JP2019009610A - Edge device, data processing system, data transmission method and program - Google Patents

Abstract

To perform efficient data transmission from a terminal device, such as IoT equipment, to a server.SOLUTION: The edge device which executes processing to transmit data, which is output from the terminal device, to the server, includes: determination means which receives the data output from the terminal device to determine whether or not the data is to be transmitted immediately to the server; transmission means which transmits to the server the data which is determined to be transmitted to the server immediately by the determination means; and non-transmission data storage means which stores the data which the determination means does not determine to be transmitted to the server immediately.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for uploading data to a cloud from a terminal device such as an IoT device.

  In general, when transmitting data to the cloud from an IoT device (eg, a surveillance camera connected to the NW) that handles large amounts of data such as images or videos, it is difficult to send all the acquired data because it is expensive. , Processing that reduces the amount of traffic is required. For example, processing such as selection of data to be transmitted, compression, adjustment of image quality and frame rate, and the like are performed.

  Conventionally, these processes are mainly executed by applications on the IoT device (or a local machine connected to the IoT device).

JP 2004-336309 A

  When uploading large-capacity data such as video from an IoT device to the cloud, it is usually necessary to consider the problem of bandwidth and delay for the NW during that time. If the NW equipment is not optimally used, the delay increases, and if this is forcibly solved by the equipment enhancement, the cost will increase.

  Generally, data transmitted from an IoT device passes through a mobile network and a wired carrier network and reaches the cloud (specifically, a server in a data center, which may be referred to as a cloud device). If the increase in traffic can be suppressed within / between the networks, the equipment cost can be reduced.

  However, in the prior art, when uploading data, the NW from the IoT device to the cloud has no function and is handled as a simple tunnel. With this method, it is possible to reduce the total amount of NW load between the IoT device and the cloud. However, when considering the NW structure, it is optimized after considering the cost structure of each NW and between NWs. Data transmission could not be realized. In other words, since the optimization considering the difference in capacity between the mobile network and the wired carrier network cannot be performed, the facility cannot be used up effectively, resulting in an increase in cost.

  In addition, since there are many networks that pass from the IoT device to the data upload destination, communication delays to the data upload destination as viewed from the IoT device are likely to occur. It was not possible to reduce the delay associated with.

  In addition, the portion that has been reduced at the time of transmission often has specifications in which data is left in the IoT device for a certain period in case it becomes necessary, and the amount of data that can be buffered in that case is the IoT device. (Or a local machine connected to the IoT device) depends on storage, leading to high costs on the IoT device side.

  As described above, the conventional technology for transmitting data from a terminal device such as an IoT device to the cloud device is inefficient due to a large delay and extra costs.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technology that enables efficient data transmission from a terminal device such as an IoT device to a server such as a cloud device. .

According to the disclosed technology, an edge device that executes processing for transmitting data output from a terminal device to a server,
Determination means for receiving data output from the terminal device and determining whether the data is data to be transmitted to the server immediately;
Transmitting means for transmitting data determined to be immediately transmitted to the server by the determining means to the server;
An edge device is provided, comprising: non-transmission data storage means for storing data that has not been determined by the determination means to be immediately transmitted to the server.

  According to the disclosed technology, a technology is provided that enables efficient data transmission from a terminal device such as an IoT device to a server such as a cloud device.

It is a block diagram of the data processing system (example 1) in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the data processing system (example 2) in embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the data processing system (example 3) in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the structure of each apparatus. It is a figure which shows the hardware structural example of each apparatus. It is a sequence diagram for demonstrating the operation | movement procedure at the time of a health check. It is a figure which shows the example of the information stored in the apparatus and edge map storage part in LB / DNS. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement procedure at the time of data upload. It is a figure which shows the example of the information stored in the data map storage part in a metadata management apparatus. It is a figure for demonstrating the operation | movement procedure at the time of a data request.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment (this embodiment) of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is merely an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

(Outline of the embodiment)
First, an outline of the present embodiment will be described. In the present embodiment, data such as images and videos is not sent directly from the IoT device to the storage server on the cloud (which may be called a cloud device), but it is a mobile network (consisting of a mobile core network and a base station network). The network) and the intermediate layer in the wired carrier network receive the data, and send only the necessary data to the server on the cloud. Or, a server on the cloud can draw data from the middle layer as needed. With such a mechanism, not only communication delay from the IoT device can be reduced, but also traffic from the mobile network to the wired carrier network can be reduced, and traffic from the wired carrier network to the cloud server can be reduced.

