JP5523387B2 - Data distribution system and method, gateway device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a data distribution system and method, and a gateway device. In particular, the present invention has a function of shifting to a power saving state when the data flow rate is small and shifting to a normal state when the data flow rate is small by monitoring the data transmission / reception amount. The present invention relates to a gateway device such as a home gateway device capable of transmitting / receiving multicast data such as / CS digital broadcasting, video on demand (VOD), and Internet protocol (IP) broadcasting, and a data distribution system and method including the gateway device.

  In recent years, with the widespread use of broadband networks, content distribution services such as video and music via a network using PCs, network-connected TVs (IPTVs), STBs (set top boxes), etc. as client terminals are expanding.

  Services such as VOD service that allows you to enjoy the program you want to watch when you want to watch, and IP broadcast where broadcast stations distribute broadcast programs over the Internet instead of broadcast waves, are becoming full-fledged. Correspondingly, receivers such as televisions and recorders are also equipped with a network function, and are equipped with a function of receiving and playing back video content as data packets. For example, digital terrestrial digital broadcasting started in 2003 Broadcasting has a communication function through a telephone line or the Internet.

Internet protocol communication methods include unicast in which network devices send and receive IP packets on a one-to-one basis, and multicast in which the same IP packet is sent simultaneously from one device to multiple devices. It is done by the cast method.

  However, in the case of sending a packet to a plurality of counterparts, unicast must prepare packets for the number of counterpart devices to send and simultaneously transmit or broadcast. In IP broadcasting, the same video program is watched simultaneously on the TV of each home, so the number of recipients is enormous, the total number of TVs of each home watching the program, and content distribution by unicast is a burden on the server Multicast communication is used because it is impossible to increase indefinitely.

Moreover, as a power saving function of the relay device, in Patent Document 1, the transition to the power saving mode and the return to the normal operation mode are automatically performed according to the state of the external interface, so that only the initial setting for the communication device can be easily performed. It is disclosed that the power saving mode can be realized.
Patent Document 2 discloses a video reception device and a multicast distribution content reception control method.

JP 2010-141426 A JP 2009-17064 A

In the relay device having the power saving function disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above, when a general user receives specific multicast data such as TV broadcast data via a network when the relay device is in a power saving state. Since the relay device manages the power saving state by monitoring the data flow rate, it detects that the data flow rate is large, so that it returns to the normal state and power consumption increases.
In view of the above points, the present invention allows a power saving state to continue even if multicast data is received and / or transmitted in a gateway device such as a home gateway (HGW) device that automatically returns depending on the communication state in the power saving state. An object of the present invention is to provide a gateway device.
In order to solve the above-described problem, the present invention monitors the flow rate of only the specific multicast data when the gateway device such as the HGW device receives specific multicast data such as TV broadcast data even in the power saving state. Without receiving data and / or transmitting data, power consumption can be reduced.

According to the first solution of the present invention,
A receiving apparatus for transmitting a multicast data reception request to receive the multicast data; a server for transmitting multicast data; and the receiving apparatus for receiving multicast data from the server according to the reception request from the receiving apparatus In a data distribution system comprising a gateway device for distribution to
The gateway device is
CPU,
With switch
With
The CPU monitors the data flow rate transmitted from the switch , and controls to shift to a power saving state when the data flow rate is lower than a predetermined value, and to shift to a normal state when the data flow rate is higher than the predetermined value. There line,
The switch, when the a received data Gama multicast data from the server sends said multicast data to said receiving apparatus without passing through the CPU, and data received from said receiving apparatus and said server said If data other than the multicast data, via the CPU, and transmits the data respectively to the server and the receiving device,
When the gateway device is set to a power saving state,
The switch receives the multicast data reception request from the receiver;
The CPU receives the reception request from the switch, sets the switch so that the requested multicast data is transmitted from the server to the reception device without passing through the CPU, and the reception Forward the request to the server via the switch;
The switch receives the multicast data from the server according to the reception request, and maintains the power saving state by transmitting the multicast data to the receiving device without passing through the CPU according to the setting by the CPU. Thus, a data distribution system for distributing the multicast data is provided.

