JP2013097599A - Virtualization home gateway, system and application execution method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a minimum home network function even when it is difficult to provide processing of the home network function in a centralized server due to a fault etc. of a wide area network.SOLUTION: Software execution environments in which control, information collection and protocol conversion etc. for various sensors and apparatuses connected to a home network under a home gateway 2 which is connected to a wide area network 5 are performed are collectively allocated in a server 1 which is connected through the wide area network 5, as virtual execution environments. A part of the software execution environments which perform control, information collection and protocol conversion etc. for the various sensors and apparatuses connected to the home network under the home gateway 2 which is connected to the wide area network 5 is allocated in the home network as a limited function.

Description

The present invention is based on a virtualized home gateway, virtualized home gateway system, and application execution method, and in particular, the virtual home gateway and the virtual that have improved system operability and maintenance by centralizing functions. Home gateway system and application execution method The present invention also relates to a virtualized home gateway, a virtualized home gateway system, and an application execution method for performing service maintenance when a wide area network is disconnected.

In conventional home gateways, as described in Patent Document 1, Non-Patent Document 1, and Non-Patent Document 2, in order to execute home services, application software is distributed to home gateways arranged in each home, and home gateways are provided. A method of executing application software using the CPU and memory has been proposed. Similarly, it has been proposed to arrange a home server having a large storage capacity in a home network.

Japanese Patent No. 4575177

Shigeki Kitajima and Kento Iwasaki, “Approach to Service Platform System for Home Appliances”, Hitachi Review, Vol. 90, no. 06, pp. 46-49, June 2008 Takushi Hamada, Chiyo Ohno et al., “Home Network Technology Development”, Hitachi Review, Vol. 89, no. 06, pp. 44-47, June 2007

However, in this method, it is necessary to manage home gateways installed in each home and application software in the home gateway, and in the design and operation of the application, the hardware configuration of the home gateway, that is, the CPU capability, There was a limited part depending on the amount of memory.
Conventionally, it has been difficult to handle a home network connected to a plurality of home gateways as a single home network.
In addition, when a home server having a large storage capacity is arranged in the home network, there is a capacity limitation of these storage devices, and the management of the device is also left to the user, thus ensuring the reliability of data storage. It is assumed that this is difficult.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to facilitate the management of application software in the home gateway function and to eliminate hardware restrictions due to the home gateway. Another object of the present invention is to provide a minimum home network function even when it is difficult to provide home network function processing in a centralized server due to a failure of a wide area network or the like.

The present invention facilitates management of application software in various sensors, device control, information collection, protocol conversion, etc. connected to a home network under a home gateway connected to a wide area network, and hardware restrictions by the home gateway One characteristic is to eliminate Another feature of the present invention is that the home gateway function is realized by arranging the software execution environment as a virtual execution environment in a server connected to the wide area network without installing the software execution environment in the home network. .
In addition, an application software execution environment that controls various sensors connected to the home network, equipment control, information collection, protocol conversion, etc. is installed as a limited function in the home network, and it is executed most recently or most frequently. Minimal home network function even when an error occurs in the line with the wide area network, such as by enabling the application / application group to be executed in the home gateway device located in the house. It is another feature that it is possible to maintain the above.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a software execution environment for controlling various sensors, devices, information collection, protocol conversion, etc. connected to a home network under a home gateway connected to a wide area network, usually a home network There is provided a home network system characterized by being collectively arranged as a virtual execution environment in a server connected via a wide area network without being installed in the network.
In the home network system described above, the software execution environment for controlling various sensors, devices, collecting information, converting protocols, etc. connected to the home network under the home gateway connected to the wide area network is limited to the home network. It is possible to maintain a minimum home network function even when an abnormality occurs in a line with a wide area network.
Furthermore, in the home network system as described above, only the program related to the home network operation command with the highest use frequency is recorded in the home gateway, and can be executed as necessary.
Further, in the home network system as described above, only a program related to the most recently used home network operation command is recorded in the home gateway and can be executed as necessary.
In the home network system as described above, there is a means to record the operation command from the home and the response to it, and if an abnormality occurs in the line with the wide area network, the response corresponding to the operation command is selected Then, it can be transmitted to the home network.

According to the first solution of the present invention,
A virtual home gateway system comprising a management center and a virtual home gateway (virtualized HGW) connected to the management center via a network, and an application execution method in the virtual home gateway system,
The management center includes a plurality of applications that perform any one or a plurality of processes of control of various sensors, device control, information collection, and protocol conversion by operation commands from a plurality of home network devices under the virtual HGW. , Arranged in a plurality of virtual machines (VM) that are connected via the network and are the execution environment of the virtual HGW,
When an operation command is transmitted from the home network device, the virtual HGW transmits the operation command to the VM of the management center corresponding to the virtual HGW via the network;
The VM of the management center executes an application for the operation command, transmits an execution result to the virtual HGW via the network,
The virtual HGW controls the home network device according to the execution result,
and,
The virtual HGW is selected from a plurality of the applications.
(1) one or more applications associated with the most frequently used operation commands, and / or
(2) Download one or more applications related to recently used operation commands from the management center into the virtual HGW,
When the virtual HGW detects that an abnormality has occurred in the network or the network cannot be used, an operation command that is the same as the most frequently used operation command or the most recently used operation command is received. A virtual home gateway system and an application execution method that execute the downloaded application when transmitted from the home network device.
Is provided.

