JP6025624B2 - Terminal device and keep-alive control system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a terminal device and a keep-alive control system.

  Conventionally, when a terminal application establishes a connection to a server and communicates, there is an application that periodically sends a keep-alive packet to the server in order to maintain the connection between the application and the server. . In addition, when there are a plurality of such applications in a terminal, there is known a conventional technique that does not require each application to individually send a Keep-Alive packet (for example, Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2). reference). According to the prior arts of Non-Patent Documents 1 and 2, it is only necessary to establish one TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) connection for a plurality of applications in the terminal, so each application establishes a TCP connection individually. Compared to the case, the communication opportunity for transmitting the Keep-Alive packet can be reduced.

Google Cloud Messaging for Android, <URL: http://developer.android.com/guide/google/gcm/index.html> Apple Push Notification Service, <URL: http://developer.apple.com/library/mac/documentation/NetworkingInternet/Conceptual/RemoteNotificationsPG/ApplePushService/ApplePushService.html>

  However, in the above-described conventional technology, there is a problem of reducing the load and power consumption of the terminal for transmitting the Keep-Alive packet.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to reduce the load and power consumption of a terminal for transmitting a Keep-Alive packet.

(1) In order to solve the above-described problem, a keep-alive packet transmitting apparatus according to the present invention is established between a terminal apparatus and a server apparatus that transmits data to the terminal apparatus via a communication network. A keep-alive packet transmitter that transmits a keep-alive packet of a connection, and includes a keep-alive packet transmitter that transmits the keep-alive packet of the connection that is transfer-restricted so as not to reach the terminal device It is characterized by that.

(2) In the keep-alive packet transmitter according to the present invention, the keep-alive packet of the connection has a packet valid period from the server device to the network device immediately before the terminal device.

(3) In the keep-alive packet transmitting device according to the present invention, the keep-alive packet of the connection has a packet valid period from the server device to a network device immediately before the radio base station device to which the terminal device is connected. It is characterized by having.

(4) In the keep-alive packet transmitting apparatus according to the present invention, a network distance measuring unit that measures a network distance corresponding to the packet validity period, a measured value of the network distance, and the terminal device at the time of the measurement A network distance storage unit that associates and stores measurement information indicating a position on a communication network, and between the terminal device and the server device that are at the same position as the position of the measurement information stored in the network distance storage unit A keep-alive control unit that determines a packet valid period set in a keep-alive packet of the connection established in step 1 based on a measured value of the network distance associated with the measurement information. And

(5) In the keep-alive packet transmitting apparatus according to the present invention, when the connection is established, the terminal apparatus is notified that the keep-alive packet of the connection is transmitted from the server apparatus. -Alive execution notification unit is provided.

(6) A terminal device according to the present invention is a terminal device having an application that transmits a Keep-Alive packet of a connection established with a server device that transmits data via a communication network. When receiving a notification of transmitting the Keep-Alive packet of the connection from the server device, a Keep-Alive control unit is provided to instruct the application to stop transmitting the Keep-Alive packet of the connection. It is characterized by.

(7) The Keep-Alive control system according to the present invention includes the Keep-Alive packet transmitter described in (5) above and the terminal device described in (6) above.

(8) A keep-alive packet transmission method according to the present invention transmits a keep-alive packet of a connection established between a terminal device and a server device that transmits data to the terminal device via a communication network. This is a Keep-Alive packet transmission method, and includes a Keep-Alive packet transmission step of transmitting a Keep-Alive packet of the connection whose transfer is restricted so as not to reach the terminal device.

