JP5283581B2 - Relay communication device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a relay communication device that reduces power consumption. <P>SOLUTION: The relay communication device 11 connects between local networks 1-4 and a global network 5 so as to relay packets communicated between the networks. The device includes receiving parts 21-1-4 and transmitting parts 27-1-4 for executing packet communication with the local networks 1-4, a transmitting part 24 and a receiving part 26 for executing packet communication with the global network 5, a selector part 22 that switches transfer destinations of the packets received by the receiving parts 21-1-4, a control part 25 that executes switching control of the packet transfer destinations to the selector part 22, and a QoS control part 23 that imparts the priority to the packets transferred from the selector part 22. The control part 25 compares a traffic amount of the local networks 1-4 with bands utilizable in the global network 5 so as to execute the switching control of the packet transfer destinations of the selector part 22. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a relay communication apparatus capable of reducing power consumption.

  Conventionally, a broadband network is not required for a local network used in a company or at home, but a broadband network is required for transferring a communication from a large number of local networks in a global network. However, the number of local networks is enormous, and it is difficult to secure a sufficient bandwidth even if the global network is widened. On the other hand, communication packets passing through the network have different priorities for each application. For example, time-related data such as voice needs to pass through the network with priority, but a packet such as a hello packet has a low priority. Therefore, Non-Patent Document 1 below discloses a QoS (Quality of Service) control technique that assigns priorities to each packet or communication flow and transfers them to the global network in order of priority.

  In addition, the relay communication device arranged between the local network and the global network includes an interface for a plurality of local networks and an interface for connecting to one global network. When a packet is received from a certain interface, Forward packets from another or the same interface. However, the transfer function need not operate when communication is not being performed. Therefore, as a case where there is no need to operate, when no link or packet transfer is detected in the interface of the relay communication device, a technique for realizing power saving by stopping power supply to the interface is disclosed in the following patent document: 1 is disclosed.

JP 2008-263294 A

Network Working Group "RFC2474 4.2.2.4 Example Mechanisms for Implementing Class Selector Compliant" 1998

  However, according to the conventional technique (Patent Document 1), power saving can be realized only when communication is not performed. For this reason, there is a problem that power consumption cannot be reduced when communication is performed even if the amount of data is small.

  Further, according to the conventional technique (Non-Patent Document 1), the QoS control is effective when the amount of data is large. Therefore, there is a problem that it is not effective to perform QoS control when the amount of data is small.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a relay communication device that can further reduce power consumption when the amount of packets to be relayed is small and priority need not be given. And

  In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, the present invention is a relay communication apparatus that connects a plurality of local networks and one or more global networks and relays packets between the networks. The local network side transmission / reception means for sending and receiving packets to and counting the number of received packets, the global network side transmission / reception means for sending and receiving packets to and from the global network, and the local network side transmission / reception means A selector that can switch the transfer destination of the packet, a control unit that controls switching of the packet transfer destination for the selector, and a priority given to the packet transferred from the selector according to the application Perform QoS control, QoS control means for transferring a packet to which priority is given to the global network side transmission / reception means, and the control means is based on the number of received packets acquired from the local network side transmission / reception means, And the traffic volume on the local network side is compared with the bandwidth available on the global network side. If the traffic volume on the local network side is larger, the packet is transferred to the QoS control means. The selector unit is controlled. On the other hand, when the traffic amount on the local network side is smaller, the selector unit is controlled to transfer the packet to the global network side transmitting / receiving unit.

  According to the present invention, there is an effect that power consumption can be reduced.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an IP network. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the relay communication apparatus. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing route switching control of the control unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a header portion of an IPv4 packet. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a header portion of an IPv6 packet. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing route switching control of the control unit. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing route switching control of the control unit.

  Embodiments of a relay communication apparatus according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments.