According to the second solution of the present invention,
A virtual home gateway system comprising a management center and a virtual home gateway (virtualized HGW) connected to the management center via a network, and an application execution method in the virtual home gateway system,
The management center includes a plurality of applications that perform any one or a plurality of processes of control of various sensors, device control, information collection, and protocol conversion by operation commands from a plurality of home network devices under the virtual HGW. , Arranged in a plurality of virtual machines (VM) that are connected via the network and are the execution environment of the virtual HGW,
When an operation command is transmitted from the home network device, the virtual HGW transmits the operation command to the VM of the management center corresponding to the virtual HGW via the network;
The VM of the management center executes an application for the operation command, transmits an execution result to the virtual HGW via the network,
The virtual HGW controls the home network device according to the execution result,
and,
The virtual HGW has an operation command and a command / response database for recording a response to the operation command,
When the virtual HGW detects that an abnormality has occurred in the network or the network cannot be used, a response content to an operation command transmitted from the home network device is referred to the command / response database. If the command / response database exists, the virtual home gateway system and the application execution method in the virtual home gateway system are provided.

According to the third solution of the present invention,
A management center, and a virtualized home gateway (virtualized HGW) connected to the management center via a network;
The management center includes a plurality of applications that perform any one or a plurality of processes of control of various sensors, device control, information collection, and protocol conversion by operation commands from a plurality of home network devices under the virtual HGW. , Arranged in a plurality of virtual machines (VMs) that are connected to the network and are the execution environment of the virtual HGW,
In the virtualized home gateway system, the virtualized home gateway,

When an operation command is transmitted from the home network device, the virtual HGW transmits the operation command to the VM of the management center corresponding to the virtual HGW via the network;
When the VM of the management center executes an application for the operation command and transmits an execution result to the virtual HGW via the network,
The virtual HGW controls the home network device according to the execution result,
and,
The virtual HGW is selected from a plurality of the applications.
(1) one or more applications associated with the most frequently used operation commands, and / or
(2) Download one or more applications related to recently used operation commands from the management center into the virtual HGW,
When the virtual HGW detects that an abnormality has occurred in the network or the network cannot be used, an operation command that is the same as the most frequently used operation command or the most recently used operation command is received. A virtual home gateway is provided that, when transmitted from the home network device, executes the downloaded application.

According to the fourth solution of the present invention,
A management center, and a virtualized home gateway (virtualized HGW) connected to the management center via a network;
The management center includes a plurality of applications that perform any one or a plurality of processes of control of various sensors, device control, information collection, and protocol conversion by operation commands from a plurality of home network devices under the virtual HGW. , Arranged in a plurality of virtual machines (VMs) that are connected to the network and are the execution environment of the virtual HGW,
In the virtualized home gateway system, the virtualized home gateway,

When an operation command is transmitted from the home network device, the virtual HGW transmits the operation command to the VM of the management center corresponding to the virtual HGW via the network;
When the VM of the management center executes an application for the operation command and transmits an execution result to the virtual HGW via the network,
The virtual HGW controls the home network device according to the execution result,
and,
The virtual HGW has an operation command and a command / response database for recording a response to the operation command,
When the virtual HGW detects that an abnormality has occurred in the network or the network cannot be used, a response content to an operation command transmitted from the home network device is referred to the command / response database. If it exists in the command / response database, a virtual home gateway is provided that executes the response content.

In the present invention, the application execution environment of the home gateway is collectively arranged as a virtual execution environment in a server connected via a wide area network, so that application distribution management is facilitated. In addition, according to the present invention, since the virtual execution environment is used, there is an advantage that the CPU capacity and memory capacity of the home gateway are not restricted.
Further, according to the present invention, by connecting a large-capacity storage device to the server device, it is possible to realize large-capacity storage in the home network without arranging the storage device in the home network, and the capacity is also kept at home. There is an advantage that there is no restriction on the equipment, and there is an advantage that danger such as loss of stored contents can be avoided because management by the business operator on the center side is possible.
In the present invention, the application software execution environment is set as a limited function in the home network, and it is possible to maintain the minimum home network function even when an abnormality occurs in the line with the wide area network. Features.

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram of virtualization of an application execution environment of a home network. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram (1) of the management center 8 and the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2. Configuration example (1) of the user management database. Configuration example (2) of the user management database. 2 is a configuration diagram (2) of the management center 8 and the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 (an example in which some functions can be executed on the HGW). The flowchart which leaves the application with the highest use frequency in HGW, and can be performed. The figure which shows the structural example of an application execution frequency management database. The flowchart which leaves the most recently used application in HGW and can be executed. The figure which shows the structural example of an application execution latest time management database. The flowchart which enables the response with respect to a specific command to be performed. The figure which shows the structural example of a command and a response database. The system block diagram by FemtoCell utilization. The system block diagram by a wide area network. The system block diagram by a wide area wireless network.

