JP5550023B2 - Communication amount management method and communication amount management system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a traffic management method and a traffic management system that enable a service provider to identify an access line on a packet basis in a service environment.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a technique called “FON” is known that allows members to share Internet access using a wireless LAN by using a unique wireless router (hereinafter referred to as “base station”).
Non-Patent Document 1 discloses an outline of FON.

<< Configuration of Access Line in Conventional Technology >>
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an access line in the prior art.
This system has a plurality of terminals 10-1 and 10-2, a plurality of base stations 20-1 and 20-2, a switching hub 21, a router 30, and a management server 40, and accesses the Internet 100. It is configured to be possible.

Terminals 10-1 and 10-2 can be wirelessly connected to any of a plurality of base stations 20-1 and 20-2. Base stations 20-1 and 20-2 are connected to the Internet 100 via a switching hub 21 and a router 30. A management server 40 is connected to the Internet 100, and can communicate with the base stations 20-1 and 20-2.
The user of the terminal 10-1 has a base station 20-1. When the terminal 10-1 accesses the Internet 100 via the base station 20-1, it is communication using its own line.
The user of the terminal 10-2 has a base station 20-2. When the terminal 10-2 accesses the Internet 100 via the base station 20-2, communication is performed using its own line. When the terminal 10-1 accesses the Internet 100 via the base station 20-2, it is communication using a third party line.

<< Operation of access line in conventional technology >>
Based on FIG. 11, the operation of establishing an access line from the terminals 10-1 and 10-2 to the Internet 100 will be described.
The users of the terminals 10-1 and 10-2 connect the base stations 20-1 and 20-2 to the broadband router 30 (hereinafter referred to as “router 30”) via the switching hub 21 in the home, respectively. Connect to the Internet 100.

  When the contract user having the terminal 10-1 first accesses the base station 20-2, the base station 20-2 automatically connects to the management server 40. Thereafter, other users including the contract user can access the base station 20-2. Hereinafter, the operation will be described focusing on the base station 20-2.

  The base station 20-2 performs SSID (Service Set Identifier: base stations 20-1 and 20-2 and terminals 10-1 and 10-2) by communication using its own line and communication using a third party line. Wireless LAN-ID) that communicates with each other. These SSIDs are set by the management server 40 via the network.

  When a plurality of terminals 10-1 and 10-2 access via the same base station 20-2, there is one global address that can be issued from the service provider. The base station 20-2 has a router function for use by a plurality of users. The base station 20-2 is assigned one global address. Then, the terminals 10-1 and 10-2 under the base station 20-2 are issued a plurality of private IP addresses by NAT (Network Address Translation) or NAPT (Network Address Port Translation) function.

  The base station 20-2 notifies the management server 40 of the usage history of the terminals 10-1 and 10-2 connected to the base station 20-2. The notified information is “connection time / destination base station number / communication amount, etc.”.

"FON", [online], Phone Japan Co., Ltd. [Search May 7, 2011], Internet (URL: http://www.fon.ne.jp/sb/about/index.html)

  In recent years, in addition to mobile carriers, fixed-rate billing that “pay as much as used” has been introduced in fixed carriers for the purpose of dealing with heavy users. In the case of a mobile carrier, the case of charging for each SIM card (Subscriber Identity Module Card) and the fixed carrier for each access line is the mainstream.

  However, when doing business such as opening up access lines to third parties such as FON, paying pay-per-line for each line with a fixed carrier, the access line user is not charged, but the access line The problem arises that the owner of the user is charged.

  Therefore, the present invention provides a communication amount management method and communication which enables charging to a third party even if the access line is provided to a third party while maintaining a pay-per-use system using the access line. It is an object to provide a quantity management system.

  In order to solve the above problems and achieve the object of the present invention, the present invention is configured as follows.

  That is, the invention according to claim 1 is a traffic management method for managing the traffic in each combination of a terminal station and an access line in a network having at least a first router and a second router. The first router acquires line information for identifying a transmission source IP address and the access line from an uplink IP packet transmitted from the terminal station to an external network, and the line information and the transmission source IP address. And the line information is added to the uplink IP packet and transmitted to the second router, and the second router transmits the transmission source IP address and the line in the uplink IP packet. Based on the information, the terminal station counts the traffic volume of the uplink IP packet that is transmitted to the external network, and from the uplink IP packet, It was traffic management method and transmits to the external network to delete the information.

