JP3509530B2 - Data relay system and data relay method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to the same data 1
The present invention relates to a technology for delivering to many terminals at the same time to many terminals, and more particularly to a data relay system and a data relay method suitable for efficiently delivering stream data such as moving images and voices flowing in real time on a LAN or the Internet. Is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a communication network, in order to receive the same digital data at a large number of terminals at the same time, it is necessary to have the same number of transmission lines, transmission terminals or transmission processes as the terminals to be received. If there are dozens of receiving terminals, it is possible to prepare transmission lines, etc., but it is physically unrealistic for tens of thousands to millions of terminals to receive at the same time. Is also very uneconomical.

MBONE (Multicast back BONE)
In such a technique called Internet multicast, stream data flowing in real time on the Internet can be distributed one-to-many. In the one-to-one data distribution, there is a problem that stream data cannot be received due to the transmission capacity and the number of accesses of the Internet, but in this Internet multicast, the distribution performance is improved as compared with the one-to-one connection.

That is, in the data distribution by the one-to-one connection, the transmission speed and the capacity were changed on the transmission side in response to the request of the reception side terminal, but when the number of reception side terminals becomes enormous, it is 1: 1. It is very inefficient to meet the demands. On the other hand, in Internet multicast, one-to-many data is unidirectionally transmitted in one direction, and the transmission speed and capacity are controlled on the receiving side.

However, even in this Internet multicast, there still remains a problem that data cannot be received depending on the transmission capacity and the number of accesses of the Internet. Furthermore, at present, not all Internet can receive multicast data.

[0006]

The problem to be solved by the prior art is that in the prior art, stream data such as moving images and voices flowing in real time on a LAN, the Internet, etc. can be efficiently distributed one-to-many. This is a point that cannot be done. An object of the present invention is to solve these problems of the prior art and provide a data relay system and a data relay method that enable reception of a multicast at a large number of terminals on a LAN or the Internet where multicast is not complete. is there.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, a data relay system and a data relay method of the present invention have a one-to-many large number of stream data such as moving images and voices flowing in real time on a LAN or the Internet at the same time. For example, a communication network provided by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation that provides a one-way simultaneous distribution service such as so-called "Teledome" or "Off Talk" is used for distribution to the terminals.

However, one-to-many correspondence data, such as LA
Multicast data (UDP (User D
In the present invention, since the receiving side cannot normally receive the (atagram Protocol) data) by simply transmitting it by the conversion used in the one-to-one communication corresponding to such a communication network. For example, a data relay device is provided between the transmission side LAN or the Internet and the communication network, and between the reception side LAN or the Internet and the communication network.

Then, the data relay device on the transmitting side receives the multicast data flowing in the LAN or the internet on the transmitting side and, for example, assigns a serial number of the data to the HDLC (High level Data Link Controller).
ol procedures), for example, by converting it into a frame so that the multicast data can be reconstructed in the data relay device on the receiving side, and sent to “Teledome”, “Offtalk”, or the like. In the data relay device on the receiving side, based on the serial number given to the data received from the communication network, the conversion reverse to the conversion in the data relay device on the transmitting side is performed to restore the original multicast data, and the LAN on the receiving side is converted. Or send to the Internet. As a result, even in a terminal on the LAN or the Internet that does not have a function corresponding to the Internet multicast, it is possible to receive the multicast data distribution using the conventional application.

[0010]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the configuration of the data relay system of the present invention according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a LAN serving as a distribution source of multicast data, 2 is a transmission side data relay device, 3
Is a communication network that provides a one-to-many data distribution service in one direction, 4 and 5 are reception side data relay devices, and 6 and 7 are LANs to which multicast data is distributed.

The multicast data to be distributed is always transmitted from the LAN 1. Transmission side data relay device 2
Is a receiving unit 2a for receiving the multicast data flowing in the LAN 1, a shaping unit 2b for shaping the multicast data received by the receiving unit 2a so that it can be reconfigured by the receiving side data relay devices 4, 5, and shaping The network sending unit 2c sends the data shaped by the unit 2b to the communication network 3.

