KR100596587B1 - inter-working function apparatus, and method for converting real-time traffic using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a packet heterogeneous network interworking device that supports protocol conversion, and a real-time traffic conversion method using the same, and more particularly, to a layer 2 address, a layer 3 address, and an internet protocol service type (IP). Identifying a packet connector by real-time referring to the ToS fields in hardware, separating input traffic into a real-time service and a non-real-time service according to the packet connector's verification result, and the real-time service is a quality of service (QoS) Routing to the guaranteed packet network and routing the non-real-time service to the packet network for the best effort service, such as an Internet Protocol (IP) based voice service (VoIP) or a video streaming service. Helps minimize packet forwarding delay, an essential requirement for real-time services Is an invention.

Packet heterogeneous network interworking device, packet connector, heterogeneous protocol conversion

Description

Inter-working function apparatus, and method for converting real-time traffic using the same}

1 is a network configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional ATM network and IP network interworking.

2 is a block diagram illustrating an IP / ATM conversion procedure according to the prior art.

3 is a system configuration for explaining a real-time traffic conversion method according to the present invention.

4 is a view showing the configuration of a heterogeneous network interworking device according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of setting a per hop behavior (PHB) for each service class using a service type (ToS) of IP version 4 (IPv4) and a traffic class field of IPv6. Drawings showing examples created with reference to RFC791, RFC1812, and RFC2474.

6 is a table showing configuration information used when IP traffic is protocol-converted to ATM traffic in the present invention according to the example of FIG.

7 illustrates a real-time packet connector verification procedure according to the present invention.

8 is a view showing a structure of a content addressable memory (CAM) of a real-time packet connector checker according to the present invention.

9 is a table showing an example of real-time packet connector conversion in accordance with the present invention.

The present invention relates to a packet heterogeneous network interworking device supporting protocol conversion, and a real-time traffic conversion method using the same.

In general, when two packet heterogeneous networks are interworked, the packet connector for the packet heterogeneous network needs to be identified, and the two packet connector for the packet heterogeneous network must be converted to each other. In addition, the protocol of two packet heterogeneous networks must be converted.

As an example, a case in which an asynchronous transfer mode (hereinafter referred to as ATM) network and an Internet Protocol (hereinafter referred to as IP) network interwork is described.

1 is a network configuration diagram showing an example of a conventional ATM network and IP network interworking.

In FIG. 1, both cases of an ATM network composed of a conventional ATM switch and an ATM multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) -based network are shown.

As shown in FIG. 1, when the ATM network and the IP network interwork, the following two methods are used.

One case is to provide an IP interface in an ATM switch, and the other case is to provide an ATM interface in a router of an IP network.

Providing an IP interface at an ATM switch (or Label Edge Router, hereinafter abbreviated as LER) means that some of the line interface cards of an ATM switch (or LER) are used for the IP interface. At this time, the card in charge of the IP interface at the ATM switch (or LER) handles IP / ATM and ATM / IP conversion. Thus, the external interface provides the IP protocol and the internal interface provides the ATM switch interworking function.

Similarly, providing an ATM interface on an IP router means that some of the router's line interface cards are used for the ATM interface. At this time, the card in charge of the ATM interface in the IP router handles ATM / IP and IP / ATM conversion. Thus, the external interface provides IP router interworking function for ATM protocol and internal interface for IP protocol.

The ATM / IP conversion process occurring in the IP router or the ATM switch of FIG. 1 may be divided into four processes as follows.

A. IP / ATM Conversion Process in IP Router

N. ATM / IP Conversion Process in the IP Router

C. ATM / IP Conversion Process in ATM Switching System

D. IP / ATM Conversion Process in ATM Switching System

Among the above four conversion processes, the IP / ATM conversion process (a) occurring in the IP router and the IP / ATM conversion process (d) occurring in the ATM exchange are functionally identical, and the ATM / IP conversion occurring in the IP router is also functional. The process (b) and the ATM / IP conversion process (c) occurring at the ATM exchange are functionally the same.

From the technical point of view, the steps (a) and (b) and / or (c) and (d) also go through IP connector verification, ATM connector verification, IP / ATM connector mapping, and ATM / IP protocol conversion. Therefore, it turns out that it consists of the same technique.