The invention according to claim 8 is a communication amount management system that has at least a first router and a second router, and manages a communication amount in each combination of a terminal station and an access line. The first router acquires line information for identifying the transmission source IP address and the access line from the uplink IP packet transmitted from the terminal station to the external network, and records the correspondence between the line information and the transmission source IP address. And adding the line information to the uplink IP packet and transmitting it to the second router, the second router based on the transmission source IP address and the line information in the uplink IP packet. The terminal station counts the traffic volume of the uplink IP packet transmitted to the external network, and further deletes the line information from the uplink IP packet to It was traffic management system and transmits to the workpiece.
The invention according to claim 4 is a traffic management method for managing traffic in each combination of a terminal station and an access line in a network having at least a first router and a second router. The first router is configured to identify an IPv6 transmission source IP address, a first half Prefix of the transmission source IP address, and the access line from the upstream IP packet transmitted from the terminal station to the external network at the start of communication. Information is acquired, and the correspondence between the line information and the source IP address is recorded and transmitted to the second router without adding the line information to the uplink IP packet. The second router Based on the first half Prefix of the source IP address of IPv6 in the uplink IP packet at the start of communication and the line information, the terminal station Counting the traffic of the uplink IP packets to be transmitted to the external network, further to transmit the uplink IP packet to the external network, and a traffic management method, characterized in that.
According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the traffic management method according to the fourth aspect, the first router transmits the line information to the uplink IP packet transmitted from the terminal station to the external network in a normal state. To the second router, and the second router transmits the external station based on the first half Prefix of the source IP address of IPv6 in the uplink IP packet in a normal state. The traffic management method is characterized in that the traffic of the uplink IP packet transmitted to the network is counted, and further the uplink IP packet is transmitted to the external network.
The invention according to claim 11 is a traffic management system that includes at least a first router and a second router, and manages traffic in each combination of a terminal station and an access line, The first router obtains the IPv6 transmission source IP address, the first half Prefix of the transmission source IP address, and line information for identifying the access line from the uplink IP packet transmitted from the terminal station to the external network at the start of communication. Then, the correspondence between the line information and the transmission source IP address is recorded and transmitted to the second router without adding the line information to the uplink IP packet. Based on the first half Prefix of the source IP address of IPv6 in the upstream IP packet and the line information, the terminal station enters the external network. Counting the traffic of the uplink IP packets that signal was further traffic management system the uplink IP packet and transmits to the external network.
The invention according to claim 12 is the traffic management system according to claim 11, wherein the first router transmits the line information to the uplink IP packet transmitted from the terminal station to the external network in a normal state. To the second router, and the second router transmits the external station based on the first half Prefix of the source IP address of IPv6 in the uplink IP packet in a normal state. The traffic management system is characterized in that the traffic of the uplink IP packet transmitted to the network is counted, and further the uplink IP packet is transmitted to the external network.

  By doing so, according to the traffic management method and the traffic management system according to the present embodiment, the traffic of uplink IP packets can be counted for each terminal station (source IP address) and line information. it can.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the traffic management method according to the first aspect, the second router further receives a destination IP address from a downlink IP packet transmitted from the external network to the terminal station. And assigns the line information corresponding to the destination IP address to the downlink IP packet and transmits the packet information to the first router, and the first router transmits the destination in the downlink IP packet. Based on the IP address and the line information, the traffic volume of the downlink IP packet transmitted from the external network to the terminal station is counted, and the line information is deleted from the downlink IP packet and transmitted to the terminal station. A traffic management method characterized by

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the traffic management system according to the eighth aspect , the second router further receives a destination IP address from a downlink IP packet transmitted from the external network to the terminal station. And assigns the line information corresponding to the destination IP address to the downlink IP packet and transmits the packet information to the first router, and the first router transmits the destination in the downlink IP packet. Based on the IP address and the line information, the traffic volume of the downlink IP packet transmitted from the external network to the terminal station is counted, and the line information is deleted from the downlink IP packet and transmitted to the terminal station. A traffic management system characterized by
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the traffic management method according to the fourth aspect, the first router transmits an IPv6 destination IP address from a downlink IP packet transmitted from the external network to the terminal station. A communication characterized in that an address is acquired, the traffic volume of the downlink IP packet transmitted from the external network to the terminal station is counted based on the first half Prefix of the transmission destination IP address, and is transmitted to the terminal station. The amount management method was adopted.
According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the traffic management system according to the eleventh aspect, the first router transmits an IPv6 destination IP address from a downlink IP packet transmitted from the external network to the terminal station. A communication amount characterized by acquiring an address, counting a communication amount of the downlink IP packet that the external network transmits to the terminal station based on a first half Prefix of the transmission destination IP address, and transmitting the counted amount to the terminal station Management system.

  In this way, according to the traffic management method and the traffic management system according to the present embodiment, the traffic of the downlink IP packet can be counted for each terminal station (source IP address) and line information. it can. Therefore, even if an access line is provided to a third party, it is possible to easily charge the third party.

The invention according to claim 3, wherein the first router, the more VID (Virtual LAN Identifier) corresponding to the uplink IP packets, the acquired line information identifying the access lines, the second router The communication amount management method according to claim 2, wherein the line information based on the VID (Virtual LAN Identifier) is added to the downlink IP packet transmitted to the terminal station.

The invention according to claim 10, wherein the first router, the more VID (Virtual LAN Identifier) corresponding to the uplink IP packets, the acquired line information identifying the access lines, the second router The communication amount management system according to claim 9 , wherein the line information based on the VID (Virtual LAN Identifier) is added to the downlink IP packet transmitted to the terminal station.

