JP2014204176A - Cache evaluation device, cache evaluation method, and program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a technique that learns the degree of effective use of a cache device and evaluates the effectiveness of the cache device on the basis of the degree of effective use of the cache device.SOLUTION: A cache evaluation device for evaluating the use of a cache device comprised in a communication network comprises: communication traffic acquisition means for acquiring cache output communication traffic, which is output communication traffic of data cached in the cache device; and evaluation means for performing predetermined evaluation on the basis of the cache output communication traffic.

Description

  The present invention relates to a cache device deployed on a communication network, and more particularly to a technique for performing an evaluation regarding the use of the cache device.

  Many ISPs (Internet Service Providers) provide Internet connection services to end users by transit connection to higher-level ISPs. In such a connection form, the ISP needs to pay a line usage fee for transit connection with a higher ISP.

  In order to reduce this line usage fee, a cache device may be installed in the ISP. By installing the cache device, for example, the content distributed via the upper ISP is cached in the cache device, and if this cached content is used by the end user in the ISP, it should originally go through the transit line. Content traffic is reduced, and the line usage fee can be reduced.

JP 2001-290787 A

  When an ISP company introduces a cache device, a large cost is required. However, depending on the type of content, the content may not support cache, or the cache may not be used effectively depending on how the end user uses the network. You can't always get the right effect. Therefore, there is a risk for an ISP operator to introduce a cache device, and the decision to install a cache device has not always been easy.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and grasps the degree to which a cache device is effectively used, and evaluates the effectiveness of the cache device based on the degree to which the cache device is effectively used. The purpose is to provide technology.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a cache evaluation device for performing an evaluation on the use of a cache device provided in a communication network,
A communication amount acquisition means for acquiring a cache output communication amount that is an output communication amount of data cached in the cache device;
And an evaluation unit that performs a predetermined evaluation based on the cache output traffic.

  The communication amount acquisition unit acquires the cache output communication amount based on, for example, a value obtained by subtracting the communication amount of data input to the cache device from the communication amount of data output from the cache device. In addition, the evaluation unit calculates a charge related to the use of the cache device based on, for example, the cash output communication amount as the predetermined evaluation.

  The communication network provided with the cache device is connected to another communication network, for example, via a communication line, and data cached in the cache device is input to the cache device via the communication line. Further, for example, the communication network provided with the cache device is an ISP network, and the other communication network is an upper ISP network transit-connected to the ISP network.

  The present invention can also be configured as a program for causing a computer to function as each means in the cache evaluation apparatus. Furthermore, the present invention can also be configured as a cache evaluation method executed by the cache evaluation apparatus.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to grasp | ascertain the degree to which the cache apparatus was used effectively, and to perform evaluation regarding the effectiveness of the cache apparatus based on the degree to which the cache apparatus was used effectively. Thereby, for example, it becomes possible to facilitate the introduction of a cache device by an ISP operator.

  The evaluation related to the effectiveness is, for example, to calculate a charge for the use of the cache device for an ISP operator who has introduced the cache device, and this charge calculation is performed to the extent that the cache device is used effectively. This makes it possible for an ISP operator to install a cash device simply by paying a fee that matches the effect of the cash device. The effect of the cache device for the ISP business is, for example, a reduction in the amount of use of the transit line due to the introduction of the cache device.

It is a figure which shows the example of the communication system made into object in embodiment of this invention. 4 is a diagram for explaining an outline of operation of the cache device 20. FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining an outline of operation of the cache device 20. FIG. 2 is a functional configuration diagram of a fee calculation apparatus 10. FIG. It is a figure which shows the procedure of the whole process which the fee calculation apparatus 10 which concerns on embodiment performs. It is a figure for demonstrating the communication amount information collection process by the charge calculation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the charge communication amount calculation processing example 1 by the charge calculation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the accounting communication amount calculation processing example 2 by the charge calculation apparatus. It is a figure which shows the accounting communication amount calculation processing example 2 by the charge calculation apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a charge calculation by the charge calculation apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a charge calculation by the charge calculation apparatus.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is only an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment. For example, in the following embodiment, an example of calculating a fee for charging is shown as an example of “predetermined evaluation”, but “predetermined evaluation” is not limited to fee calculation.

(System configuration, processing overview)
FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a communication system targeted in the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system has a configuration in which an upper ISP-B network, an upper ISP-C network, and an upper ISP-D network are transit-connected to an ISP-A network. In addition, a fee calculation apparatus 10 (an example of a cash evaluation apparatus) according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided on the Internet.

