JP7260741B2 - NETWORK SYSTEM, WIRELESS LAN REPAIR DEVICE, NETWORK SETTING METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM - Google Patents

Description

Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Law applied E-mail delivery date: August 2, 2018

The present invention relates to a network system, a wireless LAN relay device, a network setting method, and a computer program.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, video playback services using mobile devices such as smartphones and IoT (Internet of Things) devices have increased, and a network environment in which communication is stable even at home is desired. Therefore, a network environment having a plurality of wireless LAN repeaters is constructed. 2. Description of the Related Art As a network system having a plurality of wireless LAN repeaters, one in which a wireless LAN repeater determines a communication path is known. For example, in the network system described in Patent Document 1, a communication route is determined based on the radio wave intensity between wireless LAN relay devices.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-251316

For example, if a wireless LAN relay device can communicate in multiple frequency bands, the standard transmission speed differs for each frequency band, so connecting to a wireless LAN relay device in a frequency band with weak radio wave strength will result in strong radio wave strength. In some cases, the communication speed is faster than connecting to the wireless LAN relay device of the frequency band. In addition, depending on the surrounding environment such as the location where the wireless LAN relay device is installed, there is a possibility that the optimum communication route cannot be determined based only on the radio wave intensity, and a sufficient communication speed cannot be secured. Therefore, there is a demand for a technology capable of improving the communication speed between wireless LAN relay devices.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and can be implemented as the following modes.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a network system including a plurality of wireless LAN relay devices is provided. In this network system, the plurality of wireless LAN relay devices include a master wireless LAN relay device that operates as a master, and one or more slave wireless LAN relay devices that operate as slaves that operate according to instructions from the master wireless LAN relay device. and, each of the wireless LAN relay devices includes a wireless communication unit and a processing unit, and the processing unit of each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices communicates with each of the wireless LAN relay devices via the wireless communication unit. transmits wireless environment information used for selecting a relay source to be connected to the master wireless LAN relay device, and the wireless environment information includes information on the frequency band of the wireless LAN relay device and radio waves received by the wireless LAN relay device The processing unit of the master wireless LAN relay device includes a table that associates a correspondence relationship between the received radio wave intensity and the communication speed for each predetermined range for each frequency band, and the above using the wireless environment information to specify a communication speed between a wireless LAN relay device serving as a starting point and each of the wireless LAN relay devices; select each of the relay sources according to the communication speed; to notify each of the selected relay sources to each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices, and connect each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices to the notified relay source. The present invention can also be implemented as the following modes.