According to the second solution of the present invention,
A receiving apparatus for transmitting a multicast data reception request to receive the multicast data; a server for transmitting multicast data; and the receiving apparatus for receiving multicast data from the server according to the reception request from the receiving apparatus In a data distribution system comprising a gateway device for distribution to
The gateway device is
CPU,
With switch
With
The CPU monitors the data flow rate transmitted from the switch , and controls to shift to a power saving state when the data flow rate is lower than a predetermined value, and to shift to a normal state when the data flow rate is higher than the predetermined value. There line,
The switch, when the a received data Gama multicast data from the server sends said multicast data to said receiving apparatus without passing through the CPU, and data received from said receiving apparatus and said server said If data other than the multicast data, via the CPU, that sends the data respectively to the server and the receiving device
A data distribution method in the previous Symbol data distribution system,

When the gateway device is set to a power saving state,
The switch receives the multicast data reception request from the receiver;
The CPU receives the reception request from the switch, sets the switch so that the requested multicast data is transmitted from the server to the reception device without passing through the CPU, and the reception Forward the request to the server via the switch;
The switch receives the multicast data from the server according to the reception request, and maintains the power saving state by transmitting the multicast data to the receiving device without passing through the CPU according to the setting by the CPU. Thus, a data distribution method for distributing the multicast data is provided.

According to the third solution of the present invention,
In the gateway device that receives multicast data from a server that transmits multicast data and distributes the multicast data to the receiving device in accordance with the reception request from the receiving device for transmitting the multicast data reception request and receiving the multicast data,
CPU,
With switch
With
The CPU monitors the data flow rate transmitted from the switch , and controls to shift to a power saving state when the data flow rate is lower than a predetermined value, and to shift to a normal state when the data flow rate is higher than the predetermined value. There line,
The switch, when the a received data Gama multicast data from the server sends said multicast data to said receiving apparatus without passing through the CPU, and data received from said receiving apparatus and said server said If data other than the multicast data, via the CPU, and transmits the data respectively to the server and the receiving device,
When the gateway device is set to a power saving state,
The switch receives the multicast data reception request from the receiver;
The CPU receives the reception request from the switch, sets the switch so that the requested multicast data is transmitted from the server to the reception device without passing through the CPU, and the reception Forward the request to the server via the switch;
The switch receives the multicast data from the server according to the reception request, and maintains the power saving state by transmitting the multicast data to the receiving device without passing through the CPU according to the setting by the CPU. A gateway device configured to distribute the multicast data.

  According to the present invention, for example, when watching TV, by not monitoring the flow rate of multicast data for TV broadcasting, the power saving state of a gateway device such as an HGW device can be maintained, and power consumption can be reduced. Can do. For example, it is possible to reduce power consumption of 0.1 W per gateway device, and it is possible to expect a power reduction effect of 100,000 kW as a whole.

The system block diagram concerning embodiment of this invention is shown. It is the figure explaining the frame at the time of performing the transfer of the data using RTP etc. via the network in this invention. It is a figure which shows the block block diagram of the home gateway in embodiment of this invention. It is a table | surface which shows the state of the various apparatuses in the normal state and power saving state of the home gateway apparatus of embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the power saving state of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of data transmission / reception of L2SW in a home gateway apparatus and CPU in the related technique before implementation of this invention and this Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram at the time of the data reception in the related technique before implementation of this invention and this Embodiment. It is a sequence diagram of the power saving state of the embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the flow of data transmission / reception of L2SW and CPU in the home gateway apparatus of embodiment of this invention. The control flow figure of L2SW at the time of receiving data from the WAN port part of embodiment of this invention is shown.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. However, the embodiment does not limit the technical scope of the present invention.
In the embodiment of the present invention, a multicast frame for television broadcasting (or multicast data) will be described as an example, but the present invention is also applicable to other multicast frames (or multicast data). Examples of multicast data include various types of data such as terrestrial digital broadcast, BS / CS digital broadcast, video on demand (VOD), and Internet protocol (IP) broadcast.