Embodiment.
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of an IP (Internet Protocol) network. The IP network includes local networks 1 to 4, a global network 5, and relay communication devices 11 to 13. In the global network 5, routers 14 and 15 are arranged. The local networks 1 to 4 are small-scale networks configured in a company or a home. The global network 5 is connected to the Internet or the like. The relay communication devices 11 to 13 are communication devices that connect a local network and a global network. Here, the relay communication device 11 connects the local networks 1 to 4 and the global network 5. The routers 14 and 15 are connected to the relay communication device and other routers in the global network 5.

  When the relay communication device 11 receives a packet from the local networks 1 to 4, the relay communication device 11 transfers the packet to the router 14. Further, in the relay communication device 11, as the allowable bandwidth, the total available bandwidth on the local network 1 to 4 side is larger than or equal to the available bandwidth on the global network 5 side. For example, when the total available bandwidth on the local networks 1 to 4 side is 1000 MB, the available bandwidth on the global network 5 side is 1000 MB or 100 MB.

  In such a network environment, when a packet with a total traffic bandwidth of 1000 MB is transferred from the local network 1 to 4 side to the global network 5 side, the relay communication device 11 may use an available bandwidth on the global network 5 side of 1000 MB. When the available bandwidth of the router 14 is 200 MB, all traffic cannot be transferred as it is. Therefore, the relay communication device 11 gives priority to the packet or communication flow and transfers it to the router 14, and the router 14 performs transfer control using the priority.

  On the other hand, when the local networks 1 to 4 are corporate networks or the like, it is assumed that the communication traffic is reduced depending on the time of day, and packets from a plurality of networks 1 to 4 are gathered together in the midnight time period or consecutive holidays. 11, the amount of communication relayed to the global network 5 is not expected to increase. In such a case, the relay communication device 11 has no effect even if QoS control is performed, and it is sufficient to relay the received packet as it is.

  Here, when the relay communication device 11 does not perform QoS control, the chip on the QoS circuit is not used (power is not passed), so that the power consumption of the entire device including the chip can be reduced when the chip is used. It can be reduced in comparison. This is because the power consumption energy is consumed during the processing operation (ON / OFF switching or the like), and the power is not consumed unless the processing operation is performed. Therefore, in the relay communication device 11, when it is not necessary to perform QoS control (the amount of packets received from the local networks 1 to 4 is small), the QoS control processing operation is not performed, thereby reducing the power consumption. It becomes possible to do. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the relay communication apparatus 11 performs QoS control only when the amount of packets received from the local networks 1 to 4 is large.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of the relay communication device 11. The relay communication device 11 includes reception units 21-1 to 21-4, a selector unit 22, a QoS control unit 23, a transmission unit 24, a control unit 25, a reception unit 26, and transmission units 27-1 to 27. -4.

  The receiving units 21-1 to 21-4 receive packets from each local network. Also, the number of received packets is counted and notified to the control unit 25. The selector unit 22 switches the transmission path of packets received from each local network. The QoS control unit 23 gives priority to the packet received from each local network. The transmission unit 24 transmits a packet received from each local network to the global network 5. The control unit 25 controls path switching of the selector unit 22. The receiving unit 26 receives a packet from the global network 5. The transmission units 27-1 to 27-4 transmit the packet received from the global network 5 to each local network. For convenience of explanation, the configuration for transmitting and receiving packets from each network is divided into a transmission unit and a reception unit. However, the configuration is not limited to this, and one transmission / reception unit may be provided for each connected network.

  Next, the packet relay operation by the relay communication device 11 will be described. As an example, it is assumed that voice data is transmitted and received as an application in the local network 1.

  First, in the relay communication device 11, the reception unit 21-1 receives a packet from the local network 1. The reception unit 21-1 counts the number of received packets and notifies the control unit 25 of the number of received packets. The receiving unit 21-1 can detect a packet and count the number of packets by determining each packet delimiter by using an IFG (Inter Frame Gap). Similarly, the receiving units 21-2 to 21-4 that have received packets from each local network also count the number of received packets and notify the control unit 25 of the number of received packets. FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the path switching control of the control unit 25 in the packet relay operation. By the notification from each receiving unit, the control unit 25 can obtain the number of received packets from the local networks 1 to 4 (hereinafter referred to as the local network side) (step S1). Each receiving unit transfers the received packet to the selector unit 22.