1. System (1) Virtualized Home Gateway System FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a virtualized home gateway system according to the present embodiment. This system includes a virtualized home gateway server 1, a virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 (virtualized HGW), a home network 3, various household devices / sensors (home network connection devices) 4, a wide area network 5, and a plurality of The service provider 6 is provided.
The virtual machine VM 7 in the virtual home gateway server 1 is connected to the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 disposed in each home / office via the wide area network 5. The virtual machine VM7 and the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 normally correspond one-to-one at the time of service execution, but a one-to-n or n-to-n configuration is also conceivable. Various home appliances / sensors 4 are connected to the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 via a home network 3.
The virtual home gateway server 1 includes a CPU, a memory, and an external storage device for executing a virtual home gateway application. The virtual home gateway server 1 simultaneously includes a plurality of virtual machines VM7 that are execution environments of the home gateway. It can be executed (refer to FIG. 2 for details).
In response to a user request, the service provider 6 distributes and manages the application to the virtual machine VM 7 in the management center 8 so that the application can be executed.
The virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 and the virtual machine VM7 are connected via the wide area network 5. At this time, the correspondence relationship between the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 and the virtual machine VM 7 needs to be clear in the wide area network 5. For example, this is achieved by connecting the two to the wide area network 5 using point-to-point PPP. There are also cases where tunneling is performed by IPsec.
When the device 4a (for example, a portable terminal) in the home network 3 controls the device 4b (for example, an air conditioner) in the same home network 3, the control command of the device 4a passes through the home network 3 and the virtualized home. After being sent to the management center 8 via the gateway interface unit 2 and the wide area network 5 and processed by the application on the virtual machine VM7, the reverse route is sent to the device 4b to be controlled. The home network 3 may be configured as a single network, but may be configured with networks having a plurality of different protocols and interfaces. Note that the processing by this application includes, for example, control calculation, protocol conversion, address conversion, and the like. When the home network 3 is composed of a plurality of networks having different protocols and interfaces, conversion into corresponding addresses and conversion of protocols in each network are processed by an application on the virtual machine VM7, and the physical network with each network is processed. Control commands are transmitted and received via the virtual home gateway interface unit 2.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration diagram (1) of the management center 8 and the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2. FIG. 2 is an example in which the functions are broken down with the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 and the virtual machine VM7 of the present embodiment as the center.
The virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 includes a CPU 21, a memory 22, a communication interface unit 23 for the wide area network 5, and software. For example, an Ether net driver, a USB driver, and a sound driver, which are interfaces for connecting to the home network 3, are mounted on the CPU 21 of the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 as an OS. In addition to the ethernet and USB hardware mounted on the PC, the application program can use a sound generator for performing a sound interface. Further, the CPU 21 includes a voice codec for IP telephone and a function for performing protocol processing (VoIP / Soft CODEC), a SIP protocol stack, and a common control unit for performing overall control.
The virtual machine server 1 includes a CPU 13, a memory 14, and a plurality of virtual machines VM7. The virtual machine server 1 can execute a plurality of virtual machines VM7, and each virtual machine VM7 has an interface unit (I / F) that connects to the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 via the wide area network 5. A virtual machine OS (VM OS), an OSGi (Open Service Gateway Initiative) framework, an application, a management unit, and a memory. The OSGi framework of each virtual machine VM7 has a function of reliably adding or deleting an application from the outside. By using this function, an application required by each user can be changed to an application of the management center 8. It can be added to the memory of the virtual machine VM7 from the management server 201. Further, an application that is no longer needed can be deleted from the memory of the virtual machine VM7.
The management center 8 includes a VM server 1, an application management server 201, an application storage 202, and a VM management unit 203. The application management server 201 includes a CPU, a memory, and software, and is a server that manages the distribution of applications. The application management server 201 manages which applications are installed in each user's virtual machine VM7, manages versions, and the like. The application storage 202 is a storage for storing application groups that can be distributed to each virtual machine VM7, and distributes the requested application to each virtual machine VM7 in response to a request from the application management server 201. The VM management unit 203 includes a CPU, a memory, and software, and performs management such as a health check of the VM in the VM server 1.

FIG. 3 shows a configuration example (1) of the user management database 300 (1). The user management database 300 (1) of FIG. 3 is generally arranged in the memory of the application management server 201, for example, but an external storage medium can also be used.
In FIG. 3, the user is managed for each virtual home gateway interface unit 2, and as shown in FIG. 2, each virtual home gateway interface unit 2 is connected to the virtual machine VM7 from the application server 201 of the management center 8. Information on added / deleted applications is managed as application information. When an application is added from the application management server 201 to the memory of the virtual machine VM7, it is added to the user management database 300 (1) as application information 301 or 302 in the user management database 300 (1) of FIG. Further, when these applications are deleted, the application information 301 in the user management database may be deleted completely, or a deleted flag, a deletion date and time, etc. may be added to the application information 301 so that the deletion history becomes clear. Conceivable.
In the application information 301 and 302, for example, connected devices, sensor information, application introduction status, version information, and the like are managed. These pieces of information are updated to the latest information whenever an application version is updated or a device is changed.
FIG. 4 shows a configuration example (2) of the user management database 300 (1). The user management database 300 (2) in FIG. 4 is generally arranged in, for example, the memory of the application management server 201, but an external storage medium can also be used. FIG. 4 shows an example of a database for managing information of the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 itself. 4 is managed for each virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 as in FIG. 3, the data content is the model of the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 itself, the serial number. , Firmware version, connectable interface information, etc.
Note that the databases shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can be integrated and managed as one database.

