JPWO2018092748A1 - Measurement control server, communication quality measurement system, measurement agent, method, and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

Reduces load increase due to measurement in an environment where measurement requests are generated dynamically. The measurement control server 100 obtains information indicating a measurement request for communication quality for an arbitrary flow generated in the communication network 900 and a measurement-in-measurement flow storage unit 101 that stores information related to a flow whose communication quality is being measured in the communication network 900. And a high load route specifying unit 103 that specifies a route satisfying the high load condition among the routes through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes, with reference to the measuring flow storage unit 101 The communication network 900 so as to measure the communication quality of the flow based on the measurement load predicted in the route satisfying the high load condition when the measurement of the communication quality is started for the flow to be measured. Controls one of the communication quality measurement units 201 distributed on the top, and according to the measurement status And a measurement control unit 104 to update the measurement in the flow storage unit 101.

Description

  The present invention relates to a technique for measuring communication quality of a network.

  An information system using a communication network usually measures the communication quality of the network in order to guarantee its own communication quality and provide a stable service to the user.

  Communication quality measurement is divided into passive measurement and active measurement. Passive measurement does not create new traffic, but has limited measurable quality. On the other hand, the active measurement can measure various quality.

  An example of a technique related to active measurement is described in Patent Document 1. This related technology measures the communication quality of each observation flow in a communication network to determine whether each observation flow is normal or abnormal, and based on the determination result, determines whether each link through each observation flow is normal. Determine if it is abnormal. And this related technology, by performing additional measurement and analysis using a method different from the method of determining whether each link is normal or abnormal, for relay nodes where all connected links are abnormal, Narrow down the abnormal part.

  An example of another technique related to active measurement is described in Patent Document 2. This related technology measures the communication quality of the route from the terminal to each server, and totals and accumulates the measurement results. Then, this related technique detects a server whose processing state has deteriorated from the normal time based on the accumulated result and the response from each server.

  An example of another technique related to active measurement is described in Patent Document 3. This related technique calculates a route according to a traffic situation based on flow information and load information of each router included in the communication network. This related technique changes the setting of each router so as to suppress the power consumption based on the calculated power characteristic information at both ends of the path and the network configuration information.

  However, such active measurement allows various quality measurements, but tends to be so large that the amount of measurement packets cannot be ignored. Therefore, in active measurement, a technique for controlling so that the measurement packet amount does not affect the normal service is required.

  An example of a technique related to such an active measurement problem is described in Non-Patent Document 1. In this related technique, each node in the communication network acquires route information to other nodes. Further, this related technique avoids simultaneous measurement of the same link by each node exchanging route information with other nodes and controlling the measurement timing of the route starting from itself.

  An example of another technique related to the problem of active measurement is described in Non-Patent Document 2. In this related technology, a centralized controller acquires route information of all measurement requests, thereby determining route overlap between measurement requests and scheduling so as not to simultaneously perform measurement with route overlap.

JP 2011-4034 A JP 2014-146926 A JP 2012-39529 A

Dintien Hoang, Takeshi Hasegawa, Masayuki Murata, “Distributed Overlay Network Measurement Techniques for Mitigating Measurement Collisions”, IEICE Technical Report, Communication Quality, November 11, 2010, pp. 11-27. 49-54 M. Fraiwan and G. Manimaran, "Scheduling algorithms for conducting conflict-free measurements in overlay networks", Computer Networks, vol. 52, pp. 2819-2830, 2008.

  However, the related art described above has the following problems.

  The related technique described in Patent Document 1 identifies an abnormal location in a communication network based on a measurement result of communication quality of an observation flow. However, Patent Literature 1 does not describe controlling a load related to measurement of communication quality.

  Moreover, the related technique described in Patent Document 2 specifies a server whose processing state has deteriorated from the normal time based on the measurement result of the communication quality of the route to each server. However, Patent Document 2 does not describe controlling a load related to measurement of communication quality.

  Moreover, the related technique described in Patent Document 3 changes the setting of the router in order to reduce power consumption such as flow information and load information obtained from each router. However, Patent Document 3 does not describe controlling a load related to observation of flow information by each router.

  In addition, although the related technique described in Non-Patent Document 1 reduces the increase in load due to measurement, it is assumed that all nodes in the network can be measurement start points. Therefore, this related technique cannot be applied when the measurement target flow cannot be decomposed, such as when measurement cannot be performed on a relay node.

  In addition, although the related technologies described in Non-Patent Document 1 and Non-Patent Document 2 alleviate an increase in load due to measurement, it is assumed that all the flows that are targets of communication quality measurement requests can be grasped in advance. . However, when an indication of communication quality degradation is detected for an arbitrary flow, there is an environment in which a measurement request for measuring the communication quality is generated. In this way, in an environment where measurement requests are generated dynamically at unpredictable timing, these related technologies cannot grasp in advance all the flows that are the targets of measurement requests. Therefore, it is difficult to apply these related technologies in such an environment.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems. That is, an object of the present invention is to provide a technique for reducing an increase in load due to measurement in an environment in which a measurement request is dynamically generated.

  The measurement control server of the present invention obtains information indicating a measurement request for communication quality for an arbitrary flow generated in the communication network, and a measurement flow storage means for storing information relating to a flow whose communication quality is being measured in the communication network. And a high load path specifying means for specifying a path satisfying a high load condition among the paths through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes by referring to the measuring flow storage means And measuring the communication quality of the flow based on the measurement load predicted in the route satisfying the high load condition when communication quality measurement is started for the flow that is the target of the measurement request. The communication quality capable of measuring the communication quality of the flow among the communication quality measuring means distributed on the communication network It controls the measuring means and a, a measurement control means for updating the measurement in the flow storage unit in accordance with the measurement conditions by the communication quality measuring means.

  The communication quality measurement system of the present invention includes the above-described measurement control server and one or more measurement agents each having the communication quality measurement means.

  In addition, the measurement agent of the present invention includes a measurement request detection unit that detects the measurement request for a flow whose communication quality can be measured by its own device, and information indicating the measurement request detected by the measurement request detection unit. A measurement request transmitting unit for transmitting to the server; and the communication quality measuring unit described above.

  In the method of the present invention, the measurement control server obtains information indicating a communication quality measurement request for an arbitrary flow generated in the communication network, and stores information related to a flow whose communication quality is being measured in the communication network. The measurement flow storage means is referred to, the path through which the measurement request target flows passes, the path where the measurement load satisfies the high load condition is specified, and the flow that is the target of the measurement request Communication quality measuring means distributed and arranged on the communication network so as to measure the communication quality of the flow based on the measurement load predicted in the path satisfying the high load condition when the communication quality measurement is started. The communication quality measuring means capable of measuring the communication quality of the flow is controlled, and the measurement status by the communication quality measuring means Depending updating the measurement in the flow storage means.

  Further, the program stored in the recording medium of the present invention acquires information indicating a communication quality measurement request for an arbitrary flow generated in the communication network, and stores information related to a flow whose communication quality is being measured in the communication network. By referring to the measuring flow storage unit that is being measured, the path through which the measurement request target passes is identified as a path where the measurement load satisfies the high load condition, and the flow is the target of the measurement request. On the other hand, when measuring the communication quality is started, the communication quality measurement distributed on the communication network is measured so as to measure the communication quality of the flow based on the measurement load predicted in the route satisfying the high load condition. Controlling the communication quality measuring means capable of measuring the communication quality of the flow, and measuring the communication quality Updating the measurement in the flow storage unit in accordance with the measurement conditions by stages, to perform it in a measurement control server.

  In addition, another method of the present invention is a measurement control server in which a measurement agent detects the measurement request for a flow whose communication quality can be measured by its own device, and executes the above-described method using information representing the detected measurement request. And the communication quality of the flow that is the target of the measurement request is measured based on the control by the measurement control server.

  The present invention can provide a technique for reducing an increase in load due to measurement in an environment in which a measurement request is dynamically generated.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication quality measurement system as 1st Embodiment. It is a figure which shows an example of the hardware constitutions of the communication quality measurement system as 1st Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the communication quality measurement system as 1st Embodiment. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication quality measurement system as 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure which shows the specific example of the communication network in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the specific example of the measurement request information memorize | stored in the measurement request memory | storage part in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the specific example of the in-measurement flow information memorize | stored in the in-measurement flow memory | storage part in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the specific example of the measurement load information for every path | route memorize | stored in the in-measurement flow memory | storage part in 2nd Embodiment. It is a figure explaining the specific example of the measurement result information memorize | stored in a measurement result memory | storage part in 2nd Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement which the communication quality measurement system as 2nd Embodiment memorize | stores measurement request information. It is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement which the communication quality measurement system as 2nd Embodiment measures the communication quality of a flow according to a measurement request | requirement. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication quality measurement system as 3rd Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement which the communication quality measurement system as 3rd Embodiment measures the communication quality of a flow according to a measurement request | requirement. It is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement which the communication quality measurement system as 3rd Embodiment controls the continuation of a measurement based on the information showing the intermediate result of a measurement. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication quality measurement system as 4th Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement which the communication quality measurement system as 4th Embodiment memorize | stores measurement request information. It is a flowchart explaining the operation | movement which the communication quality measurement system as 4th Embodiment measures the communication quality of a flow according to a measurement request | requirement. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the measurement control server as 5th Embodiment. It is a flowchart explaining operation | movement of the measurement control server as 5th Embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
A functional block configuration of a communication quality measuring system 1 as the first embodiment is shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, the communication quality measurement system 1 includes a measurement control server 100 and a measurement agent 200. The measurement agents 200 are distributed on the communication network 900. Moreover, the measurement control server 100 and each measurement agent 200 are connected so as to communicate with each other. In FIG. 1, three measurement agents 200 are illustrated, but one or more measurement agents 200 may be provided, and the number is not limited.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the measurement control server 100 includes a measuring flow storage unit 101, a measurement request acquisition unit 102, a high load path specifying unit 103, and a measurement control unit 104. In addition, the measurement agent 200 includes a communication quality measurement unit 201.