(1) According to one aspect of the present invention, a network system including a plurality of wireless LAN relay devices is provided. In this network system, the plurality of wireless LAN relay devices include a master wireless LAN relay device that operates as a master, and one or more slave wireless LAN relay devices that operate as slaves that operate according to instructions from the master wireless LAN relay device. and, each of the wireless LAN relay devices includes a wireless communication unit and a processing unit, and the processing unit of each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices communicates with each of the wireless LAN relay devices via the wireless communication unit. transmits wireless environment information used for selecting a relay source to be connected to the master wireless LAN relay device, and the processing unit of the master wireless LAN relay device uses the wireless environment information to select a wireless LAN as a starting point A communication speed between the relay device and each of the wireless LAN relay devices is specified, each of the relay sources is selected according to the communication speed, and each of the selected relay sources is transmitted to each of the relay devices through the wireless communication unit. This is notified to the slave wireless LAN relay devices, and each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices is connected to the notified relay source. According to the network system of this aspect, since the relay source to which each wireless LAN relay device connects is selected according to the communication speed, the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay devices can be improved.
(2) In the network system of the above aspect, the master wireless LAN relay device communicates with a network outside the network system by using connection information relating to connection with a gateway. It may be specified as a LAN relay device. According to the network system of this aspect, since the wireless LAN relay device connected to the gateway is specified as the starting wireless LAN relay device, it is possible to specify the communication speed when communicating with the external network.
(3) In the network system of the above aspect, the master wireless LAN relay device transmits speed information including the communication speed to each wireless LAN relay device, and each wireless LAN relay device transmits the received speed information. and when a new wireless LAN relay device connects to the network system, the processing unit of the new wireless LAN relay device receives each of the speed information obtained from the speed information transmitted by each of the wireless LAN relay devices. Using the speed information to specify the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device as the starting point and the new wireless LAN relay device, and between the wireless LAN relay device as the starting point and the new wireless LAN relay device may be connected to another wireless LAN relay device selected according to the communication speed in . According to the network system of this form, since the relay source of the new wireless LAN relay device is selected according to the communication speed, when reconfiguring the communication path of each wireless LAN relay device, the relay source is changed. The number of devices can be suppressed.
(4) In the network system of the above configuration, the master wireless LAN relay device can be used at least when a new wireless LAN relay device is connected to the network system and when the slave wireless LAN relay device is disconnected from the network system. In either one, the communication speed is specified again, each of the relay sources is selected according to the communication speed, and each of the selected relay sources is transmitted to each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices via the wireless communication unit. and change the connection destination of each slave wireless LAN relay device to the notified relay source. According to the network system of this form, when the number of wireless LAN relay devices connected to the network system increases or decreases, the relay source of each wireless LAN relay device is changed, so that the communication speed of each wireless LAN relay device can be stabilized. .
(5) In the network system of the above aspect, the wireless environment information includes information about the frequency band of the wireless LAN relay device, and the processing unit of the master wireless LAN relay device uses the information about the frequency band. may be used to specify the communication speed. According to the network system of this form, it is possible to specify the communication speed in consideration of the frequency band.
(6) In the network system of the above aspect, the communication speed may be determined according to the degree of channel congestion in the frequency band. According to the network system of this form, it is possible to specify a communication speed that is closer to the actually measured value.
(7) In the network system of the above aspect, the communication speed is set between the wireless LAN relay devices in which the frequency band is the same and the channel used in the frequency band is the same and between the wireless LAN relay devices in which the frequency band is different. may be determined by different calculation methods. According to the network system of this form, it is possible to specify a communication speed that is closer to the actually measured value.
(8) According to one aspect of the present invention, a wireless LAN relay device is provided. A wireless LAN relay device includes a wireless communication unit that acquires wireless environment information used for selecting a relay source from another wireless LAN relay device, and a processing unit, and the processing unit uses the wireless environment information. specifying a communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device serving as a starting point and the other wireless LAN relay device, selecting a relay source to which the other wireless LAN relay device connects according to the communication speed; The selected relay source is notified to the other wireless LAN relay device via the wireless communication unit, and the other wireless LAN relay device is connected to the notified relay source. According to the wireless LAN relay device of this form, since the relay source is selected according to the communication speed, the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay devices can be improved.
(9) According to one aspect of the present invention, a wireless LAN relay device is provided. The wireless LAN relay device comprises: a wireless communication unit that acquires speed information including a communication speed between a wireless LAN relay device originating from another wireless LAN relay device and the other wireless LAN relay device; a processing unit; wherein, when connecting to a network, the processing unit uses the speed information to specify a communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device serving as the starting point and the wireless LAN relay device, and connects the wireless LAN serving as the starting point A wireless LAN relay device that connects to another wireless LAN relay device selected according to the communication speed with the LAN relay device. According to the wireless LAN relay device of this aspect, since the relay source of the new wireless LAN relay device is selected according to the communication speed, the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay devices can be improved.
It should be noted that the present invention can be implemented in various forms. It can be implemented in the form of a computer program or the like for implementation. The computer program may be recorded on a computer-readable non-transitory tangible recording medium.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of a network system configuration; FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing functions of the first wireless LAN relay device; FIG. FIG. 10 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing implemented by a relay source determination function; 8 is a flowchart showing an example of relay source selection processing; It is an example of a table showing the relationship between radio wave intensity and communication speed in each frequency band. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of selecting each relay source according to communication speed; 7 is a diagram showing the communication speed of each communication path in FIG. 6; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of selecting each relay source according to communication speed; 9 is a diagram showing the communication speed of each communication path in FIG. 8; FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of selecting each relay source according to communication speed; 11 is a diagram showing the communication speed of each communication path in FIG. 10; FIG. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a configuration of a network system in which a relay source is changed; FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a network system configuration in a second embodiment; FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an example of connection destination determination processing;

A. First embodiment:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an outline of a network system configuration according to one embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the network system 100 includes a first wireless LAN relay device 10, a second wireless LAN relay device 20, a third wireless LAN relay device 30, and a fourth wireless LAN relay device 40. It is a network system of a network (LAN). In this embodiment, the wireless LAN relay devices 10 to 40 are connected by wireless communication. In this specification, the wireless LAN relay device is also called an access point or AP.

The first wireless LAN relay device 10 is connected to the Internet INT via a cable and functions as a router. A gateway device (not shown) is connected between the first wireless LAN relay device 10 and the Internet INT, and the first wireless LAN relay device 10 is connected to the Internet INT via the gateway device. A gateway device may be built in the first wireless LAN relay device 10 . The second wireless LAN relay device 20, the third wireless LAN relay device 30, and the fourth wireless LAN relay device 40 are directly wirelessly connected to the first wireless LAN relay device 10, respectively. is connected to the Internet INT via A wireless terminal (not shown) is wirelessly connected to each of the wireless LAN relay devices 10 to 40 .