  In order to perform data buffering in the intermediate layer, for example, an additional device (called an edge device, which may be a physical device or a virtual device) is installed in the intermediate layer, and data reception is performed in the edge device. And functions such as buffering. Edge devices are distributed and arranged in consideration of physical distance and NW.

  When data is transmitted from the IoT device to the edge device, first, a nearby base station is selected from the IoT device. Here, general route optimization of a mobile network can be used. After the edge device receives the data from the IoT device and securely sends the required data to the cloud, the buffered data is additionally transmitted to the cloud in response to a request from the cloud.

  By constantly performing various health checks including delay from the IoT device (or from the base station) to the edge device, the delay information is retained, and the optimum edge device is selected based on the delay information. It is possible to do. The selection of the edge device can be realized by, for example, a method in which the IoT device side makes an inquiry to DNS. The edge device also has a function as a distributed file system or a distributed DB. In order to ensure availability, data (file) replication can be set in the edge device. In that case, replicated traffic occurs between neighboring edge devices.

  The edge device transmits, for example, high priority data to the cloud among the data received from the IoT device. As a method for identifying the difference in priority, for example, there are a method of specifying on the IoT device side (eg, sending data with a flag), and a method of specifying on the cloud side (setting rules from the cloud side to the edge device). . In addition, although resource consumption increases, it is also possible for the IoT device to add metadata with a larger amount of information to the data, and for the edge device to make a decision with some complex logic based on the metadata. Moreover, you may use methods other than these.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a mechanism that can grasp the location of data (eg, edge device, cloud, etc.) is provided. As such a mechanism, for example, there is a method of holding map information of data including data of edge devices and grasping the location of data based on the map information as in a general distributed file system. On the cloud side, by using the mechanism, it is possible to transmit a data request to an appropriate edge device according to a request from a user or the like. In addition, it is good also as returning a connection destination instead of data itself with respect to the request from a user.

  In addition, since a large amount of data is stored in the edge device, in this embodiment, the edge device discards the data when a predetermined period has passed (or when the data amount exceeds the threshold). The predetermined period differs depending on the use case, for example, several days or weeks. Information on the predetermined period may be set in the edge device, or the IoT device may add the information on the period to the data itself and transmit it.

  The edge device may also have a function of data encryption and compression, and a function of selecting a cloud server as a data transmission destination. Thereby, the amount of traffic from the edge device to the cloud can be reduced. Wherever the edge device is installed, the IoT device or cloud server (and its application) can be connected to the edge device by IP. However, the connection is not limited to this, and the connection may be realized by a method other than IP.

  Hereinafter, an example of the system configuration and operation in the present embodiment will be described in more detail.

(System configuration)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a data processing system of Example 1 in the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the data processing system of Example 1 includes an IoT device 100, a base station 1 constituting a base station network, a GW (gateway) 2 that connects a mobile core network 3 and a wired carrier network 4, and an edge device. 200 and the cloud device 300. As will be described later, in this embodiment, an LB / DNS (Load Balancer / Domain Name System) 400 and a metadata management device 500 are also used. Each of these devices may be installed anywhere as long as it can communicate with other devices using the devices. For example, it may be provided in the wired carrier network 4 similarly to the cloud device 300 or may be provided in the mobile core network 3.

  The base station 1 in the present embodiment is connected to a radio unit (antenna or the like) serving as an overhanging station via an optical fiber or the like, and each IoT device 100 performs radio communication with the radio unit. Each GW 2 is identified by, for example, APN (Access Point Name).

