JP6384187B2 - Network system, relay device, and method for controlling configuration of multiple groups in network system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to load distribution in a network system having a plurality of wireless LAN access point devices.

  As a network system provided with a plurality of wireless LAN access point devices, a network system capable of suppressing the uneven processing load between wireless LAN access point devices has been proposed. For example, in the network system of Patent Document 1, a wireless LAN access point device with a high processing load specifies another wireless LAN access point device with a low processing load, and an attribute change instruction including identification information of the wireless LAN access point device is issued. By transmitting to the wireless LAN station device, the attribution destination (wireless connection destination) of the wireless LAN station device is changed.

JP 2007-195035 A

  However, in the network system of Patent Document 1, a special function unit for receiving an attribution destination change instruction and changing the attribution destination in accordance with the instruction must be prepared in advance in the wireless LAN station device. There is a problem in that the manufacturing cost of the wireless LAN station device is increased. In addition, when a wireless LAN station that is used in another network system and does not have the above-described function is used in the network system disclosed in Patent Document 1, there is a problem that it is not possible to suppress an uneven processing load between wireless LAN access point devices. It was.

  The above-described problem can also occur in a network system in which a plurality of wireless LAN access point devices are divided into a plurality of groups and are connected to each other via a relay device provided in each group. That is, it may occur even when the belonging destination of the wireless LAN station apparatus is changed in accordance with the processing load of the relay apparatus in order to suppress the bias of the processing load of the relay apparatuses of each group. As described above, in the conventional network system having a plurality of wireless LAN access point devices, it is desired to suppress the uneven processing load between relay devices without adding a new function to the wireless LAN station device. It was. In addition, in the conventional network system, it has been desired to reduce the size, reduce the cost, save resources, facilitate the construction, improve the usability, and the like.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is to solve at least a part of the problems described above, and the invention can be implemented as the following forms.

(1) According to an aspect of the present invention, a network system is provided. In this network system, a wireless LAN access point device that performs wireless communication with a wireless LAN station device, and wireless LAN setting information including ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier) are transmitted to the wireless LAN access point device and set. A relay device that relays data output from the wireless LAN access point device, and includes a plurality of groups in which different ESSIDs are set, and the relay device includes the group belonging to another group A wireless LAN access point device that identifies the wireless LAN access point device satisfying a predetermined condition as a change target device for changing an affiliation group, and for the relay device of the affiliation group of the change target device When a change request for changing the ESSID of the change target device to the ESSID of its own group is transmitted, and the relay device receives the change request from the relay device of another group, the change target device according to the change request Change the ESSID.
According to the network system of this aspect, a wireless LAN access point device that is a wireless LAN access point of another belonging group and satisfies a predetermined condition is specified as a change target device, and the ESSID of the change target device is assigned to its own group. The ESSID can be changed. For this reason, since the access destination of the wireless LAN station device that was performing wireless communication with the wireless LAN access point device of its own group can be changed to the wireless LAN access point of another member group, the change target device was specified. It is possible to reduce the processing load of the relay device and increase the processing load of the relay device of the group to which the change target device belongs. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the uneven processing load between the relay devices without adding a function to the wireless LAN station device.

(2) According to another aspect of the present invention, the network includes a wireless LAN access point device that performs wireless communication with a wireless LAN station device, and includes a plurality of groups in which different ESSIDs (Extended Service Set Identifiers) are set. In the system, a relay device used for each group and connected to the wireless LAN access point device is provided. The relay device transmits a wireless LAN setting information including an ESSID to the wireless LAN access point device of its own group and sets the wireless LAN access point of another group; A change target device specifying unit that specifies the wireless LAN access point device satisfying a predetermined condition as a change target device for changing an affiliation group; for the relay device of the affiliation group of the change target device; A change request transmission unit that transmits a change request for changing the ESSID of the change target device to the ESSID of its own group.
According to the relay device of this aspect, a wireless LAN access point device that is a wireless LAN access point of another belonging group and satisfies a predetermined condition is specified as a change target device, and the ESSID of the change target device is assigned to its own group The ESSID can be changed. For this reason, since the access destination of the wireless LAN station device that was performing wireless communication with the wireless LAN access point device of its own group can be changed to the wireless LAN access point of another member group, the change target device was specified. It is possible to reduce the processing load of the relay device and increase the processing load of the relay device of the group to which the change target device belongs. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the uneven processing load between the relay devices without adding a function to the wireless LAN station device.

  (3) In the relay device of the above aspect, a data relay unit that relays data output from the wireless LAN access point device of its own group; and the wireless LAN access point device of its own group A high load device specifying unit for specifying whether or not the load is a high load device; the other wireless LAN access specified based on a radio wave output from the other wireless LAN access point device in the high load device An information acquisition unit that acquires identification information of a point device and distance correlation information that correlates with a distance between the high load device and the other wireless LAN access point device from the high load device; The condition may be that the distance correlated with the distance correlation information acquired from the high load device is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. There. According to the relay device of this aspect, the wireless LAN access point device of a group different from the group to which the high load device belongs is identified as the change target device, and the group to which the change target device belongs is changed to the group to which the high load device belongs. be able to. For this reason, since the access destination of the wireless LAN station device that has performed wireless communication with the high load device can be changed from the high load device to the change target device, the processing load of the relay device to which the high load device is connected Can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the uneven processing load between the relay devices without adding a function to the wireless LAN station device.

  (4) In the relay device of the above aspect, the high load device may be the wireless LAN access point device having the highest processing load in its own group. According to the relay device of this aspect, since the wireless LAN access point device with the highest processing load in the group is identified as the high load device, the access destination of the wireless LAN client device is changed from the high load device to the change target device. The processing load of the relay device in the same group as the high load device can be greatly reduced.

  (5) In the relay device of the above aspect, a distance correlated with the distance correlation information acquired from the high load device among the wireless LAN access point devices indicated by the identification information acquired from the high load device. A change candidate device specifying unit that specifies the wireless LAN access point device having a predetermined distance or less as a change candidate device; and belonging to the other group to the relay device of another group An inquiry unit that transmits an inquiry as to whether or not the group can be changed to its own group; and when the inquiry is received from the relay device of another group, the inquiry is sent from the group to which the change candidate device belongs. Identify whether the relay device can be changed to the group to which the relay device belongs, and send the inquiry with the specified result. A query responding unit that transmits to the relay device; has, the change target device specifying unit, based on the result of said identification, from among the change candidate device may identify the change target device. According to the relay device of this aspect, since the change target device is specified based on the identification result of whether or not the change candidate device can be changed to the belonging group of the high load device, the change candidate device whose change cannot be changed is changed. It can suppress specifying as an object apparatus.

  (6) In the relay device according to the above aspect, the change target device specifying unit has the smallest distance correlated with the distance correlation information among the change candidate devices specified as changeable in the specification result. A device may be specified as the change target device. According to the relay device of this aspect, since the change candidate device having the smallest distance to the high load device among the change candidate devices is identified as the change target device, the group to which the change target device belongs is changed The possibility that the access destination of the wireless LAN station device is changed from the high load device to the change target device can be increased.

  (7) In the relay device according to the above aspect, when the processing load of the relay device of its own group is lower than a predetermined value, the inquiry response unit determines whether the change candidate device belongs from the group to which the change candidate belongs. You may specify that it can change to the group to which the relay apparatus which transmitted the inquiry belongs. According to the relay device of this aspect, since the change candidate device affiliation has been changed to the high load device affiliation group, the processing load of the relay device of the change candidate device affiliation group increases, and the processing load between the relay devices It is possible to suppress the occurrence of a new bias.

  (8) In the relay device of the above aspect, the inquiry unit notifies the relay device of another group of a wireless communication scheme between the high load device and the wireless LAN station device, and the inquiry response When the wireless communication method between the change candidate device and the wireless LAN station device is compatible with the notified wireless communication method, the unit determines the affiliation of the change candidate device from its affiliation group. You may specify that it can change into the group to which the said relay apparatus which transmitted the inquiry belongs. According to the relay device of this aspect, among the change candidate devices, the change candidate device in which the wireless communication method between the wireless LAN station device is the same as the wireless communication method between the high load device and the wireless LAN station device Is identified as the device to be changed. Therefore, the wireless LAN station device can communicate with the change target device after the group to which the change target device belongs is changed.

  (9) In the relay device of the above aspect, the distance correlation information may be information indicating a reception strength of a signal output from the wireless LAN access point device. In general, the wireless LAN station device has a function of acquiring information indicating the reception strength of the signal output from the wireless LAN access point device. Therefore, according to the relay device of this embodiment, a new function is added to the wireless LAN station device. The distance correlation information can be acquired without adding.

(10) in the relay apparatus of the above embodiment, the setting information for the wireless LAN, in addition to the ESSID comprises transmission output value in the wireless LAN access point device, the wireless LAN setting section, the high load of their belonging group The transmission output value of the apparatus may be set after the affiliation of the change target apparatus is changed and reduced compared to before the affiliation of the change target apparatus is changed. According to the relay device of this aspect, the transmission output value of the high load device is reduced as compared to before the change of the change target device, so that the access destination of the wireless LAN station device becomes the high load device. Can be suppressed.