  Here, the communication quality measuring system 1 can be configured by hardware elements as shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 2, the measurement control server 100 can be configured by a computer device including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 1001, a memory 1002, an output device 1003, an input device 1004, and a network interface 1005. The memory 1002 includes a RAM (Random Access Memory), a ROM (Read Only Memory), an auxiliary storage device (such as a hard disk), and the like. The output device 1003 is configured by a device that outputs information, such as a display device or a printer. The input device 1004 is configured by a device that receives an input of a user operation, such as a keyboard or a mouse. A network interface 1005 is an interface connected to the communication network 900. In this case, the measured flow storage unit 101 is configured by the memory 1002. Each other functional block of the measurement control server 100 is configured by a CPU 1001 that reads and executes a computer program stored in the memory 1002 and controls each unit.

  The measurement agent 200 can be configured by a computer device including a CPU 2001, a memory 2002, and a network interface 2005. The memory 2002 includes a RAM, a ROM, an auxiliary storage device, and the like. A network interface 2005 is an interface connected to the communication network 900. In this case, each functional block of the measurement agent 200 is configured by a CPU 2001 that reads and executes a computer program stored in the memory 2002 and controls each unit.

  Note that the hardware configuration of the communication quality measurement system 1 and each functional block thereof is not limited to the above-described configuration.

  Next, details of each functional block of the measurement control server 100 will be described.

  The in-measurement flow storage unit 101 stores information related to a flow whose communication quality is being measured in the communication network 900. Hereinafter, the information regarding the flow being measured is also referred to as the flow information being measured. For example, the in-measurement flow information includes transmission source information for specifying the transmission source of the flow being measured and transmission destination information for specifying the transmission destination. Further, the in-measurement flow information may include route information indicating a route through which the flow passes from the transmission source to the transmission destination. Further, the in-measurement flow information may include information on the measurement load in the flow. Here, the measurement load means a load related to measurement of communication quality.

  The measurement request acquisition unit 102 acquires information representing a communication quality measurement request generated for an arbitrary flow in the communication network 900. The information indicating the measurement request includes information indicating the flow that is the target of the measurement request. Hereinafter, information representing a measurement request for a certain flow is also referred to as measurement request information.

  For example, a measurement request is generated according to an indication of communication quality deterioration in an arbitrary flow. In this case, the measurement request information may be input to the measurement request acquisition unit 102 via the input device 1004 by a user who recognizes a sign of communication quality deterioration in an arbitrary flow. The measurement request information is sent from the apparatus to the measurement request acquisition unit 102 when an arbitrary apparatus (not shown) connected to the communication network 900 detects a deterioration in communication quality for an arbitrary flow. It may be transmitted to.

  The high load path specifying unit 103 specifies a path that satisfies the high load condition among the paths through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes, by referring to the measuring flow storage unit 101. The high load condition is a condition determined to indicate that the measurement load is high. For example, the high load condition may be that the measurement load is the highest. Alternatively, the high load condition may be that the measurement load is greater than or equal to a threshold value. For example, the high load route specifying unit 103 refers to the measured flow storage unit 101 to obtain a measured load on each route through which the flow being measured passes. For example, the measurement load on each route may be represented by the number of flows being measured that pass through the route. Further, when the information indicating the measurement load in the flow is included in the in-measurement flow information, the measurement load in each route may be represented by the total of the measurement loads in the flow being measured via the route.

  Here, in order for the high load route specifying unit 103 to specify a route satisfying the above-described high load condition, the route information of the flow to be measured and the flow being measured is required. For example, the high load route specifying unit 103 may acquire the route information of the flow that is the target of the measurement request or the flow that is being measured using a known method for investigating the route, as necessary. An example of such a known technique is a traceroute command. In this case, the high load route specifying unit 103 may notify the measurement agent 200 arranged at the transmission source of the corresponding flow to acquire route information to the transmission destination by a traceroute command or the like.

  Further, for example, the high load route specifying unit 103 may acquire route information of a flow to be measured or a flow being measured from a route information database (not shown). This is based on the premise that a route information database storing route information for each flow in the communication network 900 is prepared. In this case, the high-load route specifying unit 103 acquires the route information of the flow that is not stored in the route information database by a known method for examining the above-described route, and the acquired route information is stored in the route information database. You may make it accumulate | store.

  The measurement control unit 104 obtains a measurement load predicted in a route that satisfies a high load condition when measurement of communication quality is started for a flow that is a target of a measurement request. Then, the measurement control unit 104 controls the measurement agent 200 to measure the communication quality of the flow in the communication network 900 based on the predicted measurement load.

  For example, the measurement control unit 104 uses a measurement condition set based on a measurement request for the flow to obtain a measurement load predicted in a route that satisfies a high load condition. Then, the measurement control unit 104 may control the measurement agent 200 to start measuring the communication quality of the flow after waiting until the predicted measurement load does not exceed the allowable load. Note that the measurement condition may be, for example, a measurement packet transmission interval, the number of transmissions, a use bandwidth, a timeout time, or the like, but is not limited thereto.

  Further, for example, the measurement control unit 104 may control the measurement agent 200 to start measuring the communication quality of the flow using the measurement condition set so that the predicted measurement load does not exceed the allowable load. Good. At this time, before starting the control of the measurement agent 200, the measurement control unit 104 can use the bandwidth resource for measurement in all links and relays on the flow path to be measured. You may investigate. In this case, the measurement control unit 104 may set measurement conditions based on the investigation result and the allowable load.

  Here, the measurement agent 200 to be controlled by the measurement control unit 104 is a measurement agent 200 that can measure the communication quality of the flow that is the target of the measurement request among the measurement agents 200 distributed and arranged on the communication network 900. It is.

  For example, the measurement control unit 104 specifies the transmission source of the flow that is the target of the measurement request, based on the measurement request information. And the measurement control part 104 should just make the measurement agent 200 arrange | positioned at a transmission source the object of control.

  Further, when measurement of the communication quality of the corresponding flow is completed in the measurement agent 200, the measurement control unit 104 receives and outputs information representing the measurement result from the measurement agent 200. Hereinafter, information representing a measurement result is also referred to as measurement result information. The measurement result information includes information representing the measured flow. Further, the measurement result information includes information representing the communication quality calculated based on the measurement value. Note that the information indicating the communication quality may be calculated by the measurement control unit 104 based on the measurement value received from the measurement agent 200. Alternatively, information indicating communication quality may be calculated by the measurement agent 200 and transmitted to the measurement control unit 104. The output destination of the measurement result information may be the output device 1003, for example. The output destination may be, for example, the memory 1002 or a portable storage medium. The output destination may be another device connected via a network, for example.

  In addition, the measurement control unit 104 updates the in-measurement flow storage unit 101 according to the measurement state by the measurement agent 200. Specifically, the measurement control unit 104 stores in-measurement flow storage unit 101 flow information being measured regarding a flow for which measurement of communication quality has been started under the control of the measurement agent 200. In addition, the measurement control unit 104 deletes the in-measurement flow information regarding the flow for which the measurement result is received from the measurement agent 200 from the in-measurement flow storage unit 101.

  Next, details of the functional blocks of the measurement agent 200 will be described.

  The communication quality measuring unit 201 measures the communication quality of the specified flow based on the control of the measurement control server 100. In addition, when the communication quality measurement unit 201 finishes measuring the communication quality of the specified flow, the communication quality measurement unit 201 transmits measurement result information to the measurement control server 100. As described above, the communication quality measuring unit 201 may transmit the measurement result information including information indicating the flow and the measurement value. Alternatively, as described above, the communication quality measuring unit 201 may transmit the measurement result information including information indicating the flow and information indicating the communication quality calculated based on the measurement value.

  The operation of the communication quality measurement system 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 3, the left diagram shows the operation of the measurement control server 100, and the right diagram shows the operation of the measurement agent 200.

  First, the measurement request acquisition unit 102 of the measurement control server 100 acquires measurement request information representing a measurement request generated in the communication network 900 (step A11).

  As described above, the measurement request information may be input via the input device 1004 or may be transmitted from a device connected to the communication network 900.

  Next, the high load path specifying unit 103 specifies a path that satisfies the high load condition among the paths through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes, by referring to the measuring flow storage unit 101 (step A12).

  Next, the measurement control unit 104 predicts a measurement load on a route that satisfies a high load condition when communication quality measurement is started for a flow that is a target of a measurement request. And the measurement control part 104 controls the measurement agent 200 so that the communication quality of the flow used as the object of a measurement request | requirement may be measured based on the estimated measurement load (step A13).

  As described above, the measurement control unit 104 may notify the measurement agent 200 to start measurement after waiting until the predicted measurement load does not exceed the allowable range. Alternatively, the measurement control unit 104 may notify the measurement agent 200 to start measurement after setting measurement conditions so that the predicted measurement load does not exceed the allowable range.

  Note that, as described above, the measurement agent 200 that is notified of the start of measurement may be the measurement agent 200 that is arranged at the transmission source of the flow that is the target of the measurement request.

  Next, the measurement control unit 104 updates the information regarding the flow in the measured flow storage unit 101 to indicate that the measurement of the communication quality of the flow is started by the measurement agent 200 (step A14).

  Next, when notified of the start of measurement of communication quality, the communication quality measuring unit 201 of the measurement agent 200 starts measuring communication quality for the corresponding flow (step B11).

  Next, when the communication quality measurement unit 201 finishes measuring the communication quality for the flow, the communication quality measurement unit 201 transmits measurement result information to the measurement control server 100 (step B12).

  Next, the measurement control unit 104 of the measurement control server 100 receives and outputs measurement result information from the measurement agent 200 (step A15).

  Next, the measurement control unit 104 updates information related to the flow in the measured flow storage unit 101 so as to indicate that the measurement of the communication quality of the flow has been completed by the measurement agent 200 (step A16).

  Thus, the communication quality measurement system 1 ends the operation.

  Next, the effect of the first embodiment will be described.

  The communication quality measurement system as the first embodiment can reduce an increase in load due to measurement in an environment in which measurement requests are dynamically generated.

