JP4153532B2 - Connection management apparatus and connection management method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connection management apparatus and a connection management method for managing a connection between a mobile device and a communication network.

  Conventionally, data communication by HTTP using a U plane in a mobile communication network such as an IMT-2000 (International Mobile Telecommunication 2000) network has been realized. In this data communication, since it is necessary to manage the connection state of the mobile device on the network side, a TCP / IP connection is established in advance by a control signal on the C plane. Similarly, as an example of a technique for establishing a connection during data communication, for example, a connection support server described in Patent Document 1 below is disclosed.

For a connection once established, processing for connection management such as data monitoring on the connection is performed by a management device in the mobile communication network. Therefore, in general, in order to efficiently manage the connection, the connection is released for a connection in which data communication does not occur for a certain period. This is to prevent wasteful communication resource consumption due to connection management and an increase in processing load.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-169075

  However, the above-described connection management method has the following problems because it focuses on connection management during data communication. In other words, in HTTP data communication via a wireless LAN in a FMC (Fixed Mobile Convergence) service, it is necessary to determine the location of the mobile device based on the presence / absence of a TCP / IP connection. If it is opened, the mobile station's location status cannot be accurately determined. Further, once the connection is released, it is necessary to establish the connection again when data communication is necessary again, and efficient communication is hindered.

  Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and enables efficient connection management and management of the location state of a mobile device even in a communication network in which communication methods are integrated. An object of the present invention is to provide a connection management device and a connection management method.

  In order to solve the above problems, the connection management device of the present invention is a connection management device that manages a connection between a mobile device and a communication network, and specifies the mobile device according to the establishment of the connection. Acquired connection information including information, information acquisition means for detecting the occurrence of communication in the connection, first information storage means for storing connection information acquired by the information acquisition means, and acquired by the information acquisition means The second information storage means for storing the connection information in a data area different from the first information storage means, and the connection information stored in the first information storage means for the connection corresponding to the connection information. Move to the second information storage means when the communication state has continued for a predetermined time or more The connection information stored in the first data moving means and the second information storage means is stored in the first information when the information acquisition means detects the occurrence of communication in the connection corresponding to the connection information. State determination for determining the location state of the mobile device based on the second data moving device moving to the mobile device and the mobile device specifying information included in the connection information stored in the first and second information storage devices And information transmission means for reading and outputting at least a part of the connection information stored in the first information storage means in response to the occurrence of communication in the connection specified by the connection information.

  Alternatively, the connection management method of the present invention is a connection management method for managing a connection between a mobile device and a communication network, wherein the information acquisition means specifies the mobile device according to the establishment of the connection. An information acquisition step for acquiring connection information including information and detecting occurrence of communication in the connection; and a first information storage step for storing connection information acquired by the first information storage means in the information acquisition step; The second information storage means stores the connection information acquired by the information acquisition step in a data area different from the first information storage means, and the first data movement means includes: The connection information stored in the first information storage means is changed to a link corresponding to the connection information. A first data movement step that moves to the second information storage means and a second data movement means that are stored in the second information storage means when the non-communication state in the communication area continues for a predetermined time or longer. The second data movement step of moving the connection information to the first information storage means when the information acquisition means detects the occurrence of communication in the connection corresponding to the connection information, and the state determination means, The state determination step for determining the location state of the mobile device based on the mobile device identification information included in the connection information stored in the first and second information storage means, and the information transmission means include the first information Read at least a part of the connection information stored in the storage means according to the occurrence of communication in the connection specified by the connection information. And a communication step of outputting out.

  According to such a connection management apparatus and connection management method, the connection information is stored in the first or second information storage means in accordance with the establishment of the connection between the mobile device and the communication network. At this time, the connection information is moved from the first information storage means to the second information storage means when the no-communication state continues for a predetermined time or longer in the corresponding connection, and when data communication occurs in the connection, the connection information is changed to the first information. To the information storage means. Then, the presence state of the mobile device is determined based on the connection information stored in the first and second information storage means, and the connection information stored in the first information storage means in response to the occurrence of data communication is The data is output and used for data communication processing. As a result, communication using the connection information is quickly performed without releasing the connection, and at the same time, the accuracy in determining the location state of the mobile device based on the presence or absence of the connection is improved.

  It is preferable to further comprise information collecting means for collecting monitoring information related to the connection specified by the connection information stored in the first information storage means. In this case, the collection processing amount of monitoring information related to the connection can be minimized without opening the connection.