  FIG. 1 shows a system configuration diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention. The TV (5) has a function of receiving a TV broadcast such as a digital broadcast and a function of requesting a channel to be received. The STB (set top box) (2) has a function of requesting a TV program to be received from the HGW apparatus (1) and receiving data of the TV program transmitted from the HGW apparatus (1). It is a means to transmit to TV (5). As a method of transmitting and receiving data from the HGW apparatus (1) to the STB (2), there are a method of transmitting and receiving data using a wire and a method of transmitting and receiving data using a wireless function.

  The HGW apparatus (1) is means for receiving data transmitted as multicast data from the TV broadcast server (4) via the network (3) for the TV program requested by the STB (2), and 3 has a function that can be switched to a power saving state and a normal state shown in FIG.

  FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a frame when data is transferred using RTP (Real time Transport Protocol) or the like via the Internet according to the present invention. The data transmission method is not limited to RTP, and other standards may be used. This frame has a general data frame configuration for multicast data transmission, and TV broadcast data is encapsulated in a data area. This frame has a data format when TV broadcast data is transmitted from the network (3) to the HGW apparatus (1), for example.

  The configuration of TV broadcast data includes a TS (Transport Stream) header (401), a Packet start code prefix (402), a Stream id (403), a packet length (404), and a PES (Packetized Elementary Stream) data area (405). . The TS header (401) includes a packet identifier, and can identify which program the packet is. Packet start code prefix (402) is an identification code indicating the start of PES. The stream id (403) is used for identifying the contents of the data area, and for example, identifies that the current data is MPEG2. The packet length (404) indicates the length of the PES data area. The PES data area (405) contains compressed TV broadcast data. In addition, although a method using PES and TS packets is used this time, other standards may be used.

FIG. 3 is a block configuration diagram of the home gateway in the embodiment of the present invention. The HGW apparatus (1) includes a WAN port (101), an L2SW (102), a CPU (106), a LAN port unit (110), an LED function unit (111), and a wireless LAN function unit (112).
The WAN port (101) is an interface unit that transmits and receives data to and from a WAN (Wide Area Network), and performs data transmission and reception with the network (3) as an example.
The LAN port (110) is a LAN interface unit that transmits and receives data to and from a LAN (Local Area Network) device by wire, and performs data transmission and reception with the STB (2) as an example.
Similar to the LAN port (110), the wireless LAN function unit (112) serves as an interface for transmitting and receiving data to and from the LAN device, but transmits and receives data wirelessly instead of wired.
The LED function unit (111) performs various displays such as the state of the HGW device (1). For example, when the HGW device (1) is activated, the “POWER” LED is lit, and when the WAN port (101) is in the connected state, the “WAN” LED is lit and blinks, and power saving In the state, all the LEDs can be turned off. In addition, it can comprise as a display function part not only with LED but with an appropriate display means.

  The L2SW (102) has a network control unit (103) and transmits data received from the WAN port unit (101) to the CPU (106), and conversely, receives data received from the CPU (106). It has a function of transmitting to the port unit (101), and similarly has a function of performing similar processing on data transmitted and received from the LAN port unit (110). Note that the present invention is not limited to L2 and can be applied to a switch unit of an appropriate layer.

  The network control unit (103) includes a multicast detection unit (104), and the multicast detection unit (104) detects whether the received data is specific multicast data (TV broadcast data in this embodiment). I do. In the power saving state, the network control unit (103) causes the multicast detection unit (104) to transmit the TV broadcast data by instructing the CPU (106) to transfer only the TV broadcast data directly to the LAN port unit (110). Is detected, the data is transmitted directly to the LAN port unit (110).