  In Example 1, the edge device 200 is provided on the GW 2 side. The fact that the edge device 200 is provided on the GW2 side includes, for example, that the edge device 200 is connected at a distance physically close to the GW2. Further, the function of the edge device 200 may be provided in the GW 2. That is, the GW 2 may be the edge device 200. The cloud device 300 is, for example, a server provided in a DC (data center).

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram of the data processing system of the second example. Example 2 is different from Example 1 in that the edge device 200 is provided not on the GW 2 side but on the base station 1 side. The fact that the edge device 200 is provided on the base station 1 side includes, for example, that the edge device 200 is connected to the base station 1 at a physically close distance. Further, the function of the edge device 200 may be provided in the base station 1. That is, the base station 1 may be the edge device 200.

  FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the data processing system of Example 3. In Example 3, the edge device 200 is provided on both the GW 2 side and the base station 1 side. That is, in Example 3, the edge device 200 has a two-stage configuration.

  Examples 1 to 3 are only examples. The edge device 200 may be installed anywhere between the IoT device 100 and the cloud device 300. Further, the IoT device 100 may be connected to a wireless LAN network in addition to the mobile network. In this case, for example, the edge device 200 may be provided on the access point side of the wireless LAN.

  Hereinafter, in the case where the edge device 200 has a single-stage configuration as in Example 1 or Example 2, details of the configuration of each device and an operation example will be described. The operation is basically the same as the operation described below. For example, in a multistage configuration, an operation in which an edge device 200 located in a certain stage receives data from the edge device 200 in the lower stage and transmits data to the edge apparatus 200 in the upper stage is the edge in the one stage configuration. The operation of the device 200 receiving data from the IoT device 100 and transmitting data to the cloud device 300 is basically the same.

(Configuration of each device)
FIG. 4 shows the functional configuration of each device. A line with an arrow connecting the devices corresponds to an operation in an operation description to be described later. In the following, the configuration of each device will be described, and the operation of each functional unit constituting the device will be described in the operation description described later.

  The IoT device 100 is a terminal device that is a data generation source, for example, a camera. The IoT device 100 may be a general user terminal such as a PC or a smartphone. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the IoT device 100 includes a data transmission unit 110, a health check unit 120, a check result transmission unit 130, and a connection destination search unit 140.

  The edge device 200 is a device that constitutes the above-described intermediate layer. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the edge device 200 includes a data reception unit 210, a data buffer unit 220, a data map generation unit 230, a health check unit 240, a data transmission unit 250, a non-transmission data store 260, a request reception unit 270, data A map transmission unit 280 is included.

  The LB / DNS 400 maintains and updates the distance between the IoT device 100 and the edge device 200 (eg, a distance represented by a delay), and performs processing such as returning a nearby edge device 200 in response to an inquiry from the IoT device 100. It is a device to execute. As shown in FIG. 4, the LB / DNS 400 includes a data reception unit 410 and a device / edge map storage unit 420.

  The cloud device 300 is a device that performs processing such as receiving and storing data output from the IoT device 100 and transmitted from the edge device 200. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the cloud device 300 includes a data reception unit 310, a data store 320, a data request unit 330, and a request data connection destination search unit 340.

  The metadata management device 500 is a device that manages data map information such as in which edge device 200 the data output from the IoT device 100 is stored. As shown in FIG. 4, the metadata management apparatus 500 includes each edge data map receiving unit 510 and a data map storage unit 520.

  Any of the above-described IoT device 100, edge device 200, cloud device 300, LB / DNS 400, and metadata management device 500 can be realized by causing a computer to execute a program describing the processing contents described in the present embodiment. It is. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration example of each device. The apparatus shown in FIG. 5 includes a drive device 150, an auxiliary storage device 152, a memory device 153, a CPU 154, an interface device 155, a display device 156, an input device 157, etc., which are mutually connected by a bus B.

  A program for realizing processing in the device (IoT device 100, edge device 200, cloud device 300, LB / DNS 400, or metadata management device 500) is recorded on a recording medium 151 such as a CD-ROM or a memory card, for example. Provided. When the recording medium 151 storing the program is set in the drive device 150, the program is installed from the recording medium 151 into the auxiliary storage device 152 via the drive device 150. However, the program does not necessarily have to be installed from the recording medium 151, and may be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 152 stores the installed program and also stores necessary files and data.