(11) in the relay apparatus of the above embodiment, the setting information for the wireless LAN, in addition to the ESSID comprises transmission output value in the wireless LAN access point device, the wireless LAN setting unit, the change target of its own group membership The transmission output value of the device may be set after the affiliation of the change target device is changed and increased compared to before the affiliation of the change target device is changed. According to the relay device of this aspect, the transmission output value of the change target device increases compared to before the change of the change target device, so that the access destination of the wireless LAN station device may be the change target device. Can be increased.

  (12) The relay device according to the above aspect may operate as a wireless LAN access point device. According to the relay device of this embodiment, more wireless LAN access point devices can be arranged in the network system, so that communication by many wireless LAN station devices can be realized.

  A plurality of constituent elements of each aspect of the present invention described above are not indispensable, and some or all of the effects described in the present specification are to be solved to solve part or all of the above-described problems. In order to achieve the above, it is possible to appropriately change, delete, replace with another new component, and partially delete the limited contents of some of the plurality of components. In order to solve part or all of the above-described problems or to achieve part or all of the effects described in this specification, technical features included in one embodiment of the present invention described above. A part or all of the technical features included in the other aspects of the present invention described above may be combined to form an independent form of the present invention.

  For example, one embodiment of the present invention can be realized as a system including a plurality of groups each including a wireless LAN access point device and a relay device. The wireless LAN access point device can be realized as, for example, a wireless LAN access point device that performs wireless communication with a wireless LAN station device. The relay device relays data output from the wireless LAN access point device by transmitting and setting wireless LAN setting information including ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier) to the wireless LAN access point device, for example. It is feasible as In addition, the relay device identifies the wireless LAN access point device of another group belonging to the wireless LAN access point device that satisfies a predetermined condition as a change target device for changing the group belonging to, and also belongs to the change target device. It can be realized as a relay device that transmits a change request for changing the ESSID of the change target device to the ESSID of its own group to the relay device of the group. Further, when receiving a change request from a relay device of another group, the relay device can be realized as a relay device that changes the ESSID of the change target device according to the change request. Such a system can be realized as a network system, for example, but can be realized as a system other than the network system.

  For example, the other form of this invention is realizable as an apparatus provided with the wireless LAN setting part, the change object apparatus specific | specification part, and the change request transmission part. Such a device is realized as a device that is used for each group and connected to the wireless LAN access point device in a network system including a plurality of groups having wireless LAN access point devices that perform wireless communication with the wireless LAN station device, for example. Is possible. Note that different ESSIDs (Extended Service Set Identifiers) may be set in the plurality of groups. The wireless LAN setting unit can be realized as a wireless LAN setting unit that transmits and sets the wireless LAN setting information including the ESSID to the wireless LAN access point device of its own group. The change target device specifying unit is realized as a change target device specifying unit that specifies a wireless LAN access point device that satisfies a predetermined condition and that is a wireless LAN access point device belonging to another group as a change target device that changes the group. Is possible. The change request transmission unit can be realized as a change request transmission unit that transmits a change request for changing the ESSID of the change target device to the ESSID of its own group to the relay device of the group to which the change target device belongs. Such a device can be realized as a relay device, for example, but can also be realized as a device other than the relay device.

  The present invention can be realized in various forms. For example, it can be realized in the form of a wireless LAN access point device, a method for controlling the configuration of a plurality of groups in a network system, a computer program for a relay device, a non-temporary recording medium on which the computer program is recorded, or the like. it can.

It is explanatory drawing which shows schematic structure of the network system as one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of management AP101 shown in FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of management object AP201 shown in FIG. It is a 1st flowchart which shows the procedure of the group structure control process in 1st Embodiment. It is a 2nd flowchart which shows the procedure of the group structure control process in 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the AP list produced | generated in each management AP101-103. It is explanatory drawing which shows the information received from the high load apparatus as a result of performing step S120, and wireless LAN-AP identified as a change candidate apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the change possibility specific process in 1st Embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the group structure after a group structure control process is performed. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the 1st process and 2nd process in 2nd Embodiment, respectively. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the 3rd process in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the 4th process and 5th process in 2nd Embodiment, respectively. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of management AP in 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart which shows the procedure of the 1st process of group configuration control in 6th Embodiment, and a 6th process. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the network system 700 in 4th Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the relay apparatus 800 in 5th Embodiment.

A. First embodiment:
A-1. System configuration:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a network system as an embodiment of the present invention. The network system 10 connects a communication terminal 400 that operates as a wireless LAN station device to the Internet INT. In the present embodiment, the communication terminal 400 is configured by a multi-function phone terminal (so-called smartphone), but is not limited to the multi-function phone terminal, and may be configured by a notebook or tablet personal computer or the like. In FIG. 1, for convenience of illustration, one communication terminal 400 is shown. However, any number of communication terminals can be connected to the Internet INT by the network system 10.

  The network system 10 includes a management device 500, a router device 510, three wireless LAN (Local Area Network) access point devices (hereinafter referred to as “wireless LAN-AP”) 101, 102, 103, and these three devices. The wireless LAN-APs 101 to 103 include six wireless LAN-APs 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, and 206 that can perform different functions, and a wired LAN 20. The management device 500, the router device 510, and the three wireless LAN-APs 101 to 103 are connected to the wired LAN 20.

  The management device 500 manages the three wireless LAN-APs 101 to 103. Specifically, information (wireless LAN setting information) used for wireless LAN communication by each wireless LAN-AP 101-103 is determined and set in each wireless LAN-AP 101-103. The wireless LAN setting information includes, for example, information including an ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier), a wireless signal transmission output value, a wireless channel, an authentication method, an encryption key, and the like. The management device 500 corresponds to a so-called wireless LAN access point controller, and is configured as a dedicated machine as such a controller in this embodiment. The router device 510 is connected to the wired LAN 20 and the Internet INT, and functions as a so-called gateway in the network system 10. Note that the configuration of the router device 510 is the same as that of a general router device, and thus a detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a total of nine wireless LAN-APs 101 to 103 and 201 to 206 are divided into three groups. Specifically, a first group composed of three wireless LAN-APs 101, 201, 202, a second group composed of three wireless LAN-APs 102, 203, 204, and three wireless LAN-APs 103, 205. , 206 are divided into a third group. Different ESSIDs are assigned to each group. Specifically, “G1” is assigned as the ESSID to the first group. Further, “G2” is assigned as the ESSID to the second group, and “G3” is assigned to the third group as the ESSID. Each group's ESSID is set in each wireless LAN access point apparatus constituting each group. In FIG. 1, in addition to the ESSID assigned to each group, BSSID (Basic Service Set Identifier) assigned to each wireless LAN-AP is shown. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, “B101” is assigned to the wireless LAN-AP 101 as the BSSID. Also, “B201” is assigned to the wireless LAN-AP 201 and “B202” is assigned to the wireless LAN-AP 202 as a BSSID. In the present embodiment, the transmission output values of the wireless signals in the nine wireless LAN-APs 101 to 103 and 201 to 206 are the same in the initial state.

  Each of the three wireless LAN-APs 101 to 103 functions as a wireless LAN access point and also functions as a wireless LAN access point controller that manages the wireless LAN-APs in its own group. For example, the wireless LAN-AP 101 determines the wireless LAN setting information for each of the two wireless LAN-APs 201 and 202 in the first group to which the wireless LAN-AP 101 belongs, and causes the wireless LAN-APs 201 and 202 to set the wireless LAN setting information. In contrast, each of the six wireless LAN-APs 201 to 206 functions as a wireless LAN access point, but does not function as a wireless LAN access point controller. Hereinafter, the three wireless LAN-APs 101 to 103 are referred to as “management APs”, and the six wireless LAN-APs are referred to as “management APs”.

  As shown in FIG. 1, in each group, two managed APs are respectively connected to the managed AP. For example, the two management target APs 201 and 202 in the first group are connected to the management AP 101, respectively. In FIG. 1, the connection between the management AP 101 and the management target AP 201 and the connection between the management AP 101 and the management target AP 202 are both directly connected between both access point apparatuses. Instead, a wired LAN different from the wired LAN 20 may be constructed by a switch device (layer 2 switch or the like), and the three wireless LAN-APs 101, 201, and 202 may be connected by the wired LAN.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the management AP 101 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, since the three management APs 101 to 103 have the same configuration, the management AP 101 will be described as a representative.

  In the present embodiment, the management AP 101 operates as a bridge and relays a layer 2 data frame in an OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) reference model. That is, the management AP 101 relays data frames output from the management target APs 201 and 202 belonging to the same group to the wired LAN 20, and relays data frames received via the wired LAN 20 to the management target APs 201 and 202. To do. The connection between the management AP 101 and the wired LAN 20 corresponds to a so-called uplink. Note that the management AP 101 may operate as a router instead of a bridge and relay layer 3 data packets in the OSI reference model.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the management AP 101 includes a flash ROM (Read Only Memory) 160, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 130, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 110, a wired LAN communication control unit 140, and wireless LAN communication. And a control unit 150. Each of these components is connected to the internal bus 190.