  The reason will be described. In the present embodiment, the in-measurement flow storage unit stores information related to the flow whose communication quality is being measured in the communication network. The measurement request acquisition unit acquires information representing a communication quality measurement request generated in the communication network. Then, the high load path specifying unit specifies a path satisfying the high load condition among the paths through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes by referring to the measuring flow storage unit. Then, the measurement control unit predicts a measurement load on a route satisfying a high load condition when measurement of communication quality is started for a flow that is a target of a measurement request. Then, based on the predicted measurement load, the measurement control unit controls the measurement agent so as to measure the communication quality of the flow. Here, the measurement agents are distributed on the communication network. Among them, the measurement agent to be controlled by the measurement control unit is a measurement agent having a communication quality measurement unit capable of measuring the communication quality of the flow. This is because the measurement control unit updates the in-measurement flow storage unit according to the measurement state by the measurement agent.

  As described above, the present embodiment does not need to know in advance all the flows that are the targets of the communication quality measurement request, and according to the occurrence of the measurement request, the route that satisfies the high load condition in the target flow. The measurement agent is controlled so that its measurement load does not exceed the allowable range. As a result, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid the concentration of the measurement load on an arbitrary route by the measurement process according to the communication quality measurement request that is dynamically generated.

  In the present embodiment, the measurement control unit has been described as applying the measurement agent arranged at the transmission source of the flow as the measurement request target as the measurement agent to be controlled. However, there may be a case where the measurement agent is not arranged at the transmission source of the flow that is the target of the measurement request. In that case, the measurement control unit may control a measurement agent that is close to the source of the flow that is the target of the measurement request (such as a small number of hops or within the same network). In this case, it is a premise that a measurement agent that is close to a position that is a transmission source of an arbitrary flow is uniquely determined.

  Furthermore, a measurement agent may be arranged in the middle of the flow that is the target of the measurement request. In that case, in addition to the measurement agent arranged at the transmission source of the flow that is the target of the measurement request (or close to the transmission source), the measurement control unit includes a plurality of measurement including the measurement agent in the middle of such a flow. An agent may be controlled. In this case, the measurement control unit divides the target flow at the position of the measurement agent in the middle, and obtains the measurement result of the communication quality of the target flow based on the measurement result of each of the divided flows. Also good.

  Alternatively, the measurement control unit may transmit control information for controlling to measure the communication quality of the flow that is the target of the measurement request, toward a plurality of measurement agents. In this case, among the measurement agents that have received the control information, a measurement agent that is determined to be able to measure the communication quality of the target flow by the own device may be the control target. In this case as well, it is assumed that a measurement agent capable of measuring communication quality for an arbitrary flow is uniquely determined.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that, in each drawing referred to in the description of the present embodiment, the same configurations and steps that operate in the same manner as in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description in the present embodiment is omitted. To do.

  First, FIG. 4 shows a configuration of a communication quality measurement system 2 as the second embodiment. In FIG. 4, the communication quality measurement system 2 includes a measurement control server 120 and a measurement agent 220. The measurement control server 120 includes a measuring flow storage unit 121, a measurement request acquisition unit 122, a high load path specifying unit 123, a measurement control unit 124, a measurement request storage unit 125, and a measurement result storage unit 126. . In addition to the same configuration as the measurement agent 200 in the first embodiment, the measurement agent 220 further includes a measurement request detection unit 222 and a measurement request transmission unit 223.

  The communication quality measurement system 2 and each functional block thereof can be configured by hardware elements similar to those in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. In this case, the measurement request storage unit 125 and the measurement result storage unit 126 are configured by the memory 1002. The measurement request detection unit 222 and the measurement request transmission unit 223 are configured by a CPU 2001 that reads and executes a computer program stored in the memory 2002 and controls each unit. However, the hardware configuration of the communication quality measurement system 2 and each functional block thereof is not limited to the above-described configuration.

  In the present embodiment, for example, a communication network 900 configured as shown in FIG. 5 will be described as an example. In FIG. 5, a circle surrounding the letter R represents a relay device, and a rectangle surrounding the letter E represents a server including the measurement agent 220. It is assumed that an IP (Internet Protocol) address as shown in the figure is assigned to the relay machine and measurement agent 220. That is, IP addresses of 192.168.100.1 to 192.168.100.16 are assigned to the 16 servers, respectively. In addition, IP addresses of 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.1.4 are assigned to the four upper repeaters, respectively. In addition, IP addresses of 192.168.10.1 to 192.168.10.8 are assigned to the eight repeaters in the second stage from the top. In addition, IP addresses of 192.168.20.1 to 192.168.20.8 are assigned to the eight repeaters in the third row from the top.

  Next, each functional block of the measurement control server 120 will be described.

  The measurement request storage unit 125 stores measurement request information. The measurement request information includes information indicating the flow that is the target of the measurement request. The information indicating the flow may include transmission source information indicating the flow transmission source and transmission destination information indicating the flow transmission destination. Further, the measurement request information may include information representing a communication protocol used in the flow.

  An example of information stored in the measurement request storage unit 125 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, each row represents one piece of measurement request information. In this example, the measurement request information includes a transmission source IP address and a transmission source port as transmission source information, and a transmission destination IP address and a transmission destination port as transmission destination information. Further, the measurement request information includes information representing a communication protocol.

  Note that the content and format of information stored in the measurement request storage unit 125 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. For example, the measurement request information may include an array of IP addresses or MAC addresses of the network interface through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes. Further, the measurement request information may include a VLAN ID (Virtual Local Area Network Identifier) to which the flow that is the target of the measurement request belongs. Further, the measurement request information may further include information indicating the time when the measurement request is generated, the number of times the measurement request is generated for the flow, and the like. In addition, the measurement request information may further include information indicating the transmission source of the measurement request information. However, in this embodiment, the transmission source of the measurement request information is the same as the transmission source information because it is the measurement agent 220 arranged at the transmission source of the flow that is the target of the measurement request.

  The measuring flow storage unit 121 stores the measuring flow information. The in-measurement flow information includes information representing the flow being measured and information representing the measurement load in the flow. As described above, the information representing the flow may include transmission source information representing the flow transmission source and transmission destination information representing the flow transmission destination. Further, the in-measurement flow information may include information indicating a communication protocol used in the flow. Further, the in-measurement flow information may include route information of the flow.

  Here, an example of information stored in the measuring flow storage unit 121 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, each row represents one in-measurement flow information, and includes transmission source information and transmission destination information, information indicating a communication protocol, and information indicating a measurement load. Here, the transmission source information is represented by the IP address and port of the flow transmission source. The destination information is represented by the IP address and port of the destination of the flow. Moreover, the measurement load is represented by the corresponding measurement use band.

  Further, the measuring flow storage unit 121 may further store information representing the measuring load for each route through which the flow being measured passes. Hereinafter, information representing the measured load for each route is also referred to as measured load information for each route. The measured load information for each route includes information for specifying the route and information indicating the total measured load in each of one or more flows including the route.

  Here, an example of the measured load information for each path stored in the measuring flow storage unit 121 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 8, each row represents one path-specific measured load information, and includes transmission source information and transmission destination information that are information for specifying a path, and information indicating a measured load. In this example, the transmission source information and the transmission destination information are represented by IP addresses that are the start and end points of the route. Further, the measurement load is represented by the sum of the use bandwidths of one or more flows including this route.

  The measurement result storage unit 126 stores information representing the measurement result of the flow for which measurement has been completed. Hereinafter, information representing a measurement result of a flow for which measurement has been completed is also referred to as measurement result information. The measurement result information includes information indicating a flow for which measurement has been completed and information indicating communication quality. Here, as described above, the information indicating the flow may include transmission source information indicating the transmission source of the flow and transmission destination information indicating the transmission destination. Further, the measurement result information may include information representing a communication protocol used in the measurement.

  An example of information stored in the measurement result storage unit 126 is shown in FIG. In FIG. 9, each row represents one piece of measurement result information, and includes transmission source information and transmission destination information, a communication protocol, and a packet reception rate. In this example, the source information is represented by the IP address and port of the source of the flow. The destination information is represented by the IP address and port of the destination of the flow. The packet reception rate represents the communication quality of this flow.

  The measurement request acquisition unit 122 is configured in substantially the same manner as the measurement request acquisition unit 102 in the first embodiment, except for the following points. That is, the measurement request acquisition unit 122 acquires measurement request information from the measurement agent 220. In addition, the measurement request acquisition unit 122 stores the acquired measurement request information in the measurement request storage unit 125.

  The high load path specifying unit 123 is configured in substantially the same manner as the high load path specifying unit 103 in the first embodiment, but the following points are different. In other words, the high load route specifying unit 123 reads the measurement request information from the measurement request storage unit 125 and specifies the route information of the flow. In order to specify route information, the high load route specifying unit 123 may refer to a route information database (not shown) that stores route information for each flow. Alternatively, the high load route specifying unit 123 may notify the measurement agent 220 arranged at the flow transmission source to investigate the route information of the flow. In this case, for example, a known technique such as traceroute may be applied to the route information investigation.

  Then, the high load route specifying unit 123 refers to the measuring flow storage unit 121 to obtain the measurement load for each route through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes. Then, the path through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes is specified as the measurement load that satisfies the high load condition. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the high load condition is the highest measurement load.

  Here, it is assumed that the path information of each flow being measured is stored in the during-measurement flow storage unit 121. In this case, the high load route specifying unit 123 may obtain the measurement load for each route based on the route information of each flow and the information indicating the measurement load of each flow. In addition, the path information of each flow may not be stored in the measuring flow storage unit 121. In this case, the high load route specifying unit 123 is performing measurement by referring to the route information database as described above or notifying the measurement agent 220 arranged at the flow transmission source of the route information investigation. What is necessary is just to acquire the route information of the flow. And the high load path | route specific | specification part 123 should just obtain | require measured load for every path | route based on the acquired path | route information of each flow, and the information showing the measured load of each flow memorize | stored.

  Alternatively, as described above, it is assumed that the during-measurement flow storage unit 121 stores the measured load information for each route. In this case, the high load route specifying unit 123 may refer to the measured load information for each route stored for each route through which the corresponding flow passes.

  In addition, the high load path specifying unit 123 performs a process of reading measurement request information from the measurement request storage unit 125 at a predetermined timing and specifying a path satisfying the high load condition in the flow that is the target of the measurement request. You may make it perform.