  The memory device 153 reads the program from the auxiliary storage device 152 and stores it when there is an instruction to start the program. The CPU 154 realizes functions related to the device in accordance with a program stored in the memory device 153. The interface device 155 is used as an interface for connecting to a network. The display device 156 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) or the like by a program. The input device 157 includes a keyboard and mouse, buttons, a touch panel, and the like, and is used to input various operation instructions. Note that the display device 156 and / or the input device 157 may not be provided in each device.

  Note that the LB / DNS 400 may be a virtual function in a virtual slice in the mobile network if the mobile network is 5G, for example.

(Operation of data processing system)
Hereinafter, the operation of the data processing system in the present embodiment will be described with reference to sequence diagrams and the like. Note that step numbers corresponding to step numbers in each sequence diagram are also shown in FIG. The following description will be made with reference to a sequence diagram, but FIG. 4 should also be referred to as appropriate for information transmission / reception between functional units.

<Operation procedure during health check>
In the configuration according to the present embodiment in which a plurality of IoT devices 100 and a plurality of edge devices 200 exist, in order to manage which edge device 200 each IoT device 100 is close to, each IoT device 100 has a plurality of edges. A health check is performed with the device 200. It should be noted that the health check in the present embodiment includes a delay check.

  The operation procedure during the health check will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram focusing on one IoT device 100 and one edge device 200.

  The health check unit 120 of the IoT device 100 transmits the health check data to the health check unit 240 of the edge device 200 (step S101). The transmission of the health check data is performed regularly at regular time intervals, for example. The health check unit 240 of the edge device 200 that has received the health check data returns a response (step S102).

  The health check unit 120 of the IoT device 100 confirms that the edge device 200 is operating by receiving the response, and grasps a delay between the IoT device 100 and the edge device 200.

  As an example, the health check data is an ICMP packet used in ping or the like. The health check unit 120 of the IoT device 100 can grasp the time from when the ICMP packet is transmitted until the response is received as the delay time. The health check data may be light check data other than the ICMP packet. In that case, for example, the health check unit 240 of the edge device 200 returns a response including the time when the check data is received to the health check unit 120 of the IoT device 100, so that the health check unit 120 of the IoT device 100 performs the check. The delay in the upstream direction can be grasped from the time when the transmission data is transmitted and the time included in the response.

  The check result transmission unit 130 of the IoT device 100 transmits the health check result to the LB / DNS 400. The result of the health check includes, for example, identification information of the IoT device 100, identification information of the edge device 200 subjected to the health check, and a delay (delay value). Each of these pieces of identification information may be an IP address, may be device-specific information such as a MAC address, may be an ID assigned to the device, or other information. It may be.

  When the data reception unit 410 of the LB / DNS 400 receives the result of the health check, the data reception unit 410 displays the result of the health check on a device-to-edge map (a distance represented mainly by a delay between each edge device 200 and each IoT device 100). Are stored in the device / edge map storage unit 420 as a map that is sequentially updated. If information is already stored for the pair of the corresponding IoT device 100 and the edge device 200, the distance information is updated.

  FIG. 7 shows an example of information stored in the device / edge map storage unit 420. As shown in FIG. 7, IoT device identification information, edge device identification information, and distance (delay) are stored in association with each other.

<Operation procedure when uploading data>
Next, an operation procedure when the IoT device 100 uploads data will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the connection destination search unit 140 of the IoT device 100 transmits a data transmission destination inquiry (message) to the LB / DNS 400 (step S201). The LB / DNS 400 that has received the inquiry refers to the device / edge map storage unit 420 to identify the edge device 200 (one or more) having a small delay with the IoT device 100 that is the inquiry transmission source. The identification information (eg, IP address) of the edge device 200 is returned to the IoT device 100 (step S202). Note that the edge device 200 having a small delay with the IoT device 100 is, for example, the edge device 200 with the smallest delay among the plurality of edge devices 200 on which the IoT device 100 has performed delay measurement.