  By doing in this way, according to the traffic management method and the traffic management system according to the present embodiment, identification of line information can be easily realized.

The invention described in claim 7 further includes a traffic management server in the network described in any one of claims 2, 3, or 6 , wherein the traffic management server includes: Each time a predetermined time elapses and / or at the end timing of a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) lease timer, the traffic of the uplink IP packet transmitted by each combination of the terminal station and the line information, or / And a traffic management method characterized by receiving the traffic of the downlink IP packet received by each combination of the terminal station and the line information.

The invention described in claim 14 is the traffic management system according to any one of claims 9, 10, or 13 , further comprising a communication management server, wherein the communication management server Each time a predetermined time elapses, the amount of communication of the uplink IP packet transmitted by each combination of the terminal station and the line information or / and each combination of the terminal station and the line information is received. A traffic management system is provided that receives the traffic of the downlink IP packet.

  By doing in this way, according to the traffic management method and the traffic management system according to the present embodiment, the traffic of the uplink IP packet and the downlink IP packet in each combination of the terminal station and the line information. It becomes possible to grasp the traffic volume.

  According to the present invention, even if an access line is provided to a third party while maintaining a pay-as-you-go system using the access line, it is possible to charge the third party.

It is a block diagram which shows the connection at the time of Router Advertisement in 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the format of an Ethernet (trademark) frame. It is a figure which shows the packet format of IPv6. FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing line information addition / deletion at the start of communication in the first embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the notification (periodic notification) of the byte count amount in 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the connection at the time of DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) in 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing line information addition / deletion at the start of communication in the second embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the notification of the byte count amount (notification of a DHCP lease contract) in 2nd Embodiment. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing line information addition / deletion at the start of communication in the third embodiment. It is a sequence diagram which shows the notification (periodic notification) of the byte count amount in 3rd Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the access line in a prior art.

  Hereinafter, a mode for carrying out the present invention (referred to as “the present embodiment”) will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(Configuration of the first embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing connections at the time of Router Advertisement in the first embodiment. In the specification and drawings, Router Advertisement may be abbreviated as “RA”.

  This system includes a plurality of terminals 10-1 and 10-2, a plurality of base stations 20-1 and 20-2, a switching hub 21, a router 30A that is a first router, and a second router. The router 30 </ b> B, the management server 40, the line management server 41, and the traffic management server 42 are configured to be accessible to the Internet 100. The user of terminal 10-1 has base station 20-1 as its own line. The user of the terminal 10-2 has the base station 20-2 as its own line. The user of the terminal 10-1 can use the base station 20-2 as a third party line. The traffic management server 42 has a database indicating to which user a plurality of terminals 10-1 and 10-2 and a plurality of base stations 20-1 and 20-2 belong. When the terminals 10-1 and 10-2 access the respective base stations 20-1 and 20-2, the traffic management server 42 has its own access line or a third party line. Can be identified.

  Terminals 10-1 and 10-2 can be wirelessly connected to any of a plurality of base stations 20-1 and 20-2. The base stations 20-1 and 20-2 are connected to the Internet 100 via the switching hub 21 and routers 30A and 30B. The management server 40 is connected to a network between the router 30A and the router 30B, and can communicate with the base stations 20-1 and 20-2 by IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6). The line management server 41 and the traffic management server 42 are connected to the network between the router 30A and the router 30B so that they can communicate with the routers 30A and 30B and IPv6, respectively. This system is a traffic management system that manages the traffic on each combination of terminals 10-1 and 10-2 and access lines of access points 20-1 and 20-2 serving as access points. In the following description and drawings, the access point may be described as “AP”.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a format of an Ethernet (registered trademark) frame. The format shown in FIG. 2 conforms to IEEE802.1Q.
The Ethernet (registered trademark) frame has a destination MAC address (Media Access Control address), a source MAC address, a tag header, a frame type, data as a payload, an FCS (Frame Check Sequence) field, in order from the top. have.

The tag header further has a 3-bit user priority, a 1-bit CFI (Canonical Format Indicator), and a 12-bit VLAN-ID (Virtual LAN Identifier) in order from the top. Hereinafter, in this specification and drawings, VLAN-ID may be abbreviated as VID (Virtual LAN Identifier).
FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an IPv6 packet format.

  The IPv6 packet format includes a 4-bit version number, an 8-bit traffic class, a 20-bit flow label, a 16-bit payload length, an 8-bit next header, an 8-bit maximum hop length, 128 It consists of a bit source IP address, a 128 bit destination IP address, an extension header, and a data body.

  As the version number, binary number “0110” indicating version 6 is stored. The traffic class is used to identify a priority for QoS (Quality of Service). The flow label is a field for labeling that requires router control.