  In ISP-A, a cache device 20 and an end user user terminal 30 are connected to an ISP-A network composed of various network devices.

  In the present embodiment, a certain service provider installs the cache device 20 in the ISP-A network, and the cache device 20 in the ISP-A network distributes data to the user terminal side using the cached data. The service provider charges the ISP-A according to the degree.

  Here, the basic operation concept of the cache device 20 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3, it is assumed that the user terminal 30 acquires content A provided by a content server 40 (for example, a Web server) on the Internet.

  In the case of FIG. 2, the content request transmitted from the user terminal 30 is sent to the cache device 20 (step 1). Here, it is assumed that the content A is not cached in the cache device 20 at the first access. The cache device 20 transfers the content request to the content server 40 (step 2), and the content A is sent from the content server 40 to the cache device 20 (step 3). The cache device 20 stores (caches) the content A and transmits the content A to the user terminal 30 (step 4).

  When the user terminal 30 accesses for the second time or later to acquire the content A, the content A is not transmitted from the content server 40, but the content A is transmitted from the cache device 20 to the user terminal 30 (steps 5 and 6). ).

  In the example shown in FIG. 3, the content A is cached in advance in the cache device 20 (step 11). In this case, in response to the content A acquisition request from the user terminal 30, the content A is sent from the cache device 20 to the user terminal 30 (steps 12 and 13).

  2 and 3 show an outline. In addition, the cache method and the content distribution method in the cache device 20 are not limited to those shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, and there are various methods.

  FIG. 4 shows a functional configuration diagram of the fee calculation apparatus 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the fee calculation apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment includes a communication amount information collection unit 11, a communication amount information storage unit 15, a charging communication amount calculation unit 12, a fee calculation unit 13, and a fee information storage unit 16. The accounting processing unit 14 is provided. The outline of each functional part is as follows. Details will be described later in the explanation of the operation.

  The communication amount information collection unit 11 is a functional unit that collects the communication amount input to the cache device 20 from the higher ISP side and the communication amount output from the cache device 20 to the user terminal 30 side from the ISP-A network. The traffic information collected by the traffic information collection unit 11 is stored in the traffic information storage unit 15.

  The billing traffic calculation unit 12 uses the traffic information stored in the traffic information storage unit 15 to calculate the traffic from the cache device 20 to the user terminal 30 and from the higher ISP to the cache device 20. By subtracting the input communication amount, the communication amount used for charging is calculated. The fee calculation unit 13 is a functional unit that calculates a fee charged to the ISP-A based on the charging communication amount calculated by the charging communication amount calculation unit 12 and stores the calculated fee information in the fee information storage unit 16. . The charging processing unit 14 is a functional unit that performs processing for charging the ISP-A based on the fee information stored in the fee information storage unit 16.

  The fee calculation apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment can be realized by causing a computer to execute a program describing the processing contents described in the present embodiment. That is, each functional unit of the fee calculation apparatus 10 can be realized by executing a program corresponding to processing executed in each unit using hardware resources such as a CPU, a memory, and a hard disk built in the computer. Is possible. The above-mentioned program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium (portable memory or the like), stored, or distributed. It is also possible to provide the program through a network such as the Internet or electronic mail.

(Operation of fee calculation apparatus 10)
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an overall procedure of processing executed by the fee calculation apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the traffic information collection unit 11 collects the traffic information regarding the cache device 20 from the ISP-A network (step 101), and the billing traffic calculation unit 12 collects the traffic information by the traffic information collection unit 11. Using the received traffic information, the traffic for billing is calculated (step 102). Then, the charge calculation unit 13 calculates a charge based on the charging communication amount calculated by the charging communication amount calculation unit 12 (step 103), and the charging processing unit 14 performs processing for charging ISP-A. (Step 104).

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 6 to 11, processing contents performed by the fee calculation apparatus 10 in each step in FIG. 5 will be described in more detail.

(Step 101: Communication amount information collection process)
First, the traffic information collection process will be described with reference to FIG. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the traffic information collection unit 11 receives information on the traffic (input traffic) input from the higher ISP side to the cache device 20 and the communication output from the cache device 20 to the user terminal 30 side. Information on the amount (output traffic) is acquired. The information on the communication amount to be acquired is, for example, the data amount at a predetermined time interval (for example, every 5 minutes). In other words, if the traffic volume is input from the upper ISP side, it is the data volume (bytes) input to the cache device 20 during a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) and the traffic volume output to the user terminal 30 side. If there is, it is the amount of data output from the cache device 20 in a predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes). Note that the amount of communication acquired in this way is the amount of data in a fixed time, and is also information on the transfer rate (throughput, bandwidth).