  The processing in steps S201 and S202 may be, for example, accepting an inquiry by FQDN and returning an IP address, as in normal DNS.

  The IoT device 100 transmits data with the edge device 200 designated by the LB / DNS 400 as a destination (step S203). When a plurality of edge devices 200 are specified from the LB / DNS 400, for example, the IoT device 100 transmits data to one edge device 200 that is arbitrarily selected. For example, when transmission of data is started, data (packets) are continuously transmitted for a certain period (eg, until transmission of video data having a certain length of time is completed).

  When the data receiving unit 210 of the edge device 200 receives the data transmitted from the IoT device 100, the data receiving unit 210 temporarily stores (buffers) the data in the data buffer unit 220. The data buffer unit 220 includes a buffer function and a function of discriminating data to be immediately transmitted to the cloud device 300 and other data out of the buffered data, and immediately transmits to the cloud device 300 by the function. The data to be determined is discriminated from other data.

  Note that the edge device 200 sequentially receives data (packets). Regarding the amount of data stored in the data buffer unit 220, for example, the data buffer unit 220 stores one packet and immediately receives the cloud. The determination as to whether or not to transmit to the device 300 and the processing (transmission / storage) associated with the determination may be performed. The data buffer unit 220 accumulates a plurality of packets by a predetermined amount of data, and the plurality of packets For each of these, it may be determined whether or not to immediately transmit to the cloud device 300, and processing (transmission / storage) associated with the determination may be performed.

  The data buffer unit 220 sends the data determined to be immediately transmitted to the cloud device 300 from the data buffer unit 220 to the data transmission unit 250. The data transmission unit 250 transmits the data to the cloud device 300 (step S204). The data receiving unit 310 of the cloud device 300 receives the data and stores it in the data store 320 (step S206).

  The data buffer unit 220 saves (stores) data other than the data determined to be immediately transmitted to the cloud device 300 in the non-transmission data store (step S205).

  Regarding the function of discriminating between data to be transmitted immediately to the cloud device 300 and other data, for example, in the header of data transmitted from the IoT device 100, data to be transmitted immediately to the cloud device 300, and other data A flag for identifying data is attached. For example, if a certain bit as a flag is 1, it is data to be transmitted to the cloud device 300 immediately, and if the bit is 0, it is other data. In this case, the data buffer unit 220 checks the flag bit of the buffered data, and if it is 1, the data transmission unit 250 immediately transmits the data to the cloud device 300, and if it is 0, the data is not transmitted. Store in the data store 260.

  Further, the data transmitted from the IoT device 100 may not be attached with a flag or the like, and the edge device 200 may determine data to be transmitted immediately to the cloud device 300 and other data. In this case, for example, a rule (which may be referred to as metadata) for discriminating data to be immediately transmitted to the cloud device 300 and other data is set (stored) in the edge device 200. . For example, in the case where a rule indicating that data of application A is immediately transmitted to the cloud device 300 and data of other applications is stored in the non-transmission data store 260 is set, the data buffer unit 220 discriminates the application from the buffered data, and if the application is the application A, the data is immediately transmitted to the cloud device 300; if the application is any other application, the data is stored in the non-transmission data store 260.

  The data map generation unit 230 uses, as a data map, information indicating the data transmission source IoT device 100, the data generation time, which data is transmitted to the cloud device 300, which data is stored in the non-transmission data store 260, and the like. Generate. As an example, the data map generated here includes the identification information of the IoT device 100 that is the data transmission source, the identification information of the cloud device 300 that is the data transmission destination, the data generation time (date and time), and the data transmitted to the cloud device 300 Identification information (eg, frame number or the like for video) and identification information of data stored in the non-transmission data store 260 (eg, frame number or the like for video) are included.

  The data map transmission unit 280 transmits the data map generated by the data map generation unit 230 to the metadata management device 500 (step S207). As described above, each edge device 200 includes a function of distributing and holding data. For example, when a certain edge device 200 passes a part of the data that it determines to be stored in the non-transmission data store 260 to another edge device 200, the map data related to the data is also sent to the other edge device 200. It may be handed over. Thereby, each edge device 200 can hold a data map for data held by the distributed function, and can transmit the data map to the metadata management device 500.