  The payload length stores the IPv6 extension header length. The next header indicates the header type following the IPv6 header. The next header includes information capable of identifying UDP (User Datagram Protocol), TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), and the like in addition to the extension header in IPv6. The maximum hop length indicates a limit beyond the router. A value 255 stored in the maximum hop length is a special value indicating that router crossing is prohibited.

  The transmission source IP address indicates the IP address of the device that transmitted this packet. The destination IP address indicates the IP address of the destination device of this packet.

(Operation of the first embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a sequence diagram showing the addition / deletion of line information at the start of communication in the first embodiment. The sequence shown in FIG. 4 shows uplink communication from the terminal toward the Internet side.

  In step S10, the terminal 10-n (n is a natural number) receives an RA (Router Advertisement) from the router 30A that is an edge router. In step S11, the terminal 10-n generates its own IPv6 address and becomes communicable with the Internet 100. In the drawing, the IPv6 address may be described as “V6 address”.

  In step S12, the terminal 10-n transmits the first uplink IP packet to the router 30A in order to transmit the first IP packet to any device on the Internet 100.

  In step S20, the router 30A, which is the default gateway, confirms the source IP address of the IP packet and the VID (Virtual LAN Identifier) of the Ethernet (registered trademark) frame, and determines which terminal 10-n (= 10-1). , 10-2,..., Which access line is accessed from the base station 20-n (= 20-1, 20-2,...) Is identified. Hereinafter, the information identified here is referred to as “line information”.

  In step S21, the router 30A transmits the source IP address included in the first uplink IP packet and the VID corresponding to the first uplink IP packet to the line management server 41 to confirm the line. .

In step S22, the line management server 41 notifies the router 30A of line information corresponding to the VID. In step S23, the router 30A returns an acknowledgment (ACK), and in step S24, generates a correspondence table between the terminal IP address of the terminal 10-n and the line information.
In step S25, the router 30A gives line information to the uplink IP packet.

  In step S26, the line management server 41 notifies the transmission source IP address and the VID to the router 30B which is the other edge router in the fixed carrier network. In step S27, the router 30A returns an affirmative response (ACK), and in step S28, generates a correspondence table between the terminal IP address and the line information.

  In step S29, the router 30A transmits the uplink IP packet to which the line information is added to the router 30B. In FIG. 4, the uplink IP packet to which the line information is added is described as “IP packet w / line information”. In the following diagram, an uplink IP packet and a downlink IP packet to which line information is added are described in the same manner.

  In step S30, the router 30B identifies the terminal 10-n (user) from the source IP address, identifies the access line from the assigned line information, and the number of bytes of the uplink IP packet for each terminal and line information. Count.

  In step S31, the router 30B deletes the line information from the uplink IP packet to obtain a standard frame, and transmits the uplink IP packet to the Internet 100 in step S100.

  For downlink communication from the Internet 100 side to the terminal 10-n, as in the sequence shown in FIG. 4, the router 30B adds line information and the like, and the router 30A counts the downlink IP packets, thereby It is possible to count communication packets in both downstream directions.

When switching of an access point (base station 20-n) called handover occurs during communication, the VID (Virtual LAN Identifier) is changed. After the change, when the terminal 10-n transmits the uplink IP packet to the router 30, the router 30A recognizes that the entry does not exist in the correspondence table between the terminal IP address and the line information (step S20). Therefore, the line information is newly confirmed with the line management server 41 (step S21). The line management server 41 notifies the line information (step S22).
The router 30A acknowledges (ACKs) the notification of the line information (step S23), and adds a new entry to the correspondence table between the terminal IP address and the line information (step S24). Thereafter, the router 30A gives this line information to the uplink IP packet from the terminal 10-n (step S25).

FIG. 5 is a sequence diagram showing a byte count amount notification (periodic notification) in the first embodiment.
By the line information addition / deletion process shown in FIG. 4 described above, it is possible to perform packet counting in consideration of the terminal (user) and the access line. FIG. 5 shows a method of collecting the information by periodically notifying the counted information.
First, uplink communication from the terminal 10-n to the Internet 100 will be described.
In step S40, the terminal 10-n transmits an uplink IP packet to the router 30A.
In step S41, the router 30A adds line information to the extension header (FIG. 3) of the uplink IP packet and transmits it to the router 30B. In FIG. 5, the uplink IP packet to which the line information is added is described as “IP packet w / line information”.

In step S42, the router 30B performs packet count in consideration of the line information given to the extension header (FIG. 3) of the uplink IP packet. In step S43, the router 30B starts from the extension IP packet (FIG. 3). ) Is deleted and transmitted to the Internet 100.
Next, downlink communication from the Internet 100 to the terminal 10-n will be described.
In step S44, a downstream IP packet is transmitted from the Internet 100 to the router 30B.
In step S45, the router 30B adds line information to the extension header (FIG. 3) of the downlink IP packet and transmits it to the router 30A. In FIG. 5, the downlink IP packet to which the line information is added is described as “IP packet w / line information”.