Therefore, the description of the prior art takes the IP / ATM conversion process occurring in the IP router as an example. For reference, the ATM / IP conversion process is an inverse process of the IP / ATM conversion process, and thus can be easily understood from the description of the IP / ATM conversion process.

The router of the IP network connected to the ATM network of FIG. 1 receives IP traffic from another IP router. Subsequently, IP traffic to be routed to the ATM network is transmitted to the block with the IP / ATM conversion apparatus according to the routing information in the routing table updated according to the routing protocol. This is the basic function of an IP router.

When IP traffic to be routed to the ATM network is input to the IP / ATM conversion apparatus through IP switching according to the routing result, the IP / ATM conversion apparatus checks the IP connector verification, the ATM connector verification, and the IP / ATM connector interconnection as shown in FIG. Connection, IP / ATM protocol conversion, ATM network interface, etc. The data is then sent to the ATM network.

In the prior art, all the processes illustrated in FIG. 2 are implemented in software on a platform based on a central processing unit (hereinafter, referred to as a CPU) or a network processor (hereinafter, referred to as NP).

This is an appropriate implementation for the Best Effort Service. However, it is not suitable for voice / video / game / bidirectional application, which is a real-time service that should be provided by the packet heterogeneous network interworking device.

In the prior art for providing an ATM interworking function in an IP router, the process of FIG. 2 is implemented on a CPU or NP-based platform, and in particular, uses a store and forward method. That is, when IP traffic to be interlocked to the ATM network is input to the IP / ATM interworking block of the IP router according to the routing result of the IP router, the software classifies the packet classification, the packet mapping, and the protocol conversion.

Referring to Figure 2 as follows.

The CPU of the IP router's IP / ATM interworking block receives the IP traffic to be routed to the ATM network and first writes / stores it in local memory for buffering, and connects its own connection table and input IP traffic. Check.

In this case, the CPU may perform mapping between the IP connector and the ATM connector. After verifying / mapping the connectors of two packet heterogeneous networks, IP traffic in local memory is read and made into ATM cells. And it transmits to ATM network through ATM network interface function.

When the IP / ATM conversion process is performed according to the prior art configuration shown in FIG. 2, the performance of the IP / ATM conversion is determined according to the CPU performance.

In addition, by using the CPU to read / write and implement packet connector verification and protocol conversion, it causes much more delay than using hardware.

The conventional IP / ATM conversion process described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 is implemented in a CPU or NP based platform.

That is, not all the processes such as IP connector identification, ATM / IP connector mapping, and IP / ATM protocol conversion necessary for the IP / ATM conversion process are performed entirely in software.

Such software processing means that data to be processed by the software is accumulated in local memory, which is a temporary storage device, and then processed according to processing performance.

In case of implementing IP / ATM or ATM / IP conversion according to the conventional "Store and Forward" method, propagation delay and jitter in the process of packet connector checking, packet connector mapping, packet protocol conversion, etc. This happens.

On the other hand, due to these phenomena, it is not possible to provide real-time application services such as voice services, video streaming services, and interactive game services using conventional technologies.

This is because in order to support real-time services in packet heterogeneous network devices, it is necessary to ensure the class of service / quality of service (CoS / QoS) and satisfy the requirements of each service according to packet connector confirmation. Because.

However, the prior art does not satisfy this requirement.

For example, in the case of a voice service, a transmission delay of up to 100 msec must be guaranteed in a packet heterogeneous network interworking device, but a conventional technology configuration does not satisfy a transmission delay of 100 msec.

Disclosure of Invention An object of the present invention is to provide a packet heterogeneous network interworking apparatus that supports protocol conversion for providing a real-time service.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a real-time traffic conversion method that guarantees real-time properties by using a packet heterogeneous network interworking device supporting protocol conversion.

Another object of the present invention is an IP / ATM conversion process occurring in an IP router, an ATM / IP conversion process occurring in an IP router, an ATM / IP conversion process occurring in an ATM exchanger and an IP / ATM conversion process occurring in an ATM exchanger. Packet heterogeneous network interworking device that minimizes packet forwarding delay, which is an essential requirement for real-time service, by hardware processing of packet connector identification, connector mapping between heterogeneous networks, protocol conversion between heterogeneous networks, and real-time traffic To provide a conversion method.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a method for identifying a packet connector by referring to a second layer (Layer 2) address, a third layer (Layer 3) address, and an Internet protocol service type (IP ToS) field in hardware. And separating the input traffic into a real-time service and a non-real-time service according to a result of the packet connection of the packet connector, wherein the real-time service is routed to a packet network guaranteed of quality of service (QoS), and the non-real-time service is a best service. And routing to the packet network for Best Effort Service.