  The CPU 110 executes a control program stored in the flash ROM 160, thereby performing a data relay unit 111, a wireless LAN setting unit 112, a processing load specifying unit 113, a list generating unit 114, a high load device specifying unit 115, and an information acquiring unit. 116, the change candidate device specifying unit 117, the inquiry unit 118, the inquiry response unit 119, the change target device specifying unit 120, and the change request transmitting unit 121.

  The data relay unit 111 relays the data frame received from the wired LAN communication control unit 140 and the wireless LAN communication control unit 150 according to the destination address. The wireless LAN setting unit 112 sets wireless LAN setting information used for wireless LAN communication by the wireless LAN communication control unit 150 by receiving it from the management device 500 and storing it in the flash ROM 160. Further, the wireless LAN setting unit 112 determines and sets wireless LAN setting information for the two management target APs 201 and 202 in the same group. The processing load specifying unit 113 specifies uplink traffic in the management AP 101 described above. In the present embodiment, uplink traffic refers to the amount of data per unit time of transmission data output from the management AP to the wireless LAN 20 and the amount of data per unit time of received data received by the management AP from the wireless LAN 20. Means the sum. In addition, about the other function parts 114-121 implement | achieved by CPU110, the specific function (processing content to perform) is demonstrated in the group structure control process mentioned later.

  The flash ROM 160 stores the control program described above and includes a list storage unit 161. The list storage unit 161 stores an access point list (hereinafter referred to as “AP list”). Details of the AP list will be described later. The flash ROM 160 stores BSSIDs of other management APs (management APs 102 and 103) in advance. This BSSID is used in the later-described group configuration control process when communicating with another management AP, and for specifying whether the transmission source of the received beacon is the management AP. The storage of BSSIDs of other management APs in the flash ROM 160 is executed by an administrator, for example.

  The wired LAN communication control unit 140 has an interface for connecting to the wired LAN 20. As such an interface, for example, various interfaces standardized in IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802.3 can be adopted. The wired LAN communication control unit 140 has three ports (not shown) and is connected to the wired LAN 20, the management target AP 201, and the management target AP 202. Instead of the three ports, only one port may be provided and interconnected via a wired LAN relay device (such as a hub device) (not shown).

  The wireless LAN communication control unit 150 includes a modulator, an amplifier, and an antenna, and communicates with the communication terminal 400 in accordance with a communication method compliant with, for example, IEEE 802.11a / b / g / n / ac. A specific communication method to which the wired LAN communication control unit 140 conforms will be described later.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the management target AP 201 shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, the six management target APs 201 to 206 have the same configuration as each other, so the management target AP 201 will be described as a representative.

  In the present embodiment, the management target AP 201 operates as a bridge similarly to the management AP 101 described above. That is, the management target AP 201 relays the data frame output from the communication terminal 400 to the management AP 101 and relays the data frame received from the management AP 101 to the communication terminal 400. The management target AP 201 may operate as a router instead of the bridge.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the management target AP 201 includes a flash ROM 220, a RAM 230, a CPU 210, a wired LAN communication control unit 240, and a wireless LAN communication control unit 250. Each of these components is connected to the internal bus 290.

  The CPU 210 functions as a data relay unit 211, a received signal strength specifying unit 212, and a wireless LAN setting unit 213 by executing a control program stored in the flash ROM 220. Since the data relay unit 211 has the same function as the data relay unit 111 of the management AP 101 described above, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Based on beacons from other wireless LAN-APs received by the wireless LAN communication control unit 250, the received signal strength specifying unit 212 and BSSIDs of other wireless LAN-APs located in the vicinity and received signal strength (RSSI: Specify Received Signal Strength Indicator. The received signal strength correlates with the distance between other wireless LAN-APs. Specifically, when the transmission output is the same, if the received signal strength is large, the distance to the other wireless LAN-AP is small, and if the received signal strength is small, the distance to the other wireless LAN-AP is small. Is big. Therefore, “located in the vicinity” means that the beacon can be received.

  The wireless LAN setting unit 213 sets wireless LAN setting information used for wireless LAN communication by the wireless LAN communication control unit 250 by receiving it from the management AP 101 and storing it in the flash ROM 220.

  Since the wired LAN communication control unit 240 has the same configuration as the wired LAN communication control unit 140 of the management AP 101 described above, detailed description thereof is omitted. Similarly, since the wireless LAN communication control unit 250 has the same configuration as the wireless LAN communication control unit 150 of the management AP 101 described above, detailed description thereof is omitted. Note that a communication method to which the wireless LAN communication control unit 250 conforms will be described later.

  In the example of FIG. 1, the route R <b> 1 when the communication terminal 400 connects to the Internet INT passes through the management target AP 202 and the management AP 101. Therefore, when the amount of data transmitted and received by the communication terminal 400 increases, the processing load increases between the management target AP 202 and the management AP 101. Such a situation is, for example, when a large number of communication terminals communicate via the managed AP 202 beyond the assumption at the time of system design, or when a plurality of communication terminals connected to the managed AP 202 are This may occur when executing an application that requires high traffic continuously (for example, transfer of high-quality images or transfer of a large amount of files). In the network system 10 of the present embodiment, the group configuration control process described later is executed, so that the affiliation of the management target AP in a group different from the affiliation group of the management target AP in the high load state Changed to the AP group. As a result, the access destination of the communication terminal 400 is changed from the management AP in the high load state to the management target AP to which the group belongs, and the processing load of the management AP in the same group as the management target AP in the high load state is reduced. Thus, uneven processing load among the three management APs 101 to 103 is suppressed.

  The communication terminal 400 described above corresponds to the wireless LAN station device in the claims. The six managed APs 201 to 206 are the wireless LAN access point devices in the claims, the three management APs 101 to 103 are the relay devices in the claims, and the received signal strength specifying unit 212 is the distance correlation information in the claims. In the acquisition unit, BSSID corresponds to identification information in claims, and received signal strength corresponds to distance correlation information in claims.

A-2. Group configuration control processing:
FIG. 4 is a first flowchart showing the procedure of the group configuration control process in the first embodiment. FIG. 5 is a second flowchart showing the procedure of the group configuration control process in the first embodiment. The group configuration control process is a process in which each management AP controls the group to which each management target AP belongs, and includes a first process, a second process, and a third process. In FIG. 4, the procedure of the first process is represented as a flowchart on the left side, and the procedure of the second process is represented as a flowchart on the right side. In FIG. 5, the procedure of the third process is shown as a flowchart. In each of the management APs 101 to 103, when the power is turned on, the first process, the second process, and the third process are executed. In the following description, the wireless LAN-APs 101, 201, and 202 of the first group are mainly described as processing subjects, but the same processing is performed even if the wireless LAN-APs of other groups are processing subjects.

  As shown on the left side of FIG. 4, the list generation unit 114 of the management AP 101 generates an AP list in which information related to the wireless LAN-AP in its own group is described (step S105).

  FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an AP list generated in each management AP 101-103. FIG. 6A shows an AP list generated in the management AP 101. 6B shows an AP list generated by the management AP 102, and FIG. 6C shows an AP list generated by the management AP 103.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the AP list has a BSSID field, a communication method field, and an ESSID field. In step S105, each of the management APs 101 to 103 inquires the management target AP of its own group about the values of these fields, and generates an AP list based on the response result. Note that the value of each field related to itself is registered in the AP list based on the information stored in the flash ROM 160.

  As shown in FIG. 6A, in the AP list generated by the management AP 101, three records corresponding to the wireless LAN-APs 101, 201, and 202 belonging to the first group are registered. In the record related to the management AP 101, “B101” is registered as a BSSID, “11n / g / b” by 2.4 GHz band radio as a communication method, and “G1” as an ESSID are registered. The communication method “11 n / g / b” means that any of IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers) 802.11n, IEEE 802.11g, and IEEE 802.11b can be applied. In the records for the other two wireless LAN-APs 201 and 202, only the value of the BSSID field is different, and the values of the other fields are the same as the records for the management AP 101.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, in the AP list generated by the management AP 102, three records corresponding to the wireless LAN-APs 102, 203, and 204 belonging to the second group are registered. In the record related to the management AP 102, “B102” is registered as the BSSID, “11n / g / b” is registered as the communication method, and “G2” is registered as the ESSID. In the record related to the management target AP 203, only the value of the BSSID field is different, and the values of the other fields are the same as the records related to the management AP 102. In the record related to the management target AP 204, the value of the BSSID field and the value of the communication method are different, and the value of the ESSID field is the same as the record related to the management AP 102. In the record related to the management target AP 204, the value of the communication method field is “11a”. This means that IEEE802.11a with 5 GHz band radio can be applied.