(2) System in which a part of functions can be executed in the virtual home gateway FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of the management center 8 and the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 (2) (example in which a part of functions can be executed in the HGW) Indicates. Note that the blocks having the same reference numbers as those in FIG. In FIG. 5, the VM 51 having a limited function exists on the memory 22 of the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 (virtualized HGW), and the execution of the application 52 is made possible by executing the VM 51 by the CPU 21. In this embodiment, the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 has some criteria such as an application / application group (including interface conversion and operation) executed latest or most frequently executed by the CPU 21. Implementation that allows the selected application 52 to be held and executed, so that the minimum functions of the home network can be maintained even when a failure occurs in the virtual machine VM 7 with the wide area network 5. It is a form. The determination of the application / application group executed latest or most frequently executed in the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 is executed using the CPU 2011 and the memory 2012 of the application management server 201. Based on the determination, the application is automatically downloaded to the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2. At this time, the application 52 ′ already downloaded on the memory 22 of the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 is deleted, and a new application 52 is downloaded on the memory 22. Therefore, there is an application 52 that is always executed most recently or executed most frequently on the memory 22 of the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2. When the application is executed normally, the application is executed by the virtual machine VM7. When the wide area communication network 5 cannot be used due to a failure or the like, the application 52 is executed using the virtual machine VM51 of the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2. I can do it. A plurality of applications 52 may be considered.

2. flowchart

(1) High frequency application

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart that enables execution while leaving the most frequently used application in the HGW. FIG. 6 is characterized in that, in the embodiment of FIG. 5, in the home network system, only a program related to a home network operation command having the highest use frequency is recorded in the home gateway and can be executed as necessary. It is an example of the flowchart of a home network system to do. This flow is executed using the CPU 2011 and the memory 2012 of the application management server 201.
In the process started in step 601, the application management server 201 resets the application execution number counter in step 602 and waits for a command from the home network connection device 4 in step 603. Various commands are transmitted from the home network connection device 4, and these various commands are processed by the VM 7 via the wide area network 5. Here, the types of various commands are represented by symbols A, B, C,..., N, and the command type is added after the procedure number, which is shown as procedure 604A. When the command A is transmitted from the home network device 4 in the procedure 604A, it is connected to the VM 7 corresponding to the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 via the HGW 2 and the wide area network 5. The VM 7 executes the application in step 605A, and transmits the result to the home network device 4 via the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 via the wide area network 5 in step 606A. At this time, the application management server 201 increases the execution number counter value of the application by 1 in step 607A. This execution number counter value is reflected in the application execution count 703 in the database of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the database 700 for recording the number of executions for each application. The database 700 is arranged on the memory 2012 of the application management server 201, and includes an application name 701, an application identifier 702, an application execution count 703, a target device 704, a target device address 705, and a target device type 706. The HN connection device information including the target model 704, the target device address 705, and the target device type 706 is incidental information and is not an essential component of the database.

The application management server 201 refers to the database 700 and compares the number of application executions for each application with 703 in step 608. At this time, the application with the highest counter value is a candidate for download to the virtual home gateway interface unit 2. If this application is the same as the one selected in the previous step 608, the application management server 201 Is determined to be unnecessary, the download is not required in step 610, and the process proceeds to the next step. If it is not determined in step 611 that the process is terminated, the application management server 201 returns to step 603 and enters a command standby state. If the application with the highest counter value is different from the application selected in the previous step 608, the application management server 201 transmits the application to the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 in step 609, while The home gateway interface unit 2 receives the application and performs overwriting download to the memory 22 (or application 52). In addition, when there is room in the memory of the virtual home gateway interface unit 2, a new application can be added without deleting the existing application. If the application management server 201 does not determine in step 611 that the procedure has ended after step 609, the application management server 201 returns to step 603 and enters a command standby state.
As described above, since the most used application is downloaded to the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2, when the wide area network 5 is disconnected or when a failure occurs in the virtual machine VM7, The most used application can be used by executing the application 52 using the virtual machine VM 51 of the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 in the home network.
In the present embodiment, by resetting the count value of the number of times the application is used every time, the application can be downloaded in accordance with the usage frequency in a short period. In addition, the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 may download not only the highest frequency application but also a predetermined frequency or more applications, or a plurality of predetermined number of applications from the highest frequency. .
In this embodiment, the method of managing the number of executions of the application in the management center 8 or the virtual machine VM7 is considered. However, the management can be performed on the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 side. In this case, for example, the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 stores and manages the database 700 shown in FIG. 7 in the memory 22 for the own virtual home gateway interface unit 2, and the CPU 21 of the virtual home gateway interface unit 2. However, the flowchart shown in FIG. 6 may be executed with reference to the database.

(2) Latest application

FIG. 8 shows a flowchart that enables execution while leaving the most recently used application in the HGW. FIG. 8 is a flowchart for recording only a program related to a recently used home network operation command in the home gateway in the home network system in the embodiment of FIG. 5 and making it executable as necessary. It is an example. This flow is executed using the CPU 2011 and the memory 2012 of the application management server 201.
In the process started in step 801, the application management server 201 resets various counters in step 802, and enters a state of waiting for a command from the home network connection device 4 in step 803. Various commands are transmitted from the home network connection device 4 and processed by the virtual machine VM 7 via the wide area network 5. Here, the types of various commands are represented by symbols A, B, C,..., N, and the command type is added after the procedure number, as shown in procedure 804A. When the command A is sent from the home network device 4 in step 804A, the virtual machine VM 7 corresponding to the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 is connected via the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 via the virtual home gateway interface unit 2. The In the virtual machine VM7, the application is executed in step 805A, and the result is transmitted to the home network device 4 via the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 via the wide area network 5 in step 806A. At this time, the application management server 201 records the absolute time of execution of the application in step 807A. This execution absolute time can be obtained from the clock 2013 in FIG. 5 or by means such as the Internet or GPS, and is reflected in the application execution count 903 in the database in FIG.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the database 900 for recording the latest execution absolute time for each application. The database 900 is arranged on the memory 2012 of the application management server 201 and includes an application name 901, an application identifier 902, an application execution latest absolute time 903, a target device 904, a target device address 905, and a target device type 906. The HN connection device information including the target model 904, the target device address 905, and the target device type 906 is incidental information and is not an essential component of the database.