  In step S46, the router 30A performs packet count in consideration of the line information given to the extension header (FIG. 3) of the downlink IP packet. In step S47, the router 30A determines the extension header (FIG. The line information given in 3) is deleted and transmitted to the terminal 10-n.

  In step S50, every time the predetermined time elapses, the router 30A determines the amount of bytes and the number of packets of the downlink IP packet counted in units of “terminal and line information” in step S51. To notify. In step S52, the traffic management server 42 transmits a response to this notification to the router 30A.

Similarly, in step S60, every time a predetermined time elapses, the router 30B calculates the amount of bytes and the number of packets of the uplink IP packet counted in units of “terminal and line information” in step S61. The management server 42 is notified. In step S62, the traffic management server 42 transmits a response to this notification to the router 30B.
In step S70, the traffic management server 42 calculates the upstream and downstream traffic on the own line and the third party line, respectively.

In the traffic management server 42, as a result of centrally managing the traffic on the own line and the third party line, the base station 20 can be communicated to a third party while maintaining the pay-per-use system by access via the base station 20-n. Even if an access line via -n is provided, it is possible to charge the third party.
As a specific example, the following charging method is possible.

(Case 1) When the terminal 10-n (user) connects to the base station 20-n owned by the terminal 10-n and uses its own contracted line (own line), the communication byte amount is counted as it is.
(Case 2) When the terminal 10-n (user) connects to the base station 20-n owned by a third party and uses a third party contract line (third party line), the communication byte amount is 1 Count twice. (= Expensive communication)
(Case 3) The terminal 10-n (user) who provided the access line in Case 2 subtracts 0.1 times the communication byte amount used in Case 2 from its accumulated count amount. (= Discount.)

(Effects of the first embodiment)
The first embodiment described above has the following effects (A) to (F).
(A) In the traffic management server 42, as a result of centrally managing the traffic on the own line and the third party line, the third party is allowed to maintain a pay-per-use billing mechanism through access via the base station 20-n. Even if an access line via the base station 20-n is provided, it is possible to charge the third party.

(B) The router 30A assigns line information to the uplink IP packet. The router 30B counts the uplink IP packets to which this line information is added. As a result, the individual processing time is shorter than the case where line identification and packet counting are performed by a single router, thereby reducing the packet delay due to packet counting processing and contributing to higher communication speed. .

(C) The router 30A adds line information to the uplink IP packet and counts the downlink IP packets to which the line information is added. Since the uplink IP packet and the downlink IP packet are rarely generated at the same time, the process of adding the line information to the uplink IP packet of the router 30A and the count process of the downlink IP packet are unlikely to occur at the same time. It is possible to reduce the delay of the IP packet due to processing.

(D) The router 30B assigns the line information to the downlink IP packet, and counts the uplink IP packet to which the line information is assigned. Since the uplink IP packet and the downlink IP packet are rarely generated at the same time, the process of adding the line information to the downlink IP packet of the router 30B and the count process of the uplink IP packet are unlikely to occur at the same time. It is possible to reduce the delay of the IP packet due to processing.

(E) The router 30B counts the uplink IP packet to which the line information is added, and then deletes the line information from the IP packet. As a result, leakage of line information (internal information) to the Internet 100 can be prevented, and an IP packet can be transmitted in a standard frame to the device indicated by the destination address of the IP packet, which may cause a malfunction of the destination device. Disappear.

(F) The router 30A deletes the line information from the IP packet after counting the downlink IP packets to which the line information is added. As a result, it is possible to prevent leakage of line information (internal information) related to the base station 20-n to the other terminal 10-n connected as a third party line. Furthermore, an IP packet can be transmitted in a standard frame to the terminal 10-n, and there is no possibility of malfunction of the terminal 10-n.

(Configuration of Second Embodiment)
FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram showing connections at the time of DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) in the second embodiment. The same elements as those in the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  The configuration of this embodiment further includes a DHCP server 43 in addition to the same configuration as that of the first embodiment. The DHCP server 43 is connected to the network between the router 30A and the router 30B, and the terminals 10-1 and 10 connected to either the router 30A or the base stations 20-1 and 20-2. -2 and IPv6 can communicate with each other.

(Operation of Second Embodiment)
FIG. 7 is a sequence diagram showing line information addition / deletion at the start of communication in the second embodiment.
In step S80, the terminal 10-n transmits a DHCP Solicit message to the router 30A. This DHCP Solicit message is a request message for the terminal 10-n as a client to locate the DHCP server 43.
In step S81, the router 30A relays (relays) the DHCP Solicit message to the DHCP server 43.

In step S82, the DHCP server 43 transmits a DHCP Advertise message to the router 30A. This DHCP Advertise message is an advertisement message indicating that it can be used in the DHCP service in response to the request message received from the terminal 10-n as the client.
In step S83, the router 30A relays (relays) the DHCP Advertise message to the terminal 10-n.