In addition, the present invention provides an ATM interface unit for interfacing with an Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) network, an ATM processing unit for ATM traffic management, an ATM switch for switching according to ATM connection, and a protocol conversion between ATM and IP. Segmentation and Reassembly (SAR) processing unit for real-time, real-time packet connector identification unit for real-time checking the ATM connection and the predetermined IP connection in real time, IP switch for realizing IP switching according to the address of the protocol layer It is characterized by including the IP interface unit for performing an interface with the network.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings illustrating the configuration and operation of the embodiment of the present invention, the configuration and operation of the present invention shown in the drawings and described by it will be described as at least one embodiment, By the technical spirit of the present invention described above and its core configuration and operation is not limited.

Firstly, the present invention is suitable for providing a real-time service through packet heterogeneous network interworking. In particular, to provide real-time services, the hardware uses wirespeed packet connector verification. In addition, the packet heterogeneous network interworking apparatus of the present invention performs automatic multi-routing network interworking for real-time service using the wirespeed packet connector identification method.

The present invention hardware-confirms packet connector at heterogeneous protocol conversion.

The heterogeneous network interworking apparatus of the present invention uses real-time packet connector confirmation to perform packet connector confirmation in hardware. In particular, the heterogeneous network interworking apparatus of the present invention supports real-time / non-real-time classification and routing using real-time packet connector identification, and providing quality of service / class of service / type of service (QoS / CoS / ToS) using real-time packet connector identification.

3 is a system configuration diagram illustrating a real-time traffic conversion method according to the present invention, which shows an example of providing a real-time service for traffic between private IP networks using a public ATM network. . Here, the real-time service is a wired or wireless call through an IP-based voice service (Voice over IP; hereinafter referred to as VoIP).

In FIG. 3, a wired VoIP terminal is a terminal for interworking a voice signal to a wired network using VoIP technology.

A wireless VoIP terminal is a terminal for interfacing voice signals to a wireless network using VoIP technology.

The personal computer (PC) is for use of services such as the World Wide Web (www).

Private IP network A is an IP network that is in charge of IP connection of "Service Area A", and private IP network B is an IP network that is in charge of IP connection of "Service Area B".

The real-time heterogeneous network interworking device 10 performs real-time protocol conversion according to the present invention.

The public IP network is an IP network that provides a best effort service.

Public ATM network is a high-speed information communication network that provides real-time services based on ATM.

In FIG. 3, the real-time heterogeneous network interworking apparatus 10 classifies traffic input from the private IP network, and interworkes the private IP network and the public ATM network with a minimum propagation delay, which is a real-time service condition, for the real-time service traffic from the classification result. For the best service, the private and public IP networks are interworked by the routing protocol.

In the configuration of FIG. 3, when two subscribers attempt to make a call using a wired VoIP terminal and a wireless VoIP terminal, respectively, the real-time heterogeneous network interworking device 10 guarantees a minimum propagation delay to ensure real-time attributes.

If the real-time heterogeneous network interworking device 10 provides a propagation delay of 100 msec or more as in the prior art configuration, the voice quality is deteriorated, so that the subscriber feels the propagation delay and echo.

Accordingly, the real-time heterogeneous network interworking apparatus 10 performs packet connector confirmation in hardware to ensure real-time properties.

There are six ways to do this. In the following detailed description of the present invention, packet connector verification through IP service type (ToS) is described as an example.

1. Check the packet connector through the destination media access control address.

2. Confirm packet connector through source MAC address.

3. Confirm packet connector by destination IP address.

4. Confirm packet connector by source IP address.

5. Confirm packet connector using IP service type (ToS) field. {Traffic class field for IP version 6 (IPv6)}.

6. Bypass function of packet connector verification process.

On the other hand, Figure 4 is a view showing the configuration of the heterogeneous network interworking apparatus according to the present invention, the internal device of the real-time heterogeneous network interworking apparatus of the present invention which is a device that functions to interwork different packet heterogeneous network by checking the packet connector in hardware A block diagram is shown.