  Further, the information processing device further includes management information storage means for storing mobile device identification information corresponding to the connection information stored in the first and second information storage means, and the state determination means includes the movement information stored in the management information storage means. It is also preferable to determine the location state based on the machine identification information. In this way, the processing efficiency of the determination of the location state of the mobile device is improved.

  Further, management information storage means for storing the mobile device identification information corresponding to the connection information stored in the first and second information storage means in association with the storage location specifying information for specifying the storage location of the connection information. And the first and second data moving means are connected between the first information storage means and the second information storage means based on the storage location specifying information stored in the management information storage means. It is also preferable to move. By adopting such a configuration, the efficiency of the data movement processing when the connection information is distributed and managed according to the communication state is improved, and the convenience of the user who uses the data communication is improved.

  According to the present invention, even in a communication network in which communication methods are integrated, efficient connection management can be realized, and management of a mobile station's location state is possible.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a connection management apparatus and a connection management method according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the description of the drawings, the same elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a data communication system 1 which is a preferred embodiment of the present invention. A data communication system 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a communication system that relays data between a mobile device 2 such as a mobile phone, PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), PHS (Personal Handyphone System), and a public communication network N2 such as the Internet. The communication network N1 relays data transmitted and received between the mobile device 2 and the public communication network N2. The communication network N1 includes a wireless LAN access point 4 that performs wireless communication with the mobile device 2 using the wireless LAN communication method, and a wireless base station 3 that performs mobile communication with the mobile device 2 using the IMT-2000 method. HTTP communication between the mobile station 2 and the wireless GW device 5 that relays data transmitted and received between the wireless base station 3 and the wireless LAN access point 4 and the data communication management device (connection management device) 6 Communication management device that establishes a connection for the connection and executes various monitoring processes (collection of data amount on the connection, etc.) and functions as a proxy server between the mobile device 2 and the public communication network N2 6 is included. For convenience, one wireless LAN access point 4, one wireless base station 3, one wireless GW device 5, and one data communication management device 6 are shown, but there may be a plurality of each.

  First, the configuration of the data communication management device 6 according to the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of the data communication management device 6. Functionally, the data communication management device 6 includes a call processing unit (information acquisition unit) 11, a connection processing unit (information collection unit) 12, and a call management unit 13, as shown in FIG. The management unit 13 includes a connection information management unit (first and second data moving unit) 14, a priority data storage unit (first information storage unit) 15, and a non-priority data storage unit (second information storage unit). ) 16, a call management table storage unit (management information storage unit) 17, a state determination unit (state determination unit) 18, and a connection information transmission unit (information transmission unit) 19.

  FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram of the data communication management device 6. As shown in FIG. 2, the data communication management device 6 physically includes a CPU 21, a RAM 22 and a ROM 23 that are main storage devices, an auxiliary storage device 25 such as a hard disk, and an input device 26 such as a keyboard and a mouse that are input devices. The computer system includes an output device 27 such as a display and a communication module 24 which is a data transmission / reception device such as a network card. Each function described in FIG. 2 has a communication module 24, an input device 26, and an output device 27 under the control of the CPU 21 by reading predetermined computer software on the hardware such as the CPU 21 and the RAM 22 shown in FIG. This is realized by reading and writing data in the RAM 22 and the auxiliary storage device 25.

  Hereinafter, each functional element will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

  The call processing unit 11 establishes a connection with the mobile device 2 in response to a connection request signal from the mobile device 2 or the public communication network N2, and then specifies a mobile device telephone number and a mobile device IP that identify the mobile device 2. Get connection information corresponding to the relevant connection including the address. More specifically, the call processing unit 11 responds to the establishment of the connection with the mobile device 2 by using the telephone number “090aaaabbbbb” for identifying the mobile device 2 and the IP address “10.X” indicating the connection destination to the mobile device 2. .X.1 ”and the connection information including the call connection start time“ 2006/1/23 10:00:00 ”are acquired and output to the connection information management unit 14.

  In addition, the call processing unit 11 detects a request for HTTP data communication by monitoring a signal in a connection with the mobile device 2, and if a data communication request is generated, the call processing unit 11 moves the mobile phone 2 or the like. The machine identification information is output to the connection information management unit 14. Furthermore, when an HTTP data communication request in the corresponding connection occurs, the call processing unit 11 acquires connection information related to the connection via the connection information transmission unit 19 and connects the mobile device 2 and the public communication network N2. Relay data communication.