In step S84, the terminal 10-n transmits a DHCP Request message to the router 30A. This DHCP Request message is a request message for requesting a setting parameter including the IP address of the DHCP server 43.
In step S85, the router 30A relays (relays) the DHCP Request message to the DHCP server 43.

In step S86, the DHCP server 43 returns a DHCP Reply message to the router 30A. This DHCP Reply message responds to the DHCP Request message received from the terminal 10-n, and is a response message including setting parameters.
The processes of steps S21 to S24 and steps S26 to S28 are the same as the sequence of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
In step S24A, the router 30A relays a DHCP Reply message to the terminal 10-n.
In step S24B, the terminal 10-n assigns an IPv6 address to itself.

In step S24C, the terminal 10-n transmits the first upstream IP packet to the router 30A in order to transmit the first IP packet to any device on the Internet 100.
Hereinafter, the processing of steps S25, S29 to S31, and S100 is the same as the sequence of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a sequence diagram showing notification of the byte count amount (DHCP lease contract notification) in the second embodiment. The same processes as those in the sequence of the first embodiment shown in FIG.
The processing of steps S40 to S47 is the same as the processing of steps S40 to S47 shown in the sequence of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

  In step S90, the DHCP server 43 detects that the lease timer of the terminal 10-n has expired. In step S91, the DHCP server 43 transmits the address deletion message of the terminal 10-n to the router 30A.

In step S92, the router 30A determines that the communication of the terminal 10-n has been disconnected. In step S51, the router 30A notifies the communication amount management server 42 of the number of bytes and the number of packets counted in units of “terminal and line information” when the terminal 10-n is disconnected. The notification from the router 30A is for the downlink communication from the Internet 100 to the terminal 10-n.
In step S52, the traffic management server 42 transmits a response to the byte amount notification to the router 30A.
In step S61A, the traffic management server 42 requests the router 30B to notify the traffic (byte amount).

In step S <b> 61 </ b> B, the router 30 </ b> B notifies the communication amount management server 42 of the byte amount and the packet number counted in units of “terminal and line information”. The notification from the router 30B is for the upstream communication from the terminal 10-n to the Internet 100.
The process of step S70 is the same as the process of step S70 shown in the sequence of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

(Effect of 2nd Embodiment)
The second embodiment described above has the following effect (G).
(G) Even in a system managed by the DHCP server 43, for example, a system connected by IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4), the traffic management server 42, in the same manner as in the first embodiment, uses the own line and the third line. As a result of centrally managing the communication amount via the subscriber line, even if the access line via the base station 20-n is provided to a third party while maintaining the pay-per-use billing mechanism via the access via the base station 20-n, This third party can be charged.

(Configuration of Third Embodiment)
The system of this embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

(Operation of Third Embodiment)
FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing line information addition / deletion at the start of communication in the third embodiment. The same components as those in the sequence diagram showing the first embodiment shown in FIG.
In this embodiment, instead of the VID (Virtual LAN Identifier) in the first embodiment, the access line is identified using Prefix in the first half of the IPv6 address related to the terminal 10-n.
The first 64 bits of the IPv6 address are called Prefix or network ID. The 64 bits in the latter half of the IPv6 address is called an interface ID.
The router 30A of the present embodiment causes the terminal 10-n to generate a Prefix corresponding to the base station 20-n to which the terminal 10-n is connected. The routers 30A and 30B identify access lines based on the prefix of the first half of the IP address included in the IP packet. Hereinafter, in the present specification and drawings, the prefix of the first half of this IP address may be abbreviated as “first half Prefix”.
The interface ID in the latter half of the IP address is automatically configured based on the MAC address (Media Access Control address).

In step S10 of the present embodiment, the router 30A further adds the same processing as that in step S10 of the first embodiment to the base station 20- in which the first half Prefix of the IPv6 address is an access line. Indicated by RA (Router Advertisement) as indicated by n.
In step S11A, the terminal 10-n assigns this IPv6 address so that the first half Prefix of the IPv6 address corresponds to the access line. That is, the terminal 10-n assigns the first half Prefix of the IPv6 address so as to correspond to the connected base station 20-n.
The processing of the terminal 10-n in step S12 of this embodiment is the same as the processing in step S12 of the first embodiment.

  In step S20, the router 30A confirms the source IP address and the first half Prefix of the source IP address, and which terminal 10-n (= 10-1, 10-2,...) Whether access is made from a certain base station 20-n (= 20-1, 20-2,...) Is identified. Hereinafter, the information identified here is referred to as “line information”.

In step S21A, the router 30A transmits the source IP address included in the first uplink IP packet and the first half Prefix of the source IP address of the first uplink IP packet to the line management server 41. .
The processing in steps S22 to S28 in the present embodiment is the same as the processing in steps S22 to S28 in the first embodiment.
In step S29A, the router 30A transmits the first uplink IP packet from the terminal 10-n received in step S12 to the router 30B as it is.
The processes in steps S30 to S31 and S100 of the present embodiment are the same as the processes in steps S30 to S31 and S100 of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing notification (periodic notification) of the byte count amount in the third embodiment. The same components as those in the sequence diagram showing the first embodiment shown in FIG.
First, uplink communication from the terminal 10-n to the Internet 100 will be described.
In step S40, as in step S40 of the first embodiment, the terminal 10-n transmits an uplink IP packet to the router 30A.
In step S41A, the router 30A transmits the uplink IP packet to the router 30B as it is.