The application management server 201 refers to the database 900 and compares the latest application execution absolute time 903 for each application in step 808. At this time, when the latest application execution absolute time 903 is the largest, that is, the recently used application becomes a download candidate to the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2, but this application is the same as the one selected in the previous step 808. The application management server 201 determines that the download of the application is unnecessary, makes the download unnecessary according to the procedure 810, and proceeds to the next procedure. If it is not determined in step 811 that the process has ended, the application management server 201 returns to step 803 and enters a command standby state. If the application having the largest application execution latest absolute time 903 is different from the application selected in the previous step 808, the application management server 201 transmits the application to the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 in step 809. On the other hand, the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 receives the application and downloads it to the memory 22 (or the application 52) by overwriting. In addition, when there is room in the memory of the virtual home gateway interface unit 2, a new application can be added without deleting the existing application. If the application management server 201 does not determine in step 811 that the process ends after step 809, the application management server 201 returns to step 803 and enters a command standby state.
As described above, since the most recently executed application is downloaded to the virtual home gateway interface unit 2, even when the wide area network 5 is disconnected or a failure occurs in the virtual machine VM 7. The most recently executed application can be used by executing the application 52 using the virtual machine VM 51 of the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 in the home network. Note that the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 downloads not only the latest use application but also one or more applications newer than a predetermined time or a predetermined number of applications from the latest use. Also good.
In the present embodiment, a method of managing the latest execution absolute time of the application in the virtual machine VM7 is considered, but it is also possible to manage it on the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 side. In that case, for example, the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 stores and manages the database 900 shown in FIG. 9 in the memory 22 for the own virtual home gateway interface unit 2, and the CPU 21 of the virtual home gateway interface unit 2. However, the flowchart shown in FIG. 8 may be executed with reference to the database.
Further, not only the absolute time but also an appropriate time in the apparatus may be used.
In addition to this embodiment, in order to make the most recently executed application stored in the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2, the application may be downloaded, updated, and executed every time the application is executed. Conceivable. In this case, there is a merit that complicated processing in the application management server 201 becomes unnecessary.

(3) Application of response to specific command

FIG. 10 shows a flowchart that enables execution of a response to a specific command. FIG. 10 shows that in the home network system, the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 has means for recording an operation command from the home and a response to the operation command. If an abnormality occurs in the line of the wide area network 5, the operation command 2 is an example of a flowchart of a home network system characterized in that a response corresponding to is selected and transmitted to the home network. This flow is executed in the CPU 21 of the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2.
FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a command / response database 1100 that records the relationship between operation commands and responses in the present embodiment. The database 1100 is arranged in the memory 22 of the virtual home gateway interface unit 2. In the present embodiment, unlike the above-described embodiments (“(1) High-frequency application”, “(2) Latest application”), it is not necessary to download the application to the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2. .
FIG. 11 shows an example of the command / response database 1100 according to this embodiment. The commands implemented in the home network are shown in FIG. It is recorded by each procedure. 1101 records a time, 1102 the same command counter, and 1103 a response mismatch counter. Reference numerals 1104 to 1107 are records of command contents, 1104 is a sender address, 1105 is a target address, 1106 is command contents, and 1107 is a command parameter. Reference numerals 1108 to 1110 are records of response contents, each of which is a target address 1108, a command response 1109, and a parameter 1110. In the present embodiment, each record is identified by assigning symbols A to n.

In the program started in the procedure 1001 in FIG. 10A, the CPU 21 initializes various counters in the procedure 1002, and then enters a command standby state in the procedure 1003. When a command is input from the home network connection device 4 in step 1004, the CPU 21 records a command content record such as a command source address 1104, target address 1105, command content 1106, etc. It is recorded in the entry at the corresponding time 1101 in the response database 1100, and command information is transmitted to the virtual machine VM 7 of the center server via the wide area network 5. After being processed by the application on the virtual machine VM 7 in step 1006, a response is returned to the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 via the wide area network 5. In step 1007, the CPU 21 of the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 transfers this response to the corresponding home network connection device 4, and then in step 1008, the response target address 1108, command response 1109, parameter 1110, etc. The response content is recorded in an entry corresponding to the command content record transmitted earlier in the command / response database 1100.
Based on the updated command / response database 1100, the CPU 21 first compares the command contents in step 1010. If there is no record of the same command contents up to that point, the same command is executed in step 1011b of the entry. The counter value 1102 is set to 1. If the same command contents exist in the past, a value obtained by adding 1 to the same command counter value 1102 for the corresponding command contents in the procedure 1011a is used as the same command counter value 1102 of the current entry. Record.
Subsequently, the CPU 21 compares the response contents in the procedure 1012 based on the updated database 1100. As a result of the comparison of response contents, the CPU 21 adds 1 to the response mismatch counter value 1103 in step 1013b when there is no record of the same response contents up to that point. If the same response content exists in the past or there is no command content to be compared, the CPU 21 does not change the response mismatch counter value 1103 in step 1013a. If it is determined in step 1014 that the process is ended, the process ends in step 1015. In other cases, the process returns to the command waiting state in step 1003.
In normal times, the above operation is continued.