In this embodiment, the first wireless LAN relay device 10 operates as a master wireless LAN relay device, and the second wireless LAN relay device 20, the third wireless LAN relay device 30 and the fourth wireless LAN relay device 40 are master wireless LAN relay devices. It operates as a slave wireless LAN relay device that operates according to instructions from the relay device. In this specification, the master wireless LAN relay device is simply called master, and the slave wireless LAN relay device is simply called slave.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the first wireless LAN repeater 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. The first wireless LAN relay device 10 includes a wireless communication section 110 , a processing section 120 , a rewritable ROM 130 and a wired port 140 .

The wireless communication unit 110 communicates with other devices such as the wireless LAN relay devices 20 to 40 based on the IEEE802.11 standard, for example. Wireless communication unit 110 includes a wireless communication circuit and an antenna. In this embodiment, the wireless communication unit 110 can communicate simultaneously using a plurality of frequency bands. Specifically, the wireless communication unit 110 uses a 2.4 GHz frequency band, a 5.0 GHz low frequency band (eg, 5.2/5.3 GHz frequency band), and a 5.0 GHz high frequency band (eg, 5.0 GHz frequency band). 6 GHz frequency band), communication is possible using at least one or more of the three frequency bands.

The processing unit 120 has a function of determining the wireless LAN relay devices 10 to 40 to be relay sources to which the wireless LAN relay devices 20 to 40 are connected (hereinafter referred to as "relay source determination function"). In this embodiment, the “relay source” is a device that relays communication of information in the network system 100, and is a connection destination that each wireless LAN relay device relays to connect to the Internet INT. The processing unit 120 also has a function of performing routing between the Internet INT and LAN. The processing unit 120 is configured as a computer including a CPU and a memory, and the CPU loads firmware as a computer program stored in the ROM 130 into the memory and executes the firmware, thereby realizing the functions described above. The firmware may be recorded in a computer-readable non-transitory tangible recording medium such as a memory card or an optical disc. Also, some or all of the functions of these units may be realized by hardware circuits.

The wired port 140 is a port to which a cable to which the gateway device is wired is connected. Other wireless LAN repeaters 20 to 40 also have the same configuration as the first wireless LAN repeater 10 shown in FIG. However, the wireless LAN relay devices 20 to 40 may not have the wired port 140 and the routing function.

In this embodiment, the processing unit 120 of each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices 20 to 40 receives, via the wireless communication unit 110, wireless environment information used to select the relay source to which each of the wireless LAN relay devices 10 to 40 connects. It is transmitted to the master wireless LAN relay device 10 . The processing unit 120 of the master wireless LAN relay device 10 uses the wireless environment information to identify the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device serving as the starting point and each of the wireless LAN relay devices 10 to 40 . Then, the processing unit 120 of the master wireless LAN relay device 10 selects each relay source according to the specified communication speed, and transmits each selected relay source to each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices 20 through the wireless communication unit 110. 40 to connect each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices 20 to 40 to the notified relay source. The details of each processing content will be described later.

FIG. 3 is a sequence diagram showing an example of processing realized by the relay source determination function executed by the processing unit 120. As shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, the first wireless LAN relay device 10 operates as a master, and the second wireless LAN relay device 20 and the third wireless LAN relay device 30 operate as slaves. The fourth wireless LAN repeater 40 is omitted.

First, the first wireless LAN relay device 10, which is the master, periodically transmits a transmission request for wireless environment information to other wireless LAN relay devices, which are slaves. The “radio environment information” is information including the number of hops of each wireless LAN relay device, information on frequency bands, and the like. "Information about frequency band" is information including, for example, the frequency band and channel currently used in wireless communication, degree of congestion in the channel, received signal strength indicator (RSSI), standardized transmission speed, and the like.

Next, at event E200, the second wireless LAN relay device 20, which is a slave, scans beacons transmitted by each connectable wireless LAN relay device in the network system 100, and obtains part of the wireless environment information from the beacons. , and transmits to the first wireless LAN relay device 10, which is the master, wireless environment information obtained by adding information that the second wireless LAN relay device 20 itself has (for example, the number of hop stages, ESSID name, etc.) to the obtained information. Similarly, at event E205, the third wireless LAN relay device 30, which is a slave, scans beacons transmitted by each connectable wireless LAN relay device in the network system 100, and obtains part of the wireless environment information from the beacons. , and transmits to the first wireless LAN relay device 10, which is the master, wireless environment information obtained by adding information possessed by the third wireless LAN relay device 30 itself to the obtained information. In this embodiment, "transmitting" means transmitting information directly to another unspecified device, and "transmitting" means transmitting information directly or via another device to another specified device. It is to transmit indirectly through

Subsequently, at event E210, the first wireless LAN relay device 10 uses the received wireless environment information to identify the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device serving as the starting point and each wireless LAN relay device, and the network system Each relay source of each wireless LAN relay device is selected so that the throughput of the entire wireless LAN relay device 100 becomes faster. Details of the relay source selection process will be described later.