  The connection information management unit 14 differs from the priority data storage unit 15 or the priority data storage unit 15 in connection information output from the call processing unit 11 in response to establishment of the connection with the mobile device 2 as follows. The data is stored in either the non-priority data storage unit 16 in the data area. That is, when the connection information is output from the call processing unit 11 for the first time, the connection information management unit 14 stores the connection information in the priority data storage unit 15 together with the call management number that identifies the connection. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of the data stored in the priority data storage unit 15 in this way. In the priority data storage unit 15, the mobile phone number “090aaaabbbb” output from the call processing unit 11 is stored. The mobile device IP address “10.X.X.1” and the call connection start time “2006/1/23 10:00:00” correspond to the call management number “A-1” and the connection processing flag “ON”. Stored with. This connection processing flag is a flag indicating whether or not various processing such as monitoring information collection for the corresponding connection is performed, and the call management number is a code indicating that the storage location of the connection information is the priority data storage unit 15 (Storage location specifying information) "A" is included. At the same time, the connection information management unit 14 stores management information related to the connection information stored in the priority data storage unit 15 in the call management table storage unit 17. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the structure of data stored in the call management table storage unit 17, in which the mobile phone number “090aaaabbbb” that identifies the connection destination in the connection information is the call management number “A-1”, and Stored in association with the elapsed time “600 (seconds)”. This elapsed time is a timer that is periodically updated to indicate the elapsed time since the connection information management unit 14 stored the connection information.

  In addition, the connection information management unit 14 displays the connection information when the no-communication state in the connection corresponding to the connection information continues for a predetermined time T0 or more from the time when the connection information is stored in the priority data storage unit 15. Move to the priority data storage unit 16. Specifically, the connection information management unit 14 reads management information including the code “A” in the call management number from the call management table storage unit 17, and gives priority data to the connection information specified by the management information Data is moved from the storage unit 15 to the non-priority data storage unit 16. Here, the no-communication state is determined based on whether or not a data communication request on the connection is detected in the call processing unit 11, and the duration is determined based on the management information stored in the call management table storage unit 17. It is measured by referring to the elapsed time. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the structure of the data stored in the non-priority data storage unit 16 in this way. The non-priority data storage unit 16 includes the mobile device telephone number “090aaaabbbbb”, the mobile device IP address “10.X.X.1”, and the call connection start in the connection information stored in the priority data storage unit 15. The time “2006/1/23 10:00:00” is stored in association with the call management number “B-1”. That is, the call management number is replaced with a number including a code (storage location specifying information) “B” indicating that the storage location of the connection information is the non-priority data storage unit 16. At this time, the connection information management unit 14 also updates the call management number related to the relevant connection information stored in the call management table storage unit 17 and deletes the elapsed time in the connection information.

  Further, when a data communication request using HTTP occurs in the connection corresponding to the connection information stored in the non-priority data storage unit 16, the connection information management unit 14 transfers the corresponding connection information to the non-priority data storage unit 16. To the priority data storage unit 15. Here, the connection information management unit 14 detects the occurrence of a data communication request in the connection with the mobile device 2 from the telephone number of the mobile device 2 output from the call processing unit 11. Specifically, the connection information management unit 14 reads the management information including the code “B” in the call management number from the call management table storage unit 17, and displays the connection information in which the data communication request has occurred in the management information. Specifically, the non-priority data storage unit 16 moves to the priority data storage unit 15 to replace the call management number in the connection information with a number including the code “A” and add a connection processing flag. At the same time, the connection information management unit 14 also updates the call management number related to the connection information stored in the call management table storage unit 17 and resets the elapsed time of the connection information to “0”.

  When the call processing unit 11 detects a data communication request, the connection information transmission unit 19 reads connection information related to the connection from the priority data storage unit 15 in response to a request from the call processing unit 11 and calls the call processing unit. Return to 11. Specifically, when there is a data communication request on the connection with the mobile device 2, the connection information transmission unit 19 selects the data of the mobile device 2 from the data in the priority data storage unit 15 shown in FIG. 4. Based on the telephone number “090aaaabbbbb”, connection information including the call management number “A-1” and the IP address “10.X.X.1” of the mobile device 2 is read and output to the call processing unit 11. The At this time, if the corresponding connection information is stored in the non-priority data storage unit 16, the connection information transmission unit 19 reads and outputs the connection information moved to the priority data storage unit 15 by the connection information management unit 14 To do.