  The CPU (106) includes a mode control unit (107), a function control unit (108), a data control unit (109), and a flow rate monitoring unit (105). The mode control unit (107) controls the state of the HGW device (1) such as the normal state and the power saving state, state switching, and the like. The function control unit (108) has a function of controlling the LED function unit (111) and a function of controlling the wireless LAN function unit (112). In the power saving state, the TV broadcast data is transmitted to the L2SW (102). Only has a function of issuing an instruction to transmit directly to the LAN port unit (110) without passing through the CPU (106). The data control unit (109) has a function of performing protocol processing of data received from the L2SW (102).

  The flow rate monitoring unit (105) has a function of monitoring the flow rate of data transmitted from the L2SW (102) to the CPU (106), and there is a flow rate when the HGW device (1) is in a power saving state. When there is a certain value (for example, 500 Kbps) or more, it has a function of notifying the mode control unit (107) of the CPU (106).

FIG. 4 is a table showing the states of various devices in the normal state and the power saving state of the HGW device according to the embodiment of the present invention.
In the normal state S101, the CPU (106) is turned on and blinked in the normal state, and the LED function unit (111) is turned on and blinked in the state of the HGW device (1). The wireless LAN function unit (112) is also in an activated state and can transmit and receive data. The link speeds of the WAN port unit (101) and the LAN port unit (110) are in a link state in which high speed (a certain speed faster than the power saving state) (for example, 1G) is maximized.
In the power saving state S102, the CPU (106) is in the power saving state, and only the data with a certain data flow rate (for example, 500 Kbps) can be communicated. Will return. The LED function unit (111) is always turned off regardless of the state of the HGW device (1). The wireless LAN function unit (112) is in a sleep state and cannot transmit or receive data.
The link speed of the WAN port section (101) and the LAN port section (110) is fixed at a low speed (a certain speed slower than the normal state) (for example, 10M). At present or in the past, when a TV is viewed, data of a certain data flow rate (for example, 500 Kbps) or more flows, and the power saving state returns to the normal state.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of the power saving state according to the embodiment of the present invention.
The CPU (106) (for example, the mode control unit (107) and / or the function control unit (108)) monitors the data transmission amount and / or the reception amount by the flow rate monitoring unit (105), thereby the data flow rate. When there are few, it will transfer to a power saving state, and when there are many, it will transfer to a normal state. The power saving state can also be set by initial setting or manual setting.
When the CPU (106) is set to the power saving state (S201), the function of the power saving state S102 of FIG. 4 is limited as shown in step S202. In the power saving state, the CPU (106) monitors the data flow rate by the flow rate monitoring unit (105) (S203), and monitors whether the data flow rate exceeds a certain value (for example, 500 Kbps). (S204).
When data having a data flow rate of more than a certain value (for example, 500 Kbps) is transmitted / received, the CPU (106) performs mode transition to the normal state (S206). On the other hand, when the data flow rate is a certain value (for example, 500 Kbps) or less, the CPU (106) continues the power saving state (S205), returns to step S203, and continues to monitor the flow rate.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a flow of data transmission / reception between the L2SW (102) and the CPU (106) in the HGW apparatus (1) in the related art before the implementation of the present invention and the present embodiment. The HGW apparatus (1) shown in FIG. 6 shows a configuration having four LAN ports and one WAN port as an example. The L2SW (102) has Port0 (1021) to Port6 (1027), and PortVID is set for each. In addition, the port VLAN function allows ports Port 4 (1025) and Port 5 (1026) used as the WAN port unit (101) and Port 0 (1021), Port 1 (1022) and Port 2 (1023) used as the LAN port unit (110). ), Port 3 (1024) and Port 6 (1027) are separated by the port VLAN.