  The measurement control unit 124 is configured in substantially the same manner as the measurement control unit 104 in the first embodiment, except for the following points. That is, the measurement control unit 124 includes a start determination unit 1241. The start determination unit 1241 determines whether or not the value obtained by adding the measurement loads required for measuring the communication quality for the flow that is the target of the measurement request to the current measurement load of the route satisfying the high load condition exceeds the allowable load. To do. Note that the measurement load for measuring the communication quality for the flow that is the target of the measurement request is determined according to the measurement conditions. The measurement condition may be included in the measurement request information. Alternatively, the measurement conditions may be set in advance. Alternatively, the measurement condition may be set by the measurement control unit 124. As described above, the measurement condition may be, for example, the transmission interval of the measurement packet, the number of transmissions, the use bandwidth, the timeout time, or the like, but is not limited thereto.

  Here, the allowable load represents the upper limit of the load allowed as the measurement load. For example, as the allowable load, a network bandwidth, the number of flows being measured, and the like are applicable, but are not limited thereto. The allowable load may be determined in advance. Further, the allowable load may be dynamically determined by the measurement control unit 124 based on the actual communication load by acquiring the communication amount of each device on the network using SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) or the like. .

  In addition, when the start determination unit 1241 determines that the allowable load is not exceeded, the measurement control unit 124 notifies the corresponding measurement agent 220 to start measuring communication quality for the flow that is the target of the measurement request. At this time, the measurement agent 220 that is the transmission source of the measurement request is applied as the corresponding measurement agent 220.

  Here, as described above, in the present embodiment, the transmission source information of the flow that is the target of the measurement request is stored in the measurement request storage unit 125. Therefore, the measurement control unit 124 identifies the measurement agent 220 that is the transmission source of the measurement request based on the transmission source information stored in the measurement request storage unit 125, and notifies the identified measurement agent 220 of the start of measurement. That's fine.

  In addition, the measurement control unit 124 notifies the measurement conditions described above when notifying the measurement agent 220 of the start of measurement of communication quality. At this time, the measurement control unit 124 deletes the measurement request information regarding the flow notified of the start of measurement from the measurement request storage unit 125. In addition, the measurement control unit 124 stores in-measurement flow storage unit 121 the in-measurement flow information related to the flow notified of the start of measurement.

  When the measurement control unit 124 receives the measurement result information indicating the measurement result of the corresponding flow from the measurement agent 220, the measurement control unit 124 deletes the in-measurement flow information regarding the corresponding flow from the in-measurement flow storage unit 121. In addition, the measurement control unit 124 stores the received measurement result information in the measurement result storage unit 126.

  Next, each functional block of the measurement agent 220 will be described.

  The communication quality measuring unit 201 is configured similarly to the first embodiment.

  The measurement request detection unit 222 detects a measurement request for a flow in which the own apparatus can measure communication quality.

  For example, the measurement request may be detected based on an input made to the measurement agent 220 arranged at the transmission source of the flow by the user who has recognized the sign of communication quality deterioration in an arbitrary flow. Further, for example, the measurement request may be detected by notifying the measurement agent 220 included in the server from the server that has detected a sign of communication quality deterioration in an arbitrary flow.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that the measurement agent 220 is realized on a server included in the communication network 900. In this case, when the server detects an indication of deterioration in communication quality in a flow having itself as a transmission source, the server may notify the measurement agent 220 included in the device of the occurrence of a measurement request for the flow.

  The measurement request transmission unit 223 transmits measurement request information representing the measurement request detected by the measurement request detection unit 222 to the measurement control server 120.

  The operation of the communication quality measurement system 2 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in which the communication quality measurement system 2 acquires measurement request information. In FIG. 10, the left diagram shows the operation of the measurement control server 120, and the right diagram shows the operation of the measurement agent 220.

  In FIG. 10, first, the measurement request detection unit 222 of the measurement agent 220 detects a measurement request (step B21).

  Next, the measurement request transmission unit 223 transmits measurement request information representing the detected measurement request to the measurement control server 120 (step B22).

  Next, the measurement request acquisition unit 122 of the measurement control server 120 receives the measurement request information (step A21).

  Next, the measurement request acquisition unit 122 stores the received measurement request information in the measurement request storage unit 125 (step A22).

  Thus, the operation for acquiring the measurement request information ends.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in which the communication quality measurement system 2 performs measurement in response to a measurement request. In FIG. 11, the left diagram shows the operation of the measurement control server 120, and the right diagram shows the operation of the measurement agent 220.

  In FIG. 11, first, the high load path specifying unit 123 of the measurement control server 120 determines whether or not measurement request information is stored in the measurement request storage unit 125 (step A31).

  Here, when the measurement request information is not stored (No in Step A31), the high load path specifying unit 123 waits for a predetermined time (Step A32), and then repeats the operation of Step A31.

  On the other hand, when the measurement request information is stored (Yes in Step A31), the high load path identifying unit 123 selects one stored measurement request information (Step A33). Note that when a plurality of pieces of measurement request information are stored, the information to be selected may be determined according to a specific algorithm such as a first-in first-out principle or priority-based flow selection.

  Next, based on the selected measurement request information, the high-load route specifying unit 123 investigates the route through which the flow passes and acquires route information (step A34).

  As described above, for example, the high-load route specifying unit 123 may acquire the route information of the corresponding flow by referring to the route information database storing the route information of each flow. Alternatively, the high load route specifying unit 123 may acquire route information of the corresponding flow by instructing the measurement agent 220 arranged at the transmission source of the corresponding flow to investigate the route.

  Next, the high load route specifying unit 123 specifies the route with the highest measurement load among the routes through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes by referring to the measuring flow storage unit 121 (step A35).

  Specifically, the high load route identifying unit 123 calculates the measurement load on each route through which the flow to be measured is passed, based on the flow information being measured stored in the flow memory unit 121 being measured. Thus, the route with the highest measurement load may be specified. Further, as described above, when the measured load information for each route is stored in the measured flow storage unit 121, the high load route specifying unit 123 sets the route for each route through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes. A route with the highest measurement load may be specified by referring to the measurement load information.

  Next, the start determination unit 1241 predicts the measurement load on the route having the highest measurement load when measurement of communication quality is started for the flow that is the target of the measurement request. Then, the start determination unit 1241 determines whether or not the predicted measurement load exceeds the allowable range (step A36).

  Note that the start determination unit 1241 may determine that the allowable load is not exceeded by setting a measurement condition in a low band in Step A36 when the use band of the flow that is the target of the measurement request can be changed.

  Here, when the predicted measurement load exceeds the allowable range, the measurement control server 120 waits for a predetermined time (step A32), and then repeats the operation from step A31. Note that the measurement control server 120 may repeat the operations from step A33 without waiting for a predetermined time by omitting steps A31 to A32.

  On the other hand, a case where the predicted measurement load does not exceed the allowable range will be described. In this case, the measurement control unit 124 notifies the measurement agent 220 to start measuring the communication quality for the flow that is the target of the measurement request (step A37).

  Then, the measurement control unit 124 deletes the corresponding measurement request information from the measurement request storage unit 125 (Step A38).

  In addition, the measurement control unit 124 stores the in-measurement flow information regarding the flow for which measurement has been started in the in-measurement flow storage unit 121 (step S39).

  Next, the measurement agent 220 that has been notified to start measurement and steps B11 to B12 are executed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. That is, the communication quality measuring unit 201 of the measurement agent 220 measures the communication quality for the corresponding flow, and transmits measurement result information to the measurement control server 120.

  Next, the measurement control unit 124 stores the received measurement result information in the measurement result storage unit 126 (step A40).

  Next, the measurement control unit 124 deletes the in-measurement flow information related to the flow for which measurement has been completed from the in-measurement flow storage unit 121 (step A41).

  And the communication quality measurement system 2 repeats the operation | movement from step A31 after waiting for predetermined time (step A32).

  Above, description of operation | movement of the communication quality measurement system 2 is complete | finished.

  Next, the operation of the communication quality measurement system 2 will be described with a specific example.

  In this example, the communication network 900 having the configuration shown in FIG. 5 is assumed. Further, it is assumed that the packet drop rate is calculated as the communication quality. Further, it is assumed that 20,000 packets per second is set as the allowable load. Further, in this example, for example, each server detects an indication of communication quality deterioration in a flow originating from the own device based on TCP (Transmission Control Protocol) retransmission detection or a significant delay in the communication flow. . And the server which detected the sign of communication quality degradation shall notify the measurement request | requirement with respect to an applicable flow with respect to the measurement agent 220 included. Such a notification of a measurement request cannot be predicted in the communication quality measurement system 2, and thus can be said to be a dynamic occurrence.

  In this specific example, first, it is assumed that communication quality deterioration in which a packet is dropped by 1% occurs in a link from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.10.7. Therefore, some servers that are the transmission sources of the flow passing through this link detect signs of communication quality deterioration. Each of these servers notifies the measurement agent 220 included therein of a communication quality measurement request for this flow. For example, one of the servers is a 192.168.100.1 server, and the measurement included in the own device is a communication quality measurement request for a flow from the own device to the 192.168.100.16 server. Assume that the agent 220 is notified.

  Therefore, first, the measurement request detection unit 222 of the measurement agent 220 included in the 192.168.100.1 server detects the measurement request (step B21).

  Next, the measurement request transmission unit 223 transmits measurement request information for a flow having 192.168.100.1 as a transmission source and 192.168.100.16 as a transmission destination to the measurement control server 120 (step B22). ).

  Similarly, a sign of deterioration in communication quality of a flow is detected in two different servers, and the included measurement agent 220 detects the measurement request and transmits the measurement request information to the measurement control server 120. And

  It is assumed that measurement requests for these three flows are generated within one second.

  Therefore, the measurement request acquisition unit 122 of the measurement control server 120 sequentially receives measurement request information for the three flows (step A21), and stores the measurement request information in the measurement request storage unit 125 in response to the reception (step A22). ). Thus, the measurement request storage unit 125 stores three pieces of measurement request information.

  Next, the high load path specifying unit 123 of the measurement control server 120 determines that three pieces of measurement request information are stored in the measurement request storage unit 125 (Yes in Step A31). In this example, the high load path specifying unit 123 refers to the measurement request storage unit 125 every second.

  Next, the high load path specifying unit 123 selects the first measurement request information (step A33). Here, it is assumed that the measurement request information regarding the flow from 192.168.100.1 to 192.168.100.16 is selected. The measurement request information selected here is described as first measurement request information. Further, the target flow in the first measurement request information is also referred to as the first flow.