  As shown in FIG. 6C, in the AP list generated by the management AP 103, three records relating to the wireless LAN-APs 103, 205, and 206 belonging to the third group are registered. In the record related to the management AP 103, “B103” is registered as the BSSID, “11n / g / b” is registered as the communication method, and “G3” is registered as the ESSID. Note that the values of the BSSID field are different in the records related to the other two wireless LAN-APs 205 and 206, and the values of the other fields are the same as the records for the management AP 103.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the processing load specifying unit 113 of the management AP 101 specifies uplink traffic and determines whether the traffic is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold (step S110). Step S110 is repeatedly executed until the uplink traffic becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold value. When the uplink traffic becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold value (step S110: YES), the high-load device specifying unit 115 of the management AP 101 belongs to itself. A high load device is identified in the group (step S115). In the present embodiment, the high load device means a management target AP having the highest processing load among the management target APs of a certain group. In step S115, the high load device specifying unit 115 of the management AP 101 inquires each management target AP 201, 202 of its own group about the index value of the processing load, and specifies the high load device based on the obtained value. In the present embodiment, a bandwidth usage rate in wireless communication between the management target AP and the communication terminal 400 is used as the index value of the processing load. The bandwidth usage rate is, for example, an average value (average communication data amount) of the actually transmitted / received data amount with respect to the maximum communication data amount defined by the wireless communication method between the management target AP 202 and the communication terminal 400. means. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, in the first group, the management target AP 202 is specified as a high load device.

  As illustrated in FIG. 4, the information acquisition unit 116 of the management AP 101 inquires of the high load device identified in step S115 about the identifier (BSSID) and received signal strength of the surrounding wireless LAN-AP (step S120). . When the received signal strength specifying unit 212 of the management target AP 202 specified as a high load device receives a beacon output from a neighboring wireless LAN-AP, the received signal strength specifying unit 212 acquires the BSSID and the received signal strength of the wireless LAN-AP. When the inquiry from the management AP 101 is received, the identified BSSID and received signal strength value are transmitted to the management AP 101.

  The change candidate device specifying unit 117 of the management AP 101 specifies a change candidate device based on the BSSID of the surrounding wireless LAN-AP received from the high load device in step S120 (step S125). The change candidate device means a management target AP that is a candidate for a management target AP (hereinafter referred to as a “change target device”) that changes the group to which the high load device belongs. Specifically, among the wireless LAN-APs indicated by the BSSID received from the high load device in step S120, the wireless LAN-AP is a wireless LAN-AP of a group different from its own group and is a management target AP. The AP is identified as a change candidate device.

  FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing information received from the high load device as a result of the execution of step S120 and the wireless LAN-AP identified as the change candidate device. In FIG. 7, in addition to the BSSID and the received signal strength received from the high load device, the rank of the received signal strength and whether or not the change candidate device has been identified for each BSSID is shown. In FIG. 7, the value of the received signal strength is represented by a schematic value.

  In the example of FIG. 7, the management target AP 202 that is a high-load device receives beacons from itself (the management target AP 202) and other seven wireless LAN-APs other than the third group management target AP 206, and each wireless LAN -Notify the management AP 101 of the received signal strength and BSSID when a beacon is received from the AP. In this embodiment, since the management target AP 206 is arranged far away from the management target AP 202, the management target AP 202 cannot receive the beacon output from the management target AP 206.

  Among the wireless LAN-APs indicated by the BSSIDs in FIG. 7, the two wireless LAN-APs with BSSIDs “B201” and “B101” are the first group wireless LAN-APs to which the management AP 101 belongs. It is not specified as a candidate device. In addition, since the two wireless LAN-APs with BSSIDs “B102” and “B103” are management APs, they are not specified as change candidate devices. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, three wireless LAN-APs with BSSIDs “B204”, “B205”, and “B203” (that is, three managed APs 204, 205, and 203) are identified as change candidate devices. The

  As shown on the left side of FIG. 4, when the change candidate device is specified, the inquiry unit 118 of the management AP 101 changes the change candidate device with respect to other management APs (two management APs 102 and 103). An inquiry is made as to whether or not it is possible (step S130). In the present embodiment, the inquiry unit 118 sends a list of BSSIDs of change candidate devices specified in step S125 and the communication method of the high load device to other management APs to inquire about the possibility of change. Note that the communication method of the high load device can be specified with reference to the AP list.

  The second process shown on the right side of FIG. 4 is a process for specifying whether or not the change candidate device is a device that may actually change the affiliation group. As shown on the right side of FIG. 4, in each management AP, the inquiry response unit 119 waits until receiving an inquiry about the possibility of change of the change candidate device from another management AP (step S205). Then (step S205: YES), a change possibility specifying process is executed (step S210). As described above, when a change possibility is inquired from the management AP 101, the two management APs 102 and 103 respectively execute step S210.

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of change possibility specifying processing in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, an example in which the changeability specifying process is executed in the management APs 102 and 103 will be described. The inquiry response unit 119 of each of the management APs 102 and 103 refers to the AP list, and determines whether or not the change candidate device inquired from another management AP (management AP 101) is in its own group. (Step S5).

  If it is determined that there is a change candidate device in the group (step S5: YES), the inquiry response unit 119 determines whether or not the uplink traffic of its own management AP is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold (step S5). S10) When it is determined that the value is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold (step S10: YES), it is specified that the change is impossible (step S25). If the uplink traffic of its own management AP is relatively high, the uplink of its own management AP further increases when the affiliation of the change candidate device is changed to the group to which the high load device belongs, and between management APs There is a risk that a new processing load will be unbalanced. Therefore, in this case, it is specified that the change is impossible as described above. In the present embodiment, the predetermined threshold value in step S10 is set lower than the predetermined threshold value in step S110 in the first process described above. If it is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value in step S110, the processing load of the management AP is high in the first place, so that there is a margin for accepting traffic corresponding to the traffic that has passed through the high load device of another group. In this case, it is determined that the change cannot be made and the group to which the change candidate device belongs is not changed in its own group.

  When it is determined that the uplink traffic of its own management AP is not equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold (step S10: NO), the inquiry response unit 119 can support the communication method of the change candidate device as the communication method of the high load device. Is determined (step S15), and if it is determined that the communication method is not compatible (step S15: NO), the above-described step S25 is executed and specified as unchangeable. If the communication method of the change candidate device is not compatible with the communication method of the high load device, even if the group to which the change candidate device belongs is changed to the group to which the high load device belongs, The change candidate device after the change is not changed, and thus the uneven processing load between the management APs is not eliminated. Therefore, in this case, it is specified that the change is impossible as described above.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the communication method of the change candidate device is compatible with the communication method of the high-load device (step S15: YES), the inquiry response unit 119 specifies that the change is possible (step S20). When it is determined in step S5 described above that there is no change candidate device in the group (step S5: NO), the inquiry response unit 119 specifies that there is no change candidate device (step S30).

  For example, in the management AP 102, the BSSIDs “B203” and “B204” of the two management target APs 203 and 204 belonging to the second group and the communication method “11n / g / b” of the management target AP 202 that is a high-load device are provided. , Notified from the management AP 101. Since the communication method “11n / g / b” of the managed AP 203 is compatible with the communication method of the high load device communication method “11n / g / b”, the uplink traffic in the management AP 102 is below a predetermined threshold. On the premise of this, the inquiry response unit 119 of the management AP 102 specifies “changeable” for the management target AP 203. On the other hand, the communication method “11a” of the management target AP 204 cannot support the communication method “11n / g / b” of the management target AP 202 that is a high-load device. For this reason, the inquiry response unit 119 of the management AP 102 specifies “cannot be changed” for the management target AP 204.

  Further, for example, in the management AP 103, the BSSID “B205” of the management target AP 205 out of the two management target APs 205 and 206 belonging to the third group and the communication method “11n / g” of the management target AP 202 which is a high load device. / B "is notified from the management AP 101. Since the communication method “11n / g / b” of the managed AP 205 is compatible with the communication method of the high load device communication method “11n / g / b”, the uplink traffic in the management AP 103 is below a predetermined threshold. On the premise of this, the inquiry response unit 119 of the management AP 103 identifies “changeable” for the management target AP 205.

  As shown in the right side of FIG. 4, when the change possibility specifying process is completed, the inquiry response units 119 of the two management APs 102 and 103 send the identification results in step S210 to the management AP 101 that is the source of the inquiry. Transmit (step S215). In the above example, the identification result “changeable” is transmitted for the two managed APs 203 and 205, and the identification result “changeable” is transmitted for the managed AP 204.