(9) A computer program according to the present invention transmits a keep-alive packet for a connection established between a terminal device and a server device that transmits data to the terminal device via a communication network. A computer program for performing a transmission process, and causing a computer to execute a keep-alive packet transmission step for transmitting a keep-alive packet of the connection that is transfer-restricted so as not to reach the terminal device. It is characterized by being.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the load and power consumption of a terminal for transmitting a Keep-Alive packet.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the terminal 1 and server 2 which concern on one Embodiment of this invention. It is an example of composition of NW distance storage part 23 concerning one embodiment of the present invention. 6 is a sequence chart of a keep-alive packet transmission process according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, a terminal 1 is connected to a wireless base station 3 through a wireless line. Examples of the wireless base station 3 include a mobile phone network base station (for example, a 3G line base station) and a wireless LAN access point (AP). The terminal 1 can communicate with a server 2 connected to an IP (Internet Protocol) network 5 such as the Internet via the wireless base station 3.

  There may be one or a plurality of network devices 4 such as NAT (Network Address Translation) and a firewall on the communication path between the wireless base station 3 and the server 2. Generally, it is known that the network device 4 manages the presence / absence of a connection that passes through its own device, and discards a packet for a connection that does not pass a packet for a certain time (connection holding time). Further, the connection holding time may vary depending on the network device 4.

  An application 10 exists in the terminal 1. The application 10 establishes a connection 100 with the server 2 and communicates.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating configurations of the terminal 1 and the server 2 according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the terminal 1 includes a communication unit 11, an application 10, and a keep-alive control unit 12. The server 2 includes an application server unit 20, a communication unit 21, a network (NW) distance measurement unit 22, an NW distance storage unit 23, a keep-alive control unit 24, and a keep-alive packet transmission unit 25. The Keep-Alive control unit 24 includes a Keep-Alive execution notification unit 26.

  In the terminal 1, the communication unit 11 communicates with the server 2 connected to the IP network 5 via the wireless base station 3. The application 10 establishes communication with the application server unit 20 of the server 2 to establish communication. When the Keep-Alive control unit 12 receives a notification of transmitting the Keep-Alive packet of the connection 100 from the server 2 when the connection 100 is established, the Keep-Alive control unit 12 stops transmitting the Keep-Alive packet of the connection 100 to the application 10. Instruct. As a result, the application 10 does not transmit the Keep-Alive packet of the connection 100.

  In the server 2, the communication unit 21 communicates with the terminal 1 via the IP network 5. The application server unit 20 establishes and communicates with the application 10 of the terminal 1.

  The NW distance measuring unit 22 measures the NW distance from the server 2 regarding the connection 100. The NW distance is the number of hops on the communication network. In the present embodiment, the NW distance measurement unit 22 measures the number of hops from the server 2 to the network device 4 immediately before the radio base station 3 to which the terminal 1 is connected with respect to the connection 100.

  The NW distance storage unit 23 stores the NW distance measurement value measured by the NW distance measurement unit 22 in association with the measurement information indicating the position of the terminal 1 on the communication network at the time of the measurement. FIG. 3 is a configuration example of the NW distance storage unit 23 according to the present embodiment. In the example of FIG. 3, the measurement information is an IP address assigned to the terminal 1. The NW distance measurement value is the number of hops measured by the NW distance measurement unit 22.

  The Keep-Alive control unit 24 controls transmission of Keep-Alive packets. The Keep-Alive control unit 24 notifies the Keep-Alive packet transmission unit 25 of the packet valid period (Time To Live: TTL) set in the Keep-Alive packet. The TTL set in the Keep-Alive packet is a value that does not reach the terminal 1. The Keep-Alive packet transmission unit 25 transmits a Keep-Alive packet having a TTL notified from the Keep-Alive control unit 24 via the communication unit 21. Since the transfer of the Keep-Alive packet is restricted so that it does not reach the terminal 1 by TTL, it does not reach the terminal 1.

  When the connection 100 is established, the Keep-Alive execution notification unit 26 notifies the terminal 1 that the server 2 transmits the Keep-Alive packet of the connection 100. As a notification method, a Keep-Alive flag is provided in a packet transmitted from the server 2 to the terminal 1 in the connection 100 establishment procedure, and when the Keep-Alive flag is on, the Keep-Alive packet of the connection 100 is transmitted to the server. 2 indicates that the Keep-Alive flag is off, indicating that the server 2 does not transmit the Keep-Alive packet of the connection 100.