Further, the receiving side data relay device 4 includes a network connecting section 4a for receiving data from the communication network 3 and a network connecting section 4
The restoration unit 4b that restores the data received by a to the original multicast data and the sending unit 4c that sends the multicast data restored by the restoring unit 4b to the LAN 6 are the same, and the receiving side data relay device 5 is also the same.

In the data relay device 2 on the transmitting side, when the receiving unit 2a receives multicast data such as moving images and voices flowing on the connected LAN 1, the shaping unit 2b.
Receives the data from the receiving unit 2a, assigns, for example, a serial number of the data, and converts the data into an HDLC frame or the like so that the data can be reconfigured at the delivery destination. Then, the network transmission unit 2c performs physical connection with the communication network 3. Here, for example, the receiving unit 2a and the shaping unit 2
If b is implemented as software on a personal computer (personal computer), a modem can be used for the network transmission unit 2c.

The communication network 3 can provide a service for simultaneously distributing the data output from the network transmission unit 2c of the transmission side data relay device 2 to a large number of lines, for example, provided by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation. It consists of network service networks such as "Teledome" and "Off Talk".

In the receiving side data relay device 4, the network connecting part 4a receives the data transmitted by the communication network 3 so that the network sending part 2c of the transmitting side data relay device 2 can receive the data.
And make a physical connection with the same communication method and receive data. The data received by the network connection unit 4a is inversely converted by the restoration unit 4b of the shaping unit 2b of the transmission side data relay device 2 to restore the original multicast data.

Then, the sending unit 4c sends the multicast data restored by the restoring unit 4b to the connected LAN.
It is sent to 6 at any time. If the sending unit 4c and the restoring unit 4b are implemented by software on a personal computer as in the sending side data relay device 2, the network connecting unit 4a can use a modem.

In the communication network 3, it is possible to deliver to a receiving device in the unit of several millions, and by connecting a large number of receiving side data relay devices 4 to the communication network 3, a large amount of data from the LAN 1 can be transmitted. LANs 6 and 7 can receive at the same time. Thus, using the communication network 3, the LAN 1
The data from can be efficiently distributed simultaneously to a large number of terminals connected to the LANs 6 and 7.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a first processing operation example of the data relay method of the present invention. When the transmitting-side data relay device 2 of FIG. 1 receives multicast data such as a moving image or voice flowing on the connected LAN 1 (step 201), the received data may be reconfigured at the delivery destination, for example, data. The serial number is assigned to the data, the data is shaped as an HDLC frame (step 202), and the data is physically connected to the communication network 3 using a modem or the like and transmitted (step 203).

The communication network 3 comprises so-called "teledome", "off-talk", etc., and simultaneously delivers the data output from the transmitting side data relay device 2 to a large number of lines (step 204). The data relay device 4 on the receiving side makes a physical connection by aligning the communication method with step 203 so that the data distributed one-to-many from the communication network 3 can be received by a modem or the like. Is received (step 205).

Then, the receiving side data relay device 4 restores the received data to the original multicast data by the inverse conversion of the shaping process in step 202 (step 20).
6) The restored multicast data is connected to the LA of the connection destination.
Send to N6 at any time. Here, since the processes of steps 205 to 207 are executed in the reception side data relay devices 4 for the number of distributions in step 204, it is possible to simultaneously relay to the LAN for the number of distributions in step 204. , Multicast data with many LA
It can be efficiently relayed to N.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the configuration of the data relay system of the present invention according to the present invention. In this example, the transmission-side data relay device 2 of FIG. 1 is additionally provided with a file data acquisition unit 2d and a transmission order determination unit 2e, and the reception-side data relay devices 4 and 5 of FIG. In this configuration, the receiving side data relay devices 40 and 41 additionally having the file storage unit 4d are used.