Subsequently, the first wireless LAN relay device 10 notifies the relay source of each wireless LAN relay device selected at event E210. More specifically, the relay source information including the information of each selected relay source is transmitted to the other wireless LAN relay devices 20 and 30 which are slaves. After receiving the relay source information, the second wireless LAN relay device 20 and the third wireless LAN relay device 30 transmit to the first wireless LAN relay device 10 that the reception is completed. The first wireless LAN relay device 10 that is the master changes the relay source to the other wireless LAN relay devices 20 and 30 that are slaves after receiving the completion of reception from the other wireless LAN relay devices 20 and 30 that are slaves. give instructions to do The second wireless LAN relay device 20 changes the relay source at event E220. At event E220, for example, the relay source of the second wireless LAN relay device 20 shown in FIG. 1 is changed from the first wireless LAN relay device 10 to the third wireless LAN relay device 30. At event E225, the third wireless LAN relay device 30 does not change the relay source because the new relay source in the received relay source information is the same wireless LAN relay device as the current relay source. If the relay source of a certain wireless LAN relay device selected in the relay source selection process is the same as the previous relay source, the master wireless LAN relay device omits transmitting the relay source information to the wireless LAN relay device. You may

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of relay source selection processing. This processing is performed by the processing unit 120 of the first wireless LAN relay device 10, which is the master. First, in step S100, the first wireless LAN relay device 10 acquires wireless environment information transmitted from other wireless LAN relay devices 20, 30, and 40, which are slaves.

Next, in step S110, the first wireless LAN relay device 10 uses each piece of wireless environment information acquired in step S100 to specify the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device serving as the starting point and each wireless LAN relay device. do. In the present embodiment, the “wireless LAN relay device used as a starting point” is a wireless LAN relay device that communicates with a network outside the network system 100 , and is the first wireless LAN relay device 10 . In this specification, the wireless LAN relay device used as a starting point is also called a starting point device. The master uses the connection information about the connection with the gateway to connect to (1) a wireless LAN relay device wired to the gateway and operating as a bridge, or (2) a network outside the network system 100. (3) connected to a network outside the network system 100 and having a gateway function and acting as a router; or (3) having a gateway function and a default A wireless LAN relay device having the IP address of the gateway is specified as the source device. The "connection information" is information including, for example, whether or not the device is connected to the gateway device by wire, whether or not the device is operating as a router, and the IP address of the default gateway. The connection information may be included in the radio environment information. "Communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device that is the starting point and the wireless LAN relay device" is not only the communication speed when the wireless LAN relay device communicates directly with the wireless LAN relay device that is the starting point, but also other wireless It also includes the communication speed when communicating with a wireless LAN relay device as a starting point via the LAN relay device.

FIG. 5 is an example of a table showing the relationship between radio wave intensity and communication speed in each frequency band. The table shown in FIG. 5 is stored in the ROM 130 in advance. In the present embodiment, in step S110 (FIG. 4), the first wireless LAN relay device 10 uses the frequency band currently used by each wireless LAN relay device, which is information about the frequency band included in the wireless environment information, and the reception frequency band. Using the radio wave intensity, the table shown in FIG. 5 is referred to, and the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device serving as the starting point and each wireless LAN relay device is specified. In the table shown in FIG. 5, the communication speed is set such that the stronger the radio wave intensity, the faster the communication speed. Also, in this table, the communication speed is set so that the frequency band becomes faster in the order of 2.4 GHz, the low frequency of 5.0 GHz, and the high frequency of 5.0 GHz. Since the actual communication speed varies depending on the difference in the IEEE802.11 communication standard and the number of antennas provided in the wireless LAN relay device, etc., in this embodiment, these values in the table are simplified based on experiments and experiences. is determined. In this way, specifying the communication speed according to the radio wave intensity and the frequency band using the table can shorten the processing time compared to specifying the communication speed by actual measurement. Note that the first wireless LAN relay device 10 transmits a predetermined amount of data to each of the wireless LAN relay devices 20 to 40, and measures the time until the transmission is completed. Communication speeds for devices 20-40 may be specified. In this case, the communication speed can be specified in consideration of the surrounding environment of the installation location of the wireless LAN repeater, such as walls and obstacles. Note that even if the wireless LAN relay device is capable of communicating only in one frequency band, the first wireless LAN relay device 10 uses the table shown in FIG. The device can specify the speed of communication to and from.

Subsequently, in step S120 (FIG. 4), the first wireless LAN relay device 10 selects each relay source according to the communication speed specified in step S110. In the present embodiment, the first wireless LAN relay device 10 selects the relay source of the wireless LAN relay device that becomes the communication path with the fastest communication speed identified in step S110. Details of selection of the relay source will be described later.

Finally, in step S130, the first wireless LAN relay device 10 determines whether or not relay sources of all wireless LAN relay devices in the network system 100 have been selected. If all the relay sources have been selected, the relay source selection process is terminated. On the other hand, if all relay sources have not been selected, the process returns to step S110. In other words, the processes of steps S110 to S130 are repeated until the relay sources of all the wireless LAN relay devices are selected.