When the LAN1 port and the WAN are linked, data is transmitted and received through the paths R101, R102, and R103. The data path when data is transmitted from the LAN port 1 is shown below.
Data is transmitted from the LAN 1 to the Port 0 (1021), and the data is transmitted from the Port 0 (1021) to the CPU (106) via the network control unit (103). The data transmitted to the CPU (106) is monitored through the flow rate monitoring unit (105). Further, the CPU performs protocol processing and transmits the data to Port 5 of the L2SW (102). Data is transmitted from the Port 5 (1026) to the WAN (101) via the network control unit (103) and the Port 4 (1025). When the WAN (101) receives data from the network (3), the data received from the WAN (101) flows through the routes R103, R102, and R101 opposite to the data route when the data is transmitted from the LAN port 1. .

  FIG. 7 shows a sequence diagram at the time of data reception in the related art before the implementation of the present invention and the present embodiment. In FIG. 7, assuming IPv4, the network network (3) to the TV broadcasting server use PIM (Protocol Independent Multicast), the network (3) to the HGW device (1), and the STB (2) IGMP ( Internet Management Protocol). In the case of IPv6, MLD (Multicast Listener Discovery) is used instead of IGMP. Moreover, the HGW apparatus (1) is in a power saving state.

First, when the user requests reception of channel A by the TV or STB (2) (S301), the STB (2) receives the request and sends an IGMP report to the HGW device (in order to request channel A multicast data). 1) (S302). This IGMP Report is accompanied by designation of a transmission source address and a multicast address of TV broadcast data of channel A.
For example, the source address is the IP address already set in STB (2), and the multicast address is the one already set by the user in TV (5) or STB (2) depending on the channel to be received. . By setting this multicast address, a request to receive multicast data of a TV program to be received is made.

When receiving the IGMP Report from the STB (2), the HGW apparatus (1) transfers it to the network (3) (S303). In response, if the network (3) is receiving TV broadcast data of channel A (S304), the network (3) transmits the TV broadcast data of channel A to the HGW apparatus (1). The HGW apparatus (1) transmits the TV broadcast data of channel A received from the network (3) to the STB (2) via the CPU (106) (S306). When STB (2) receives the TV broadcast data of channel A, channel A can be viewed on a TV or the like.
However, since multicast data is transmitted via the CPU (106), it is assumed that the multicast data passes through the flow rate monitoring unit, and data exceeding a certain data flow rate (for example, 500 Kbps) flows and shifts to the normal state. Is done. In the current power-saving state, the HGW apparatus is used for viewing multicast data such as TV viewing that is likely to be used by general users, as in the related art before the implementation of the present invention and the present embodiment. (1) is always used only in the normal state. Further, when power saving of the HGW device (1) is attempted, it is necessary to reduce the power consumption more efficiently while maintaining the power saving state of the HGW device (1) even when watching TV or the like. Actually, for example, if the TV broadcast is distributed, when the IGMP Report is transmitted from the STB (2), the data of the TV broadcast is distributed to the STB (2) by the reply.
If TV broadcast data of channel A is not flowing, even if IGMP Report is transmitted from STB (2), TV broadcast data is not received by HGW apparatus (1), and IGMP Report times out and is discarded. The STB (2) and the HGW device (1) remain in a state where they do not receive TV broadcasts.

FIG. 8 shows a sequence diagram of the power saving state according to the embodiment of the present invention. As in FIG. 7, when the user requests reception of channel A by TV or STB (2) (S401), STB (2) receives this and requests IGMP report to request multicast data of channel A. Is transmitted to the HGW apparatus (1) (S402). This IGMP Report is accompanied by designation of a transmission source address and a multicast address of TV broadcast data of channel A.
When the HGW device (1) receives the IGMP Report for the channel A reception request, the function control unit (108) of the CPU (106) transmits the multicast data of the channel A without passing through the CPU (106). Setting is performed in the network control unit (103) of the L2SW (102) so as to transmit to the LAN port unit (110).