Hereinafter, an example of the command / response database 1100 of the present embodiment created according to the procedure of FIG. In this example, the command content of the entry 1101A has been executed 124 times in the past, and the same command counter 1102 is added by the procedure 1011a of FIG. 10 by this execution, and the value of the command counter 1102 is 125. Similarly, FIG. As a result of comparison between the past response content and the current response in the procedure 1012, it is the same as the past response. The value of the response mismatch counter is not changed by the procedure 1013a.
Similarly, in entry 1101B, the same command content as in entry 1101A is executed and the same response content is obtained, so the value of the same command counter 1102 increases by 1 and the value of the response mismatch counter 1103 remains unchanged.
The example of the entry 1101H is an example when the first command content is executed. Since this is the command content executed for the first time, the same command counter 1102 is set to 1 since there is no same command content in the past. The response mismatch counter 1103 is 0 because there is no comparison target. If the same command content is input in the entry 1101I following this example, the same command counter is set to 2, but since the responses are different, 1 is added to the response mismatch counter 1103.

The procedure B shown in FIG. 10B is an example of a flow executed in the CPU 21 of the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 when there is an abnormality in the wide area network 5 or the virtual machine VM7. In this example, the procedure starts at step 1050 and the CPU 21 enters a command standby state at step 1051. When a command is input in step 1052, the CPU 21 compares in step 1053 the same command counter value 1102 in the record in which the input command and the command content record in FIG. 11 are the same. At this time, if the same command counter value 1102 is larger than a predetermined integer n, the CPU 21 proceeds to step 1054 and compares the response mismatch counter with 0 (zero). When the same command counter value is larger than n and the response mismatch counter value is 0, the CPU 21 determines that the response to the command is fixed, and corresponds to the database of FIG. 11 for the input command content. The content of the response is output in step 1055a.
Conversely, if the same command counter value is smaller than n or the response mismatch counter value is not 0, the CPU 21 determines that the response to the command is not fixed, and determines that the response is impossible in step 1055b. Return to the originator of If it is determined in step 1056 that the process is to be ended, the CPU 21 ends the process in step 1057; When the abnormal state is restored, the normal procedure is restored.
In the present embodiment, when the wide area network 5 is disconnected or when the VM 7 is defective, the home network device is referred to by referring to the command / response database 1100 on the memory 22 of the virtual home gateway interface unit 2. This is a response. Suitable for operations that always have the same response to commands from home network devices, such as device on / off control, volume increase / decrease, channel up / down, etc., maintaining the minimum home network function I can do it.
In the present embodiment, the command / response database 1100 is used to learn a command response during operation, and the expected performance may not be exhibited in the initial stage of introduction. In order to avoid this, it is also conceivable to download a database in which commands and responses are fixed as shown in FIG.

In this method, even if the same command is used, it may not be effective for certain things such as channel designation of TV channels with parameters, and continuous playback of video whose response to the same command differs depending on the state of the home network device etc. In order to prevent malfunction, it is not judged as coincidence in order to prevent malfunction, and consideration is given so that a command rejection etc. can be handled. When the response mismatch counter is not 0 (zero), it is possible to output a command response having the smallest response mismatch counter value as means for enabling this method. In this case, a procedure for confirming whether or not the response content can be obtained from the database is added to the command input person.

Note that even operations involving parameters can deal with a wider range of operations by making the above determination including the command parameter 1107 and the response parameter 1110. Note that the same determination as described above can be made without including the command parameter 1107 and / or the response parameter 1110, and whether to include these parameters may be distinguished depending on the command or the command type. . For example, for an operation such as uploading a photo, a measure such as temporarily storing data by using the memory 22 of the CPU 21 of the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 as a buffer and uploading it after recovery can be considered.

3. Other system configurations

(1) FemtoCell
FIG. 12 shows a system configuration diagram using FemtoCell. FIG. 12 shows an embodiment in which FemtoCell is used for the virtual home gateway interface unit 2. The virtual home gateway interface unit 2a using Femto Cell is connected to a virtual network in the service center 8 via a wireless wide area network 5a (a mobile phone network in this example) connected via a wide area network 5 such as the Internet. It is connected to the machine VM7.
In this example, the FemtoCell 2a is used as the virtual home gateway interface unit 2, and the radio unit is connected to the devices / sensors 4 in the virtual home network A3 independently or collectively. Connected via a wireless network.
In this embodiment, since all devices are connected to the mobile phone network 5a via the FemtoCell 2a, information such as a mobile phone number can be used for the address and ID of the device / sensors 4 here. There is an advantage.

(2) Wide Area Network FIG. 13 shows a system configuration diagram based on the wide area network. FIG. 13 shows an example in which all devices / sensors 4 are connected to the virtual machine VM 7 in the service center 8 via the wide area network 5 by providing a network interface unit corresponding to the wide area network 5 such as the Internet. In the present embodiment, for example, the Internet network is assumed as the wide area network 5. In the present embodiment, since all the devices / sensors 4 are directly connected to the virtual machine VM7, it is not necessary to place the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 in the home. According to the present embodiment, since all the devices / sensors 4 are connected to the virtual machine VM 7 by independent lines, the line that can be a single failure point connecting the wide area network 5 and the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 is not exist. Further, even when the wireless unit of each device / sensor 4 fails, all home network functions are not disabled. Home network devices constituting the home network are identified by registering a unique ID in the VM 7 in advance. According to this method, since geographically distant devices can be handled as a single home network, it can be used for, for example, watching an elderly person living separately.

