JP2020137048A - Communication control device, communication analysis method, and gateway device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a communication control device that can constantly monitor a quality state of modem communication and promptly detect early signs of communication failure.SOLUTION: A communication control device of the present invention controls communication via a gateway device between communication terminals. The communication control device includes storage means for storing voice processing information received from the gateway device and communication history information; and communication situation analysis means for analyzing a communication situation of modem communication based on the voice processing information and the communication history information.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

The present invention relates to a communication control device, a communication analysis method, and a gateway device.

In recent years, the internal network of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) has been increasingly composed of an IP network by using VoIP (VoIP over Internet Protocol) technology (for example, Patent Document 1).

With the IP conversion of the public switched telephone network (hereinafter simply referred to as the "telephone network"), communication problems will occur even in communications that were not a problem with conventional telephone networks due to the increase in communication delay time and the effects of echo. In some cases. For example, in modem communication, it is often seen that communication problems occur due to the influence of delay time and residual echo (residual echo component after some echo cancellation).

Conventionally, when a communication problem occurs, only when the user declares the communication, for example, the setting is changed so that the IP packetization cycle is shortened in order to shorten the delay time. Was there.

JP-A-2009-27547

However, on the user side, even if a communication failure (including an unstable state in the previous stage) may occur, it may not be a problem because communication is completed once every three times (for example,). Automatic communication at night, etc.). In addition, if the communication time is slightly longer than before, it does not matter so much, and if it is within the permissible range of each user, these problems will be left untouched without being contacted as a complaint.

If the above problem is left unattended, the adverse effect on communication will continue to be considerable, so from the viewpoint of ensuring communication quality, it should be solved at an early stage.

Therefore, there is a demand for a communication control device, a communication analysis method, and a gateway device that can constantly monitor the quality status of modem communication and detect signs of communication failure at an early stage.

The first invention is a communication control device that controls communication between communication terminals via a gateway device, and (1) a storage means for storing voice processing information received from the gateway device and communication history information. (2) It is characterized by having a communication status analysis means for analyzing the communication status of modem communication based on the voice processing information and the communication history information.

The second invention is a communication analysis method used for a communication control device that controls communication between communication terminals via a gateway device, and includes a storage means and a communication status analysis means. (1) The storage means. Stores the voice processing information received from the gateway device and the communication history information, and (2) the communication status analysis means is based on the voice processing information and the communication history information, and the communication status of modem communication. It is characterized by analyzing.

In the third aspect of the present invention, the first communication terminal is connected to the first communication terminal via the first network, the second communication terminal is connected to the second communication terminal via the second network which is an IP network, and the first communication terminal is connected to the first communication terminal. It is a gateway device that relays communication with the second communication terminal, and is generated by (1) a modem signal detecting means for detecting a modem signal, and (2) the first network and the second network. Using the voice processing information, the delay time measuring means for measuring the delay time and (3) the modem signal information detected by the modem signal detecting means and the voice processing information including the delay time information measured by the delay time measuring means are used. It is characterized by having a transmission means for transmitting to a device for analyzing the communication status of modem communication.

According to the present invention, the quality status of modem communication can be constantly monitored, and signs of communication failure can be detected at an early stage.

It is a block diagram which shows the whole structure of the communication system which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the gateway apparatus which concerns on embodiment. It is a figure which shows the detailed structure of the communication control device which concerns on embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the communication control device, the communication analysis method, and the gateway device will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(A-1) Configuration of Embodiment (A-1-1) Overall Configuration FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment.

In FIG. 1, the communication system 1 includes a user terminal 10 (10-1, 10-2), a telephone network N (N1, N2), a gateway device 20 (20-1, 20-2), an IP network M, and communication. It has a control device 30.

In FIG. 1, two user terminals 10 are illustrated for the sake of simplicity, but the number of user terminals 10 is not limited. Similarly, in order to simplify the explanation, when it is not necessary to separately explain the user terminals 10-1 and 10-2, the description is simply described as "user terminal 10" (gateway device 20). Is the same).

The user terminal 10 is, for example, a telephone terminal that uses a telephone / fax function via a gateway device 20 that communicates using VoIP (Voice over IP) technology. The user terminal 10 can make and receive calls by the communication control device 30 performing call processing by SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) on the gateway device 20.

Further, the user terminal 10 may be a terminal (general-purpose computer, dedicated terminal, etc.) on which a modem is mounted (or connected). In this embodiment, it is assumed that at least a modem is provided between the user terminals 10 and data can be transmitted / received by modem communication.

The gateway device 20 is connected to the communication control device 30 via the IP network M, and accommodates the user terminal 10 via the telephone network N. In FIG. 1, a gateway device 20-1 accommodating a user terminal 10-1 and an opposite gateway device 20-2 accommodating a user terminal 10-2 are shown.