In the data relay device 20 on the transmitting side, the receiving unit 2
By a, the multicast data such as moving images and voices flowing on the LAN 1 of the connection destination is received, and at the same time, the file data acquisition unit 2d reads one or a plurality of accumulated files stored in the magnetic storage medium, the memory or the like. The size of the file read by the file data acquisition unit 2d may be all at once, or the required size may be read as appropriate.

Further, in the transmitting side data relay device 20,
The transmission order determination unit 2e determines the transmission order of the multicast data received by the reception unit 2a and read by the file data acquisition unit 2d.

For example, the transmission order determining unit 2e is the receiving unit 2
A and the file data acquisition unit 2d determine the data distribution amount per unit time. This is effective when the receiving side receives both the multicast data and the storage file at the same time. Alternatively, the multicast data of the reception unit 2a is constantly distributed, and the data read by the file data acquisition unit 2d when the reception unit 2a cannot receive the multicast data is distributed. This is mainly for the distribution of multicast data, and the storage file is effective when the contents are supplementary.

The data shaping unit 2b receives the data thus sent in the order determined by the transmission order determining unit 2e, and sequentially shapes the data so that the data can be reconstructed at the delivery destination. For example, a serial number is assigned according to the order specified by the transmission order determining unit 2e, and the data is HDLC
Shape as a frame. The network sending unit 2c is composed of a modem or the like, physically connects to the communication network 3, and sends the HDLC frame from the data shaping unit 2b to the communication network 3.

The communication network 3 provides network services such as "teledome" and "off-talk", and simultaneously delivers the data output from the network sending section 2c of the data relay device 20 on the transmitting side to many lines. .

In the receiving side data relay device 40, the network connecting part 4a including a modem or the like makes a physical connection with the network sending part 2c of the transmitting side data relay device 2 in the same communication system as that of the communication side 3. Receive data. The data received by the network connection unit 4a is inversely transformed by the shaping unit 2b of the transmission side data relay device 20 by the restoration unit 4b to restore the original multicast data.

Then, the sending unit 4c sends the multicast data restored by the restoring unit 4b to the connected LAN.
It is sent to 6 at any time. As described above, since the communication network 3 distributes the multicast data and the accumulated files from the LAN 1, it is possible to efficiently and simultaneously distribute them to a large number of terminals connected to the LANs 6 and 7.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing a second processing operation example of the data relay method of the present invention. The transmission-side data relay device 20 of FIG. 3 receives multicast data such as moving images and voices flowing on the connected LAN 1 (step 401), and one or a plurality of data stored in a magnetic storage medium, a memory, or the like. The storage files of the above are read all at once, or with an appropriate required size (step 402).

Then, the transmission order of the received multicast data and the read accumulated file is determined (step 403). For example, in order for the receiving side to receive both the multicast data and the storage file at the same time, the data delivery amount per unit time is determined, or if the storage file is an appendix, the delivery of the multicast data is the main axis. Determine the order in which the stored files are to be delivered when the multicast data cannot be received.

Further, the transmitting side data relay device 20 of FIG.
In order to reconfigure the multicast data received from the LAN 1 and the read accumulated file at the distribution destination, for example, a serial number is given in the determined order, and the data is shaped as an HDLC frame (step 404). A physical connection is made with the communication network 3 using a modem or the like and the data is transmitted (step 405).

The communication network 3 shown in FIG. 3 can provide network services such as so-called "teledome" and "off-talk" for simultaneously distributing input data to a large number of lines.
The data output from the transmitting-side data relay device 20 is simultaneously distributed to many lines (step 406). The receiving-side data relay device 40 of FIG. 3 is physically connected to the communication network by aligning the communication method with step 405 so that the data distributed one-to-many from the communication network 3 can be received by a modem or the like. 3 sequentially receives the data from step 3 (step 40
7) and the following processing is repeated (step 412).

That is, the receiving side data relay device 4 restores the received data to the original multicast data or the accumulated file by the reverse conversion of the shaping process in step 404 (step 408). If the restored data is multicast data (step 40)
9) The LAN6 of the connection destination
(Step 410), and if the restored data is a storage file, the file storage unit 4d saves it as a file (step 411).