  The edge data map receiving unit 510 of the metadata management device 500 receives the data map from the edge device 200 and stores it in the data map storage unit 520 (step S208). In the data map storage unit 520, map data received from each edge device 200 is collected and stored.

  FIG. 9 shows an example of data map information stored in the data map storage unit 520. In the example of FIG. 9, the data map storage unit 520 includes, as a data map, identification information for identifying data (here, “ID”), location information indicating the location where the data is stored, and occurrence of occurrence of the data Stores time and other information.

  The identification information for identifying the data may be the identification information of the IoT device 100 that transmitted the data, or the number of the block when the data is divided into blocks of a certain size, The order in which data is ordered may be the order, the frame number of the video, information other than these, or a combination thereof.

  The location information is, for example, identification information of a device (such as the edge device 200 or the cloud device 300) that stores the corresponding data. Further, the location information may include a storage location in the device in addition to the identification information of the device.

  The occurrence time is, for example, the time stamp when a time stamp is attached to data transmitted from the IoT device 100, or the time when the edge device 200 receives data. The other information includes, for example, an application name related to the corresponding data, an owner (eg, company name) of the corresponding data, and the like.

  In step S204 of FIG. 8, when transmitting data from the edge device 200 to the cloud device 300, to which cloud device 300 the data is transmitted, processing between the IoT device 100 and the edge device 200 is performed. Similarly, a delay is measured in advance with each cloud device 300 by a health check, and is determined based on the delay. Similarly to the processing between the IoT device 100 and the edge device 200, delay information may be held in the DNS and controlled as a response from the DNS.

  Alternatively, the edge device 200 and the cloud device 300 may be wired, and may be fixed to some extent, for example, by the number of hops. In addition, the cloud device 300 as a data storage destination may be determined for each IoT device 100 according to business requirements and the like.

<Operation procedure at the time of data request>
Next, an example of an operation procedure at the time of a data request will be described with reference to FIG. In step S <b> 301, the cloud device 300 detects an abnormality based on the data stored in the data store 320. This abnormality detection may be performed by the cloud device 300 itself, or may be performed by a user who uses data stored in the cloud device 300 remotely. In the latter case, the cloud device 300 detects an abnormality by being notified of the abnormality from the user terminal of the user.

  As an example, when the IoT device 100 is a monitoring camera and the data to be stored is video data, an abnormality is detected when a video indicating an abnormality is detected. When an abnormality is detected, a request for insufficient data is transmitted from the data request unit 330 to the edge device 200. The request content is, for example, a request for the remaining frames if the cloud device 300 normally stores the thinned frame.

  In order to execute the request as described above, first, the request data connection destination search unit 340 of the cloud device 300 inquires the metadata management device 500 as to which edge device 200 stores the data in which the abnormality is detected ( Step S302). This inquiry includes information for identifying data (for example, identification information of the IoT device 100 that is a data transmission source, a data number, and the like).

  Receiving the inquiry, the metadata management device 500 searches the data map stored in the data map storage unit 520 and returns the location information of the data (eg, identification information of the edge device 200 storing the data) (step) S303). In the metadata management apparatus 500, for example, a technique such as an HDFS name node may be applied in order to realize access to distributed data.

  The data request unit 330 transmits a data request (for example, the above-described frame request) to the edge device 200 storing data (step S304). When the request reception unit 270 of the edge device 200 receives the data request, the data transmission unit 250 reads data corresponding to the data request from the non-transmission data store 260 and transmits the data to the cloud device 300. Note that the data transmission unit 250 may transmit the connection destination for accessing the data to the cloud device 300 instead of the data itself.