6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 are diagrams sequentially showing an example in which the processing unit 120 selects each relay source according to the communication speed. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, in this embodiment, the originating device is the first wireless LAN relay device 10. FIG. The communication speed V12 between the first wireless LAN relay device 10 and the second wireless LAN relay device 20 is 100 Mbps, and the communication speed V13 between the first wireless LAN relay device 10 and the third wireless LAN relay device 30 is 350 Mbps, and the communication speed V14 between the first wireless LAN relay device 10 and the fourth wireless LAN relay device 40 is 600 Mbps. These communication speeds are specified based on the table shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the fastest communication speed among the communication speeds V12, V13, and V14 in each communication path is the communication speed V14. Device 10 is selected.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8, the communication speed between the originating device 10 and each wireless LAN relay device through the fourth wireless LAN relay device 40 whose relay source has been determined is specified. The communication speed V24 between the fourth wireless LAN relay device 40 and the second wireless LAN relay device 20 is 200 Mbps, and the communication speed V34 between the fourth wireless LAN relay device 40 and the third wireless LAN relay device 30 is 400 Mbps.

In this embodiment, the communication speed between wireless LAN relay devices using the same frequency band and channel and the communication speed between wireless LAN relay devices using different frequency bands are determined by different calculation methods. As a result, the first wireless LAN relay device 10, which is the master, can specify a communication speed closer to the actually measured value. For example, when the same frequency band and channel are used, it is determined by the following equation (1), and when different frequency bands are used, it is determined by the following equation (2).

Vac=Vab×Vbc/(Vab+Vbc) (1)
Vac = min (Vab, Vbc) (2)
Here, Vac is the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device A and the wireless LAN relay device C. The wireless LAN relay device A and the wireless LAN relay device C communicate via the wireless LAN relay device B. FIG. Vab is the communication speed between wireless LAN relay device A and wireless LAN relay device B, Vbc is the communication speed between wireless LAN relay device B and wireless LAN relay device C, and min selects the minimum value. indicate that

When wireless LAN relay devices A, B, and C communicate in the same frequency band and channel, wireless LAN relay device B and wireless LAN relay device B communicate with each other while wireless LAN relay device A and wireless LAN relay device B communicate. Communication with C is not possible. Similarly, while wireless LAN relay device B and wireless LAN relay device C are communicating, wireless LAN relay device A and wireless LAN relay device B cannot communicate. Therefore, the wireless LAN relay device B operates with respect to the wireless LAN relay device A and the wireless LAN relay device C in a time division manner. Therefore, the wireless LAN relay device A and the wireless LAN relay device C each have a waiting time, and it is necessary to adjust the communication timing to perform communication, which slows down the communication speed. When the wireless LAN relay devices A, B, and C use different frequency bands, that is, when different channels are used, there is no need to adjust the time, so the communication speed does not slow down. However, since the wireless LAN relay device B relays between the wireless LAN relay device A and the wireless LAN relay device C, the slower one of the speeds of Vab and Vbc becomes the maximum speed. A more specific description will be given of the principle by which the communication speed is determined by the equation (1). Generally, the communication speed is obtained by the following formula (3).

[Communication speed] = [Amount of data to be transmitted] / [Time required to complete transmission of data volume] (3)
Therefore, the formula (1) can be expressed by the following formula (4) using the formula (3).

Vac = D1/Tac
= D1/(D1/Vab+D1/Vbc) (4)
Here, D1 is the amount of data to be transmitted, and Tac is the time required to complete transmission of the amount of data.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the communication speed V124 between the first wireless LAN relay device 10 and the second wireless LAN relay device 20 via the fourth wireless LAN relay device 40 is equal to that of the first wireless LAN relay device 10 and the fourth wireless LAN relay device 40 communicate in a frequency band of 5.0 GHz, and the second wireless LAN relay device 20 and the fourth wireless LAN relay device 40 communicate in a frequency band of 2.4 GHz. , which can be determined using the above equation (2), and is 200 Mbps, which is the slower one of the communication speed V14 and the communication speed V24. The communication speed V134 between the first wireless LAN relay device 10 and the third wireless LAN relay device 30 via the fourth wireless LAN relay device 40 is Since the fourth wireless LAN repeater 40 communicates in the same frequency band and channel, it can be determined using the above equation (1), which is 240 Mbps. As shown in FIG. 9, the fastest communication speed among the communication speeds V12, V13, V124, and V134 in each communication path is the communication speed V13. Device 10 is selected.