  The control unit 25 calculates the traffic amount on the local network side from the acquired number of received packets on the local network side (step S2). Specifically, the control unit 25 can calculate the number of received packets per unit time in each receiving unit and add them all to obtain the traffic amount on the local network side.

  Next, the control unit 25 compares the bandwidth available in the global network 5 with the traffic amount on the local network side (step S3). The bandwidth that can be used in the global network 5 is determined at the time of connection to the network, and takes a fixed value as long as there is no change in the network configuration. The control unit 25 can recognize the bandwidth that can be used in the global network 5 when it is connected to the router 14 of the global network 5. When the bandwidth that can be used in the global network 5 is larger than the traffic amount on the local network side (step S3: Yes), that is, when there is room in the bandwidth that can be used in the global network 5, the control unit 25 next sets a threshold value. And the traffic amount on the local network side are compared (step S4).

  The threshold value is used for QoS control switching control in the case where communication is performed for the global network 5 with a margin for the available bandwidth, instead of using all the available bandwidth for the relay communication device 11. The value to use. Therefore, the threshold value is set to a value smaller than the bandwidth that can be used in the global network 5. For example, a certain percentage of the bandwidth that can be used in the global network 5 (70% of the usable bandwidth) or a fixed bandwidth value (a fixed value of 10 Mbps) can be used, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  When the threshold is larger than the traffic amount on the local network side (step S4: Yes), the control unit 25 controls the selector unit 22 to switch to a route that does not pass through the QoS control unit 23 (step S5). When the threshold value is equal to or less than the traffic amount on the local network side (step S4: No), the control unit 25 controls the selector unit 22 to switch to the route via the QoS control unit 23 (step S6). In step S3, when the bandwidth available in the global network 5 is equal to or less than the traffic amount on the local network side (step S3: No), the control unit 25 similarly controls the QoS control unit 23 with respect to the selector unit 22. Control to switch to a route passing through is performed (step S6).

  Here, assuming that the bandwidth that can be used in the global network 5 is equal to or less than the traffic amount on the local network side (step S3: No), the control unit 25 routes the route via the QoS control unit 23 to the selector unit 22. Control to switch to (step S6). The selector unit 22 transfers the packet received from each local network to the QoS control unit 23.

  The QoS control unit 23 gives priority information to packets received from the local network 1 among the packets transferred from the selector unit 22. Specifically, the case where the packets to be used are IPv4 and IPv6 will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a header portion of an IPv4 packet. The header part is composed of fields for storing information such as Version, IHL, Type of Service, Total Length, and the like, and is the same as the general IPv4 packet header structure. In this case, priority information is assigned to the location of “Type of Service” as in the conventional case. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a header portion of an IPv6 packet. The header part is composed of fields for storing information such as version, traffic class, and flow label, and is the same as the header structure of a general IPv6 packet. In this case, priority information is assigned to the “Traffic Class” portion as in the conventional case. The Traffic Class is composed of a DSCP (DiffServ Code Point) and an unused portion. Specifically, priority information is assigned to a portion of “DSCP”. By giving priority in this way, the received router 14 can perform transfer according to the priority.

  The QoS control unit 23 also gives priority to the packets received from the other local networks 2 to 4 according to the application, and transfers the assigned packets to the transmission unit 24. The transmission unit 24 transfers the packet received from the QoS control unit 23 to the router 14 of the global network 5.