  Further, when receiving the IGMP Report from the STB (2), the HGW apparatus (1) transfers it to the network (3) (S403). In response, the network (3) receives the TV broadcast data of channel A (if the TV broadcast server (4) is broadcasting the TV broadcast data of channel A) (S404). ), And broadcast data of channel A is transmitted to the HGW apparatus (1). The HGW apparatus (1) transmits the broadcast data of channel A received from the network (3) to the STB (2) without passing through the CPU (106) (S405). When the STB (2) receives the TV broadcast data of the channel A (S406), the channel A can be viewed on the TV or the like. Since the TV broadcast data does not pass through the CPU (106), the power saving state can be maintained while receiving the TV broadcast data without passing through the flow rate monitoring unit (105).

  FIG. 9 shows a flow of data transmission / reception between the L2SW (102) and the CPU (106) in the home gateway apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. The STB (2) is connected to the LAN 1 and requests the LAN 1 to receive channel A TV broadcast data. This reception request data is transmitted from LAN1 to Port0 (1021) of L2SW (102). The data transmitted to Port 0 (1021) is transmitted to the network control unit (103). The network control unit (103) transmits the received reception request data to the CPU (106). The channel A reception request data transmitted to the CPU (106) passes through the flow rate monitoring unit (105), and the flow rate is monitored. Since the data frame of the reception request data of channel A has a certain data flow rate (for example, 500 Kbps) or less, the power saving state can be continued even after passing through the flow rate monitoring unit (105). Further, the function control unit (108) of the CPU (106) transmits the multicast data of channel A to the LAN port unit (110) without passing through the CPU (106), and the network control unit of the L2SW (102). Set to (103).

  The CPU (106) transmits the reception request data that has passed through the flow rate monitoring unit (105) to the L2SW (102). The reception request data transmitted from the CPU (106) to the L2SW (102) is transmitted to the WAN (101) via the Port 5 (1026), the network control unit (103), and the Port 4 (1025). The flow of transmission of the reception request data is from R201 to R202, and data is transmitted to R203.

  The WAN (101) makes a channel A reception request to the TV broadcast server or its subordinate router via the network (3), and the channel (A) broadcast distributed from the TV broadcast server to the WAN (101). Data (multicast data) is transmitted to the WAN (101) via the network (3).

The WAN (101) causes the broadcast data of channel A to be transmitted to the Port 4 (1025). The broadcast data of channel A received by Port 4 is transmitted to the network control unit (103). The broadcast data of channel A transmitted to the network control unit (103) is transmitted to the multicast detection unit (104) in the network control unit (103). The multicast detection unit (104) has a function of detecting whether the received data is multicast data. When receiving the broadcast data of channel A, the multicast detection unit (104) determines whether it is unicast or multicast based on the IP address class or the like. For example, since multicast data is a class D IP address, it can be determined whether or not the IP address is a class D IP address. If the channel A broadcast data (multicast data) is received from the function control unit (108) of the CPU (106), the setting has already been made to transmit directly to the LAN port unit (110) without passing through the CPU (106). Therefore, according to the result of the multicast detection unit (104), the network control unit (103) transmits broadcast data to Port0 (1021). The port 0 (1021) transmits the received broadcast data to the LAN 1, and the user transmits the broadcast data from the STB (2) connected to the LAN 1 to the TV (5), so that the user can connect the HGW device (1). TV viewing can be enabled even in the power saving state.
As for the data flow, the data for the reception request of the channel A received from the LAN 1 is transmitted from the R201 to the R202 and from the R202 to the R203, and is transmitted from the WAN port unit (101) to the network (3). On the other hand, since the TV broadcast data of channel A is received from the WAN port unit (101) and transmitted from R204 to R205 and from R205 to R206, it is possible to view TV while in the power saving state.

  FIG. 10 shows a control flow diagram of the L2SW (102) when receiving TV broadcast data from the WAN port unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. When Port 4 (1025) receives the data transmitted from the WAN port unit (101) (S501), Port 4 (1025) transmits the received data to the network control unit (103). The network control unit (103) uses the multicast detection unit (104) to determine whether the received data (S502) is TV broadcast data (multicast data) (S503).