Finally, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, the communication speed between the originating device 10 and each wireless LAN relay device via the third wireless LAN relay device 30 whose relay source is determined is specified. . The communication speed V23 between the third wireless LAN relay device 30 and the second wireless LAN relay device 20 is 300 Mbps. The communication speed V123 between the first wireless LAN relay device 10 and the second wireless LAN relay device 20 via the third wireless LAN relay device 30 is communicates in the frequency band of 5.0 GHz, and the second wireless LAN relay device 20 and the third wireless LAN relay device 30 communicate in the frequency band of 2.4 GHz. It is 300 Mbps which is the slower one of the communication speed V13 and the communication speed V23. As shown in FIG. 11, the fastest communication speed among the communication speeds V12, V123, and V124 in each communication path is the communication speed V123. is selected.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the network system 100 in which the relay source is changed from the state of FIG. In the network configuration shown in FIG. 1, all the wireless LAN relay devices 20, 30, and 40 are directly connected to the first wireless LAN relay device 10, but in FIG. It is connected to the first wireless LAN relay device 10 via the third wireless LAN relay device 30 , and the fourth wireless LAN relay device 40 is connected to the first wireless LAN relay device 10 . A wireless terminal can be connected to each of the wireless LAN relay devices 10 to 40 . In this way, a network formed in a mesh pattern by mutual communication between wireless LAN relay devices is called a mesh network.

According to the present embodiment described above, the first wireless LAN relay device 10, which is the master wireless LAN relay device, selects each relay source of the wireless LAN relay devices 20 to 40 according to the communication speed. Communication speed between the relay devices 10 to 40 can be improved. Further, since the wireless LAN relay device is identified as originating from the first wireless LAN relay device 10 connected to the gateway device, it is possible to identify the communication speed when communicating with an external network.

B. Second embodiment:
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing an overview of the network system configuration in the second embodiment. In the present embodiment, the network system 100 differs from the first embodiment in that a fifth wireless LAN relay device 50, which is a new wireless LAN relay device, is connected, and other configurations are the same. Also, the configuration of the fifth wireless LAN relay device 50 operates as a slave wireless LAN relay device, and is the same as the configuration of the wireless LAN relay devices 20 to 40 in the first embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a flowchart illustrating an example of connection destination determination processing. The connection destination determination process is a process executed when a new wireless LAN relay device connects to the network. This processing is performed by the processing unit 120 of the fifth wireless LAN relay device 50, which is a new wireless LAN relay device. First, the processing unit 120 of the fifth wireless LAN relay device 50 acquires speed information from the other wireless LAN relay devices 10, 20, 30, and 40 in step S200. The “speed information” is information including the communication speed between the originating device and the wireless LAN relay device, which is transmitted to each wireless LAN relay device by the master first wireless LAN relay device 10 . In this embodiment, as explained in FIG. 3, the speed information is included in the relay source information transmitted from the master to the slave. The speed information may be sent from the master to the slaves separately from the relay information. Each wireless LAN relay device periodically transmits the speed information received from the master by, for example, a beacon.

Next, in step S210, the processing unit 120 of the fifth wireless LAN relay device 50 uses the acquired speed information out of the speed information transmitted by each wireless LAN relay device in step S200 to perform 5 Specify the communication speed with the wireless LAN relay device 50 . The processing unit 120 of the fifth wireless LAN relay device 50 uses the acquired speed information, that is, the communication speed between the origin device of each wireless LAN relay device and the table shown in FIG. The communication speed between the originating device 10 and the fifth wireless LAN relay device 50 is specified using the communication speed with the wireless LAN relay device and the above equations (1) and (2). Note that even if there is speed information that could not be acquired in step S200, the speed information is the speed information of a wireless LAN relay device that cannot directly communicate with the fifth wireless LAN relay device 50. It does not have to be used in the identification of

Finally, in step S220, processing unit 120 of fifth wireless LAN relay device 50 determines a relay source according to the communication speed specified in step S210. In this embodiment, the processing unit 120 of the fifth wireless LAN relay device 50 determines, as a relay source, the wireless LAN relay device with the fastest communication speed among the communication speeds identified in step S210. Connect to a certain wireless LAN repeater. After the connection destination determination process described above is completed, that is, after the fifth wireless LAN relay device 50, which is a new wireless LAN relay device, connects to the network system 100, the first wireless LAN relay device 10, which is the master, , the processing implemented by the relay source determination function described in FIG. 3 may be performed again. By doing this, the communication speed is specified including the fifth wireless LAN relay device 50, and the relay source of each wireless LAN relay device 20-50 is changed, so that the communication speed of each wireless LAN relay device 20-50 is stabilized. can be made

According to the present embodiment described above, the processing unit 120 of the fifth wireless LAN relay device 50, which is a new wireless LAN relay device, acquires Using each speed information, specify the communication speed between the originating device and the new wireless LAN relay device, another wireless LAN selected according to the communication speed between the originating device and the new wireless LAN relay device Connect to a repeater. Therefore, it is possible to improve the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay devices. Also, when the master wireless LAN relay device reconfigures the communication path of each wireless LAN relay device, the wireless LAN relay device with the fastest communication speed is selected as the relay source of the fifth wireless LAN relay device 50. , the possibility of changing the relay source is low, so the number of wireless LAN relay devices that change the relay source can be reduced.