  Therefore, the high load route specifying unit 123 investigates the route of the first flow and acquires route information (step A34).

  Here, as a corresponding flow path, 192.168.100.1 → 192.168.20.1 → 192.168.10.1 → 192.168.1.1 → 192.168.10.7 → It is assumed that information representing 192.168.20.8 → 192.168.100.16 has been acquired.

  Next, the high load route specifying unit 123 specifies the route having the highest measurement load in the first flow by referring to the measuring flow storage unit 121 (step A35). Here, since there is no flow during measurement, the measurement load is zero in all the paths through which the first flow passes.

  Next, the start determination unit 1241 determines whether or not to start measurement for the first flow. Here, it is assumed that a condition of “transmit 100,000 packets in 10 seconds” is set as the measurement condition. Here, as described above, at this time, the measurement load is zero in all the paths through which the first flow passes. For this reason, if measurement for the first flow is started, the measurement load is predicted to be 10,000 packets per second in any route through which the first flow passes. Therefore, the predicted measurement load does not exceed the allowable load of 20,000 packets per second (No in step A36).

  Therefore, the start determination unit 1241 determines to start measurement for the first flow. Therefore, the measurement control unit 124 notifies the measurement agent 220 to start measurement of the first flow under a measurement condition of transmitting 100,000 packets in 10 seconds (step A37). The measurement agent 220 of the notification destination is the measurement agent 220 included in the 192.168.100.1 server that is the transmission source of the first flow.

  Upon receiving the notification, the measurement agent 220 starts measurement for the first flow (step B11).

  Further, the measurement control unit 124 deletes the first measurement request information from the measurement request storage unit 125, and stores the in-measurement flow information related to the first flow in the in-measurement flow storage unit 121. In addition, the measurement control unit 124 stores, for each path through which the first flow passes, the per-path measurement load information indicating that the measurement load is 10,000 packets per second in the in-measurement flow storage unit 121 ( Step A38, A39).

  Then, after waiting for 1 second (step A32), the high load path specifying unit 123 selects one of the remaining two pieces of measurement request information stored in the measurement request storage unit 125 (step A33). The selected measurement request information is described as second measurement request information. In addition, the target flow in the second measurement request information is also referred to as a second flow.

  Next, the high-load route specifying unit 123 acquires route information of the second flow, and specifies a place with the highest measurement load in the second flow by referring to the measuring flow storage unit 121. (Steps A34 and A35). Here, it is assumed that “link from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.10.7” is specified as the place with the highest measurement load. Here, this link is also included in the first flow. Therefore, the in-measurement flow storage unit 121 stores 10,000 packets per second, which is the measurement load for the first flow, as the measurement load in this link.

  Next, the start determination unit 1241 measures the measurement load when the measurement for the second flow is started in the “link from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.10.7” having the highest measurement load. Predict. Here, it is assumed that the condition “100,000 packets are transmitted in 10 seconds” is set as the measurement condition, similarly to the measurement of the first flow.

  If the measurement for the second flow is started, the measurement load of this link is predicted to be 20,000 packets per second in total. Therefore, the predicted measurement load does not exceed the allowable range of 20,000 packets per second (No in step A36).

  Therefore, the start determination unit 1241 determines to start measurement for the second flow. Therefore, the measurement control unit 124 notifies the measurement agent 220 to start measurement of the flow that is the target of the second measurement request under the measurement condition of transmitting 100,000 packets in 10 seconds (step A37). ). The measurement agent 220 of the notification destination is the measurement agent 220 included in the transmission source server of the second flow.

  Upon receiving the notification, the measurement agent 220 starts measurement for the second flow (step B11).

  In addition, the measurement control unit 124 deletes the second measurement request information from the measurement request storage unit 125, and stores the in-measurement flow information regarding the second flow in the in-measurement flow storage unit 121. Further, the measurement control unit 124 stores, in the measurement-in-measurement flow storage unit 121, the measurement load information for each route obtained by adding 10,000 packets per second to the measurement load for each route through which the second flow passes. As a result, 20,000 packets per second are stored in the measured flow storage unit 121 as the measurement load in the “link from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.10.7” (steps A38 and A39). ).

  Then, after waiting for 1 second (step A32), the high load path specifying unit 123 selects the remaining one measurement request information stored in the measurement request storage unit 125 (step A33). The selected measurement request information is described as third measurement request information. In addition, the target flow in the third measurement request information is also referred to as a third flow.

  Next, the high load route specifying unit 123 acquires route information of the third flow, and specifies the place with the highest measurement load in the third flow by referring to the measuring flow storage unit 121. (Steps A34 and A35). Here, it is assumed that “link from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.10.7” is specified as the place with the highest measurement load. Here, this link is also included in the first and second flows. Therefore, the measured flow storage unit 121 stores 20,000 packets per second, which is the total of the measured loads for the first and second flows, as the measured load on this link.

  Next, the start determination unit 1241 measures the measurement load when the measurement for the third flow is started in the “link from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.10.7” having the highest measurement load. Predict. Here, it is assumed that the condition “100,000 packets are transmitted in 10 seconds” is set as the measurement condition, similarly to the measurement of the first and second flows.

  If measurement for the third flow is started, the measurement load of this link is predicted to be 30,000 packets per second. That is, the predicted measurement load exceeds the allowable range of 20,000 packets per second (Yes in step A36).

  Therefore, the start determination unit 1241 determines that measurement for the third flow is not started at this time.

  And the high load path | route specific | specification part 123 selects the remaining measurement request information (namely, 3rd measurement request information) memorize | stored in the measurement request memory | storage part 125 after that at intervals of 1 second after that, step A31- Process A36 is performed. Then, the start determination unit 1241 determines that measurement is not started in the same manner in the process from the start of measurement of the first flow to 9 seconds later (Yes in step A36).

  Next, 10 seconds after the start of measurement of the first flow, measurement of the first flow is completed, and the measurement agent 220 transmits measurement result information of the first flow to the measurement control server 120. (Step B12).

  Next, the measurement control unit 124 of the measurement control server 120 stores the measurement result information of the first flow in the measurement result storage unit 126 (step A40). For example, the measurement result information includes information indicating communication quality such as “received 99900 packets out of 100000 transmitted packets”.

  Then, the measurement control unit 124 deletes the measured flow information regarding the first flow from the measured flow storage unit 121. Further, the measurement control unit 124 stores, for each route through which the first flow passes, the measured load information for each route obtained by subtracting 10,000 packets per second from the measured load in the in-measurement flow storage unit 121. As a result, 10,000 packets per second are stored in the measuring flow storage unit 121 as the measurement load in the “link from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.10.7” (step A41).

  And the high load path | route specific | specification part 123 selects the remaining measurement request information (namely, 3rd measurement request information) memorize | stored in the measurement request memory | storage part 125 again, and performs the process of step A31-A36. . Here, the measurement load in the “link from 192.168.1.1 to 192.168.10.7”, which is the place with the highest measurement load of the third flow, is the measurement of the first flow. Since it is completed, it is 10,000 packets per second.

  If the measurement for the third flow is started, the measurement load of this link is predicted to be 20,000 packets per second, and does not exceed the allowable range of 20,000 packets per second (No in step A36).

  Therefore, the start determination unit 1241 determines to start measurement for the third flow. Therefore, the measurement control unit 124 notifies the measurement agent 220 to start measurement of the flow that is the target of the third measurement request under the measurement condition for transmitting 100,000 packets in 10 seconds (step A37). ). The measurement agent 220 of the notification destination is the measurement agent 220 included in the transmission source server of the third flow.

  Upon receiving the notification, the measurement agent 220 starts measurement for the third flow (step B11).

  In addition, the measurement control unit 124 deletes the third measurement request information from the measurement request storage unit 125, and stores the in-measurement flow information related to the third flow in the in-measurement flow storage unit 121. In addition, the measurement control unit 124 stores, for each route through which the third flow passes, the measured load information for each route obtained by adding 10,000 packets per second to the measured load in the measuring flow storage unit 121 (step A38). A39).

  And the high load path | route specific | specification part 123 confirms the information memorize | stored in the measurement request | requirement memory | storage part 125 at intervals of 1 second after that, and judges that measurement request information is not memorize | stored.

  Next, 11 seconds after the start of measurement of the first flow, measurement of the second flow ends, and the measurement agent 220 transmits measurement result information of the second flow to the measurement control server 120. (Step B12).

  Next, the measurement control unit 124 of the measurement control server 120 stores the measurement result information of the second flow in the measurement result storage unit 126 (step A40).

  Then, the measurement control unit 124 deletes the in-measurement flow information regarding the second flow from the in-measurement flow storage unit 121. In addition, the measurement control unit 124 stores, for each path through which the second flow passes, the measured load information for each path obtained by subtracting 10,000 packets per second from the measured load in the measuring flow storage unit 121 (step A41). ).

  Next, 20 seconds after the start of measurement of the first flow, measurement of the third flow ends, and the measurement agent 220 transmits measurement result information of the third flow to the measurement control server 120. (Step B12).

  Next, the measurement control unit 124 of the measurement control server 120 stores the measurement result information of the third flow in the measurement result storage unit 126 (step A40).

  Then, the measurement control unit 124 deletes the measured flow information regarding the third flow from the measured flow storage unit 121. In addition, the measurement control unit 124 stores, for each route through which the third flow passes, the measured load information for each route obtained by subtracting 10,000 packets per second from the measured load in the measuring flow storage unit 121 (step A41). ).

  Thus, in this specific example, the communication quality measurement system 2 performs measurement sequentially while controlling the measurement load so as not to exceed the allowable load in response to three measurement requests that are dynamically generated substantially simultaneously. Yes.

  Next, the effect of the second embodiment will be described.

  The communication quality measurement system according to the present embodiment can more reliably perform measurement according to a measurement request while reducing an increase in load due to measurement in an environment where the measurement request is dynamically generated.