The IP network M is a network that conforms to an IP (Internet Protocol), and may be routed via a LAN (Local Area Network) or a WAN (Wide Area Network).

The communication control device 30 is, for example, a server that controls calls by SIP. For example, when communicating from the user terminal 10-1 to the user terminal 10-2, the communication control device 30 controls (call processing) to connect the user terminal 10-1 and the user terminal 10-2, and the gateway. Communication between the user terminal 10-1 and the user terminal 10-2 is established by the communication between the device 20-1 and the gateway device 20-2.

Further, the communication control device 30 of the present embodiment has a function of analyzing the state of modem communication of the user terminal 10 based on the communication history information and the like.

(A-1-2) Detailed Configuration of Gateway Device 20 FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the gateway device according to the embodiment.

The gateway device may be realized by installing a program on the computer except for the hardware part, and even in that case, the functional configuration can be shown as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 2, the gateway device 20 includes a voice processing unit 21 and a NW interface unit 22. Note that FIG. 2 shows only the constituent parts related to the characteristic parts of the present embodiment.

The voice processing unit 21 is an interface for connecting to the telephone network N. For example, the voice processing unit 21 converts the IP packet (RPP packet) input from the NW interface unit 22 into a voice signal and sends it to the telephone network N.

In addition, the voice processing unit 21 also performs processing such as echo cancellation processing on signals (voice signals, modem signals) input from the telephone network N. Further, the voice processing unit 21 also has a function of measuring the residual echo level, a function of measuring the communication delay time, and the like.

The NW interface unit 22 is an interface for connecting to the IP network M. For example, the NW interface unit 22 converts the voice signal into an RTP packet and sends it to the IP network M. When the NW interface unit 22 receives the RTP packet, the NW interface unit 22 decomposes the packet and delivers the payload (voice signal or the like) to the voice processing unit 21.

(A-1-3) Detailed Configuration of Communication Control Device 30 FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a detailed configuration of the communication control device according to the embodiment.

The communication control device may be realized by installing a program on the computer except for the hardware part, and even in that case, the functional configuration can be shown as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 3, the communication control device 30 includes a data storage unit 31 and a data analysis unit 32. Note that FIG. 3 shows only the components related to the feature portion of the present embodiment (for example, the configuration related to call processing is omitted).

The data storage unit 31 stores communication history information such as call processing information and voice processing information (details will be described later, but information such as residual echo level). The call processing information is, for example, a destination, a destination, a communication start time, a communication end time, etc. of each communication (voice communication, modem communication, etc.).

The data analysis unit 32 mainly analyzes the data of the modem communication based on the information stored in the data storage unit 31. Details of the data analysis unit 32 will be described in the section of operation.

(A-2) Operation of the Embodiment Next, the operation of the communication system 1 of the embodiment having the above configuration will be described.

In the following, a case where modem communication is performed from the user terminal 10-1 to the user terminal 10-2 will be described as an example.

(A-2-1) Characteristics of Gateway Device 20 When the gateway device 20-1 (voice processing unit 21) receives a modem signal from the user terminal 10-2, the gateway device 20-1 identifies that the communication is modem communication. .. For example, the gateway device 20-1 identifies by detecting an answering signal of a modem communication standard or detecting a carrier signal.

The gateway device 20-1 also measures the residual echo level after performing the echo canceller process in the communication.

Further, the delay time between the user terminals 10-1 accommodated by the gateway device 20-1 itself can be measured by echo detection. Further, when the echo is returned from the user terminal 10-2 side, similarly, from the time output from the gateway device 20-1, the time of the echo returned from the user terminal 10-2 side or RTCP ( The delay time is measured from a Real-time Gateway Control Protocol) or the like.

The gateway device 20-1 can detect modem signal detection information (in addition to the above example, information such as the frequency of the answering signal and the presence / absence of phase inversion may be included), residual echo level information, communication delay information, and the like. Voice processing information is transmitted to the communication control device 30 via the NW interface unit 22.

(A-2-2) Characteristics of Communication Control Device 30 The communication control device 30 stores the voice processing information transmitted from the gateway device 20-1 in the data storage unit 31. In addition to communication history information such as call processing information, voice processing information is stored in the data storage unit 31.

The data analysis unit 32 analyzes the modem communication based on the information stored in the data storage unit 31. For example, the data analysis unit 32 analyzes the communication from the communication history information, such that only modem communication is performed from the user terminal 10-1 to the user terminal 10-2 at night time. Get statistics.

In addition, the data analysis unit 32 compares the latest communication history information based on the statistical information accumulated in the past, and determines whether the situation is different from the statistics. When the data analysis unit 32 is different from the past statistical information (statistical value) (for example, when a certain threshold value is set for each statistical value and the threshold value is exceeded), it is assumed that there is a sign of communication failure. , Notify the administrator who manages the communication control device 30.