(3) Wide Area Wireless Network FIG. 14 shows a system configuration diagram based on the wide area wireless network. FIG. 14 shows an example in which all devices / sensors 4 are connected to the virtual machine VM7 in the service center 8 via the mobile phone network 5a by providing a wireless unit corresponding to the mobile phone network 5a as the wireless wide area network 5. is there. In the present embodiment, since all the devices / sensors 4 are individually connected to the corresponding virtual machines VM7 via the wireless wide area network 5a, there is no need to arrange the virtual home gateway interface unit 2 in the home. According to the present embodiment, since all the devices / sensors 4 are connected to the virtual machine VM 7 by independent lines, the line that can be a single failure point connecting the wide area network 5 and the virtualized home gateway interface unit 2 is not exist. For this reason, even if the wireless unit of each device / sensor 4 fails, all home network functions are not disabled. Home network devices constituting the home network are identified by registering a unique ID in the VM 7 in advance. According to this method, since geographically distant devices can be handled as a single home network, it can be used for, for example, watching an elderly person living separately.

The present invention facilitates application distribution management and version management by centrally installing application execution functions of home gateways arranged in a user's home in a home network system that provides a home network. Especially available. In addition, the home network service can be provided even in the case of a line failure or when the network cannot be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Virtualized home gateway server 2 Virtualized home gateway interface part 2a Virtualized home gateway interface part 2b Virtualized home gateway interface part 3 Home network 3a Home network 3b Home network 4 Various household devices / sensors 5 Wide area network 5a Wireless radio | wireless Network, mobile phone network 6 Multiple service providers 7 Virtual machine VM
8 Management Center 9 Storage Device 10 Service Management Department

20 Virtualized home gateway interface unit Interface unit 21 Virtualized home gateway interface unit CPU
22 Virtualized home gateway interface unit Memory 23 VM server CPU
24 VM server memory

201 Application management server 202 Application database 203 VM management unit

Claims (10)

In a virtualized home gateway system comprising a management center and a virtualized home gateway (virtualized HGW) connected to the management center via a network,
The management center includes a plurality of applications that perform any one or a plurality of processes of control of various sensors, device control, information collection, and protocol conversion by operation commands from a plurality of home network devices under the virtual HGW. , Arranged in a plurality of virtual machines (VM) that are connected via the network and are the execution environment of the virtual HGW,
When an operation command is transmitted from the home network device, the virtual HGW transmits the operation command to the VM of the management center corresponding to the virtual HGW via the network;
The VM of the management center executes an application for the operation command, transmits an execution result to the virtual HGW via the network,
The virtual HGW controls the home network device according to the execution result,
and,
The virtual HGW is selected from a plurality of the applications.
(1) one or more applications associated with the most frequently used operation commands, and / or
(2) Download one or more applications related to recently used operation commands from the management center into the virtual HGW,
When the virtual HGW detects that an abnormality has occurred in the network or the network cannot be used, an operation command that is the same as the most frequently used operation command or the most recently used operation command is received. A virtual home gateway system, wherein when downloaded from the home network device, the downloaded application is executed.
The virtual home gateway system according to claim 1,
The management center or the virtual HGW
It has a frequency management database that stores the number of executions for each application,
The management center or the virtual HGW stores in the frequency management database an increased number of executions of the application executed in response to an operation command transmitted from the home network device,
The management center or the virtual HGW refers to the frequency management database, selects one or a plurality of applications having the highest execution count or the execution count higher than a predetermined threshold,
The virtualized HGW downloads the selected one or more applications and overwrites or adds to the memory.
The virtual home gateway system according to claim 1,
The management center or the virtual HGW
It has a time management database that stores the execution time for each application,
The management center or the virtual HGW stores the execution time of the application executed in response to an operation command transmitted from the home network device in the time management database.
The management center or the virtual HGW refers to the time management database, selects one or a plurality of applications having the latest execution time,
The virtualized HGW downloads the selected one or more applications and overwrites or adds to the memory.
In a virtualized home gateway system comprising a management center and a virtualized home gateway (virtualized HGW) connected to the management center via a network,
The management center includes a plurality of applications that perform any one or a plurality of processes of control of various sensors, device control, information collection, and protocol conversion by operation commands from a plurality of home network devices under the virtual HGW. , Arranged in a plurality of virtual machines (VM) that are connected via the network and are the execution environment of the virtual HGW,
When an operation command is transmitted from the home network device, the virtual HGW transmits the operation command to the VM of the management center corresponding to the virtual HGW via the network;
The VM of the management center executes an application for the operation command, transmits an execution result to the virtual HGW via the network,
The virtual HGW controls the home network device according to the execution result,
and,
The virtual HGW has an operation command and a command / response database for recording a response to the operation command,
When the virtual HGW detects that an abnormality has occurred in the network or the network cannot be used, a response content to an operation command transmitted from the home network device is referred to the command / response database. If it exists in the command / response database, the response content is executed.
The virtual home gateway system according to claim 4,
The virtual HGW is
For the command content of the operation command, a command / response database that records the response content and the same information indicating the situation in which a combination of the same command content and response content exists in the past,
The virtual HGW creates the same information that represents the command content of the operation command and the response content that is the execution result, and whether the same group exists in the past or the count value that exists in the past,
The virtual HGW records the command content and the response content and the same information corresponding to the command / response database,
The virtual HGW refers to the command / response database when an operation command is transmitted from the home network device, and determines that the response content to the command content of the operation command is fixed according to the same information. When the response content corresponding to the command content is executed and, conversely, if it is determined that the response content to the command content is not fixed according to the same information, the response content indicating that the response is impossible is returned to the command source. A virtualized home gateway system.
The virtual home gateway system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
(I) The virtual HGW includes a femtocell base station function unit, and each home network device includes a radio unit for wireless connection with the virtual HGW.
(Ii) each home network device has a network interface corresponding to the network;
Or
(Iii) The network includes a wireless network, and each home network device includes a wireless unit for wirelessly connecting to the wireless network.
A virtual home gateway system characterized by that.
A management center, and a virtualized home gateway (virtualized HGW) connected to the management center via a network;
The management center includes a plurality of applications that perform any one or a plurality of processes of control of various sensors, device control, information collection, and protocol conversion by operation commands from a plurality of home network devices under the virtual HGW. , Arranged in a plurality of virtual machines (VMs) that are connected to the network and are the execution environment of the virtual HGW,
In the virtualized home gateway system, the virtualized home gateway,