  The reason will be described. In the present embodiment, in addition to the same configuration as in the first embodiment, the measurement control unit determines the communication quality of the flow when the measurement load predicted in the route satisfying the high load condition does not exceed the threshold value. This is because the measurement agent is controlled to start measurement. Furthermore, when the bandwidth used for measurement can be changed in the flow that is the target of the measurement request, the measurement control unit sets the measurement condition so that the measurement load predicted in the route satisfying the high load condition does not exceed the threshold value. Set. This is because the measurement control unit controls the measurement agent to start measurement under the set measurement conditions.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the measurement load predicted when the measurement according to the measurement request is started based on the information indicating the current measurement load obtained from the measuring flow storage unit and the measurement conditions. Control so that the allowable load is not exceeded. As a result, this embodiment can more reliably execute the measurement according to the dynamically generated measurement request while controlling the measurement load due to the measurement of communication quality so as not to exceed the allowable load as a whole. it can.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that in each drawing referred to in the description of the present embodiment, the same configurations and steps that operate in the same manner as those in the first or second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the detailed description in the present embodiment. Description is omitted.

  First, FIG. 12 shows the configuration of the communication quality measurement system 3 as the third embodiment. In FIG. 12, the communication quality measurement system 3 includes a measurement control server 130 and a measurement agent 230. The measurement control server 130 is different from the measurement control server 120 in the second embodiment in that a measurement control unit 134 is provided instead of the measurement control unit 124. Further, the measurement agent 230 is different from the measurement agent 220 in the second embodiment in that it includes a communication quality measurement unit 231 instead of the communication quality measurement unit 201.

  The communication quality measurement system 3 and each functional block thereof can be configured by hardware elements similar to those in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. However, the hardware configuration of the communication quality measuring system 3 and each functional block thereof is not limited to the above-described configuration.

  First, the measurement control unit 134 of the measurement control server 130 will be described.

  The measurement control unit 134 is configured as follows in addition to the same configuration as the measurement control unit 124 in the second embodiment. That is, the measurement control unit 134 further includes a continuation determination unit 1342 in addition to the start determination unit 1241. The continuation determination unit 1342 determines whether to continue or end the measurement of the flow by the measurement agent 230 based on information indicating the result of the flow measurement by the measurement agent 230. Then, the measurement control unit 134 controls the measurement agent 230 based on the determination result of the continuation determination unit 1342.

  Specifically, the measurement control unit 134 receives from the measurement agent 230 information indicating the intermediate result of the measurement for the flow being measured. Then, the continuation determination unit 1342 determines whether to continue or end the measurement based on whether or not the information indicating the intermediate result of the measurement is sufficient for estimating the communication quality. If it is determined that the measurement is to be continued, the measurement control unit 134 notifies the measurement agent 230 to continue the flow measurement. In addition, when it is determined that the measurement is to be ended, the measurement control unit 134 notifies the flow measurement to be ended.

  Here, the information indicating the intermediate result of the measurement may include, for example, information indicating the number of measurement packets transmitted up to that time, the measurement value obtained by the measurement up to that time, and the communication quality. Good. In addition, the information indicating the intermediate result of the measurement only needs to include arbitrary information for determining whether or not the measurement result sufficient for estimating the communication quality is obtained.

  Such determination of continuation or termination of measurement is performed in order to continue measurement until a measurement result sufficient for estimating communication quality is obtained. For example, consider a case where a packet loss rate is obtained as communication quality. In this case, for a flow with a very small packet loss rate, a statistically significant result cannot be obtained unless a large number of measurement packets are transmitted. On the other hand, if sufficient measurement results are collected to determine the packet loss rate of the flow to be measured, accurate communication quality can be obtained without sending all packets based on the preset measurement conditions. Can be estimated.

  Next, the communication quality measuring unit 231 of the measurement agent 230 will be described.

  The communication quality measuring unit 231 is configured in substantially the same manner as the communication quality measuring unit 201 in the first and second embodiments, but differs in the following points. That is, the communication quality measuring unit 231 transmits information representing the intermediate result of the measurement to the measurement control server 130 while performing measurement on the flow under the control of the measurement control server 130.

  In addition, when the communication quality measurement unit 231 is notified from the measurement control server 130 to continue the measurement in response to the transmission of the information indicating the intermediate result of the measurement, the communication quality measurement unit 231 continues the measurement of the flow. Further, when the communication quality measurement unit 231 is notified from the measurement control server 130 to end the measurement in response to the transmission of the information indicating the intermediate result of the measurement, the communication quality measurement unit 231 ends the measurement of the flow. And the communication quality measurement part 231 transmits the information showing a measurement result to the measurement control server 130, when measurement is complete | finished.

  Note that the measurement control unit 134 may notify the measurement agent 230 of the timing for transmitting information representing the intermediate result when notifying the start of flow measurement. Alternatively, the measurement agent 230 may transmit information indicating an intermediate result based on a predetermined timing. Alternatively, the measurement agent 230 may autonomously determine whether or not to transmit information representing the intermediate result based on information representing the intermediate result obtained during measurement.

  The operation of the communication quality measuring system 3 configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings. Note that the operation in which the communication quality measurement system 3 acquires the measurement request information is the same as that in the second embodiment described with reference to FIG. 10, and thus the description in this embodiment is omitted.

  FIG. 13 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in which the communication quality measurement system 3 performs measurement in response to a measurement request. In FIG. 13, the left diagram shows the operation of the measurement control server 130, and the right diagram shows the operation of the measurement agent 230.

  In FIG. 13, the measurement control server 130 operates in the same manner as in the second embodiment from step A31 to A39. Thereby, in the flow represented by the measurement request information selected from the measurement request storage unit 125, if the measurement load predicted at the place where the measurement load is highest does not exceed the allowable load, the measurement agent 230 starts measurement. Will be notified. And the measurement agent 230 performs step B11 similarly to the 1st and 2nd embodiment, and starts the measurement with respect to an applicable flow.

  Thereafter, the communication quality measurement system 3 measures the communication quality while controlling whether to continue or end the measurement based on the intermediate result of the measurement (step S500).

  Details of the processing in step S500 will be described with reference to FIG.

  Here, first, the communication quality measuring unit 231 of the measurement agent 230 continues to measure the communication quality for the corresponding flow (step B51).

  Next, the communication quality measuring unit 231 determines whether or not it is the transmission timing of information indicating the intermediate result of the measurement (step B52).

  As such timing, for example, a timing every time a predetermined number of measurement packets are transmitted may be determined. As described above, the transmission timing of the information indicating the intermediate result may be determined in advance, or may be a timing notified from the measurement control server 130 together with the notification of the start of measurement. Alternatively, the communication quality measuring unit 231 may autonomously determine whether or not it is the transmission timing of the information indicating the intermediate result based on the information indicating the intermediate result of the measurement.

  Here, when it is not the transmission timing of the information indicating the intermediate result (No in Step B52), the communication quality measuring unit 231 repeats the operation from Step B51 and continues the measurement.

  On the other hand, when it is the transmission timing of the information indicating the intermediate result (Yes in Step B52), the communication quality measuring unit 231 transmits information indicating the intermediate result to the measurement control server 130 (Step B53). For example, as described above, when obtaining the packet loss rate as the communication quality, the communication quality measuring unit 231 shows the intermediate result of the number of packets transmitted so far and the packet loss rate calculated by the measurement so far. It may be included in the information to be transmitted.

  Next, the continuation determination unit 1342 of the measurement control server 130 determines whether or not the measurement so far is sufficient for estimating the communication quality based on the received information indicating the intermediate result (step A51).

  For example, as described above, when the packet loss rate is obtained as the communication quality, it is assumed that the information indicating the intermediate result includes the packet loss rate up to that point and the number of measurement packets transmitted so far. . In this case, the continuation determination unit 1342 determines whether the previous measurement is sufficient for estimating the communication quality based on whether the number of measurement packets transmitted so far is equal to or greater than the threshold. May be. In this case, such a threshold may be a value calculated based on the packet loss rate up to that point.

  Here, when it is determined that the measurement so far is not sufficient for estimating the communication quality (No in Step A51), the measurement control unit 134 notifies the measurement agent 230 that the measurement is continued (Step A52). . Then, the measurement control server 130 waits for the information representing the next intermediate result to be transmitted from the measurement agent 230, and repeats the operation from step A51.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the measurement so far is sufficient for estimating the communication quality (Yes in Step A51), the measurement control unit 134 notifies the measurement agent 230 of the end of the measurement (Step A53). . Then, the operation of the measurement control server 130 returns to step A40 in FIG.

  Further, when the communication quality measurement unit 231 of the measurement agent 230 is notified of the continuation of measurement from the measurement control server 130 (Yes in Step B54), the operation from Step B51 is repeated and the measurement is continued.

  On the other hand, when the measurement end is notified from the measurement control server 130 (No in Step B54), the operation of the communication quality measuring unit 231 returns to Step B12 in FIG. That is, the communication quality measuring unit 231 transmits the measurement result information to the measurement control server 130 as in the first and second embodiments.

  Next, when receiving the measurement result information, the measurement control unit 134 of the measurement control server 130 executes steps A40 to A41 as in the second embodiment. That is, the measurement control unit 134 stores the received measurement result information in the measurement result storage unit 126, and deletes the measuring flow information from the measuring flow storage unit 121.

  As described above, the communication quality measurement system 3 ends the operation for performing the measurement in response to the measurement request.

  Next, the effect of the third embodiment will be described.

  The communication quality measurement system according to the third embodiment can further reduce an increase in load due to measurement while accurately measuring communication quality in an environment where a measurement request is dynamically generated.

  The reason will be described. The present embodiment includes the following configuration in addition to the same configuration as the second embodiment. That is, the measurement agent transmits information representing the intermediate result of the measurement to the measurement control server during the flow measurement. This is because the measurement control unit of the measurement control server performs control so as to continue or end the flow measurement by the measurement agent based on the information indicating the intermediate result of the measurement.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, even when the amount of packets necessary for measuring the communication quality is not unique, the measurement ends when the measurement sufficient for estimating the communication quality is performed. As a result, according to the present embodiment, the total amount of measurement packets can be reduced, and the increase in load due to measurement can be further reduced.

  In the present embodiment, the example of obtaining the packet loss rate as the communication quality has been mainly described, but the communication quality is not limited to this. For example, the communication quality may be delay, jitter, and the like. Even in such a case, information indicating the intermediate result used to determine whether or not the measurement amount is sufficient for estimating the communication quality and the determination condition thereof are appropriately set according to the nature of the communication quality. Thus, the present embodiment has the same effect.

