JPH1079771A - Communication method by means of plurality of communication protocols - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method where reliability and the speed of information transfer are made compatible with each other through combinations of a plurality of protocols. SOLUTION: A plural number of transfer means having different transfer protocols with respect to one communication or a transfer application are mounted, and a plurality of the transfer means is selected or a plurality of the transfer means are used at the same time to send/receive information based on criteria such as a line state, a kind of transferred contents, a transfer data amount and reliability requirement. The transmission/reception of information is conducted by using different communication protocols from data transfer and signal communication. In this case, the transmission/reception of information is conducted by using different communication protocols from the reliability. Or a protocol for data transfer may be changed depending on the quantity of transferred data.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication protocol that is important when performing information communication through a network line.

[0002] Protocols used for data communication between computers include UUCP, TCP / IP, and UDP.
/ IP, or various protocols on ATM. Each of these protocols has advantages and disadvantages. Generally, when a protocol that emphasizes reliability in transfer is used, the transfer speed is reduced, and conversely, a protocol with a high transfer speed tends to have low reliability.

Further, since it is assumed that one communication protocol is used in one communication or transfer application, it is impossible to employ only the advantages of each protocol by using a plurality of protocols.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a method for achieving both transfer reliability and speed by combining a plurality of protocols in order to solve the above problems.

[0005]

According to the communication method of the present invention, in order to achieve such an object, a plurality of transfer means having different transfer protocols are mounted in one communication or transfer application, and line conditions and transfer are performed. The method is characterized in that the plurality of transfer units are separated or information is transmitted and received simultaneously using a plurality of transfer units based on predetermined determination conditions such as a type of contents, a transfer data amount, and required reliability.

In the present invention, it is effective to transmit and receive information using different communication protocols for data transfer and signal communication. In this case, it is effective to transmit and receive information using a plurality of communication protocols having different reliability. Further, in the present invention, the data transfer protocol may be changed according to the amount of data to be transferred. Here, data transfer means actually transmitting and receiving data, and signal communication means transmitting and receiving some response signal or retransmission request signal accompanying data transfer.

[0007]

FIG. 1 shows an example of an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the basic configuration of the processing flow of the present invention. These means constitute one unit (process) of a processing program installed in a computer.
The present invention is constituted by a combination of means as shown in this figure.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 101 denotes determination means for determining and selecting conditions for determination, and for determining whether or not to start a new communication line and whether to maintain the current communication state. . 102 is a communication means, and a judgment means 101
Is a means for communicating with another computer using an appropriate communication protocol based on the result of the determination.

Reference numeral 111 denotes a communication process starting unit for starting a communication process, and starts a new communication process with another computer using an appropriate communication protocol. Reference numeral 112 denotes a line connection establishing means for connecting a communication line with another computer by activating the communication processing activating means 111. Reference numeral 113 denotes transmission / reception processing means for performing communication processing such as transmission / reception via the communication line established by the line connection establishment means 112, communication processing with another computer by the connected line, and processing of 111 or less based on the judgment of the judgment means 101. Communication processing with the parent process that has executed the above, or communication processing with other transmission / reception processing means activated by the same process on the same computer. Numeral 114 denotes various processing means for executing various processing associated with transmission and reception of the transmission / reception processing means 113, and terminates or continues the processing of 111 to 113. Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the basic components are combined will be described in detail.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 200 denotes a processing procedure performed in the first computer, 201 denotes first communication means of the first computer, 202 denotes first determination means of the first computer, and 203 denotes first determination of the first computer. The condition providing means 204 is a first judgment processing means of the first computer, 20
5 indicates a second communication means of the first computer, 206 indicates a first communication process of the first computer, and 207 indicates a second communication process of the first computer.

Reference numeral 210 denotes a processing procedure processed in the second computer, 211 denotes first communication means of the second computer, 212 denotes first determination means of the second computer, 21
3 is a first determination condition providing means of the second computer, 214
Is the first determination processing means of the second computer, and 215 is the second determination processing means.
216 indicates a first communication process of the second computer, and 217 indicates a second communication process of the second computer.

Reference numeral 221 denotes a first virtual circuit connected;
2 indicates a connected second virtual line. Here, the term line or virtual line does not refer to a physical conductor or an optical cable connected to a computer, but refers to a state in which a communication procedure has been completed and data communication with each other is possible. Hereinafter, communication processing between the processing procedure 200 in the first computer and the processing procedure 210 in the second computer will be described. Although the procedure performed in one computer will be described here, it goes without saying that the same processing is performed in the other computer that performs communication.

First, the first communication means of the first computer
201 starts a first communication process. The communication destination is specified, the protocol is selected, the communication port is selected, and the line is connected. In the first communication process, any communication protocol may be used, but since it is necessary to transmit and receive the subsequent signals without error, it is preferable to use a highly reliable protocol.

After the connection of the line, communication processing is performed with the second computer 210 using the line 221. The form of communication processing is
It can be based on a client-server model,
It may be based on peer to peer. Thereafter, when the need arises, the processing for activating the second communication processing is started by various processing means in the first communication means 201 of the first computer. Various conditions required to activate the second communication process,
For example, the first determination condition providing means of the first computer determines a data amount or required reliability when performing data transfer.
The decision is made at 203, and the first decision processing means 204 of the first computer decides whether or not to start up, and YES
In this case, the process proceeds to the second communication means 205 of the first computer to start the second communication process. In the case of NO, the process for activation is ended, and the process returns to only the first communication process. If the second communication line connection is successful, communication processing is performed with the processing procedure 210 processed in the second computer by the line 222.