4 illustrates a case in which an ATM network and an IP network interwork according to the system configuration example of FIG. 3.

Referring to FIG. 4, the ATM interface unit 11 is a synchronous transfer module, level 1 (Synchronous Transfer Module, Level 1; hereinafter abbreviated as STM-1) or a synchronous transfer module, level 4 (Synchronous Transfer Module, Level 4). (Hereinafter abbreviated as STM-4) to interface with an ATM network.

The ATM processing unit 12 is a part that handles ATM traffic management and operation maintenance / multicasting.

The ATM switch 13 is a part which realizes switching according to ATM connection.

Segmentation and Reassembly (SAR) processing unit 14 is a part that performs protocol conversion for ATM technology and IP technology.

The real-time packet connector checking unit 15 is a part for checking the ATM connection and IP connection in hardware. It is the heart of the present invention.

The IP switch 16 is a part which realizes IP switching according to the layer 2/3/4 address.

The IP interface unit 17 is a part which interfaces with an IP network by using Fast Ethernet (FE) / Gigabit Ethernet (GE).

The system control unit 18 obtains ATM / IP connection information and controls the system.

Hereinafter, a more detailed description of the present invention will exemplify the packet connector confirmation using the configuration of FIG. 4 and the IP service type (ToS) field, and the packet protocol conversion and forwarding of the ATM network in the IP network.

It is assumed that the IP network interface uses Gigabit Ethernet (GE) and the ATM network interface uses STM-4.

 The IP traffic input from the IP network to the apparatus of the present invention through physical Gigabit Ethernet (GE) is input to the real-time packet connector checker 15, which is a key element of the present invention, via the IP switch 16.

The real-time packet connector checking unit 15 checks the packet connector in hardware with respect to the input IP traffic.

In other words, by using the hardware to check the current MAC connection by referring to the destination MAC address, source MAC address, destination IP address, source IP address, IP service type (ToS) field.

In the present invention, packet connector confirmation will be described using an IP service type (ToS) field of IPv4 as an example.

The IPv4 Service Type (ToS) field and the IPv6 Traffic Class field allow the user to mark a Differentiated Service Code Point (DSCP) in the Differentiated Service (DSCP) field of an IP packet. This field is used to determine per-hop behavior (PHB) for each service level and to provide an appropriate quality of service (QoS).

FIG. 5 illustrates an example of setting a per hop behavior (PHB) for each service class using a service type (ToS) of IPv4 and a traffic class field of IPv6, and for the present invention, IETF RFC791, RFC1812, and RFC2474. It is a figure which showed the example created with reference to.

On the other hand, when classifying the quality of service (QoS) is generally described as follows.

1. Default DSCP: Best Effort Service.

2. Class Selector DSCP: Class definition for compatibility with IETF791.

3. Expedited Forwarding (EF) PHB: Premium Service.

4. Assured Forwarding (AF) PHB: Guaranteed Service.

In the present invention, protocol conversion is realized in real time while interconnecting packet connections of two heterogeneous networks using the apparatus of FIG.

An example of delivering a packet from an IP network to an ATM network will be described below.

In the present invention, the process of converting a packet protocol by interworking a heterogeneous network includes identifying a packet connector for two heterogeneous networks and classifying traffic.

In the present invention, the procedure for identifying the packet connector of the IP includes: a transmission control protocol / user datagram protocol (TCP / UDP) port number, a destination / originating IP address, a destination / originating MAC address, an IPv4 service type (ToS), and an IPv6 traffic class. Field (Traffic Class Field) and the like are used.

The packet connector confirmation of the ATM is performed through an ATM virtual channel connection (hereinafter, abbreviated as VCC).

In the present invention, the service class PHB and the ATM VCC using the IPv4 service type (ToS) and the IPv6 traffic class field will be described as an example.

First, the meaning of two heterogeneous packet connectors provided in the apparatus and the conversion procedure of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 6 is a table showing configuration information used when IP traffic is protocol-converted to ATM traffic in the present invention according to the example of FIG. 5.

The configuration information of FIG. 6 is provided from an operator and represents connection and packet connector conversion settings for IP traffic attributes and ATM traffic attributes. Three cases will be described according to the example of FIG.