(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a configuration in which measurement request information managed by the measurement control server in the second embodiment is managed by a measurement agent will be described. Note that in each drawing referred to in the description of the present embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same configuration and steps that operate in the same manner as in the first to third embodiments, and the detailed description in the present embodiment. Description is omitted.

  First, FIG. 15 shows the configuration of a communication quality measurement system 4 as the fourth embodiment. In FIG. 15, the communication quality measurement system 4 includes a measurement control server 140 and a measurement agent 240. The measurement control server 140 is different from the measurement control server 120 in the second embodiment in the following points. That is, the measurement request acquiring unit 142 is replaced with the measurement request acquiring unit 122, the high load path specifying unit 143 is replaced with the high load path specifying unit 123, and the measurement request storage unit 125 is not included. . Further, the measurement agent 240 is different from the measurement agent 220 in the second embodiment in the following points. That is, the communication quality measurement unit 201 has a communication quality measurement unit 241, the measurement request detection unit 222 has a measurement request detection unit 242, and the measurement request transmission unit 223 has a measurement request transmission unit 243. Furthermore, the point which has the measurement request | requirement memory | storage part 245 differs.

  The communication quality measurement system 4 and each functional block thereof can be configured by the same hardware elements as those in the first embodiment described with reference to FIG. In this case, the measurement request storage unit 245 is configured by the memory 2002. However, the hardware configuration of the communication quality measurement system 4 and each functional block thereof is not limited to the above-described configuration.

  First, each functional block of the measurement agent 240 will be described.

  The measurement request storage unit 245 is configured in the same manner as the measurement request storage unit 125 arranged in the measurement control server 120 in the second embodiment. However, in the second embodiment, measurement request information for an arbitrary flow in the communication network 900 is stored in the measurement request storage unit 125 of the measurement control server 120. In the present embodiment, the measurement request storage unit 245 of the measurement agent 240 stores measurement request information for a flow whose source is a server including its own device.

  The measurement request detection unit 242 detects a measurement request for a flow in which the own device can measure the communication quality. Then, the measurement request detection unit 242 stores measurement request information indicating the detected measurement request in the measurement request storage unit 245.

  The measurement request transmission unit 243 reads measurement request information from the measurement request storage unit 245 and transmits it to the measurement control server 140 at every predetermined timing. At this time, the measurement request transmission unit 243 may investigate the route information of the flow represented by the measurement request information, and may send the investigated route information further included in the measurement request information. Alternatively, when the measurement request detection unit 242 detects a measurement request, the route information of the target flow may be investigated and included in the measurement request information and stored in the measurement request storage unit 245.

  Note that the flow that is the target of the measurement request is a flow whose source is a server including its own device. Therefore, in order to identify the route information, the measurement request detection unit 242 or the measurement request transmission unit 243 may investigate a flow route using itself as a transmission source using a known technique such as traceroute.

  Next, each functional block of the measurement control server 140 will be described.

  The measurement request acquisition unit 142 receives measurement request information from the measurement agent 240. Then, the measurement request acquisition unit 142 outputs the received measurement request information to the high load path specifying unit 143.

  The high load path specifying unit 143 is configured in substantially the same manner as the high load path specifying unit 123 in the second embodiment, but differs in the following points. In the second embodiment, the high load route specifying unit 123 acquires the route information of the flow that is the target of the measurement request by examining the route information. In the present embodiment, the high load route specifying unit 143 applies information included in the measurement request information received from the measurement agent 240 as the route information of the flow that is the target of the measurement request.

  The operation of the communication quality measurement system 4 configured as described above will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 16 is a flowchart for explaining the operation in which the measurement agent 240 stores the measurement request information.

  In FIG. 16, first, the measurement request detection unit 242 detects a measurement request (step B62).

  As described above, the measurement request may be detected by being notified from the server including the measurement agent 240. Alternatively, the measurement request may be detected based on an input from an input device (not shown) by the user.

  Next, the measurement request detection unit 242 stores measurement request information representing the detected measurement request in the measurement request storage unit 245 (step B63).

  Thus, the measurement agent 240 ends the operation for storing the measurement request information.

  FIG. 17 is a flowchart illustrating an operation in which the communication quality measurement system 4 performs measurement in response to a measurement request. In FIG. 17, the left diagram shows the operation of the measurement control server 140, and the upper right diagram and the lower right diagram show the operation of the measurement agent 240.

  In FIG. 17, first, the measurement request transmission unit 243 of the measurement agent 240 determines whether or not measurement request information is stored in the measurement request storage unit 245 (step B71).

  Here, when the measurement request information is not stored (No in Step B71), the measurement agent 240 waits for a predetermined time (Step B72), and then repeats the operation of Step B71.

  On the other hand, when the measurement request information is stored (Yes in Step B71), the measurement request transmission unit 243 selects one stored measurement request information (Step B73). As described above, when a plurality of pieces of measurement request information are stored, the information to be selected may be determined according to a specific algorithm such as a first-in first-out principle or priority-based flow selection.

  Next, the measurement request transmission unit 243 investigates a route through which the flow passes based on the selected measurement request information, and acquires route information (step B74).

  As described above, for example, the measurement request transmission unit 243 may acquire the route information by using a known technique such as traceroute that investigates the route of the flow having the transmission source as its own device.

  Next, the measurement request transmission unit 243 transmits measurement request information including route information to the measurement control server 140 (step B75).

  And the measurement agent 240 repeats the operation | movement from step B71 after waiting for predetermined time (step B72).

  Next, the measurement request acquisition unit 142 of the measurement control server 140 outputs the measurement request information received from the measurement agent 240 to the high load path specifying unit 123 (step A71).

  Thereafter, the measurement control server 140 executes steps A35 to A41 as in the second embodiment. Further, the measurement agent 240 executes Steps B11 to B12 based on the control of the measurement control server 140, as in the second embodiment. As a result, when the measurement load predicted at the place where the measurement load is highest in the flow subject to the measurement request does not exceed the allowable load, the communication quality is measured for the corresponding flow, and the result is stored as the measurement result. Stored in the unit 126.

  Then, the measurement control server 140 waits until the next measurement request information is received from the measurement agent 240, and repeats the operation from step A71.

  Above, description of operation | movement of the communication quality measurement system 4 is complete | finished.

  Next, the effect of the fourth embodiment will be described.

  The communication quality measurement system according to the fourth embodiment can further reduce the load on the measurement control server while reducing the increase in load due to measurement in an environment where measurement requests are dynamically generated.

  The reason will be described. The present embodiment is configured in the same manner as the second embodiment, except for the following points. In other words, in the present embodiment, the measurement request information is stored, read at every predetermined timing, and the route information is investigated by the measurement agents distributed in the communication network instead of the measurement control server. is there.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the measurement control server does not need a storage area for collectively storing the measurement request information transmitted from all the measurement agents. In addition, the measurement control server does not need to read the measurement request information stored in a batch at every predetermined timing and perform processing for examining the route information. As a result, the present embodiment can distribute a part of the load applied to the measurement control server to the measurement agents while achieving the same effect as the second embodiment.

(Fifth embodiment)
Next, the measurement control server 10 having the minimum configuration according to the embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 18, the measurement control server 10 includes a measuring flow storage unit 11, a measurement request acquisition unit 12, a high load path specifying unit 13, and a measurement control unit 14.

  Here, the measurement control server 10 is a device that controls a communication quality measuring unit that measures the communication quality of a flow in a communication network. It is assumed that one or more communication quality measuring units to be controlled are distributed in the communication network.

  The in-measurement flow storage unit 11 stores information related to a flow whose communication quality is being measured in the communication network.

  The measurement request acquisition unit 12 acquires information representing a communication quality measurement request for an arbitrary flow generated in the communication network.

  The high load path specifying unit 13 specifies a path that satisfies the high load condition among the paths through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes, by referring to the measuring flow storage unit 11.

  The measurement control unit 14 predicts a measurement load on a route that satisfies the above-described high load condition when measurement of communication quality is started for a flow that is a target of a measurement request. And the measurement control part 14 measures the communication quality of the said flow among the communication quality measurement parts distributedly arranged on the above-mentioned communication network so that the communication quality of the said flow may be measured based on the estimated measurement load. Control possible communication quality measurement unit.

  In addition, the measurement control unit 14 updates the in-measurement flow storage unit 11 according to the measurement status by the communication quality measurement unit.

  The operation of the measurement control server 10 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

  First, the measurement request acquisition unit 12 acquires information representing a measurement request generated in the communication network (step A1).

  Next, the high load path specifying unit 13 specifies a path that satisfies the high load condition among the paths through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes by referring to the measuring flow storage unit 11 (step A2).

  Next, the measurement control unit 14 predicts a measurement load on a route that satisfies a high load condition when communication quality measurement is started for a flow that is a target of a measurement request. And the measurement control part 14 is communication quality which can measure the communication quality of the said flow among the above-mentioned communication quality measurement parts so that the communication quality of the flow used as the object of a measurement request | requirement may be measured based on the estimated measurement load. The measurement unit is controlled (step A3).

  Next, the measurement control unit 14 updates the information regarding the flow in the measuring flow storage unit 11 to indicate that the communication quality measurement unit has started measuring the communication quality of the flow (step A4).

  Next, the measurement control unit 14 receives and outputs information representing the measurement result from the previous communication quality measurement unit that has notified the start of measurement (step A5).

  Next, the measurement control unit 14 updates the information regarding the flow in the measured flow storage unit 11 so as to indicate that the communication quality measurement unit has finished measuring the communication quality of the flow (step A6).

  Thus, the measurement control server 10 ends the operation.

  Next, effects of the fifth embodiment will be described.

  The measurement control server as the fifth embodiment can reduce an increase in load due to measurement in an environment in which a measurement request is dynamically generated.