  As shown on the left side of FIG. 4, the management AP that has identified the high load device, in other words, the management AP (management AP 101) that inquired about the change possibility of the change candidate device, has received the change possibility specification result from another management AP. Upon reception, based on the identification result, it is determined whether there is a change candidate device identified as changeable (step S135). If it is determined that there is no change candidate device identified as changeable (step S135: NO), the process returns to step S110 described above, and steps S110 to S135 are executed again.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that there is a change candidate device identified as changeable (step S135: YES), the change target device specifying unit 120 has the highest received signal strength among changeable change candidate devices. A high device (managed AP) is identified as a change target device (step S140). As described above, when the two management target APs 203 and 205 are identified as “changeable”, as shown in FIG. 7, the received signal strength of the management target AP 205 among the two management target APs 203 and 205 is Since it is higher, the management target AP 205 is specified as the change target device. As described above, among the changeable changeable devices that can be changed, the device with the higher received signal strength is identified as the change target device because the management target AP that is estimated to be closer to the high load device belongs to the high load device This is because the group can be changed. As a result, the access destination of the communication terminal 400 that has accessed the high load device can be easily changed from the high load device to the management target AP changed by the belonging group.

  When the change target device is specified, the change request transmission unit 121 requests the management AP of the group to which the change target device belongs to change the ESSID of the change target device to the ESSID of its own group. The change request is transmitted (step S145). This change request includes the BSSID of the device to be changed and the ESSID of its own group. In the first process, after step S145 is executed, the process returns to the above-described step S110, and steps S110 to S145 are executed again.

  In the third process shown in FIG. 5, the wireless LAN setting unit 112 of the management AP is on standby until it receives a request for changing the ESSID of the change target device from another management AP (step S305), and receives the request. Then (step S305: YES), based on the AP list, it is determined whether or not the change target device exists in its own group (step S310). For example, the management AP 103 is requested by the management AP 101 to change the ESSID of the management target AP 205 to “G1” that is the ESSID of the group to which the management AP 101 belongs. Since the management target AP 205 belongs to the third group to which the management AP 103 belongs, in step S310, it is determined that “exists in the group”.

  If it is determined in step S310 described above that the change target device does not exist in its own group (step 310: NO), the group configuration process ends. On the other hand, if it is determined that the change target device exists in its own group (step S310: YES), the wireless LAN setting unit 112 includes the ESSID of the management target AP that is the change target device in the change request. The ESSID is changed (step S315). Therefore, for example, the ESSID of the management target AP 205 is changed from “G3” to “G1”.

  The list generation unit 114 updates the ESSID changed in step S315 by reflecting it in the AP list (step S320). Therefore, for example, as indicated by the dashed arrow in FIG. 6C, the value of the ESSID field of the record whose BSSID is “B205” (the record for the managed AP 205) is changed from “G3” to “G1”. The

  FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the group configuration after the group configuration control process is executed. The configuration shown in FIG. 9 is different from the configuration shown in FIG. 1 in that the route R2 is shown instead of the route R1 and the grouping of the nine wireless LAN-APs 101 to 103 and 201 to 206. The other components are the same as those shown in FIG. 1, and therefore the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the management target AP 205 belongs to the first group. That is, the ESSID of the management target AP 205 is set to “G1” that is the ESSID of the first group. Here, before the group configuration control process is executed, “G1” that is the ESSID of the first group to which the management target AP 202 belongs is set in the communication terminal 400 that has accessed the management target AP 202. . Therefore, before the group configuration control process is executed, the communication terminal 400 cannot access the management target AP 205. However, when the ESSID of the management target AP 205 is changed to “G1”, the communication terminal 400 can access the management target AP 205 and can change the access destination from the management target AP 202 to the management target AP 205.

  When the access destination of the communication terminal 400 is changed to the managed AP 205, the route when the communication terminal 400 connects to the Internet INT is changed from the route R1 to the route R2. The route R2 passes through the management target AP 205 and the management AP 103. Therefore, the communication traffic by the communication terminal 400 does not pass through the management AP 101, so the uplink traffic in the management AP 101 is reduced.

  According to the network system 10 of the first embodiment described above, the management target AP of a group different from the group to which the high load device belongs is identified as the change target device, and the group to which the change target device belongs is assigned to the high load device. Change to your group. For this reason, the access destination of the communication terminal 400 that has been accessing the high load device is changed from the high load device to the change target device, and the communication path when the communication terminal 400 connects to the Internet INT is determined by the high load device. The route can be changed so as not to pass through the management AP of the group to which it belongs. Therefore, without adding a function in the communication terminal 400, it is possible to reduce the processing load of the management AP of the group to which the high load device belongs, and to suppress the uneven processing load between the management APs.

  In addition, since the management target AP with the highest processing load in the group is identified as the high load device, the change target belonging to the other group for the communication of the communication terminal 400 having the high load device as the access destination By performing the processing through the device, the processing load of the relay device in the same group as the high load device can be greatly reduced.

  In addition, the management AP that has identified the high-load device queries other management APs as to whether the change candidate device can be changed to its own group, and specifies the change target device based on the response result. It can suppress that the change candidate apparatus which cannot change is specified as a change object apparatus.

  In addition, since the management target device having the same communication method as the communication method of the high load device is specified as the change target device, the communication terminal 400 does not add a function and does not change the wireless LAN setting. After the group to which the change target device belongs is changed, communication with the change target device can be performed.

  Further, among the management target APs that are the same as the communication method of the high load device as the change target device, the distance between the management target AP having the highest received signal strength in the high load device, that is, the high load device is the shortest. Therefore, after changing the group to which the change target device belongs, it is possible to increase the possibility that the access destination of the communication terminal 400 is changed from the high load device to the change target device. . In addition, since the received signal strength is used as an index used to identify the management target AP that is closer to the high load device (the distance is shorter) as the change target device, a special function unit is provided to identify the distance. Is not required. For this reason, it can suppress that the manufacturing cost of management object AP increases.

  When the management AP of the group belonging to the high load device inquires about the possibility of change of the change candidate device to another management AP, and the other management AP has its own uplink traffic equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold Responds that it cannot be changed. For this reason, since the change candidate device is identified as the change target device and the traffic passing through the change target device increases, the processing load of other management APs increases, and the processing load bias between the management APs becomes new. Can be suppressed.

  The management AP manages the management target AP, relays the data frame output from the management target AP and the data frame addressed to the management target AP, and also operates as a wireless LAN access point device. Therefore, in the network system 10, many communication terminals 400 can be connected to the Internet INT.

B. Second embodiment:
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the first process and the second process in the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the third process in the second embodiment. FIG. 12 is a flowchart illustrating procedures of the fourth process and the fifth process in the second embodiment.

  The first process of the second embodiment shown on the left side of FIG. 10 is different from the first process of the first embodiment shown on the left side of FIG. 4 in that step S150 is added and executed. Since other procedures in the first process of the second embodiment are the same as those of the first process of the first embodiment, the same procedures are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The second process of the second embodiment shown on the right side of FIG. 10 is the same as the procedure of the first process shown on the right side of FIG. Further, the third process of the second embodiment shown in FIG. 11 is different from the third process of the first embodiment shown on the right side of FIG. 4 in that step S325 is added and executed. Since other procedures in the third process of the second embodiment are the same as those of the third process of the first embodiment, the same procedures are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The fourth process shown on the left side of FIG. 12 and the fifth process shown on the right side of FIG. 12 are not executed in the network system 10 of the first embodiment, but are executed in the network system of the second embodiment. Since the system configuration of the network system of the second embodiment is the same as the system configuration of the network system 10 of the first embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The network system of the second embodiment reduces the transmission output of the high load device and increases the transmission output of the change target device when changing the group to which the change target device belongs. In addition, when the processing load (uplink traffic) of the management AP of the group to which the high load device belongs is reduced below a predetermined value, these two transmission outputs are returned to the values before the change, respectively.

  Specifically, as shown on the left side of FIG. 10, the wireless LAN setting unit 112 of the management AP (for example, management AP 101) of the group to which the high-load device belongs belongs to the above-described step S145 (request for changing the ESSID of the change target device). After (transmission) is executed, the transmission output of the high load device (for example, managed AP 202) is set to a reduced value (step S150). In step S150, for example, the transmission output may be reduced by 50%. Further, for example, it may be reduced by a predetermined level (for example, 3 dBm).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, the wireless LAN setting unit 112 of the management AP (for example, the management AP 103) of the group to which the change target device belongs has been changed after the above-described step S320 (AP list update) has been executed. The transmission output of the device (for example, managed AP 205) is set to an increased value (step S325). In step S325, for example, the transmission output may be increased by 50%. Further, for example, it may be increased by a predetermined level (for example, 3 dBm). As described above, in the network system according to the second embodiment, when the group to which the change target device belongs is changed, the transmission output of the high load device is reduced and the transmission output of the change target device is increased. It is easy to change from a high load device to a change target device.