The setting of each threshold value to be determined as a sign of a communication failure is not limited, and may be determined in advance or calculated by machine learning, for example. Further, the determined statistical value may be one or a plurality of statistical values, and it may be determined as a sign of a communication failure by combining any of the statistical values.

As a result of analysis by the data analysis unit 32, it is conceivable that the following communication conditions may be changed as to the cause of the result different from the conventional result (result as a sign of failure) in the modem communication.

For example, when the user changes the modem device, changes the home communication environment, or changes the communication route of the IP network (change of the communication route in the IP network M), the communication delay time of the transmission system changes. If the delay time changes, it may affect the modem communication.

In addition, when the user changes the modem device or the home communication environment, the residual echo may affect the modem communication depending on the terminal characteristics.

Due to these changes in communication conditions, modem communication has been completed with one call, but two or three call retries may be required, and up to now, it may take about 30 seconds. When the modem communication was completed in, the communication time may be extended, for example, it may take about 50 seconds, although it is sometimes the case.

(A-3) Effect of Embodiment According to the present invention, the data analysis unit 32 can detect a situation different from the past from the communication history information including the voice processing information, as described above. In some cases, such as when communicating at night, the machine automatically communicates unattended, and it is unlikely that the user will notice the effect on communication, and the problem will continue without the user noticing the effect on communication. It was possible to detect it in advance.

By detecting these problems at an early stage, the data analysis unit 32 changes the setting of the packetization cycle to be shorter for the gateway device 20, for example, when the delay time is extended. If the residual echo is affected by the change in the modem characteristics, take early measures such as changing the echo cancellation method to the characteristics specialized for modem communication only during the night time. Is possible. The packetization cycle and the echo cancellation method may be changed for each user and each communication type.

In addition, the coping method is not limited to the above. In addition, if the amount of jitter buffer accumulated to suppress the fluctuation of the IP network M is set to be larger than the actual fluctuation, the jitter buffer is accumulated. You may reduce the amount.

(B) Other Embodiments The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and modified embodiments as illustrated below can also be mentioned.

(B-1) In the above embodiment, the communication control device 30 has a configuration including a data storage unit 31 and a data analysis unit 32, but it is not a communication control device such as a SIP server but a data analysis device having the configuration. , It may be provided independently, or this data analysis device may be mounted on another device.

(B-2) In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the communication control device 30 (data analysis unit 32) notifies the administrator when the situation is different from the past statistics regarding the modem communication. In addition to the notification, the following change instruction may be notified to the gateway device 20 according to different situations. For example, when it can be determined that the increase in the delay time has an adverse effect on communication, the communication control device 30 automatically notifies the gateway device 20 that the packetization cycle is set to be changed to be shorter. To do. On the gateway device 20 side, the packetization cycle of the communication of the corresponding user is set short (for example, set from 20 ms to 10 ms) by the notification.

(B-3) In the above embodiment, the gateway device 20 is connected to the communication control device 30 via the IP network M, and the gateway device accommodating the user terminal 10 via the telephone network N is shown as an example. However, it may be a gateway device installed in the user's home.

1 ... Communication system, 10 (10-1, 10-2) ... User terminal, 20 (20-1, 20-2) ... Gateway device, 21 ... Voice processing unit, 22 ... NW interface unit, 30 ... Communication control device , 31 ... Data storage unit, 32 ... Data analysis unit, M ... IP network, N (N1, N2) ... Telephone network.

Claims (5)

A communication control device that controls communication between communication terminals via a gateway device.
A storage means for storing voice processing information received from the gateway device and communication history information, and
A communication control device including a communication status analysis means for analyzing a communication status of modem communication based on the voice processing information and communication history information. The communication status analysis means acquires statistical information based on the voice processing information and the communication history information, compares the acquired statistical information with the past statistical information, and as a result of comparison, the past The communication control device according to claim 1, wherein the situation is different from the statistical information. The communication control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the voice processing information includes at least modem signal detection information, residual echo level information, and communication delay information. A communication analysis method used for a communication control device that controls communication between communication terminals via a gateway device.
Has storage means and communication status analysis means,
The storage means stores the voice processing information received from the gateway device and the communication history information.
The communication status analysis means is a communication analysis method characterized by analyzing the communication status of modem communication based on the voice processing information and communication history information. The first communication terminal is connected to the first communication terminal via the first network, the second communication terminal is connected to the second communication terminal via the second network which is an IP network, and the first communication terminal and the second communication terminal are connected to each other. A gateway device that relays communication between
Modem signal detection means to detect modem signals and
A delay time measuring means for measuring the delay time generated in the first network and the second network, and
Transmission of voice processing information including modem signal information detected by the modem signal detecting means and delay time information measured by the delay time measuring means to a device that analyzes the communication status of modem communication using the voice processing information. A gateway device characterized by having means.

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