  Next, a keep-alive packet transmission process according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a sequence chart of the keep-alive packet transmission process according to the present embodiment.

(Step S <b> 1) The communication unit 11 of the terminal 1 connects to the radio base station 3.

(Step S2) The application 10 of the terminal 1 requests the application server unit 20 of the server 2 to establish the connection 100. Information on the establishment request for the connection 100 is output from the communication unit 21 to the keep-alive control unit 24.

  Here, each network (NW) device 4 (A), (B) on the communication path between the wireless base station 3 to which the terminal 1 is connected and the server 2 has connection information (IP Packet source address, destination address, port number, etc.). Each NW device 4 (A), (B) identifies the connection 100 with the held connection information, and discards the held connection information when no IP packet of the connection 100 passes during the connection holding time. Each NW device 4 (A), (B) discards an IP packet of a connection for which connection information is not held.

(Step S3) The application server unit 20 of the server 2 responds to the terminal 1 with the establishment of the connection 100. A keep-alive flag from the keep-alive controller 24 is added to the response packet for establishing the connection 100. Here, the Keep-Alive flag is on.

(Step S4) The Keep-Alive control unit 12 of the terminal 1 sends a Keep-Alive of the connection 100 to the application 10 when the Keep-Alive flag is on in the response packet for establishing the connection 100 received from the server 2. Instructs to stop packet transmission. As a result, the application 10 does not transmit the Keep-Alive packet of the connection 100.

(Step S5) The Keep-Alive control unit 24 of the server 2 notifies the NW distance storage unit 23 of the IP address of the terminal 1, and requests the NW distance.

(Step S6) The NW distance storage unit 23 searches for measurement information corresponding to the IP address notified from the Keep-Alive control unit 24. If the measurement information is found as a result of this search, the NW distance storage unit 23 returns the NW distance associated with the measurement information to the Keep-Alive control unit 24. On the other hand, when the measurement information is not found, the NW distance storage unit 23 replies to the Keep-Alive control unit 24 that there is no NW distance.

(Step S7) The Keep-Alive control unit 24 instructs the NW distance measurement unit 22 to measure the NW distance for the connection 100 when the answer from the NW distance storage unit 23 indicates that there is no NW distance.

(Step S <b> 8) When the NW distance measurement unit 22 receives an instruction to measure the NW distance related to the connection 100 from the keep-alive control unit 24, the NW distance measurement unit 22 measures the NW distance related to the connection 100. As a method for measuring the NW distance, an IP packet (for example, a Ping or UDP packet) destined for the IP address of the terminal 1 is sequentially transmitted while increasing the TTL one by one. Measure the number of hops to the network device 4 immediately before the wireless base station 3 to which is connected.

(Step S9) The NW distance measurement unit 22 notifies the NW distance measurement value to the Keep-Alive control unit 24.

(Step S10) The Keep-Alive control unit 24 notifies the NW distance storage unit 23 of the NW distance measurement value and the IP address of the terminal 1 notified from the NW distance measurement unit 22, and holds them. The NW distance storage unit 23 holds the NW distance measurement value in association with the IP address of the terminal 1.

(Step S11) The Keep-Alive control unit 24 sets the NW distance for the connection 100 in the Keep-Alive packet transmission unit 25. When the NW distance related to the connection 100 is held in the NW distance storage unit 23, the keep-alive control unit 24 uses the held NW distance (the NW distance answered in step S6). On the other hand, if the NW distance related to the connection 100 is not held in the NW distance storage unit 23, the keep-alive control unit 24 determines the NW distance measured by the NW distance measurement unit 22 (the NW notified in step S9). Distance measurement).