In the number of receiving side data relay devices 4 distributed from the communication network 3 by the processing of step 406,
Since the processes of steps 407 to 412 are executed, it is possible to simultaneously relay to the number of LANs distributed in step 46, and the multicast data can be efficiently transmitted to a large number of LANs and a large number of terminals connected by each LAN. It can be delivered by relay. As described above, in this example, the multicast data and the storage file can be efficiently relayed and distributed to a plurality of LANs at the same time.

As described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, in the data relay apparatus and data relay method of this embodiment, so-called "teledome", "off talk", etc. are used for one-to-many distribution of multicast data. , It is possible to use a communication network that provides a network service that distributes input data to a large number of lines simultaneously in one direction. As a result, stream data such as video and audio that flows in real time on the Internet or a small LAN can be
It will be possible to relay to millions of terminals simultaneously.

At this time, since the control processing relating to the transmission / reception of the multicast data is performed by each of the data relay devices on the transmitting side and the receiving side, a large number of terminals on the LAN or the Internet not equipped with the multicast function, and , It becomes possible to receive multicast data using a conventional communication application. Also, when different data such as multicast data and accumulated file data are simultaneously sent, allocation of transmission capacity of the communication network is controlled. Therefore, when the communication network to be used has a limited transmission capacity such as 64 kbps of ISDN. Can also respond.

For example, by determining the distribution of the transmission capacity between the multicast data and the storage file in advance, it becomes effective when the amount of information in the storage file is large or the contents are frequently changed, and it is closely related to the multicast data. It is suitable for transmitting related information from a storage file. Also, multicast data is always transmitted, and by cutting a part of the transmission capacity of the multicast data at regular intervals and transmitting the accumulated file, the multicast data can be transmitted almost stably, and the amount of information in the accumulated file can be reduced. It is effective when it is small, and is suitable for transmitting static information such as program guides from a storage file.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention. For example, in this example, the description has been given by taking the multicast data as an example,
One-to-many distribution can be similarly performed for P data.

[0039]

According to the present invention, one-to-many distribution of stream data such as moving images and voices flowing in real time on a LAN or the Internet can be performed by a large number of terminals on the LAN or the Internet which are not fully equipped with multicast. Moreover, it can be efficiently performed using the conventional communication application, and it becomes possible to simultaneously deliver the moving image and the sound to the millions of terminals.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the configuration of the data relay system of the present invention according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a first processing operation example of the data relay method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a second embodiment of the configuration of the data relay system of the present invention according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a second processing operation example of the data relay method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1: LAN, 2 and 20: transmission side data relay device, 2a:
Reception unit, 2b: Shaping unit, 2c: Network transmission unit, 2d: File data acquisition unit, 2e: Transmission order determination unit, 3: Communication network,
4, 5, 40, 41: data relay device on receiving side, 4a: network connection part, 4b: hook present part, 4c: sending part, 4d: file saving part, 6, 7: LAN.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Goichi Maruyama 3-19-2 Nishishinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nihon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (56) Reference JP-A-6-252897 (JP, A) Kaihei 4-30251 (JP, A) JP 8-56221 (JP, A) JP 64-89656 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04L 12 / 18 H04L 12/28 H04L 12/46