When an operation command is transmitted from the home network device, the virtual HGW transmits the operation command to the VM of the management center corresponding to the virtual HGW via the network;
When the VM of the management center executes an application for the operation command and transmits an execution result to the virtual HGW via the network,
The virtual HGW controls the home network device according to the execution result,
and,
The virtual HGW is selected from a plurality of the applications.
(1) one or more applications associated with the most frequently used operation commands, and / or
(2) Download one or more applications related to recently used operation commands from the management center into the virtual HGW,
When the virtual HGW detects that an abnormality has occurred in the network or the network cannot be used, an operation command that is the same as the most frequently used operation command or the most recently used operation command is received. A virtual home gateway that executes the downloaded application when it is transmitted from the home network device.
A management center, and a virtualized home gateway (virtualized HGW) connected to the management center via a network;
The management center includes a plurality of applications that perform any one or a plurality of processes of control of various sensors, device control, information collection, and protocol conversion by operation commands from a plurality of home network devices under the virtual HGW. , Arranged in a plurality of virtual machines (VMs) that are connected to the network and are the execution environment of the virtual HGW,
In the virtualized home gateway system, the virtualized home gateway,

When an operation command is transmitted from the home network device, the virtual HGW transmits the operation command to the VM of the management center corresponding to the virtual HGW via the network;
When the VM of the management center executes an application for the operation command and transmits an execution result to the virtual HGW via the network,
The virtual HGW controls the home network device according to the execution result,
and,
The virtual HGW has an operation command and a command / response database for recording a response to the operation command,
When the virtual HGW detects that an abnormality has occurred in the network or the network cannot be used, a response content to an operation command transmitted from the home network device is referred to the command / response database. If it exists in the command / response database, the content of the response is executed.
An application execution method in a virtual home gateway system comprising a management center and a virtual home gateway (virtualized HGW) connected to the management center via a network,
The management center includes a plurality of applications that perform any one or a plurality of processes of control of various sensors, device control, information collection, and protocol conversion by operation commands from a plurality of home network devices under the virtual HGW. , Arranged in a plurality of virtual machines (VM) that are connected via the network and are the execution environment of the virtual HGW,
When an operation command is transmitted from the home network device, the virtual HGW transmits the operation command to the VM of the management center corresponding to the virtual HGW via the network;
The VM of the management center executes an application for the operation command, transmits an execution result to the virtual HGW via the network,
The virtual HGW controls the home network device according to the execution result,
and,
The virtual HGW is selected from a plurality of the applications.
(1) one or more applications associated with the most frequently used operation commands, and / or
(2) Download one or more applications related to recently used operation commands from the management center into the virtual HGW,
When the virtual HGW detects that an abnormality has occurred in the network or the network cannot be used, an operation command that is the same as the most frequently used operation command or the most recently used operation command is received. An application execution method, wherein the downloaded application is executed when the home network device transmits the application.
An application execution method in a virtual home gateway system comprising a management center and a virtual home gateway (virtualized HGW) connected to the management center via a network,
The management center includes a plurality of applications that perform any one or a plurality of processes of control of various sensors, device control, information collection, and protocol conversion by operation commands from a plurality of home network devices under the virtual HGW. , Arranged in a plurality of virtual machines (VM) that are connected via the network and are the execution environment of the virtual HGW,
When an operation command is transmitted from the home network device, the virtual HGW transmits the operation command to the VM of the management center corresponding to the virtual HGW via the network;
The VM of the management center executes an application for the operation command, transmits an execution result to the virtual HGW via the network,
The virtual HGW controls the home network device according to the execution result,
and,
The virtual HGW has an operation command and a command / response database for recording a response to the operation command,
When the virtual HGW detects that an abnormality has occurred in the network or the network cannot be used, a response content to an operation command transmitted from the home network device is referred to the command / response database. If the command / response database exists, the response content is executed.

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