In step S42, the router 30B performs packet counting in consideration of the first half Prefix of the source address (IPv6 address) which is the line information of the upstream IP packet, and in step S43, the upstream IP packet is directly sent to the Internet 100. Send.
Next, downlink communication from the Internet 100 to the terminal 10-n will be described.
In step S44, a downstream IP packet is transmitted from the Internet 100 to the router 30B.
In step S45A, the router 30B transmits the downlink IP packet to the router 30A as it is.

In step S46, the router 30A performs packet counting in consideration of the line information indicated by the first half Prefix of the destination address, which is the line information of the downlink IP packet. In step S47, the router 30A transmits the downlink IP packet to the terminal 10-n. Send to.
The processes of steps S50 to S52, S60 to S62, and S70 of the present embodiment are the same as the processes of steps S50 to S52, S60 to S62, and S70 of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

(Effect of the third embodiment)
The third embodiment described above has the following effect (H).
(H) In this embodiment, the access line is identified using the first half Prefix of the IPv6 address related to the terminal 10-n. Thereby, it is not necessary to add or delete line information to the IP packet, and the delay of the IP packet is reduced. Further, the amount of memory used for processing in the routers 30A and 30B is reduced, and power is saved.
(Modification)

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the following forms (a) to (e) are available as usage forms and modifications.

(A) In the second embodiment, the router 30A, when the communication of the terminal 10-n is disconnected, transmits the byte amount and the packet number counted in units of “terminal and line information” to the communication amount management server 42. Notify. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the router 30A may notify the communication amount management server 42 of the number of bytes and the number of packets counted in units of “terminal and line information” every time a predetermined time elapses. Thereby, the traffic management server 42 can grasp the status of the latest terminal 10-n more accurately.

(B) In the systems of the first and second embodiments, the terminal 10-n, the base station 20-n, the line management server 41, and the traffic management server 42 are connected to be communicable with each other using IPv6. ing. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a part of the system may be connected to be communicable with each other using IPv4, and the remaining system may be connected to be communicable with each other using IPv6. Furthermore, all of the systems may be connected so as to be able to communicate with each other using IPv4.

(C) In the systems of the first to third embodiments, the traffic management server 42 manages the access lines between the base stations 20-1 and 20-2 and the terminals 10-1 and 10-2. Yes. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the traffic management server 42 may manage the relationship between three or more base stations and a plurality of terminal stations that can communicate with each other. The traffic management server 42 may further manage the relationship between a plurality of base stations and three or more terminal stations that can communicate with each other.

(D) In the systems of the first to third embodiments, the base station 20-n and the terminal 10-n are connected so as to be communicable wirelessly. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and a system that manages the relationship between a plurality of base stations and a plurality of terminal stations that can communicate with each other by wire may be used.

(E) In the systems of the first and second embodiments, the routers 30A and 30B add line information to the IPv6 extension header (FIG. 3). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the routers 30A and 30B may add line information to the IPv6 flow label (FIG. 3).

10-1, 10-2 Terminal (terminal station)
20-1, 20-2 Base station 21 Switching hub 30 Router 30A Router (first router)
30B router (second router)
40 Management Server 41 Line Management Server 42 Traffic Management Server 43 DHCP Server

Claims (14)