  On the other hand, when the amount of packets from the local networks 1 to 4 is small, for example, when the amount of communication traffic between the relay communication device 11 and the router 14 is about 5 MB, the router 14 does not need to transfer based on the priority. Since it is only necessary to transfer in the order in which they are accumulated in the queue of the router 14 and in the order of arrival, there is no need to give priority to the relay communication device 11.

  In this case, the bandwidth that can be used in the global network 5 is larger than the traffic amount on the local network side (step S3: Yes), and the threshold is larger than the traffic amount on the local network side (step S4: Yes). The unit 25 controls the selector unit 22 to switch to a route that does not pass through the QoS control unit 23 (step S5). The selector unit 22 transfers the packet received from each local network to the transmission unit 24 as it is. The transmission unit 24 transfers the packet received from the selector unit 22 to the router 14 of the global network 5.

  When the packet does not pass through the QoS control unit 23, the QoS control unit 23 does not perform any processing, so the processing load is reduced, and the relay communication apparatus 11 can reduce power consumption accordingly.

  In addition, although the control part 25 is implementing the comparison process of the zone | band (step S3) and threshold value (step S4) which can be utilized in the global network 5 about the traffic amount by the side of the local network, it is limited to this. It is good also as implementing only one of them.

  Further, the relay communication device 11 may perform QoS control (giving priority) based on an instruction from an external device. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing the path switching control of the control unit 25 in the packet relay operation. For example, when the router 14 transmits an instruction message so as to perform QoS control, in the relay communication device 11, the reception unit 26 receives the message and notifies the control unit 25 of the message. The control unit 25 acquires the content of the message (step S11), and then confirms the state of QoS control (step S12). When QoS control is not performed (step S12: No), control is performed to switch the route of the selector unit 22 to a route via the QoS control unit 23 (step S13). On the other hand, when the QoS control has been performed (step S12: Yes), the current state is maintained, and the process is terminated. The control unit 25 may notify the router 14 of the global network 5 that the QoS control has been performed.

  In contrast to the above processing, the control unit 25 can also perform switching so as to cancel the QoS control (do not give priority) based on the notification from the router 14 of the global network 5. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the path switching control of the control unit 25 in the packet relay operation. For example, when the router 14 transmits a message indicating that traffic is not congested in the global network 5, in the relay communication device 11, the receiving unit 26 receives the message and notifies the control unit 25 of the message. . The control unit 25 acquires the content of the message (step S21), and then confirms the QoS control state (step S22). When QoS control has been performed (step S22: Yes), control is performed to switch the route of the selector unit 22 to a route that does not pass through the QoS control unit 23 (step S23). On the other hand, when the QoS control is not performed (step S22: No), the current state is maintained and the process is terminated. The control unit 25 may notify the router 14 of the global network 5 that the QoS control has been released.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the relay communication device that relays a packet between the local network and the global network has little traffic from the local network, and even if the packet is transferred without QoS control, When transfer control can be performed for all packets in the global network, QoS control is not performed. Thereby, when there is little traffic, since the processing load for QoS control can be reduced, power consumption can be reduced.

  As described above, the relay communication apparatus according to the present invention is useful for an apparatus that relays communication between a local network and a global network, and is particularly suitable for realizing further reduction in power consumption.

1, 2, 3, 4 Local network 5 Global network 11, 12, 13 Relay communication device 14, 15 Router 21-1 to 21-4 Receiving unit 22 Selector unit 23 QoS control unit 24 Transmitting unit 25 Control unit 26 Receiving unit 27 -1-27-4 Transmitter

Claims (5)