C. Other embodiments:
(C1) In the above-described embodiment, the first wireless LAN relay device 10 may operate as a master and also as a slave. More specifically, regarding the relay source determination function, as a master, in addition to other slaves, it instructs itself, which operates as a slave, to operate, and as a slave, it can operate according to the instructions of itself, which operates as a master. good. For example, as a master, the first wireless LAN relay device 10 requests itself to acquire wireless environment information, and as a slave, acquires wireless environment information from beacons transmitted by other wireless LAN relay devices. In this way, each relay device can operate as both a master and a slave, increasing the degree of freedom in constructing a network.

(C2) In the above-described embodiment, the network system 100 has one originating device, but may have two or more. In this case, the master wireless LAN relay device preferably specifies the fastest communication speed among the communication speeds between the plurality of originating devices and each wireless LAN relay device as the communication speed used for selecting the relay source. .

(C3) In the above-described embodiments, the communication speed may be determined according to the degree of channel congestion in the frequency band. The degree of congestion can be determined by obtaining the number of wireless LAN relay devices using the same channel and TXOP (Transmission Opportunity) from beacons and probe responses and using those values. The communication speed is obtained, for example, by multiplying the communication speed determined by the above formula (1) or (2) by a coefficient determined so that the communication speed becomes slower as the degree of congestion of the channel in a certain period increases. may be defined. According to this form, it is possible to specify a communication speed that is closer to the actually measured value.

(C4) In the above-described embodiment, the master wireless LAN relay device specifies the communication speed according to the frequency band currently used by each wireless LAN relay device and selects the relay source. Instead, the master wireless LAN relay device specifies the communication speed with the originating device for each frequency band that each wireless LAN relay device can use. may be selected as the frequency band to be used together with the relay source.

(C5) In the above-described embodiments, each wireless LAN relay device scans beacons to acquire wireless environment information and speed information. Alternatively, once the network has been constructed, each wireless LAN repeater may acquire wireless environment information and speed information through a probe request. Also, if there is a wireless LAN relay device executing a stealth function that does not include SSID information in the beacon, each wireless LAN relay device acquires wireless environment information and speed information by a probe request. Each wireless LAN relay device that has received a probe request transmits wireless environment information and speed information to the source of the probe request in a probe response.

(C6) In the above-described second embodiment, when a new wireless LAN relay device connects to the network system, the master wireless LAN relay device repeats the process realized by the relay source determination function described in FIG. It is carried out. Alternatively, when the slave wireless LAN relay device is disconnected from the network system 100, the master wireless LAN relay device may perform again the process realized by the relay source determination function described with reference to FIG. In addition, the master wireless LAN relay device is used both when a new wireless LAN relay device is connected to the network system and when the slave wireless LAN relay device is disconnected from the network system 100, as described in FIG. The processing realized by the relay source determination function may be performed again. Further, for example, at predetermined intervals, when the communication speed of the wireless LAN relay device is below the threshold, or when the number of communication devices connected to the wireless LAN relay device is above the threshold. If the conditions are met, the relay source determination function may be executed again.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various configurations without departing from the spirit of the present invention. For example, the technical features in the embodiments corresponding to the technical features in each form described in the outline of the invention are In addition, it is possible to perform replacement and combination as appropriate. Moreover, if the technical feature is not described as essential in this specification, it can be deleted as appropriate.

10 First wireless LAN relay device 20 Second wireless LAN relay device 30 Third wireless LAN relay device 40 Fourth wireless LAN relay device 50 Fifth wireless LAN relay device 100 Network system 110... Wireless communication unit, 120... Processing unit, 130... ROM, 140... Wired port, INT... Internet

Claims (10)