Among the IP packets input from the IP network, an IP packet having a DSCP of "000000" represents a best effort PHB (PHB), and thus is mapped to an available bit rate (ABR) service in an ATM network.

In addition, since an IP packet having a DSCP of “101110” represents an expedited forwarding PHB, it is mapped to a real time variable bit rate (rt VBR) service in an ATM network.

In addition, since an IP packet having a DSCP of "001010" represents an assured forwarding PHB, it is mapped to a non real time variable bit rate (nrt VBR) service in an ATM network.

6 illustrates an ATM VCC allocation as an example.

As shown in FIG. 6, when converting protocols between heterogeneous networks, traffic mechanisms such as band allocation, priority control, queuing, shaping / polishing, and the like are required. However, this description is omitted because it is irrelevant to the present invention.

The configuration information as shown in FIG. 6 is provided in advance by the operator when the heterogeneous network interworking apparatus according to the present invention is operated. To convert the protocol.

Hereinafter, a procedure of checking a real time packet connector according to the present invention will be described.

Subsequently, an automatic multirouting network interworking for real-time service will be described using a real-time packet connector verification procedure.

7 is a diagram illustrating a real-time packet connector verification procedure according to the present invention, and shows a procedure of identifying a real-time packet connector using DSCP of IPv4 / IPv6.

Referring to FIG. 7, IP traffic input from the IP network is input to the real-time packet connector checking unit 15 after proper processing by the IP switch / interface units 16 and 17.

Since the IP traffic input to the real time packet connector checking unit 15 is composed of IP MAC frames, the MAC header and the IP header are analyzed in hardware as shown in FIG. 7 to check the packet connector configured by DSCP in real time. After that, extract the DSCP value of the IP header.

The value of the extracted DSCP is input to a content addressable memory (hereinafter, abbreviated as CAM) 15a for converting an IP connector and an ATM connector.

All IP MAC frame information, including the DSCP, is input into a first-in, first-out type memory (FIFO) 15b and waits until a route control bit is generated in the CAM 15a.

When the route control bit is generated in the CAM 15a, the route control bit is combined with the IP MAC frame information output after waiting from the FIFO 15b and then input to the SAR processing unit 14.

The SAR processing unit 14 looks at the route control bits and generates a VCC necessary for ATM connection. Thereafter, ATM AAL5 (ATM Adaptation Layer 5) processing is performed. The processing result is transmitted to the ATM processing unit 12.

On the other hand, Figure 7 further shows the frame structure and the content of the connector output from each block.

The output of the IP switch / interface section 16, 17 is a frame structure containing the MAC header and the DSCP and IP datagram of the IP header.

The input to the SAR processing section 14 is a frame structure containing the route control bits, the MAC header, and the DSCP and IP datagrams of the IP header.

The output of the SAR processing unit 14 is a frame structure including the VCC and ATM payload of the ATM header.

In the present invention, DSCP is used to check the connector of the IP traffic.

And VCC is used to check connector of ATM. On the other hand, when interconnecting ATM and IP, 8-bit route control bit is used to distinguish packet connector.

In the present invention, since the DSCP is 6 bits, the number of route control bits is set to 8 bits.

However, the route control bits used to identify packet connectors can be extended up to six bytes or more. This may change depending on the application of the system implementation.

8 is a view illustrating a structure of a content addressable memory (CAM) of a real-time packet connector checker according to the present invention.

In FIG. 8, the CPU interface is for receiving and setting data on device operation from a management network during an initialization process of a real-time heterogeneous network interworking device according to the present invention.

That is, the operator using the apparatus of the present invention provides data necessary for operation of the heterogeneous network interworking apparatus according to the present invention.

Since the heterogeneous network interworking device according to the present invention must set internal resources according to the operator's operation policy, the device setting is realized using the CPU interface of the CAM.

Since the present invention uses the DSCP to identify the connector of the IP traffic as an example, the input of the CAM consists of 6 bits.

In CAM, the output corresponds to the input according to the input.

In the example of the present invention, the output route control bits are configured according to all kinds of input DSCP.

Since the input consists of 6 bits of DSCP, there are up to 64 types. Therefore, at least 6 bits or more are implemented as output route control bits. In the example of the present invention, an example of configuring an 8-bit route control bit is shown.