  The reason will be described. In the present embodiment, the in-measurement flow storage unit stores information related to the flow whose communication quality is being measured in the communication network. The measurement request acquisition unit acquires information representing a communication quality measurement request generated in the communication network. Then, the high load path specifying unit specifies a path satisfying the high load condition among the paths through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes by referring to the measuring flow storage unit. Then, the measurement control unit predicts a measurement load on a route satisfying a high load condition when measurement of communication quality is started for a flow that is a target of a measurement request. This is because the measurement control unit controls the communication quality measurement unit to measure the communication quality of the flow based on the predicted measurement load. Here, the communication quality measuring unit is distributed on the communication network. Among them, the communication quality measuring unit to be controlled by the measurement control unit is a communication quality measuring unit capable of measuring the communication quality of the flow. This is because the measurement control unit updates the in-measurement flow storage unit according to the measurement status by the communication quality measurement unit.

  As described above, the measurement control server according to the present embodiment does not need to grasp in advance all the flows that are the targets of the communication quality measurement request. And the measurement control server as this Embodiment controls a communication quality measurement part so that the measurement load of the path | route which satisfy | fills high load conditions in the flow used as the object may not exceed an allowable range according to generation | occurrence | production of a measurement request | requirement. . As a result, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to avoid the concentration of the measurement load on an arbitrary route by the measurement process according to the communication quality measurement request that is dynamically generated.

  Note that the description has focused on an example in which each functional block in each embodiment described above is realized by a CPU that executes a computer program stored in a memory. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and some, all, or a combination of each functional block may be realized by dedicated hardware.

  In each embodiment mentioned above, the functional block of a measurement control server may be distributed and realized by a plurality of devices.

  In the above-described embodiments, the operations of the measurement control server and the measurement agent described with reference to the flowcharts are stored as a computer program in a storage device (storage medium) of the computer device. Then, the computer program may be read and executed by the CPU. In such a case, the present invention is constituted by the code of the computer program or a storage medium.

  Moreover, each embodiment mentioned above can be implemented in combination as appropriate.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in various modes.

A part or all of each of the above-described embodiments can be described as in the following supplementary notes, but is not limited thereto.
(Appendix 1)
A during-measurement flow storage means for storing information relating to a flow during measurement of communication quality in a communication network;
Measurement request acquisition means for acquiring information representing a communication quality measurement request for any flow occurring in the communication network;
A high load route specifying unit that specifies a route satisfying a high load condition among the routes through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes by referring to the measuring flow storage unit;
The communication network is configured to measure the communication quality of the flow based on the measurement load predicted in the route satisfying the high load condition when measurement of communication quality is started for the flow that is the target of the measurement request. Controls the communication quality measuring means capable of measuring the communication quality of the flow among the communication quality measuring means distributed on the top, and updates the in-measurement flow storage means according to the measurement status by the communication quality measuring means Measurement control means for
A measurement control server.
(Appendix 2)
The measurement control unit controls the communication quality measurement unit to start measurement of communication quality for the flow when a measurement load predicted in a route satisfying the high load condition does not exceed an allowable load. The measurement control server according to appendix 1, characterized by:
(Appendix 3)
The measurement control unit sets a measurement condition of communication quality for the flow so that a measurement load predicted in a route satisfying the high load condition does not exceed an allowable load, and starts measurement under the set measurement condition. The measurement control server according to appendix 1, which controls communication quality measuring means.
(Appendix 4)
The measurement control means controls to continue or end the measurement by the communication quality measurement means based on information representing an intermediate result of measurement of communication quality for the flow by the communication quality measurement means. The measurement control server according to any one of appendix 1 to appendix 3.
(Appendix 5)
The measurement control server according to any one of appendix 1 to appendix 4,
One or more measuring agents each having the communication quality measuring means;
Communication quality measurement system with
(Appendix 6)
The measurement agent is
A measurement request detecting means for detecting the measurement request for a flow whose communication quality can be measured by the own device;
Measurement request transmission means for transmitting information representing a measurement request detected by the measurement request detection means to the measurement control server;
The communication quality measurement system according to appendix 5, further comprising:
(Appendix 7)
The measurement agent in the communication quality measurement system according to attachment 6.
(Appendix 8)
Measurement control server
Obtain information that represents the communication quality measurement request for any flow that occurs in the communication network,
By referring to the measuring flow storage unit that stores the information related to the flow whose communication quality is being measured in the communication network, the measurement load is in a high load condition among the paths through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes. Identify the path to be met,
The communication network is configured to measure the communication quality of the flow based on the measurement load predicted in the route satisfying the high load condition when measurement of communication quality is started for the flow that is the target of the measurement request. Controlling the communication quality measuring means capable of measuring the communication quality of the flow among the communication quality measuring means distributed on the top,
A method of updating the measurement-in-measurement flow storage unit according to a measurement state by the communication quality measurement unit.
(Appendix 9)
Obtain information that represents the communication quality measurement request for any flow that occurs in the communication network,
By referring to the measuring flow storage unit that stores the information related to the flow whose communication quality is being measured in the communication network, the measurement load is in a high load condition among the paths through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes. Identify the path to be met,
The communication network is configured to measure the communication quality of the flow based on the measurement load predicted in the route satisfying the high load condition when measurement of communication quality is started for the flow that is the target of the measurement request. Controls the communication quality measuring means capable of measuring the communication quality of the flow among the communication quality measuring means distributed on the top, and updates the in-measurement flow storage means according to the measurement status by the communication quality measuring means To
A program that causes the measurement control server to execute this.
(Appendix 10)
The measurement agent
Detect the measurement request for a flow whose communication quality can be measured by its own device,
Sending information representing the detected measurement request to the measurement control server that executes the method described in Appendix 8,
A method of measuring communication quality of a flow that is a target of the measurement request based on control by the measurement control server.
(Appendix 11)
Detect the measurement request for a flow whose communication quality can be measured by its own device,
Sends information representing the detected measurement request to the measurement control server that executes the program described in Appendix 9.
Based on the control by the measurement control server, measure the communication quality of the flow subject to the measurement request,
A program that causes a measurement agent to execute

  This application claims the priority on the basis of Japanese application Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-223269 for which it applied on November 16, 2016, and takes in those the indications of all here.

1, 2, 3, 4 Communication quality measurement system 10, 100, 120, 130, 140 Measurement control server 11, 101, 121 Measurement flow storage unit 12, 102, 122, 142 Measurement request acquisition unit 13, 103, 123, 143 High load path specifying unit 14, 104, 124, 134 Measurement control unit 125, 245 Measurement request storage unit 126 Measurement result storage unit 1241 Start determination unit 1342 Continuation determination unit 200, 220, 230, 240 Measurement agent 201, 231, 241 Communication quality measurement unit 222, 242 Measurement request detection unit 223, 243 Measurement request transmission unit 900 Communication network 1001, 2001 CPU
1002, 2002 Memory 1003 Output device 1004 Input device 1005, 2005 Network interface

Claims (11)

A during-measurement flow storage means for storing information relating to a flow during measurement of communication quality in a communication network;
Measurement request acquisition means for acquiring information representing a communication quality measurement request for any flow occurring in the communication network;
A high load route specifying unit that specifies a route satisfying a high load condition among the routes through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes by referring to the measuring flow storage unit;
The communication network is configured to measure the communication quality of the flow based on the measurement load predicted in the route satisfying the high load condition when measurement of communication quality is started for the flow that is the target of the measurement request. Controls the communication quality measuring means capable of measuring the communication quality of the flow among the communication quality measuring means distributed on the top, and updates the in-measurement flow storage means according to the measurement status by the communication quality measuring means Measurement control means for
A measurement control server.   The measurement control unit controls the communication quality measurement unit to start measurement of communication quality for the flow when a measurement load predicted in a route satisfying the high load condition does not exceed an allowable load. The measurement control server according to claim 1.   The measurement control unit sets a measurement condition of communication quality for the flow so that a measurement load predicted in a route satisfying the high load condition does not exceed an allowable load, and starts measurement under the set measurement condition. The measurement control server according to claim 1, wherein the communication quality measurement unit is controlled.   The measurement control means controls to continue or end the measurement by the communication quality measurement means based on information representing an intermediate result of measurement of communication quality for the flow by the communication quality measurement means. The measurement control server according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The measurement control server according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
One or more measuring agents each having the communication quality measuring means;
Communication quality measurement system with The measurement agent is
A measurement request detecting means for detecting the measurement request for a flow whose communication quality can be measured by the own device;
Measurement request transmission means for transmitting information representing a measurement request detected by the measurement request detection means to the measurement control server;
The communication quality measurement system according to claim 5, further comprising:   A measurement agent in the communication quality measurement system according to claim 6. Measurement control server
Obtain information that represents the communication quality measurement request for any flow that occurs in the communication network,
By referring to the measuring flow storage unit that stores the information related to the flow whose communication quality is being measured in the communication network, the measurement load is in a high load condition among the paths through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes. Identify the path to be met,
The communication network is configured to measure the communication quality of the flow based on the measurement load predicted in the route satisfying the high load condition when measurement of communication quality is started for the flow that is the target of the measurement request. Controlling the communication quality measuring means capable of measuring the communication quality of the flow among the communication quality measuring means distributed on the top,
A method of updating the measurement-in-measurement flow storage unit according to a measurement state by the communication quality measurement unit. Obtain information that represents the communication quality measurement request for any flow that occurs in the communication network,
By referring to the measuring flow storage unit that stores the information related to the flow whose communication quality is being measured in the communication network, the measurement load is in a high load condition among the paths through which the flow that is the target of the measurement request passes. Identify the path to be met,
The communication network is configured to measure the communication quality of the flow based on the measurement load predicted in the route satisfying the high load condition when measurement of communication quality is started for the flow that is the target of the measurement request. Controls the communication quality measuring means capable of measuring the communication quality of the flow among the communication quality measuring means distributed on the top, and updates the in-measurement flow storage means according to the measurement status by the communication quality measuring means To
A storage medium storing a program for causing the measurement control server to execute the above. The measurement agent
Detect the measurement request for a flow whose communication quality can be measured by its own device,
Information representing the detected measurement request is transmitted to a measurement control server that executes the method according to claim 8,
A method of measuring communication quality of a flow that is a target of the measurement request based on control by the measurement control server. Detect the measurement request for a flow whose communication quality can be measured by its own device,
Information representing the detected measurement request is transmitted to a measurement control server that executes a program stored in the storage medium according to claim 9,
Based on the control by the measurement control server, measure the communication quality of the flow subject to the measurement request,
A storage medium that stores a program that causes a measurement agent to execute the operation.

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