A network system including a plurality of wireless LAN relay devices,
The plurality of wireless LAN relay devices include a master wireless LAN relay device that operates as a master, and one or more slave wireless LAN relay devices that operate as slaves that operate according to instructions from the master wireless LAN relay device,
each wireless LAN relay device includes a wireless communication unit and a processing unit;
The processing unit of each slave wireless LAN relay device transmits wireless environment information used for selecting a relay source to which each wireless LAN relay device connects to the master wireless LAN relay device via the wireless communication unit. death,
The wireless environment information includes information about the frequency band of the wireless LAN relay device and information about the strength of received radio waves of the wireless LAN relay device,
The processing unit of the master wireless LAN relay device uses a table that associates a correspondence relationship between received radio wave intensity and communication speed for each predetermined range for each frequency band and the wireless environment information, A communication speed between a wireless LAN relay device serving as a starting point and each of the wireless LAN relay devices is specified, each of the relay sources is selected according to the communication speed, and each of the selected relay devices is transmitted via the wireless communication unit. A network system that notifies each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices of a relay source and connects each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices to the notified relay source. The network system according to claim 1,
The network system according to claim 1, wherein the master wireless LAN relay device specifies a wireless LAN relay device that communicates with a network outside the network system as the originating wireless LAN relay device, using connection information relating to connection with a gateway. The network system according to claim 1 or 2,
The master wireless LAN relay device transmits speed information including the communication speed to each wireless LAN relay device,
each of the wireless LAN relay devices transmits the received speed information;
When a new wireless LAN relay device connects to the network system, the processing unit of the new wireless LAN relay device converts each of the speed information acquired from the speed information transmitted by each of the wireless LAN relay devices to the network system. to specify the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device serving as the starting point and the new wireless LAN relay device, and the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device serving as the starting point and the new wireless LAN relay device A network system that connects to another wireless LAN relay device selected according to the conditions. A network system according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
At least either when a new wireless LAN relay device is connected to the network system or when the slave wireless LAN relay device is disconnected from the network system, the master wireless LAN relay device restores the communication speed , selects each of the relay sources according to the communication speed, notifies each of the selected relay sources to each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices via the wireless communication unit, and transmits each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices. A network system that changes a connection destination of a device to the notified relay source. A network system according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
The network system, wherein the communication speed is determined according to a degree of channel congestion in the frequency band. A network system according to any one of claims 1 to 5 ,
The network system, wherein the communication speed is determined by different calculation methods between wireless LAN relay devices in which the frequency band is the same and channels used in the frequency band are the same and between wireless LAN relay devices in which the frequency band is different. . A wireless LAN relay device,
a wireless communication unit that acquires wireless environment information used for selecting a relay source from another wireless LAN relay device;
a processing unit,
The wireless environment information includes information about the frequency band of the wireless LAN relay device and information about the strength of received radio waves of the wireless LAN relay device,
The processing unit uses a table in which the corresponding relationship between the received radio field intensity and the communication speed for each predetermined range for each frequency band is associated with each other, and the wireless environment information, a wireless LAN relay device as a starting point, A communication speed with the other wireless LAN relay device is specified, a relay source to which the other wireless LAN relay device connects is selected according to the communication speed, and the selected relay device is transmitted via the wireless communication unit. A wireless LAN relay device that notifies the other wireless LAN relay device of a relay source and causes the other wireless LAN relay device to connect to the notified relay source. A wireless LAN relay device,
a wireless communication unit that acquires speed information including a communication speed between a wireless LAN relay device originating from another wireless LAN relay device and the other wireless LAN relay device;
a processing unit,
When connecting to a network, the processing unit stores a table that associates a correspondence relationship between received radio wave intensity and communication speed for each predetermined range for each frequency band and the frequency band of the wireless LAN relay device. A wireless LAN as a starting point using the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device and the other wireless LAN relay device specified using the received radio wave intensity of the wireless LAN relay device and the speed information . A wireless LAN relay device that specifies a communication speed between the relay device and the wireless LAN relay device, and connects to another wireless LAN relay device selected according to the communication speed with the wireless LAN relay device that is the starting point. A setting method for a network including a plurality of wireless LAN relay devices,
The plurality of wireless LAN relay devices includes a master wireless LAN relay device that operates as a master, and a plurality of slave wireless LAN relay devices that operate as slaves that operate according to instructions from the master wireless LAN relay device,
Each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices includes information on the frequency band of the wireless LAN relay device and information on received radio wave intensity of the wireless LAN relay device used for selecting a relay source to which each of the wireless LAN relay devices connects. transmitting wireless environment information to the master wireless LAN relay device;
The master wireless LAN relay device uses a table in which the corresponding relationship between the received radio wave intensity and the communication speed for each predetermined range for each frequency band is associated with each other, and the wireless environment information is used to determine the wireless LAN relay as a starting point. identifying a communication speed between the device and the wireless LAN relay device;
a step in which the master wireless LAN relay device selects a relay source to which the wireless LAN relay device connects according to the communication speed;
A setting method comprising the step of the master wireless LAN relay device notifying each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices of the selected relay source, and connecting each of the slave wireless LAN relay devices to the notified relay source. A computer program executed by a computer provided in a wireless LAN relay device,
a function of acquiring speed information including a communication speed between a wireless LAN relay device originating from another wireless LAN relay device and the other wireless LAN relay device;
using a table in which the correspondence relationship between the received radio wave intensity and the communication speed for each predetermined range for each frequency band is associated with each other, the frequency band of the wireless LAN relay device, and the received radio wave intensity of the wireless LAN relay device; Using the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device and the other wireless LAN relay device specified by the method and the speed information, the communication speed between the wireless LAN relay device serving as the starting point and the wireless LAN relay device a function to identify the communication speed;
A computer program that causes a computer to implement a function of connecting to another wireless LAN relay device selected according to the communication speed with the wireless LAN relay device serving as a starting point.

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