  In the edge device 200, for example, the request reception unit 270 deletes the data transmitted based on the request from the cloud device 300 from the non-transmission data store 260 (step S306). In addition, the non-transmission data store 260 sequentially deletes data stored in the non-transmission data store 260 after a predetermined time has elapsed since the storage. In addition, the non-transmission data store 260 deletes data when the data capacity of the non-transmission data store 260 is tight (for example, when a threshold is reached). In this case, for example, the oldest data (data having the longest elapsed time since storage) is deleted. Note that deleting old data when the data capacity is tight is only an example. For example, the priority may be determined according to the data type (application type, etc.) and deleted from the data with the lowest priority.

  In the above example, when the edge device 200 receives a request from the cloud device 300, the edge device 200 transmits the data stored in the non-transmission data store 260 to the cloud device 300. This is an example of transmitting data stored in the data store 260.

  For example, a rule may be set in advance in the data transmission unit 250, and the data transmission unit 250 may transmit the data stored in the non-transmission data store 260 to the cloud device 300 according to the rule. In addition, the transmitted data is deleted from the non-transmission data store 260. As a rule, for example, data stored in the non-transmission data store 260 may be transmitted in a time zone with a low NW load between the edge device 200 and the cloud device 300 (a time zone set in advance). . In addition, the data transmission unit 250 has a function of acquiring the value (eg, delay) of the NW load between the edge device 200 and the cloud device 300, and the data transmission unit 250 sets the NW load value to be equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. The data stored in the non-transmission data store 260 may be transmitted when it is detected. Note that the transmission destination of the data stored in the non-transmission data store 260 is not limited to the cloud device 300. For example, it may be a destination (for example, a user-owned server) designated in advance by the user of the IoT device 100 that is the data transmission source.

(Effect of embodiment)
In the conventional technology, when a system for uploading a large amount of data such as images and videos from the IoT device 100 or the like is constructed, the control on the IoT device 100 side is mainly performed as a method for suppressing the influence of delay and the line cost. I was going to do that. For example, in addition to simply compressing data, data is usually sent at a reduced bit rate or resolution, and high-quality data is sent only when there is a special event (such as when an error occurs), so the entire network is affected. There was a way to reduce traffic.

  On the other hand, by using the technology according to the present embodiment, the location of the edge device 200 is appropriately changed without performing the above-described control, thereby reducing the delay seen from the IoT device 100 and the traffic amount in each network. Can be reduced. For example, when the edge device 200 is installed in the mobile core network 3 near the GW 2, which is a connection point between the mobile core network 3 and the wired carrier network 4, traffic that passes through the GW 2 to the wired carrier network 4 is suppressed. Can do. If the traffic in the mobile core network 3 is to be suppressed, it may be installed near the base station 1 to have a multistage configuration. By reducing traffic, cost reduction and delay reduction are realized.

  Further, in the prior art, when detailed data is desired retroactively, only the method of additionally acquiring data stored in the IoT device 100 or the like can be used, and the storage capacity of the IoT device 100 that is usually poor is used. In addition, the mobile core network 3 is suddenly loaded, but by using the technology according to the present embodiment, it is possible to provide a highly integrated storage as the edge device 200. Therefore, it is possible to buffer a certain amount of data regardless of the type of the IoT device 100. As a result, the cost of the IoT device 100 can be reduced.

  As described above, the technology according to the present embodiment makes it possible to efficiently transmit data from a terminal device such as an IoT device to a cloud device.

(Summary of embodiment)
As described above, according to the present embodiment, the edge device executes processing for transmitting the data output from the terminal device to the server, receives the data output from the terminal device, Determination means for determining whether or not the data is to be transmitted to the server immediately; and data determined by the determination means to be transmitted to the server immediately to the server An edge device is provided, comprising: a transmission unit configured to transmit data; and a non-transmission data storage unit configured to store data that has not been determined to be transmitted immediately to the server by the determination unit.

  The data buffer unit 220, the data transmission unit 250, and the non-transmission data store 260 are examples of a determination unit, a transmission unit, and a non-transmission data storage unit, respectively.

  The determination unit may perform the determination based on a flag attached to data output from the terminal device, or may perform the determination based on a predetermined rule regarding data.