  In the network system of the second embodiment, each management AP executes the fourth process and the fifth process of group configuration control shown in FIG. 12 when the power is turned on. In the fourth process shown on the left side of FIG. 12, the processing load specifying unit 113 of each management AP performs the above-described step S150 by the wireless LAN setting unit 112 of its management AP, and transmits the transmission output of the high load device. It is determined whether or not the reduced value is set (step S405). If it is determined that the transmission output of the high load device is not set to a reduced value, step S405 is executed again.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the transmission output of the high load device is set to a reduced value (step S405: YES), the processing load specifying unit 113 of each management AP, the uplink traffic in its own management AP Is lower than a predetermined threshold (step S410). If it is determined that the uplink traffic is lower than the predetermined threshold (step S410: YES), the change target device is notified to the destination management AP that has transmitted the ESSID change request in step S145 of the first process. A request for returning the ESSID (that is, a request for setting the ESSID of the group to which the destination management AP belongs) is transmitted (step S415). As a case where the uplink traffic becomes lower than a predetermined threshold in the management AP of the group to which the high load device belongs, for example, the communication traffic of the communication terminal 400 is reduced or the number of communication terminals 400 accessing the high load device It is assumed that the high load state is resolved in the management target AP that was a high load device due to the decrease. If it is determined in step S410 described above that the uplink traffic is not low (step S410: NO), step S410 is executed again.

  The wireless LAN setting unit 112 of each management AP sets so as to return (increase) the transmission output of the high load device after the above-described step S415 is executed (step S420).

  As shown on the right side of FIG. 12, the wireless LAN setting unit 112 of each management AP executes step S315 described above to determine whether or not the transmission output of the change target device has been set to an increased value (step S505). ). If it is determined that the transmission output of the change target device is not set to the increased value (step S505: NO), step S505 is executed again.

  On the other hand, if it is determined that the wireless LAN setting unit 112 of each management AP has set the transmission output of the change target device to an increased value (step S505: YES), the change target device receives the change target device from another management AP. The system waits until a request for returning the ESSID is received (step S510). When such a request is received (step S510: YES), the ESSID of the device to be changed is returned to the value before the change (step S515). Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the management target AP 205 belonging to the first group has the ESSID changed from “G1” to “G3”, and as shown in FIG. Will be changed (returned).

  As illustrated on the right side of FIG. 12, the wireless LAN setting unit 112 of each management AP performs setting so as to return (reduce) the transmission output of the change target device after the above-described step S515 is executed (step S520). In this way, the group to which the change target device belongs is changed to the original group, and the transmission output of the high load device and the change target device is returned to the original value. Therefore, the group configuration of the network system is as shown in FIG. Become. Therefore, the access destination of the communication terminal 400 returns from the management target AP 205 that was the change target device to the management target AP 202 that was the high load device, and the communication route by the communication terminal 400 returns from the route R2 to the route R1.

  Note that the predetermined threshold value related to the uplink traffic in step S410 is preferably lower than the predetermined threshold value related to the uplink traffic in step S110 of the first process. When the predetermined threshold value in step S410 and the predetermined threshold value in step S110 are set to the same value or close values, the group to which the change target device belongs frequently changes when uplink traffic changes around the predetermined threshold value. As a result, communication in the communication terminal 400 becomes unstable. On the other hand, by setting the predetermined threshold value in step S410 to a value lower than the predetermined threshold value in step S110, it is possible to suppress frequent change of the group to which the change target device belongs.

  The network system of the second embodiment described above has the same effects as the network system of the first embodiment. In addition, when changing the group to which the change target device belongs, the transmission output of the high load device is reduced and the transmission output of the change target device is increased, so that the access destination of the communication terminal 400 is changed from the high load device to the change target device. Easy to change. In addition, when the uplink traffic in the management AP of the group belonging to the high load device is reduced below a predetermined threshold, the group configuration in the network system is restored to manage the high load device (which was a high load device). Since the transmission output of the target AP is increased and the transmission output of the management target AP of the change target device (which was the change target device) is reduced, the access destination of the communication terminal 400 is changed to the change target device (the change target device). The management target AP) can be changed (returned) to a high load device (a management target AP that was a high load device). In general, the group configuration in the initial state as shown in FIG. 1 is designed as an ideal configuration in a state where a high load device does not occur. Therefore, in the network system of the second embodiment, in the management target AP that was a high-load device, when the high-load state is canceled and the uplink traffic of the management AP falls below a predetermined threshold, It can return to the ideal system configuration.

C. Third embodiment:
FIG. 13 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a management AP according to the third embodiment. FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of first processing and sixth processing of group configuration control in the third embodiment. The system configuration of the network system of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment in terms of the configuration of the management AP, the procedure of the first process, and the sixth process instead of the second process. Different from 10.

  The management AP 101a illustrated in FIG. 13 is different from the management AP 101 according to the first embodiment illustrated in FIG. 2 in that the CPU 110 does not function as the change candidate device specifying unit 117. Since the other components in the management AP 101a of the third embodiment are the same as those of the management AP 101 of the first embodiment, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted. The configurations of the other two management APs in the third embodiment are the same as those of the management AP 101a shown in FIG.

  The first process of the third embodiment shown in FIG. 14 is the first process of the first embodiment shown in FIG. 4 in that steps S122 and S124 are executed instead of steps S125, S130, S135, and S140. And different. Since other procedures in the first process of the third embodiment are the same as those of the first process of the first embodiment, the same procedures are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The network system according to the third embodiment is different from the network system 10 according to the first embodiment in a method for specifying a change target device. In the network system 10 of the first embodiment, the management AP of the group to which the high-load device belongs identifies the change candidate device, and then the change target device based on the change possibility of each change candidate device notified from the other management AP Has been identified. On the other hand, in the network system according to the third embodiment, the change target device is specified without specifying the change candidate device.

  Specifically, as shown on the left side of FIG. 14, after the above-described step S120 (inquiry of the BSSID and received signal strength of the peripheral wireless LAN-AP to the high load device) is executed, the management to which the high load device belongs is performed. The AP inquiry unit 118 inquires the other management APs about the BSSIDs and communication methods of all the management target APs in its own group (step S122).

  In the network system of the third embodiment, in each management AP, when the power is turned on, the sixth process of group configuration control shown on the right side of FIG. 14 is started. In the sixth process, first, the inquiry response unit 119 of each management AP waits until receiving an inquiry about the BSSIDs and communication methods of all management target APs in the group to which the management AP belongs (step S605). When such a request is received (step S605: YES), the BS list and communication method of all managed APs of its own group are specified with reference to the AP list, and a response is made to the inquiry sender (step S610). After step S610 is executed, step S605 is executed again.

  As shown on the left side of FIG. 14, after the above-described step S122 is executed, if a response to the inquiry to the high load device in step S120 and a response to the inquiry to another management AP in step S122 are received, Based on these responses, the change target device specifying unit 120 of the management AP to which the device belongs belongs to a management target AP belonging to a group other than its own group, and uses the same communication method as that of the high load device. The management target AP having the highest received signal strength is specified as the change target device (step S124). After step S124 is executed, the above-described step S145 is executed.

  The network system of the third embodiment having the above configuration has the same effects as the network system 10 of the first embodiment. In addition, since the process associated with specifying the change candidate device can be omitted, the processing load associated with the process can be reduced.

D. Fourth embodiment:
FIG. 15 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a network system 700 according to the fourth embodiment. A network system 700 includes a wireless LAN access point device 720 that performs wireless communication with a wireless LAN station device, and transmits wireless LAN setting information including ESSID to the wireless LAN access point device 720 so as to set the wireless LAN access point device 720. A group 731 including a relay device 710 that relays data output from the device 720, and includes a plurality of groups 731 in which different ESSIDs are set.

  The relay device 710 identifies a wireless LAN access point device 720 that is a wireless LAN access point device 720 of another belonging group that satisfies a predetermined condition as a change target device that changes the belonging group, and belongs to the change target device. A change request for changing the ESSID of the change target device to the ESSID of its own group is transmitted to the relay device 710 of the group.

  When receiving the change request from the relay device 710 of another group, the relay device 710 changes the ESSID of the change target device according to the change request.

According to the network system 700 of the fourth embodiment having the above-described configuration, the wireless LAN access point device 720 satisfying a predetermined condition that is a wireless LAN access point device 720 of another belonging group is identified as a change target device. The ESSID of the change target device can be changed to the ESSID of its own group. For this reason, since the access destination of the wireless LAN station device that has performed wireless communication with the wireless LAN access point device 720 of its own group can be changed to the wireless LAN access point device 720 of another group, the change target device Can be reduced, and the processing load on the relay device 710 of the group to which the change target device belongs can be increased. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the uneven processing load between the relay apparatuses 710 without adding a function to the wireless LAN station apparatus.

E. Fifth embodiment:
FIG. 16 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a relay device 800 according to the fifth embodiment. The relay device 800 includes a wireless LAN access point device that performs wireless communication with a wireless LAN station device, and is used for each group in a network system including a plurality of groups in which different ESSIDs are set. The wireless LAN access point device Connected to.

  The relay device 800 includes a wireless LAN setting unit 811, a change target device specifying unit 812, and a change request transmission unit 813.

  The wireless LAN setting unit 811 transmits the wireless LAN setting information including the ESSID to the wireless LAN access point device of its own group. The change target device specifying unit 812 specifies the wireless LAN access point device in another group belonging to the wireless LAN access point device that satisfies a predetermined condition as a change target device for changing the group to which the member belongs. The change request transmission unit 813 transmits a change request for changing the ESSID of the change target device to the ESSID of its own group to the relay device of the group to which the change target device belongs.

