware optimization instruction, the critical path determination unit 104, as described above, the packet processing unit 102 Is instructed to collect traffic statistical data in the designated time zone, and the traffic statistical information aggregation unit 103 thereby aggregates the traffic statistical data in the designated time zone.

  Here, the aggregated result of the traffic statistics data is 1000 transmission / reception of IPv4 protocol packets, 10,000 transmission / reception of IPv6 protocol packets, 10,000 transmission / reception of UDP (User Datagram Protocol) protocol packets, TCP (Transmission Control). It is assumed that the number of protocol packet transmission / reception is 1000 and the number of ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) protocol packet transmission / reception is 1000.

  When receiving the traffic statistics data aggregation result, the critical path determination unit 104 refers to the determination table 105 and determines the firmware LM based on the amount of processing of the priority parameter. In the above-described traffic statistics data aggregation result, since IPv4 <IPv6 and UDP> TCP, ICMP, the critical path determination unit 104 selects LM2 as the optimum FW file. Therefore, the critical path determination unit 104 designates the optimum FW file LM2 to the firmware update processing unit 106 at the FW update designated time. Thus, the firmware update processing unit 106 starts updating the packet processing unit 102 using the designated FW file LM2.

  The effects of this embodiment are as follows.

  The first effect is that the critical path determination unit 104 collects statistical data of packet processing, thereby enabling determination of real-time critical path information (optimum protocol type determination processing order).

  The second effect is that the real-time critical path information can be determined, so that the optimum firmware can be updated in each operation environment.

  The third effect is that the firmware can be updated while avoiding the influence on the operation by updating the firmware in response to the firmware optimization instruction.

  It is also possible to automate the firmware optimization instruction. In this case, firmware automatic optimization switching by automatic critical path information determination can be performed.

  Further, not only is the traffic statistical data in the designated time zone used for firmware optimization, but it can also be used in various ways as network traffic information by periodically outputting it to an external device.

3. Additional Notes Part or all of the above-described embodiments may be described as the following additional notes, but are not limited thereto.

(Appendix 1)
Firmware that performs packet processing is a communication control device that implements a plurality of predetermined protocols,
Aggregation means for aggregating traffic statistics data for each predetermined protocol from sent and received packets;
Updating means for determining the order of determination processing of the predetermined protocol based on the counting result and updating the firmware;
A communication control device comprising:

(Appendix 2)
The communication according to claim 1, wherein the aggregation result is the number of packets for each of the predetermined protocols that are aggregated during a predetermined period, and the determination process is first executed for the predetermined protocol having the largest number of packets. Control device.

(Appendix 3)
The communication control according to appendix 2, wherein the updating means determines critical path information of the packet processing based on the number of packets, and selects firmware that is most suitable for the critical path for updating. apparatus.

(Appendix 4)
A method for optimizing packet communication processing by firmware implementing a plurality of predetermined protocols for performing packet processing,
Aggregation means aggregates traffic statistics data for each given protocol from sent and received packets,
An update means determines the determination processing order of the predetermined protocol based on the aggregation result and updates the firmware.
A method for optimizing packet communication processing.

(Appendix 5)
The packet according to appendix 4, wherein the aggregation result is the number of packets for each of the predetermined protocols that have been aggregated in a predetermined period, and the determination process is first executed for the predetermined protocol having the largest number of packets. Communication processing optimization method.

(Appendix 6)
6. The packet communication according to appendix 5, wherein the updating means determines critical path information of the packet processing based on the number of packets, and selects firmware that is most suitable for the critical path for updating. Processing optimization method.

(Appendix 7)
A program for realizing on a program control processor a function for optimizing packet communication processing by firmware implementing a plurality of predetermined protocols for performing packet processing,
Aggregation means aggregates traffic statistics data for each given protocol from sent and received packets,
An update means determines the determination processing order of the predetermined protocol based on the aggregation result and updates the firmware.
A program for causing the program control processor to function as described above.

(Appendix 8)
The program according to appendix 7, wherein the aggregation result is the number of packets for each of the predetermined protocols that are aggregated in a predetermined period, and the determination process is first executed for the predetermined protocol having the largest number of packets. .

(Appendix 9)
9. The program according to appendix 8, wherein the updating unit determines critical path information of the packet processing based on the number of packets, and selects firmware most suitable for the critical path for updating.

(Appendix 10)
A packet communication device comprising the communication control device according to any one of the appendix-3.

(Appendix 11)
4. The communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the updating unit updates the firmware at a predesignated time.

(Appendix 12)
The packet communication processing optimization method according to any one of appendix 4-6, wherein the updating unit updates the firmware at a predesignated time.

(Appendix 13)
The program according to any one of appendices 7-9, wherein the updating unit updates the firmware at a predetermined time.

  The present invention is applicable to a communication device on a network that requires packet transfer processing capability.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Firmware part 102 Packet processing part 103 Traffic statistics information totaling part 104 Critical path determination part 105 Determination table 106 Firmware update process part

Claims (10)

Firmware that performs packet processing is a communication control device that implements a plurality of predetermined protocols,
Aggregation means for aggregating traffic statistics data for each predetermined protocol from sent and received packets;
Updating means for determining the order of determination processing of the predetermined protocol based on the counting result and updating the firmware;
A communication control device comprising:   2. The determination result according to claim 1, wherein the aggregation result is the number of packets for each of the predetermined protocols that are aggregated in a predetermined period, and the determination process is first executed for the predetermined protocol having the largest number of packets. Communication control device.   3. The communication according to claim 2, wherein the updating unit determines critical path information of the packet processing based on the number of packets, and selects firmware most suitable for the critical path for updating. 4. Control device. A method for optimizing packet communication processing by firmware implementing a plurality of predetermined protocols for performing packet processing,
Aggregation means aggregates traffic statistics data for each given protocol from sent and received packets,
An update means determines the determination processing order of the predetermined protocol based on the aggregation result and updates the firmware.
A method for optimizing packet communication processing.   5. The aggregation result according to claim 4, wherein the aggregation result is the number of packets for each of the predetermined protocols that are aggregated in a predetermined period, and the determination process is first executed for the predetermined protocol having the largest number of packets. Packet communication processing optimization method.   6. The packet according to claim 5, wherein the updating unit determines critical path information of the packet processing based on the number of packets, and selects firmware most suitable for the critical path for updating. Communication processing optimization method. A program for realizing on a program control processor a function for optimizing packet communication processing by firmware implementing a plurality of predetermined protocols for performing packet processing,
Aggregation means aggregates traffic statistics data for each given protocol from sent and received packets,
An update means determines the determination processing order of the predetermined protocol based on the aggregation result and updates the firmware.
A program for causing the program control processor to function as described above.   8. The aggregation result according to claim 7, wherein the aggregation result is the number of packets for each predetermined protocol that is aggregated in a predetermined period, and the determination process is first executed for the predetermined protocol with the largest number of packets. program.   9. The program according to claim 8, wherein the updating unit determines critical path information of the packet processing based on the number of packets, and selects firmware most suitable for the critical path for updating. .   The packet communication apparatus which has a communication control apparatus of any one of Claims 1-3.

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