  When a predetermined condition is satisfied, the transmission unit reads the data from the non-transmission data storage unit and transmits the data to the server, or accesses the data stored in the non-transmission data storage unit It is good also as transmitting the connection destination for doing to the said server. Note that “when the predetermined condition is satisfied” includes, for example, when a request is received from the server, when the current time is in a predetermined time zone, or when the NW quality is good. However, it is not limited to these.

  The edge device may further include means for generating information related to data transmitted to the server and data stored in the non-transmission data storage means, and transmitting the information to the metadata management apparatus. The data map generator 230 and the data map transmitter 280 are examples of the means.

  The edge device may further include means for deleting data satisfying a predetermined condition from the data stored in the non-transmission data storage means. “Data that satisfies a predetermined condition” is, for example, data for which a predetermined time has elapsed since storage, the oldest data when the data capacity reaches a threshold value, data with the lowest priority, etc. However, it is not limited to these.

  In addition, according to the present embodiment, there is provided a data processing system including a plurality of edge devices that execute processing for transmitting data output from a terminal device to a server, and the server, and each edge device and the terminal An edge device selected from the plurality of edge devices sequentially receives data output from the terminal device based on a delay with the device, and the edge device sequentially receives data from the terminal device. Among the data, data determined to be transmitted to the server immediately is transmitted to the server, and the server receives and stores the data transmitted from the edge device. A data processing system is provided.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, a program for causing a computer to function as each unit in the edge device is provided.

  Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes can be made within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims. Is possible.

100 IoT device 110 Data transmission unit 120 Health check unit 130 Check result transmission unit 140 Connection destination search unit 200 Edge device 210 Data reception unit 220 Data buffer unit 230 Data map generation unit 240 Health check unit 250 Data transmission unit 260 Non-transmission data store 270 Request reception unit 280 Data map transmission unit 300 Cloud device 310 Data reception unit 320 Data store 330 Data request unit 340 Request data connection destination search unit 400 LB / DNS
410 Data reception unit 420 Device / edge map storage unit 500 Metadata management device 510 Each edge data map reception unit 520 Data map storage unit 150 Drive device 151 Recording medium 152 Auxiliary storage device 153 Memory device 154 CPU
155 Interface device 156 Display device 157 Input device

Claims (8)

An edge device that executes processing for transmitting data output from a terminal device to a server,
Determination means for receiving data output from the terminal device and determining whether the data is data to be transmitted to the server immediately;
Transmitting means for transmitting data determined to be immediately transmitted to the server by the determining means to the server;
An edge device comprising: non-transmission data storage means for storing data that has not been determined by the determination means to be immediately transmitted to the server. The said determination means performs the said determination based on the flag attached | subjected to the data output from the said terminal device, or performs the said determination based on the predetermined rule regarding data. The edge device as described. When a predetermined condition is satisfied, the transmission means
Read data from the non-transmission data storage means and transmit the data to the server, or
The edge device according to claim 1, wherein a connection destination for accessing data stored in the non-transmission data storage unit is transmitted to the server. 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: means for generating information related to data transmitted to the server and data stored in the non-transmission data storage means, and transmitting the information to a metadata management device. The edge apparatus of any one of Claims. The edge device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: means for deleting data satisfying a predetermined condition from data stored in the non-transmission data storage means. A data processing system comprising a plurality of edge devices that execute processing for transmitting data output from a terminal device to a server, and the server,
Based on the delay between each edge device and the terminal device, the edge device selected from the plurality of edge devices sequentially receives the data output from the terminal device,
The edge device transmits data determined to be immediately transmitted to the server among the data sequentially received from the terminal device to the server,
The data processing system, wherein the server receives and stores the data transmitted from the edge device. A data transmission method in an edge device that executes processing for transmitting data output from a terminal device to a server,
A determination step of receiving data output from the terminal device and determining whether the data is data to be transmitted to the server immediately;
Transmitting to the server the data determined to be immediately transmitted to the server by the determining step;
A data transmission method comprising: storing in the non-transmission data storage means data that has not been determined to be transmitted to the server immediately by the determination step.   The program for functioning a computer as each means in the edge apparatus of any one of Claims 1 thru | or 5.

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