(Step S12) The Keep-Alive packet transmission unit 25 sets TTL in the Keep-Alive packet based on the NW distance notified from the Keep-Alive control unit 24, and transmits the Keep-Alive packet via the communication unit 21. Send. As a result, the Keep-Alive packet reaches the network device 4 (network device 4 (A) in FIG. 4) immediately before the radio base station 3 to which the terminal 1 is connected, and is discarded by the network device 4. However, each network (NW) device 4 (A), (B) holds connection information of the connection 100 by the Keep-Alive packet. Thereby, each network (NW) device 4 (A), (B) maintains the connection 100. Transmission of the Keep-Alive packet in step S12 is periodically performed.

(Step S13) The Keep-Alive control unit 24 receives, via the communication unit 21, an error response packet for the Keep-Alive packet of the connection 100 transmitted from the server 2 in Step S12.

  According to the above-described embodiment, since the server 2 transmits the Keep-Alive packet of the connection 100, the load and power consumption of the terminal 1 can be reduced because the Keep-Alive packet is transmitted. Further, since the Keep-Alive packet does not reach the terminal 1, the terminal 1 does not need to perform reception processing of the Keep-Alive packet. Further, since the Keep-Alive packet does not reach the wireless base station 3 to which the terminal 1 is connected, it is not necessary to consume wireless resources in the wireless section between the terminal 1 and the wireless base station 3. Further, it is possible to suppress the generation of a control signal for the radio base station 3 to set the terminal 1 to the active state or the non-active state every time the keep-alive packet is transmitted.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail with reference to drawings, the specific structure is not restricted to this embodiment, The design change etc. of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included.

  For example, the TTL set in the Keep-Alive packet may be a value obtained by subtracting at least 1 from the number of hops from the server 2 to the terminal 1.

  In the above-described embodiment, the terminal 1 is connected to the wireless base station 3 and connected to the IP network 5 via a wireless line. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The terminal 1 may be connected to the IP network 5 via a wired line instead of via a wireless line.

Alternatively, a program for realizing the server 2 described above may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program recorded on the recording medium may be read into a computer system and executed. Here, the “computer system” may include an OS and hardware such as peripheral devices.
“Computer-readable recording medium” refers to a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a writable nonvolatile memory such as a flash memory, a portable medium such as a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), and a built-in computer system. A storage device such as a hard disk.

Further, the “computer-readable recording medium” means a volatile memory (for example, DRAM (Dynamic DRAM) in a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted through a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line. Random Access Memory)), etc., which hold programs for a certain period of time.
The program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the “transmission medium” for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network (communication network) such as the Internet or a communication line (communication line) such as a telephone line.
The program may be for realizing a part of the functions described above. Furthermore, what can implement | achieve the function mentioned above in combination with the program already recorded on the computer system, and what is called a difference file (difference program) may be sufficient.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Terminal (terminal device), 2 ... Server (Keep-Alive packet transmitter), 3 ... Wireless base station, 4 ... Network equipment, 5 ... IP network, 10 ... Application, 11, 21 ... Communication part, 12, 24 ... Keep-Alive control unit, 20 ... Application server unit, 22 ... NW distance measurement unit, 23 ... NW distance storage unit, 25 ... Keep-Alive packet transmission unit, 26 ... Keep-Alive execution notification unit, 100 ... Connection

Claims (2)

In a terminal device having an application for transmitting a Keep-Alive packet of a connection established with a server device for data transmission via a communication network,
Keep-Alive control that instructs the application to stop sending the Keep-Alive packet of the connection upon receiving a notification from the server device that the Keep-Alive packet of the connection is transmitted from the server device when the connection is established A terminal device comprising a unit. A Keep-Alive control system comprising a Keep-Alive packet transmitting device and the terminal device according to claim 1 ,
The keep-alive packet transmitter
A Keep-Alive packet transmitting device that transmits a Keep-Alive packet of a connection established between the terminal device and a server device that transmits data to the terminal device via a communication network,
A Keep-Alive packet transmitter that transmits a Keep-Alive packet of the connection that is transfer restricted so that it does not reach the terminal device;
When establishing the connection, the terminal device comprises a Keep-Alive execution notifying unit for notifying that the server device transmits a Keep-Alive packet of the connection,
Keep-Alive control system.

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