  According to the relay device 800 of the fifth embodiment having the above configuration, a wireless LAN access point device that is a wireless LAN access point of another belonging group and satisfies a predetermined condition is identified as a change target device, and the change target The ESSID of the device can be changed to the ESSID of its own group. For this reason, since the access destination of the wireless LAN station device that was performing wireless communication with the wireless LAN access point device of its own group can be changed to the wireless LAN access point of another member group, the change target device was specified. It is possible to reduce the processing load of the relay device and increase the processing load of the relay device of the group to which the change target device belongs. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the uneven processing load between the relay devices without adding a function to the wireless LAN station device.

F. Modification F-1. Modification 1:
In each embodiment, the management AP of the group to which the change target device belongs exchanges data with the management target APs of a plurality of groups. For example, the management AP 103 shown in FIG. 9 exchanges data with the management target AP 205 of the first group and exchanges data with the management target AP 206 of the third group. As described above, since the traffic of a plurality of groups is aggregated in the management AP 103, data of other groups is acquired via the management AP 103, and there is a possibility that the security is lowered. Therefore, it is preferable to prevent data exchanged between the management AP and the management target AP from being acquired in the management target APs of other groups. As a configuration for that purpose, for example, communication of each group may be isolated from each other by using VLAN (Virtual LAN).

  Specifically, for example, each management AP sets a different VLAN-ID for each ESSID when the group (ESSID) of the change target device is changed, and uses each VLAN for communication. May be relayed and encrypted and decrypted. In this way, for example, the management target AP 205 of the first group can be prevented from acquiring communication data between the management AP 103 and the management target AP 206, and even if acquired, it cannot be easily decoded.

  Further, for example, each management AP has a DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server function and adopts a configuration in which an IP (Internet Protocol) address is assigned to a management target AP of the group to which the management AP belongs and the communication terminal 400. The AP may assign IP addresses having different network addresses for each group. In this configuration, the management AP is preferably operated as a bridge. In this way, the management AP does not relay (route) data packets between different groups, so that the management target AP acquires data exchanged by the management target APs of other groups. Can be suppressed. In addition, it is good also as a structure which combined the structure which changes VLAN-ID for every group mentioned above, and the structure which changes a network address for every group. For example, if a different network address is assigned to each VLAN-ID, communication by IP can be isolated for each group. Therefore, even when information to be concealed is exchanged by IP communication via the management AP, security can be ensured. Reduction can be suppressed.

F-2. Modification 2:
In each embodiment, when specifying a high load device, the management AP inquires each management target AP of its own group about the index value (that is, the bandwidth usage rate) of the processing load. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the management AP may perform statistical processing on the amount of data relayed by the management target AP (the number of packets and the number of bytes transmitted and received) to obtain an index value of the processing load of each management target AP.

F-3. Modification 3:
In each embodiment, the index value of the processing load used when specifying the high load device in step S115 of the first process is the band usage rate in the wireless communication with the communication terminal 400. The invention is not limited to this. For example, the usage rate of the CPU 210 of the management target AP may be used as an index value of the processing load. In step S115, the high-load device has been identified as the management target AP having the highest processing load among the management target APs in the group. Instead, the management load has a processing load equal to or higher than a predetermined threshold. The target AP may be specified as a high load device. In this configuration, a plurality of management target APs can be specified as high load devices. In this case, the change target device is specified for each high-load device.

  Further, in step S110 of the first process, step S10 of the change possibility specifying process, and step S410 of the fourth process, the uplink traffic of the management AP is compared with a predetermined threshold. Instead, the usage rate of the CPU 110 of the management AP may be compared with a predetermined threshold value.

F-4. Modification 4:
In the first processing of each embodiment, the high load device is specified when the uplink traffic of the management AP is equal to or higher than the predetermined threshold. However, the high load device is omitted by omitting the uplink traffic condition. The device may be specified. That is, step S110 of the first process may be omitted and high load process identification (step S115) may be executed. In this configuration, it is preferable to identify a management target AP whose processing load is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold as the high load device, as described in Modification 3 above. However, if there is a high load device because the amount of communication traffic closed in the group is large, the communication traffic between the management APs increases due to the change of the group to which the change target device belongs, and the management AP's There is also a risk that the processing load increases. Therefore, as in each embodiment, when there is a lot of uplink traffic of the management AP, it is preferable to specify a high load device.

F-5. Modification 5:
In each embodiment, the change candidate device is a wireless LAN-AP of a group different from its own group among the wireless LAN-APs indicated by the BSSID received from the high load device in step S120, and the managed AP However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, among the management target APs identified as described above, a management target AP whose received signal strength is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold may be identified as a change candidate device. According to such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the number of change candidate devices to be inquired when inquiring other management APs about the change possibility of the change candidate device. For this reason, the processing load in each management AP can be reduced.

  Further, for example, as a change candidate device, a wireless LAN-AP of a group different from its own group among the wireless LAN-APs indicated by the BSSID received from the high load device in step S120 may be specified. That is, the condition of “wireless LAN-AP as a management target device” may be omitted. In this configuration, in the change possibility specifying process executed in each management AP, the change candidate device is specified as a management AP or a management target AP. The management target AP may be specified as changeable on the assumption that other conditions are satisfied.

  In each embodiment, when specifying a change candidate device, whether or not it is a management AP is specified in comparison with the BSSID of the management AP stored in advance. By setting a value indicating the management AP as the BSSID of the management AP, whether or not the management AP is the management AP may be specified from the BSSID specified by receiving the beacon.

  In each of the above-described embodiments, not receiving a beacon means that the received signal strength is lower than the reception sensitivity. Therefore, a management target AP that is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold is specified as a change candidate device. Can be seen as.

F-6. Modification 6:
In each embodiment, the received signal strength is used as an index used when specifying the device to be changed. However, in place of the received signal strength, arbitrary information correlated with the distance between the high load device and the change candidate device. May be adopted as an index used when specifying the change target device. Specifically, for example, each wireless LAN-AP has a GPS (Global Positioning System) function unit, and based on the position information measured by the GPS function unit, the distance between the high load device and the change candidate device And the distance information may be employed as an index used when specifying the change target device. In this configuration, the GPS function unit corresponds to the distance correlation information acquisition unit in the claims. Moreover, the distance calculated | required based on the positional information measured by the GPS function part is equivalent to the distance related information in a claim.

F-7. Modification 7:
In the change possibility specifying process of each embodiment, whether or not the uplink traffic is equal to or higher than the threshold value is specified in step S10. However, this process may be omitted. Instead of step S10, uplink traffic after the group to which the change target device belongs is changed may be estimated, and it may be determined whether the estimated traffic is equal to or less than a predetermined threshold. In this configuration, traffic estimation can be realized as follows, for example. That is, first, the management AP of the group to which the high-load device belongs identifies the traffic volume between the change candidate device and the management AP, and transmits information indicating the traffic volume when sending an inquiry (step S130). Send to other management AP. Each management AP identifies the current uplink traffic volume, and adds the traffic volume indicated by the information received from the management AP of the group belonging to the high-load apparatus to the traffic volume. The uplink traffic after the change can be estimated.

F-8. Modification 8:
In each embodiment, when specifying the change possibility of the change candidate device, it is determined whether or not the communication method of the change candidate device is the same as the communication method of the high-load device. This determination can be omitted if the communication methods in all the wireless LAN-APs are the same. In this configuration, it is possible to simplify the identification of change possibility, and to omit communicating the communication method to other management APs in step S130 of the first process.

F-9. Modification 9:
In each embodiment, only one change target device is specified, but a plurality of change target devices may be specified. For example, among change candidate devices that can be changed, a plurality of change candidate devices having a received signal strength equal to or higher than a predetermined value may be specified as change target devices. In this configuration, for example, a plurality of change target devices having different communication methods may be specified. By doing in this way, the management AP which goes through can be changed for every communication system. Further, when the change target device is specified, a change candidate device having a higher received signal strength and a smaller uplink traffic in the management AP of the currently belonging group may be specified as the change target device. Good. In this configuration, it is preferable to notify the uplink traffic in each management AP along with the change possibility response. Moreover, when specifying a change target apparatus, you may specify a change candidate apparatus with more frequency bands to support as a change target apparatus. For example, when the frequency band supported by a certain change candidate device is 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz and the frequency band supported by another change candidate device is only 2.4 GHz, 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz are used. A change candidate device that supports a frequency band may be specified as a change target device.