In a network having at least a first router and a second router, a traffic management method for managing traffic in each combination of a terminal station and an access line,
The first router obtains line information for identifying a transmission source IP address and the access line from an upstream IP packet transmitted from the terminal station to an external network, and determines correspondence between the line information and the transmission source IP address. Recording and adding the line information to the upstream IP packet and transmitting it to the second router,
The second router counts the traffic amount of the uplink IP packet that the terminal station transmits to the external network based on the transmission source IP address and the line information in the uplink IP packet, and further A traffic management method, wherein the line information is deleted from an IP packet and transmitted to the external network. The traffic management method according to claim 1 further includes:
The second router acquires a destination IP address from a downlink IP packet transmitted from the external network to the terminal station, and adds the line information corresponding to the destination IP address to the downlink IP packet. To the first router,
The first router counts the traffic of the downlink IP packet that the external network transmits to the terminal station based on the destination IP address and the line information in the downlink IP packet, and further Deleting the line information from the IP packet and transmitting it to the terminal station;
A method for managing traffic. The first router acquires more the line information for identifying the access lines to the VID (Virtual LAN Identifier) corresponding to the uplink IP packet,
The second router, the line information by the VID (Virtual LAN Identifier), traffic management method according to claim 2, characterized in that applied to the downlink IP packets transmitted to the terminal station .   In a network having at least a first router and a second router, a traffic management method for managing traffic in each combination of a terminal station and an access line,
  The first router includes an IPv6 transmission source IP address, a first prefix Prefix of the transmission source IP address, and line information for identifying the access line from an upstream IP packet transmitted from the terminal station to the external network at the start of communication. To acquire and record the correspondence between the line information and the source IP address and send the uplink IP packet to the second router without adding the line information;
  The second router transmits the uplink IP packet that the terminal station transmits to the external network based on the first half Prefix of the source IP address of IPv6 and the line information in the uplink IP packet at the start of communication. The traffic volume is counted, and further, the uplink IP packet is transmitted to the external network.
  A traffic management method characterized by the above.   The traffic management method according to claim 4 further includes:
  The first router transmits to the second router without adding the line information to the uplink IP packet transmitted to the external network by the terminal station in a steady state,
  The second router counts the traffic amount of the uplink IP packet that the terminal station transmits to the external network based on the first half Prefix of the source IP address of IPv6 in the uplink IP packet in a steady state. Further, the upstream IP packet is transmitted to the external network.
  A traffic management method characterized by the above.   The traffic management method according to claim 4 further includes:
  The first router obtains an IPv6 transmission destination IP address from a downlink IP packet transmitted from the external network to the terminal station, and the external network is based on the first half Prefix of the transmission destination IP address. Counting the traffic volume of the downlink IP packet to be transmitted to the terminal station,
  A method for managing traffic. The network according to any one of claim 2, claim 3, or claim 6 further includes a traffic management server,
The traffic management server transmits the uplink transmitted by each combination of the terminal station and the line information every time a predetermined time elapses and / or at the end timing of a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) lease timer. A traffic management method, comprising: receiving traffic of an IP packet or / and communication traffic of the downlink IP packet received by each combination of the terminal station and the line information. A traffic management system that has at least a first router and a second router, and manages the traffic in each combination of a terminal station and an access line,
The first router obtains line information for identifying a transmission source IP address and the access line from an upstream IP packet transmitted from the terminal station to an external network, and determines correspondence between the line information and the transmission source IP address. Recording and adding the line information to the upstream IP packet and transmitting it to the second router,
The second router counts the traffic amount of the uplink IP packet that the terminal station transmits to the external network based on the transmission source IP address and the line information in the uplink IP packet, and further A traffic management system, wherein the line information is deleted from an IP packet and transmitted to the external network. The traffic management system according to claim 8 further includes:
The second router acquires a destination IP address from a downlink IP packet transmitted from the external network to the terminal station, and adds the line information corresponding to the destination IP address to the downlink IP packet. To the first router,
The first router counts the traffic of the downlink IP packet that the external network transmits to the terminal station based on the destination IP address and the line information in the downlink IP packet, and further Deleting the line information from the IP packet and transmitting it to the terminal station;
A traffic management system characterized by The first router, the more VID (Virtual LAN Identifier) corresponding to the uplink IP packets, the acquired line information identifying the access line,
The second router, traffic management system according to claim 9, characterized in that the line information by the VID (Virtual LAN Identifier), is applied to the downlink IP packets transmitted to the terminal station .   A traffic management system that has at least a first router and a second router, and manages the traffic in each combination of a terminal station and an access line,
  The first router includes an IPv6 transmission source IP address, a first prefix Prefix of the transmission source IP address, and line information for identifying the access line from an upstream IP packet transmitted from the terminal station to the external network at the start of communication. Obtaining, recording the correspondence between the line information and the source IP address and transmitting the uplink IP packet to the second router without adding the line information;
  The second router transmits the upstream IP packet that the terminal station transmits to the external network based on the first half Prefix of the source IP address of IPv6 and the line information in the upstream IP packet at the start of communication. Counts the traffic, and further transmits the uplink IP packet to the external network
  A traffic management system characterized by that.   The communication volume management system according to claim 11 further includes:
  The first router transmits to the second router without adding the line information to the uplink IP packet transmitted to the external network by the terminal station in a steady state,
  The second router counts the traffic amount of the uplink IP packet that the terminal station transmits to the external network based on the first half Prefix of the source IP address of IPv6 in the uplink IP packet in a steady state. Further, the upstream IP packet is transmitted to the external network.
  A traffic management system characterized by that.   The communication volume management system according to claim 11 further includes:
  The first router obtains an IPv6 transmission destination IP address from a downlink IP packet transmitted from the external network to the terminal station, and the external network is based on the first half Prefix of the transmission destination IP address. Counting the traffic volume of the downlink IP packet to be transmitted to the terminal station,
  A traffic management system characterized by that. The traffic management system according to any one of claims 9, 10, or 13 further includes a traffic management server.
The traffic management server is configured such that each time a predetermined time elapses, the communication amount of the uplink IP packet transmitted by each combination of the terminal station and the line information, and / or the combination of the terminal station and the line information. A traffic management system for receiving the traffic of the downlink IP packet received by each.

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