A relay communication device that connects to a plurality of local networks and one or more global networks and relays packets between the networks,
A local network side transmission / reception means for performing transmission / reception of packets with the local network and counting the number of received packets;
Global network side transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving packets to / from the global network,
Selector means capable of switching a forwarding destination of a packet received by the local network side transmitting / receiving means;
Control means for performing packet transfer destination switching control on the selector means;
QoS control means for giving a priority to the packet transferred from the selector means according to an application, and a QoS control means for transferring the packet assigned the priority to the global network side transmitting / receiving means;
With
The control means includes
Calculate the traffic volume on the local network side based on the number of received packets acquired from the local network side transmitting / receiving means,
The traffic volume on the local network side is compared with the bandwidth available on the global network side. If the traffic volume on the local network side is larger, the selector means is controlled to forward the packet to the QoS control means. On the other hand, if the traffic amount on the local network side is smaller, the packet is transferred to the global network side transmitting / receiving means, and the selector means is controlled so that the packet does not pass through the QoS control means .
Thus, when the packet does not pass through the QoS control unit, the relay communication device reduces power consumption for the processing load of the QoS control unit . A relay communication device that connects to a plurality of local networks and one or more global networks and relays packets between the networks,
A local network side transmission / reception means for performing transmission / reception of packets with the local network and counting the number of received packets;
Global network side transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving packets to / from the global network,
Selector means capable of switching a forwarding destination of a packet received by the local network side transmitting / receiving means;
Control means for performing packet transfer destination switching control on the selector means;
QoS control means for giving a priority to the packet transferred from the selector means according to an application, and a QoS control means for transferring the packet assigned the priority to the global network side transmitting / receiving means;
With
The control means includes
Calculate the traffic volume on the local network side based on the number of received packets acquired from the local network side transmitting / receiving means,
Determine a predetermined threshold that is smaller than the bandwidth available on the global network side,
The traffic amount on the local network side is compared with the predetermined threshold, and if the traffic amount on the local network side is larger, the selector means is controlled to forward the packet to the QoS control means, When the traffic amount on the local network side is smaller, the packet is transferred to the global network side transmitting / receiving means, and the selector means is controlled so that the packet does not go through the QoS control means .
Thus, when the packet does not pass through the QoS control unit, the relay communication device reduces power consumption for the processing load of the QoS control unit . A relay communication device that connects to a plurality of local networks and one or more global networks and relays packets between the networks,
A local network side transmission / reception means for performing transmission / reception of packets with the local network and counting the number of received packets;
Global network side transmission / reception means for transmitting / receiving packets to / from the global network,
Selector means capable of switching a forwarding destination of a packet received by the local network side transmitting / receiving means;
Control means for performing packet transfer destination switching control on the selector means;
QoS control means for giving a priority to the packet transferred from the selector means according to an application, and a QoS control means for transferring the packet assigned the priority to the global network side transmitting / receiving means;
With
The control means includes
Calculate the traffic volume on the local network side based on the number of received packets acquired from the local network side transmitting / receiving means,
Determine a predetermined threshold that is smaller than the bandwidth available on the global network side,
The traffic volume on the local network side is compared with the bandwidth available on the global network side. If the traffic volume on the local network side is larger, the selector means is controlled to forward the packet to the QoS control means. And
On the other hand, when the traffic amount on the local network side is smaller, the traffic amount on the local network side is compared with the predetermined threshold, and when the traffic amount on the local network side is larger, the QoS control is performed. The selector means is controlled to forward the packet to the means, and if the local network side traffic volume is smaller, the packet is forwarded to the global network side transmitting / receiving means, and the packet does not pass through the QoS control means. To control the selector means,
Thus, when the packet does not pass through the QoS control unit, the relay communication device reduces power consumption for the processing load of the QoS control unit . When the global network side transmitting / receiving unit is instructed to perform QoS control from the global network side, the global network side transmitting / receiving unit notifies the control unit of the content of the instruction,
The control means that has received the content of the instruction controls the selector means to transfer a packet to the QoS control means.
The relay communication device according to any one of claims 1, 2, and 3. When the global network side transmitting / receiving means receives a message from the global network side that traffic is not congested, it notifies the control means of the content of the message,
The control means that receives the content of the message controls the selector means to transfer the packet to the global network side transmitting / receiving means.
The relay communication apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the relay communication apparatus is a relay communication apparatus.

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