  The method for acquiring the communication amount is not limited to a specific method, but for example, it can be acquired as MIB information from the IF (interface) of the cache device 20 or from the IF of a communication device connected to the cache device 20. Further, it may be acquired from a network management system that manages the ISP-A network.

  The input traffic volume and the output traffic volume collected as described above are accumulated in the traffic volume information storage unit 15 at predetermined time intervals.

  Note that the traffic volume information collection unit 11 performs an operation of subtracting the input traffic volume from the output traffic volume before storing in the traffic volume information storage unit 15 and stores the calculation result in the traffic volume information storage unit 15. It is good.

  Further, when a value (cache output amount described later) obtained by subtracting the input communication amount from the output communication amount can be collected from the ISP-A network, the value may be collected.

(Step 102: Billing traffic calculation processing)
Next, the billing traffic calculation processing executed by the billing traffic calculation unit 12 will be described with reference to FIGS. The billing traffic calculator 12 reads the output traffic and the input traffic for each predetermined time interval from the traffic information storage 15 and performs an operation of subtracting the input traffic from the output traffic. For example, if the cache device 20 is outputting data to the user terminal 30 without receiving data input from the upper ISP during the predetermined time, the result of subtracting the input communication amount from the output communication amount is the output communication amount. This means that the data cached in the cache device 20 has been output by the amount of output traffic. Hereinafter, the result of subtracting the input communication amount from the output communication amount is referred to as a cache output amount. A value obtained by dividing the cache output amount by a predetermined time (indicating the data transfer rate) is called a cache output use band. The unit of the cache output use band is, for example, bps.

  FIG. 7A shows a graph in which the cache output amounts calculated as described above are arranged at predetermined time intervals. This diagram is a diagram for easy understanding of the image of the temporal change in the cache output amount.

  In the present embodiment, since the fee charged to ISP-A is calculated based on the cache output use bandwidth, the billing communication amount calculation unit 12 sets the cache output amount every predetermined time (for example, 5 minutes) to the predetermined time. By dividing by, the cache output use bandwidth for each predetermined time is calculated. Corresponding to FIG. 7A, a graph in which the cache output use bands are arranged at predetermined time intervals is shown in FIG. 7B.

  In the example of FIG. 7, as illustrated in FIG. 7C, the billing communication amount calculation unit 12 arranges the cache output usage bands for each predetermined time in the order of size for a predetermined period (eg, 1 month), and the 95th percentile. The value is determined as the charged communication traffic. That is, when the cache output bandwidths are arranged in order from the smallest, a value located at 95% counted from the minimum value is determined as the charged communication amount. The reason for using the larger cache output usage band for billing, such as 95%, is based on the idea that equipment such as a cache device needs to be prepared for a larger band. However, if a value close to the 100th percentile is used, the bandwidth is based on short burst traffic, and it is not appropriate to use this for billing. In this embodiment, the 95th percentile is used. The 95th percentile is merely an example, and may be larger or smaller.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 8, it is good also as using the average value in a predetermined period (example: 1 month).

  Further, for example, when using a plurality of cache devices, as shown in FIG. 9, the total of the cache output use bandwidth values obtained from the respective cache devices is obtained, and the amount of billing traffic is calculated based on the total. A certain cache output use band may be obtained.

(Step 103: Charge calculation process)
Next, the fee calculation unit 13 calculates a fee to be charged to ISP-A from the charging communication amount obtained by the charging communication amount calculation unit 12 (in this embodiment, the cache output use bandwidth). Specifically, for example, a charge P per unit band of the cache output use band is determined, and the charge is calculated by “P × (billing communication amount determined in step 102)”. If it exceeds a certain amount, it may be a flat fee.

(Step 104: Billing process)
Next, the billing processing unit 14 performs processing for billing ISP-A. Here, for example, a process of notifying charge information to a charging center or the like is performed.

(Concrete example)
A specific example relating to charge calculation will be described based on the examples of FIGS.

  FIG. 10 shows a state where the ISP-A does not have the cache device 20. In this case, ISP-A uses a bandwidth of 1 Gbps (downstream band) in the transit connection line with the higher level ISP-B, uses a bandwidth of 1 Gbps in the transit connection line with the higher level ISP-C, and the higher level ISP-D. It is assumed that a bandwidth of 1 Gbps is used in the transit connection line. The sum of these is 3 Gbps.