  Based on the management information stored in the call management table storage unit 17, the state determination unit 18 is in the area where the mobile device 2 is located, that is, the mobile device 2 is within the communication area of the wireless base station 3 or the wireless LAN access point 4. It is determined whether or not it exists. At this time, if the management information including the telephone number of the mobile device 2 exists in the management information read from the call management table storage unit 17, the state determination unit 18 determines that the mobile device 2 exists in the communication area. If the management information including the telephone number of the mobile device 2 does not exist, it is determined that the mobile device 2 exists outside the communication area. As a result, the state determination unit 18 determines the presence state based on whether or not the connection information including the telephone number of the mobile device 2 exists in the data storage units 15 and 16, and the public communication network N2 It is possible to appropriately determine whether or not the mobile device 2 can be connected.

  The connection processing unit 12 executes various processes such as collection of monitoring information related to the connection corresponding to the connection information stored in the priority data storage unit 15. Here, the connection processing unit 12 targets a connection for which the connection processing flag included in the connection information is “ON”, for example, monitoring information such as the data amount on the corresponding connection and the communication partner IP address. Perform a collection.

  Hereinafter, the operation of the data communication management device 6 will be described with reference to FIG. 7, and the connection management method in the data communication management device 6 will be described in detail.

  First, it is assumed that the mobile device 2 has moved from outside the communication area of the data communication system 1 into the communication area of the wireless LAN access point 4 (step S101). Then, the call processing unit 11 detects a connection request from the mobile device 2 to the data communication management device 6 (step S102). In response to this, the call processing unit 11 establishes a TCP / IP connection with the mobile device 2 (step S103). In response to the establishment of the connection, the call processing unit 11 acquires connection information related to the connection and outputs the connection information to the connection information management unit 14, and the connection information management unit 14 stores the connection information in the priority data storage unit 15 (step). S104). At the same time, the connection information management unit 14 starts counting elapsed time in the management information corresponding to the connection information (step S105).

  After that, the connection processing unit 12 targets various types of connection information stored in the priority data storage unit 15 for which the connection processing flag is “ON”, such as monitoring information collection for the corresponding connection. Is executed as needed (step S106). Next, the connection information management unit 14 determines whether an HTTP data communication request is generated within a predetermined time T0 in the connection corresponding to the connection information stored in the priority data storage unit 15 (step S107). .

  As a result of the determination, if a data communication request is generated (step S107; YES), the corresponding connection information is output to the call processing unit 11 via the connection information transmission unit 19. Then, the connection information management unit 14 resets the elapsed time in the management information of the corresponding connection information stored in the call management table storage unit 17 to “0” (step S109). Thereafter, the call processing unit 11 relays data transmitted / received between the mobile device 2 and the public communication network N2 (step S110), and returns to step S107 again.

  On the other hand, if no data communication request has occurred (step S107; NO), the connection information management unit 14 moves the connection information from the priority data storage unit 15 to the non-priority data storage unit 16, and calls The management information of the corresponding connection information in the management table storage unit 17 is updated (step S111). At the same time, the connection processing unit 12 stops various processes for the corresponding connection (step S112). Thereafter, the connection information management unit 14 monitors whether or not an HTTP data communication request is generated in the corresponding connection (step S113), and when the data communication request is generated, the connection information is transferred to the non-priority data storage unit 16. To the priority data storage unit 15 again (step S114), and the process proceeds to step S108. Thereby, the data communication process is executed on the connection.

  According to the data communication management device 6 described above, the connection information is stored in the priority data storage unit 15 or the non-priority data storage unit 16 in accordance with the establishment of the connection between the mobile device 2 and the communication network N1. . At this time, the connection information is moved from the priority data storage unit 15 to the non-priority data storage unit 16 when the no-communication state continues for the predetermined time T0 or more in the corresponding connection, and when data communication occurs in the connection, the connection information becomes the priority data. It is returned to the storage unit 15. Then, the presence state of the mobile device 2 is determined based on the connection information stored in each of the data storage units 15 and 16, and the connection information stored in the priority data storage unit 15 is output when data communication occurs. And used for data communication processing. As a result, by performing data communication using only the information stored in the priority data storage unit 15 without releasing the connection, communication using the connection information is quickly performed and the data communication system 1 Resources can be used efficiently. At the same time, determining the location state of the mobile device 2 based on the presence or absence of connection information in both the priority data storage unit 15 and the non-priority data storage unit 16 improves the accuracy of determination of the location state.