F-10. Modification 10:
The group configuration control process in each embodiment is merely an example and can be variously modified. For example, the AP list is generated in each management AP only once after the management AP is turned on. Instead, the AP list may be generated periodically. In the second embodiment, the fourth process and the fifth process may be omitted. In addition, the configuration of the network system 10 in each embodiment is merely an example, and various modifications can be made. For example, the management AP is configured as a wireless LAN access point device, but may be configured as an arbitrary bridge device (for example, a layer 2 switch) that does not have a wireless LAN access point function. In each group, the management APs 101 to 103 and the management target APs 201 to 206 are connected by wire, but may be wirelessly connected. In this configuration, for example, the management AP and the management target AP may be wirelessly connected by a WDS (Wireless Distribution System) device. Further, the management AP may be operated as an access point in the infrastructure mode of IEEE802.11, and the management target AP may be operated as a station to be wirelessly connected to each other. Similarly, the management APs 101 to 103 are wired by the wired LAN 20 but may be wirelessly connected. In addition, each management AP 101 to 103 is managed by the management apparatus 500, but may be operable independently without being managed by the management apparatus 500. In this configuration, the management device 500 can be omitted. Further, the router device 510 may be omitted, and the communication terminal 400 may not be connected to the Internet INT. In this configuration, the connection between the management APs 101 to 103 corresponds to the uplink in each management AP 101 to 103. Further, in the network system of each embodiment, the number of management APs is not limited to three, and may be an arbitrary plurality. Further, the number of management target APs managed by each management AP is not limited to two and may be an arbitrary number. In each embodiment, BSSID is used as identification information of each wireless LAN-AP. However, instead of BSSID, individual MAC (Media Access Control address) address of the device itself or individual identification thereof can be performed. Arbitrary information may be used.

F-11. Modification 11:
In each embodiment and modification, a part of the configuration realized by hardware may be replaced with software, and conversely, a part of the configuration realized by software may be replaced with hardware. Also good. In addition, when part or all of the functions of the present invention are realized by software, the software (computer program) can be provided in a form stored in a computer-readable recording medium. In the present invention, the “computer-readable recording medium” is not limited to a portable recording medium such as a flexible disk or a CD-ROM, but an internal storage device in a computer such as various RAMs and ROMs, a hard disk, etc. It also includes an external storage device fixed to the computer. That is, the “computer-readable recording medium” has a broad meaning including an arbitrary recording medium in which data can be fixed instead of temporarily.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments and modifications, and can be realized with various configurations without departing from the spirit thereof. For example, the technical features in the embodiments and the modifications corresponding to the technical features in each embodiment described in the summary section of the invention are to solve some or all of the above-described problems, or In order to achieve part or all of the effects, replacement or combination can be performed as appropriate. Further, if the technical feature is not described as essential in the present specification, it can be deleted as appropriate.

10 ... Network system 20 ... Wired LAN
101, 102, 103, 101a ... management AP
110 ... CPU
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 111 ... Data relay part 112 ... Wireless LAN setting part 113 ... Processing load specific | specification part 114 ... List generation part 115 ... High load apparatus specific part 116 ... Information acquisition part 117 ... Change candidate apparatus specific part 118 ... Inquiry part 119 ... Inquiry response part 120 ... Change target device identification unit 121 ... Change request transmission unit 130 ... RAM
140: Wired LAN communication control unit 150: Wireless LAN communication control unit 160: Flash ROM
161: List storage unit 190 ... Internal bus 201, 202, 203, 204, 205, 206 ... Managed AP
210 ... CPU
211: Data relay unit 212: Received signal strength specifying unit 213: Wireless LAN setting unit 220: Flash ROM
230 ... RAM
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 240 ... Wired LAN communication control part 250 ... Wireless LAN communication control part 290 ... Internal bus 400 ... Communication terminal 500 ... Management apparatus 510 ... Router apparatus 700 ... Network system 710 ... Relay apparatus 720 ... Wireless LAN access point apparatus 731 ... Group 800 ... Relay device 811 ... Wireless LAN setting unit 812 ... Change target device specifying unit 813 ... Change request transmission unit INT ... Internet

Claims (13)

A network system,
A wireless LAN access point device that performs wireless communication with a wireless LAN station device, and transmitting and setting wireless LAN setting information including an ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier) to the wireless LAN access point device. A relay device that relays data output from the point device, and includes a plurality of groups in which different ESSIDs are set,
The relay device is the wireless LAN access point device of another belonging group, and specifies the wireless LAN access point device satisfying a predetermined condition as a change target device for changing the belonging group, and the change target device A change request for changing the ESSID of the change target device to the ESSID of its own group is sent to the relay device of the group belonging to the group,
When the relay device receives the change request from the relay device of another group, the relay device changes the ESSID of the device to be changed according to the change request. In a network system having a wireless LAN access point device that performs wireless communication with a wireless LAN station device and having a plurality of groups in which different ESSIDs (Extended Service Set Identifiers) are set, the wireless LAN access is used for each group. A relay device connected to the point device,
A wireless LAN setting unit configured to transmit and set wireless LAN setting information including ESSID to the wireless LAN access point device of its own group;
A change target device specifying unit that specifies the wireless LAN access point device of another group belonging to the wireless LAN access point device satisfying a predetermined condition as a change target device for changing the group belonging;
A change request transmitting unit that transmits a change request for changing the ESSID of the change target device to the ESSID of the own group, to the relay device of the group to which the change target device belongs;
A relay device comprising: The relay device according to claim 2, further comprising:
A data relay unit that relays data output from the wireless LAN access point device of its own group;
A high-load device specifying unit for specifying whether or not the wireless LAN access point device of its own group is a high-load device with a high processing load;
Identification information of the other wireless LAN access point device identified based on radio waves output from the other wireless LAN access point device in the high load device, and the high load device and the other wireless LAN access point device An information acquisition unit for acquiring distance correlation information correlated with the distance between the high load device;
With
The relay device, wherein the predetermined condition is a condition that a distance correlated with the distance correlation information acquired from the high load device is equal to or less than a predetermined distance. The relay device according to claim 3,
The high-load device is a relay device that is the wireless LAN access point device having the highest processing load in its own group. The relay device according to claim 3 or 4, further comprising:
Of the wireless LAN access point devices indicated by the identification information acquired from the high load device, the wireless LAN access point whose distance correlated with the distance correlation information acquired from the high load device is equal to or less than a predetermined distance A change candidate device identifying unit that identifies the device as a change candidate device; and
An inquiry unit that transmits an inquiry as to whether the change candidate device can be changed from the other group to its own group, to the relay device of another group;
Upon receiving the inquiry from the relay device of another group, specify whether the change candidate device can be changed from its own group to the group to which the relay device that transmitted the inquiry belongs, and specify An inquiry response unit that transmits a result to the relay device that has transmitted the inquiry;
Have
The change target device specifying unit is a relay device that specifies the change target device from among the change candidate devices based on the specification result. The relay device according to claim 5,
The change target device specifying unit specifies, as the change target device, the change candidate device having the smallest distance correlated with the distance correlation information among the change candidate devices specified as changeable in the specification result. , Relay device. In the relay device according to claim 5 or 6,
When the processing load of the relay device of its own group is lower than a predetermined value, the inquiry response unit indicates the affiliation of the change candidate device, and the group of the relay device that has transmitted the inquiry from its own group A relay device that identifies that it can be changed. In the relay device according to any one of claims 5 to 7,
The inquiry unit notifies the relay device of another group of a wireless communication method between the high load device and the wireless LAN station device,
The inquiry response unit determines the affiliation of the change candidate device when the wireless communication method between the change candidate device and the wireless LAN station device is compatible with the notified wireless communication method. A relay device that identifies that the relay device that has transmitted the inquiry from a group can be changed to a group to which the relay device belongs. In the relay device according to any one of claims 3 to 8,
The distance correlation information is a relay device that is information indicating reception strength of a signal output from the wireless LAN access point device. In the relay device according to any one of claims 3 to 9,
The wireless LAN setting information includes a transmission output value in the wireless LAN access point device in addition to the ESSID,
The wireless LAN setting unit reduces the transmission output value of the high load device of its own group after the change of the change target device compared to before the change of the change target device Set up the relay device. In the relay device according to any one of claims 2 to 10,
The wireless LAN setting information includes a transmission output value in the wireless LAN access point device in addition to the ESSID,
The wireless LAN setting unit increases the transmission output value of the change target device in its own group after the change of the change target device is changed compared to before the change of the change target device is changed. Set up the relay device. The relay device according to any one of claims 2 to 11,
A relay device that operates as a wireless LAN access point device. A wireless LAN access point device that performs wireless communication with a wireless LAN station device, and transmitting and setting wireless LAN setting information including an ESSID (Extended Service Set Identifier) to the wireless LAN access point device. A network system including a plurality of groups having different ESSIDs set in a group having a relay device that relays data output from a point device, and a method for controlling the configuration of the plurality of groups,
(A) in the relay device, the wireless LAN access point device in another group belonging to the wireless LAN access point device satisfying a predetermined condition as a change target device for changing the group belonging;
(B) In the relay device that identifies the change target device, a change request for changing the ESSID of the change target device to the ESSID of its own group is transmitted to the relay device of the group to which the change target device belongs. And a process of
(C) In the relay device, when receiving the change request from the relay device of another group, changing the ESSID of the change target device according to the change request;
A method comprising:

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