  In the state of FIG. 10, ISP-A pays a usage fee of 1 Gbps, for example, as a usage fee for the transit connection line. If the usage fee per Mbps is X, ISP-A pays 3000X.

  FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a state in which the cache device 20 is introduced under the traffic state of FIG. 10, that is, under a state where data distribution is performed on the user terminal 30 side in a total bandwidth of 3 Gbps.

  In this example, it is shown that the cache output use bandwidth of the cache device 20 is 900 Mbps. That is, since the communication amount obtained by subtracting the input communication amount from the higher ISP side from the output communication amount to the user terminal 30 side is 900 Mbps, the cache device 20 does not receive traffic from the upper ISP for 900 Mbps. It can be considered that the cached data is output to the user terminal 30 side. Therefore, the traffic received from the upper ISP is reduced by 900 Mbps. In this example, assuming that the traffic is equally reduced in the three transit connection lines, the bandwidth used in each transit connection line is 1000− (900 ÷ 3) = 700 Mbps. The total of the three is 2100 Mbps.

  Therefore, ISP-A reduces the usage fee for the transit connection line from 3000X to 2100X. That is, it decreases by 900X.

  On the other hand, if the charge per unit bandwidth (1 Mbps) of the cache output use band in the charge calculation unit 13 of the charge calculation device 10 is P, the charge calculation unit 13 calculates 900P as the charge charged to ISP-A. The

  That is, as the fee paid by ISP-A, the transit connection line usage fee 900X decreases, while the usage fee 900P of the cache device 20 increases. Here, if 900X> 900P, that is, X> P, it is more advantageous to install the cache device 20 even if the ISP-A pays the usage fee of the cache device 20.

  On the other hand, a service provider who introduces the cache device 20 into ISP-A can earn 900P by charging 900P. This embodiment assumes such a service.

(Other examples)
The example described so far is based on the degree to which the cached data can be effectively used in the cache device 20 (specifically, the cache output use bandwidth which is the size of “output communication amount−input communication amount”). The fee calculation for charging is performed. However, the evaluation process performed based on the degree to which the cached data can be used effectively is not limited to the fee calculation for charging. Other evaluations may be performed.

  For example, the cache device 20 acquires “output communication amount−input communication amount” for each content type (eg, for each domain of the content providing server), and outputs “output communication amount−input communication amount” for each content type. The content may be ranked based on the size of “”, and a popularity ranking may be created and displayed. When “output communication amount−input communication amount” is large, it can be considered that access to the content frequently occurs and a large amount of cached data is used, and such content is considered to be popular. When the cache device 20 is installed at a plurality of locations, essential cache content may be extracted based on the ranking and stored in any cache device 20.

  Further, not only charging based on the evaluation result, but also the amount of traffic reduction from the content server and the amount of traffic reduction of the transit line may be presented to the ISP company.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications and applications are possible within the scope of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Charge calculation apparatus 11 Communication volume information collection part 12 Charge communication volume calculation part 13 Charge calculation part 14 Charge processing part 15 Communication volume information storage part 16 Charge information storage part 20 Cache apparatus 30 User terminal 40 Content server

Claims (7)

A cache evaluation device that evaluates the use of a cache device provided in a communication network,
A communication amount acquisition means for acquiring a cache output communication amount that is an output communication amount of data cached in the cache device;
Evaluation means for performing a predetermined evaluation based on the cache output traffic,
A cache evaluation apparatus comprising: The communication amount acquisition unit acquires the cache output communication amount based on a value obtained by subtracting a communication amount of data input to the cache device from a communication amount of data output from the cache device.
The cache evaluation apparatus according to claim 1. The cache evaluation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the evaluation unit calculates a charge related to use of the cache apparatus based on the cache output traffic as the predetermined evaluation. The communication network provided with the cache device is connected to another communication network via a communication line, and data cached in the cache device is input to the cache device via the communication line. The cache evaluation device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The cache evaluation apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the communication network provided with the cache device is an ISP network, and the another communication network is a higher-level ISP network transited to the ISP network. .   The program for functioning a computer as each means in the cash | cache evaluation apparatus of any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5. A cache evaluation method executed by a cache evaluation device that evaluates the use of a cache device provided in a communication network,
A communication amount acquisition step of acquiring a cache output communication amount that is an output communication amount of data cached in the cache device;
An evaluation step for performing a predetermined evaluation based on the cache output traffic,
A cache evaluation method comprising:

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