  In addition, since the connection processing unit 12 that collects the monitoring information for the connection specified by the connection information stored in the priority data storage unit 15 is provided, the monitoring information collection amount for the connection is required without releasing the connection. Minimized.

  In addition, since the state determination unit 18 determines the in-service state based on the mobile phone number stored in the call management table storage unit 17, the processing efficiency of the determination of the in-service state of the mobile device 2 is improved.

  Further, since the connection information management unit 14 moves the connection information between the data storage units 15 and 16 based on the call management number stored in the call management table storage unit 17, the connection information is changed according to the communication state. The efficiency of data movement processing when performing distributed management is improved, and the convenience of users who use data communication is improved.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above. For example, the wireless GW device 5 and the data communication management device 6 may be configured integrally. By doing so, it is possible to reduce processing for establishing a connection in the core network N3 in the communication network N1.

It is a figure which shows schematic structure of the data communication system which is preferable one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the functional structure of the data communication management apparatus of FIG. It is a hardware block diagram of the data communication management apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data stored in the priority data storage part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data stored in the non-priority data storage part of FIG. It is a figure which shows the structure of the data stored in the call management table storage part of FIG. It is a flowchart which shows operation | movement of the data communication management apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Data communication system, 2 ... Mobile station, 6 ... Data communication management apparatus (connection management apparatus), 11 Call processing part (information acquisition means), 12 ... Connection processing part (information collection means), 14 ... Connection information management part (First and second data transfer means), 15 ... priority data storage (first information storage means), 16 ... non-priority data storage (second information storage means), 17 ... call management table storage (Management information storage means), 18 ... state determination section (state determination means), 19 ... connection information transmission section (information transmission means), N1 ... communication network, N2 ... public communication network, N3 ... core network.

Claims (5)

A connection management device for managing a connection between a mobile device and a communication network,
In response to the establishment of the connection, acquiring connection information including mobile device specifying information for specifying the mobile device, information acquisition means for detecting the occurrence of communication in the connection;
First information storage means for storing connection information acquired by the information acquisition means;
Second information storage means for storing connection information acquired by the information acquisition means in a data area different from that of the first information storage means;
The connection information stored in the first information storage means is moved to the second information storage means when the no-communication state in the connection corresponding to the connection information continues for a predetermined time or longer. Data movement means,
The connection information stored in the second information storage means is transferred to the first information storage means when the information acquisition means detects the occurrence of communication in the connection corresponding to the connection information. Two data transfer means;
State determining means for determining a location state of the mobile device based on mobile device specifying information included in the connection information stored in the first and second information storage devices;
Information transmitting means for reading and outputting at least part of the connection information stored in the first information storage means in response to the occurrence of communication in the connection specified by the connection information;
A connection management device comprising: An information collecting unit for collecting monitoring information related to the connection specified by the connection information stored in the first information storing unit;
The connection management device according to claim 1. Management information storage means for storing mobile device identification information corresponding to the connection information stored in the first and second information storage means;
The state determination means determines the location state based on mobile device identification information stored in the management information storage means;
The connection management apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein Management information storage means for storing mobile device specifying information corresponding to connection information stored in the first and second information storage means in association with storage location specifying information for specifying the storage location of the connection information. In addition,
The first and second data moving means are configured to connect the connection between the first information storage means and the second information storage means based on storage location specifying information stored in the management information storage means. Move information,
The connection management apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein A connection management method for managing a connection between a mobile device and a communication network,
Information acquisition means, in response to establishment of the connection, acquires connection information including mobile device specifying information for specifying the mobile device, and an information acquisition step of detecting occurrence of communication in the connection;
A first information storing step in which the first information storing means stores the connection information acquired in the information acquiring step;
A second information storage step, wherein the second information storage means stores the connection information acquired by the information acquisition step in a data area different from the first information storage means;
When the first data moving means uses the connection information stored in the first information storage means when the no-communication state in the connection corresponding to the connection information continues for a predetermined time or more, A first data movement step of moving to the information storage means;
When the second data movement means detects the occurrence of communication in the connection corresponding to the connection information by the information acquisition means, the first information storage means stores the connection information stored in the second information storage means. A second data movement step of moving to the information storage means;
A state determination step in which a state determination unit determines a location state of the mobile device based on mobile device identification information included in the connection information stored in the first and second information storage units;
An information transmission step in which the information transmission means reads and outputs at least a part of the connection information stored in the first information storage means in response to the occurrence of communication in the connection specified by the connection information;
A connection management method comprising:

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