The CAM of FIG. 8 is configured differently according to a method of identifying a connector of IP traffic.

For example, when checking the IP connection using the MAC address, the CAM consists of more than 6 bytes of input and output.

When checking the IP connection using an IP address, the CAM consists of more than 4 bytes of input / output (6 bytes or more in IPv6).

In some cases, real-time packet connector verification is implemented without the use of CAM. This is the bypass mode.

9 is a table illustrating an example of a real-time packet connector conversion according to the present invention, which shows the configuration information of FIG. 6 and the route control bits of FIG. 8.

In particular, the process and the meaning of converting the packet protocols of two heterogeneous networks by identifying the packet connector in the operation description of the present invention are shown in FIG. 9.

In order for IP traffic and ATM traffic to be interconverted, an interconnection table between the IP connector and the ATM connector is required.

The interconnection information of the two heterogeneous network packets is provided in the form as shown in FIG. 6 from the management network of the operator.

The heterogeneous network interworking apparatus according to the present invention realizes real-time interworking of two heterogeneous networks in the state of obtaining the information as shown in FIG.

IP traffic input from IP network is classified into various types such as DSCP / IP / MAC address according to traffic property.

6 and 9 illustrate examples in which IP traffic is classified into a class of service (QoS) / quality of service (CoS / QoS) according to DSCP.

IP traffic classified as DSCP is not directly assigned ATM VCC, but after route control process, ATM VCC is allocated to interwork ATM network.

In order to use ATM VCC directly in DSCP, CPU or NP should be involved. However, when using CPU or NP, delay and jitter occurs during traffic protocol conversion.

Accordingly, the present invention implements real-time packet connector identification and packet heterogeneous packet connector mapping in hardware using a packet heterogeneous network interworking apparatus applicable to real-time traffic.

As a result, it provides only propagation delay and jitter time suitable for real-time service, and also sets different service quality variables according to packet connector mapping to provide quality of service / service type / class of service (QoS / ToS / CoS) for real-time traffic. do.

The present invention described above is collectively described as follows.

In other words, a comprehensive description focusing on the packet connector identification and mapping using the DSCP / VCC and the heterogeneous network protocol conversion from the IP network to the ATM network is as follows.

The same applies to packet checking and protocol conversion in the opposite direction, that is, from the ATM network to the IP network.

IP traffic input to the heterogeneous network interworking device according to the present invention in the IP network is input to the real-time packet connector confirmation unit 15 via the IP interface unit 17 and the IP switch 16.

The packet connector checking unit 15 checks the IP packet connector in hardware using DSCP for IP traffic.

Then add the route control bits so that they can be mapped to the ATM connector consisting of the VCC.

In the process of checking the IP packet connector in real time, a path may be formed to the ATM network and the IP network for each packet type according to the operator's requirements. This is entirely up to the operator's requirements.

IP traffic to which the route control bit is added in the real-time packet connector checking unit 15 is input to the SAR processing unit 14 to be converted into an ATM cell for an ATM network interface.

The SAR processing unit 14 classifies the IP connection according to the route control. Thus, ATM traffic management function is performed to allocate VCC, which is an ATM connector, and to provide quality of service / class of service / type of service (QoS / CoS / ToS) according to service class.

Here, the ATM traffic management function is implemented in the SAR processing unit 14. Alternatively, the ATM processing unit 12 and / or the ATM interface unit 11 may process the same.

The IP traffic converted into the ATM protocol by being assigned the ATM VCC by the SAR processing unit 14 forms a path to the ATM network via the ATM switch 13, the ATM processing unit 12, and the ATM interface unit 11.

The present invention eliminates the delay or jitter caused by the packet heterogeneous network interface by performing the steps illustrated in FIG. 9 in hardware.

As described above, when the packet heterogeneous network interworking apparatus removes delay and jitter during traffic conversion, the service provider can provide a real-time application service such as a voice service and a video streaming service using two heterogeneous networks. .

In particular, operators with both IP and ATM networks can use two heterogeneous networks to complement each other for real-time services, thereby increasing network operation efficiency.

Meanwhile, the present invention relates to a real-time traffic conversion method including a procedure for identifying a packet connector in hardware and an apparatus for supporting protocol conversion in real time with interworking of the heterogeneous network, which can be applied to the following technologies.