First communication processing 206 of the first computer
And a communication process between the first communication process 216 of the second computer and a communication process between the second communication process 207 of the first computer and the second communication process 217 of the second computer. May not interfere with each other at all, or may interact with each other through inter-process communication or the like. However, it is possible to maintain the connection of each line at the same time, The program implementing the processing of the present invention according to a preset standard in a means for performing various processing in the first communication means 201 selects a connection line,
Perform transfer processing. Further, the first communication protocol and the second communication protocol may be the same or different.

After that, the first communication process 206 and the second communication process 207 may start another communication process newly, or may end the communication process when any transfer process ends. . According to this embodiment, a communication process using a plurality of communication protocols can be performed for one or a plurality of communication processes.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 301 denotes a first communication means,
Is a communication process executed by the first communication unit, 311 is a first determination unit, 321 is a second communication unit, and 326 is a communication process executed by the second communication unit. The communication processing will be described below. Here, the procedure performed in one computer will be described, but it goes without saying that the same processing is performed in the computer of the communication partner.

In the first communication means 301, the first communication processing is started by the communication processing starting means 302, and after the line is connected by the line connection establishing means 303, the transmission / reception processing means 304 uses the communication processing means 306 to communicate with the communication partner. Communication processing with the server. However, at that time, only signal communication is performed. The form of the communication processing may be based on the client-server model or may be based on peer-to-peer.
The communication protocol is preferably one that guarantees reliability. In response to various commands or requests transmitted and received as a result of communication processing with the communication partner, various processing means 305 performs various processing including termination processing.

When the data transfer is required as a result of the communication in the communication process 306, the first determination means 311 makes a determination for establishing a new communication. That is, the determination condition determination means 312 determines the determination conditions such as the selection of the protocol, the line status, the amount of transfer data, the required reliability, and the like, and the determination processing means 313 makes an actual determination. When a new communication is established as a result of the determination, a new communication is started in the second communication means 321 and data transfer with a communication partner is performed by a communication process 326 executed by the second communication means 321.

For example, when a communication protocol used in the communication process 326 has a high data transfer rate but does not guarantee reliability, a data check is performed in the various processing means 325 every time a certain amount of data is transferred or received. For example, a request for retransmission request processing for only undelivered data can be made by various processing means using, for example, interprocess communication or a subroutine function in a program.
305. Thereafter, the various processing means 305 requests retransmission of unreceived data by using the communication processing 306, and performs data transfer again by using the communication processing 326.

In this embodiment, only the second communication means 321 is shown as a new communication means.
The communication means 321 starts a new communication process,
The first communication means 301 may simultaneously activate two or more new communication means.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to use different types of communication protocols for performing signal communication for important commands or requests and for performing data transfer. For example, a high-speed communication protocol may be used, and a reliable communication protocol may be used for a retransmission request or the like for an error.

Third Embodiment FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 401 denotes a first communication means;
Is a communication process executed by the first communication unit, 403 is a first determination unit, 404 is a second communication unit, 405 is a communication process executed by the second communication unit, 406 is a third communication unit, 40
7 is a communication process executed by the third communication means.
The processing flow of this embodiment is basically the same as that of the second embodiment, except that a communication protocol is selected according to the amount of data to be transferred, and a new communication means is started using the protocol. different.

For example, a communication process 405 using the communication protocol A that produces an effective effect when the amount of transfer data is smaller than a certain reference value, and a communication protocol that produces an effective effect when the amount of transfer data is greater than the reference value The communication processing 407 using B is started, and the communication processing is performed using the second communication means 404 or the third communication means 406 according to the transfer data amount requested by the data transfer request by the communication processing 402 for performing signal communication. . According to this embodiment, in addition to the effects of the second embodiment, it is possible to perform optimal transfer according to the amount of transfer data.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, in transmitting and receiving data and the like, both reliability and transfer speed are achieved.
Further, by using a plurality of communication protocols on one communication or transfer application, there is an effect that only the advantages of each protocol can be adopted.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 101 determination means 102 communication means 111 communication processing activation means 112 line connection establishment means 113 transmission / reception processing means 114 various processing means 200 processing procedures 201, 211 first communication means 202, 212 first determination means 203, 213 first determination condition providing means 204, 214 first determination processing means 205, 215 second communication means 206, 216 first communication processing 207, 217 second communication processing 210 processed in the second computer Processing procedure 221, 222 Virtual line 301 First communication means 306 Communication processing executed by first communication means 311 First determination means 321 Second communication means 326 Communication processing executed by second communication means 302 Communication processing start 303 Line Connection establishment means 304 Transmission / reception processing means 312 Judgment condition determination means 313 Judgment processing means 401 First communication means 402 Communication processing executed by first communication means 403 First judgment means 404 Second communication means 405 Second communication Communication processing performed by the communication processing 406 the third communication means 407 third communication means is performed by the step

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kenji Murata 3-19-2 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of transfer means having different transfer protocols are mounted in one communication or transfer application,
A communication method using a plurality of communication protocols, wherein the plurality of transfer means are separated based on predetermined determination conditions, or information is transmitted and received using a plurality of transfer means simultaneously. 2. The communication method according to claim 1, wherein information is transmitted and received using different communication protocols for data transfer and signal communication. 3. The communication method according to claim 2, wherein information is transmitted and received using a plurality of communication protocols having different reliability for data transfer and signal communication. 4. The communication method using a plurality of communication protocols according to claim 1, wherein a protocol for data transfer is changed according to an amount of data to be transferred.