  When the received data is TV broadcast data (multicast data) and the CPU (106) is in a power saving state, the network control unit (103) directly transmits the LAN port unit (without transmitting data to the CPU (106). 110), the network control unit (103) transmits TV broadcast data (multicast data) to the LAN port unit (110) (S504).

  When the network control unit (103) receives data that is not TV broadcast data (multicast data), the network control unit (103) transmits the data to the CPU (106) (S505).

  In this way, the TV broadcast data (multicast data) received from the WAN port unit (101) is transmitted directly to the LAN port unit (110) without passing through the CPU (106), thereby passing through the flow rate monitoring unit. It is possible to transmit and receive data without any problem, and it is possible to keep the state of the HGW device (1) in a power saving state even when receiving TV broadcast data, thereby reducing power consumption (for example, one unit). About 0.1 W).

Data, frames, and protocols for requesting and receiving multicast data are not limited to those described above, and appropriate data can be adopted. The present invention can be applied not only to TV broadcast data but also to various data.
In the above, the configuration in which the TV and the STB are independent from each other has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and both may be integrated, and receiving devices having various configurations may be employed. Further, the present invention can be applied to an appropriate gateway device other than the HGW device.

1: HGW device (home gateway)
101: WAN port part 102: L2SW
103: Network control unit (L2SW)
104: Multicast detection unit (L2SW)
105: Flow rate monitoring unit 106: CPU
107: Mode control unit (CPU)
108: Function control unit (CPU)
109: Data control unit (CPU)
110: LAN port unit 111: LED function unit 112: Wireless LAN function unit 2: STB (set top box)
3: Internet 4: Server for TV broadcasting 5: TV (TV)

Claims (10)