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A data relay system comprising a data relay device on the transmitting side and a data relay device on the receiving side across a communication network capable of simultaneously delivering data one-to-many in one direction.
The transmission-side data relay device is preliminarily designated with a unit for receiving UDP data to be distributed, a unit for acquiring a file for distribution that has been accumulated in advance, the UDP data to be distributed and the file to be distributed. And a means for shaping the UDP data and files selected in a pre-designated order so that they can be reconfigured by the data relay device on the receiving side of the delivery destination of the communication network. The receiving side data relay device has means for sending UDP data and files to the communication network in the predetermined order, and means for receiving the UDP data and files from the communication network and the received data relay apparatus. Means for restoring UDP data and files from the transmitting side data relay device;
A data relay system comprising: means for sending the restored UDP data; and means for storing the restored file. 2. A data relay system comprising a data relay device on the transmitting side and a data relay device on the receiving side across a communication network capable of simultaneously delivering data one-to-many in one direction.
The transmitting-side data relay device communicates the means for receiving the UDP data to be distributed, the means for acquiring the file of the distribution target accumulated in advance, the UDP data of the distribution target and the file to be distributed, by the communication. The means for selecting in the specified order based on the distribution ratio of the transmission capacity of the network, and the UDP data and file selected in the specified order can be reconfigured by the receiving side data relay device of the delivery destination of the communication network. And a means for sending the shaped UDP data and the file to the communication network in the specified order, and the receiving side data relay device has the UDP data and the file from the communication network. Means for receiving
A data relay system comprising: means for restoring the received UDP data and file from the transmission side data relay device; means for sending the restored UDP data; and means for storing the restored file. . 3. A data relay system comprising a data relay device on the transmitting side and a data relay device on the receiving side across a communication network capable of simultaneously delivering data one-to-many in one direction.
The transmitting-side data relay device receives the UDP data to be distributed, a means to acquire a file to be distributed, which has been stored in advance, and selects the UDP data while receiving the UDP data. A means for selecting the file to be distributed when no UDP data is received, and shaping the selected UDP data and the file so that they can be reconfigured by the receiving side data relay device of the distribution destination of the communication network. And a means for sending the shaped UDP data and the file to the communication network in the previously designated order, and the receiving side data relay device receives the UDP data and the file from the communication network. Means, means for restoring the received UDP data and file from the transmission side data relay device, and the restored UDP
A data relay system comprising means for transmitting data and means for storing the restored file. 4. Data for relaying data through the communication network by providing a data relay device on the transmitting side and a data relay device on the receiving side across a communication network capable of simultaneously delivering data one-to-many in one direction. A relay method, wherein the transmission-side data relay device receives delivery target UDP data, acquires a pre-stored delivery target file, and stores the delivery target UDP data and the delivery target file in advance. The UDP data and the files selected in the specified order and selected in the specified order are shaped so that they can be reconfigured by the receiving-side data relay device of the delivery destination of the communication network, and the shaped UDP data And files are sent to the communication network in the order specified in advance, and the UDP data and files from the communication network are received and received by the data relay device on the receiving side. Restore UDP data and files from the serial transmission side data relay device, restored the UDP
A data relay method comprising transmitting data and storing the restored file. 5. Data for relaying data through the communication network by providing a data relay device on the transmitting side and a data relay device on the receiving side across a communication network capable of simultaneously delivering data one-to-many in one direction. A relay method, wherein the transmission-side data relay device receives distribution-targeted UDP data, acquires a pre-stored distribution-targeted file, and distributes the distribution-targeted UDP data and the distribution-targeted file, The UDP data and the files selected in the specified order based on the distribution ratio of the transmission capacity of the communication network can be reconfigured in the receiving side data relay device of the distribution destination of the communication network. And the shaped UDP data and the file are sent to the communication network in the specified order, and the UDP data from the communication network is transmitted in the receiving side data relay device. Data relay method for receiving a file, restores the UDP data and files from the transmission side data relay device receiving, and sends the restored the UDP data, characterized by storing the restored the file. 6. Data for relaying data through the communication network by providing a data relay device on the transmitting side and a data relay device on the receiving side across a communication network capable of simultaneous one-to-many data distribution in one direction. A relay method, wherein the transmission-side data relay device receives UDP data to be distributed, acquires a pre-stored file to be distributed, and selects the UDP data when receiving the UDP data. , Selecting the file to be delivered when the UDP data is not received, and shaping the selected UDP data and the file so that they can be reconfigured by the receiving side data relay device of the delivery destination of the communication network. Then, the shaped UDP data and the file are transmitted to the communication network in the order designated in advance, and the UDP data from the communication network is transmitted in the reception side data relay device. Data relay method for receiving a file, restores the UDP data and files from the transmission side data relay device receiving, and sends the restored the UDP data, characterized by storing the restored the file.