A receiving apparatus for transmitting a multicast data reception request to receive the multicast data; a server for transmitting multicast data; and the receiving apparatus for receiving multicast data from the server according to the reception request from the receiving apparatus In a data distribution system comprising a gateway device for distribution to
The gateway device is
CPU,
With switch
With
The CPU monitors the data flow rate transmitted from the switch , and controls to shift to a power saving state when the data flow rate is lower than a predetermined value, and to shift to a normal state when the data flow rate is higher than the predetermined value. There line,
The switch, when the a received data Gama multicast data from the server sends said multicast data to said receiving apparatus without passing through the CPU, and data received from said receiving apparatus and said server said If data other than the multicast data, via the CPU, and transmits the data respectively to the server and the receiving device,
When the gateway device is set to a power saving state,
The switch receives the multicast data reception request from the receiver;
The CPU receives the reception request from the switch, sets the switch so that the requested multicast data is transmitted from the server to the reception device without passing through the CPU, and the reception Forward the request to the server via the switch;
The switch receives the multicast data from the server according to the reception request, and maintains the power saving state by transmitting the multicast data to the receiving device without passing through the CPU according to the setting by the CPU. A data distribution system that distributes the multicast data.
The data distribution system according to claim 1,
The gateway device further includes:
Display function unit that displays the status of the gateway device
With
The CPU
A mode control unit having a function of performing switching control of the state of the gateway device to a normal state or a power saving state;
Function control having a function of controlling the display function unit in accordance with a normal state and a power saving state, and a function of setting only multicast data to the switch without passing through the CPU in the power saving state. And
The mode control unit has a function of monitoring the flow rate of data transmitted from the switch to the CPU, and when the gateway device is set in a power saving state, the flow rate is equal to or greater than a predetermined value. A data distribution system comprising a flow rate monitoring unit having a function of notifying to a user.
The data distribution system according to claim 2 ,
further,
A first port unit for transmitting and receiving data to and from the server via a first network;
A second port unit for transmitting and receiving data to and from the receiving device via a second network;
The data distribution system is characterized in that the first and second ports are connected to the switch.
The data distribution system according to claim 3, wherein
In the normal state, the CPU is in a normal operation state, the display function unit lights up and blinks to indicate the state of the gateway device, and the link speed of the first and second port units is higher than the power saving state in advance. When the predetermined speed is maximized and the flow rate data below the predetermined value flows to the flow rate monitoring unit, the normal state is switched to the power saving state.
On the other hand, in the power saving state, the CPU is in the power saving state, and only the data with a flow rate below a predetermined value can be communicated. is the normal time turned off, the link speed of the first and second port portion and fixed at a slower predetermined rate than the normal state, when the predetermined value or more of the flow rate of data flows in the flow monitoring unit A data distribution system characterized by returning from a power saving state to a normal state.
The data distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The switch is
A multicast detector for detecting whether the data received from the server is the multicast data;
A data distribution system comprising: a network control unit that controls the multicast data received from the server to be transmitted directly to the receiving device without passing through the CPU under the control of the CPU.
The data distribution system according to claim 5, wherein
The multicast detection unit determines whether the received data is the multicast data,
When the received data is the multicast data, and the power saving state is set by the CPU, the network control unit is configured to transmit the multicast data directly to the network without transmitting the data to the CPU. To the network,
On the other hand, when the received data is not the multicast data, the network control unit transmits the received data to the CPU.
The data distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The data distribution system, wherein the reception request includes a source address of the multicast data and a multicast address.
The data distribution system according to any one of claims 1 to 7,
The multicast data is any one of terrestrial digital broadcast, BS / CS digital broadcast, VOD, IP broadcast, other broadcast data, or distribution data.
A receiving apparatus for transmitting a multicast data reception request to receive the multicast data; a server for transmitting multicast data; and the receiving apparatus for receiving multicast data from the server according to the reception request from the receiving apparatus In a data distribution system comprising a gateway device for distribution to
The gateway device is
CPU,
With switch
With
The CPU monitors the data flow rate transmitted from the switch , and controls to shift to a power saving state when the data flow rate is lower than a predetermined value, and to shift to a normal state when the data flow rate is higher than the predetermined value. There line,
The switch, when the a received data Gama multicast data from the server sends said multicast data to said receiving apparatus without passing through the CPU, and data received from said receiving apparatus and said server said If data other than the multicast data, via the CPU, that sends the data respectively to the server and the receiving device
A data distribution method in the previous Symbol data distribution system,

When the gateway device is set to a power saving state,
The switch receives the multicast data reception request from the receiver;
The CPU receives the reception request from the switch, sets the switch so that the requested multicast data is transmitted from the server to the reception device without passing through the CPU, and the reception Forward the request to the server via the switch;
The switch receives the multicast data from the server according to the reception request, and maintains the power saving state by transmitting the multicast data to the receiving device without passing through the CPU according to the setting by the CPU. A data distribution method for distributing the multicast data.
In the gateway device that receives multicast data from a server that transmits multicast data and distributes the multicast data to the receiving device in accordance with the reception request from the receiving device for transmitting the multicast data reception request and receiving the multicast data,
CPU,
With switch
With
The CPU monitors the data flow rate transmitted from the switch , and controls to shift to a power saving state when the data flow rate is lower than a predetermined value, and to shift to a normal state when the data flow rate is higher than the predetermined value. There line,
The switch, when the a received data Gama multicast data from the server sends said multicast data to said receiving apparatus without passing through the CPU, and data received from said receiving apparatus and said server said If data other than the multicast data, via the CPU, and transmits the data respectively to the server and the receiving device,
When the gateway device is set to a power saving state,
The switch receives the multicast data reception request from the receiver;
The CPU receives the reception request from the switch, sets the switch so that the requested multicast data is transmitted from the server to the reception device without passing through the CPU, and the reception Forward the request to the server via the switch;
The switch receives the multicast data from the server according to the reception request, and maintains the power saving state by transmitting the multicast data to the receiving device without passing through the CPU according to the setting by the CPU. A gateway device that distributes the multicast data.

Images