1. Service Edge Router.

2. Broadcasting / Multicasting.

3. Application to IP routers and ATM switches.

In more detail, a service edge router (hereinafter, abbreviated as SER) is a router that functions to interface with a subscriber network and deliver various traffic generated in the subscriber network to the public network.

SER is implemented using a platform using a CPU or NP. SER with "Store and Forward" approach has problems with propagation delay and jitter time.

Therefore, when the SER is implemented using the present invention, since various traffic generated in the subscriber network is classified according to service attributes in hardware and routed to the appropriate public network, the implementation of the SER can be extended to real-time service applications.

For example, by classifying voice service and video streaming service according to DSCP value among IP traffic generated in subscriber network and routing in real time to ATM network, and classifying best service according to DSCP value among IP traffic generated in subscriber network. Route to an IP network.

Broadcasting / Multicasting devices are mainly used for applications related to real-time two-way broadcasting.

The heterogeneous network interworking apparatus and the real-time traffic conversion method using the same according to the present invention are very useful in the current broadcasting network.

In more detail, the current broadcasting network uses a broadcast signal of an IP-based broadcasting server to provide a multicasting function of a satellite and an IP router (PIM-SM: Protocol Independent Multicast-Sparse Mode) and IGMP (internet group management protocol). Send to each subscriber connected to IP network.

However, the current broadcasting method has a problem of investment cost of IP router including satellite and multicasting function and quality of service of IP.

In addition, ATM subscribers accommodated in Digital Subscriber Line Access and Multiplex (DSLAM) cannot provide DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) services using satellites.

Accordingly, the method and apparatus of the present invention are applied to an IP-based broadcasting server, an ATM subscriber, and a broadcasting network for accommodating an IP subscriber using an ATM network that provides the highest quality among public networks.

Then, it is possible to provide a higher quality broadcasting service in terms of propagation delay, QoS support, and two-way communication than current DMB service via satellite.

In other words, when the real-time packet connector identification function of the present invention is applied to the multicasting function, satellite DMB operators can perform the DMB business without the investment cost of the satellite router and the IP router including the multicasting function.

Broadcasters can also expand their business opportunities by offering DMB services to ATM subscribers as well as IP subscribers.

The above two applications to the present invention show an example in which the method and apparatus of the present invention are combined in the existing art.

The present invention can also be applied to an existing IP router or ATM switch (or MPLS LER / LSR).

As such, the present invention is particularly useful for real-time service applications using packet networks such as voice / video / game / two-way communication.

The criterion for determining whether or not the method and apparatus of the present invention is referred to is whether or not the packet connector has been verified in real time.

According to the present invention, it is possible to minimize packet forwarding delay, which is an essential requirement for implementing real-time services such as IP-based voice service (VoIP) or video streaming service, by hardware verification of packet connector during heterogeneous network protocol conversion. Can be.

In addition, the present invention implements real-time packet connector identification and packet heterogeneous packet connector mapping in hardware by using a packet heterogeneous network interworking apparatus applicable to real-time traffic, and provides only a propagation delay and jitter time suitable for real-time service, and also provides a packet By setting different quality of service variables according to the connector mapping, the quality of service / type of service / class of service (QoS / ToS / CoS) for real-time traffic can be provided.

In addition, the present invention can minimize the protocol conversion time when interworking heterogeneous networks by realizing the connector confirmation of the packet network in real time.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the embodiments, but should be defined by the claims.

Claims (16)

Identifying a packet connector by real time hardware reference to a layer 2 address, a layer 3 address, and an internet protocol service type (IP ToS) field; Separating input traffic into a real-time service and a non-real-time service according to a check result of the packet connector; And routing the real-time service to a packet network of which quality of service (QoS) is guaranteed and the non-real-time service to a packet network for best effort service. The method of claim 1, wherein the packet connector is identified using a wire speed packet connector verification method. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein a destination media access control address is used to confirm the packet connector. The method according to claim 1, wherein a source medium access control address (Source MAC Address) is used to confirm the packet connector. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein a destination internet protocol (IP) address is used to identify the packet connector. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein a source Internet Protocol (IP) address is used to identify the packet connector. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a service type (ToS) field of an internet protocol (IP) is used for identification of the packet connector. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein, in the case of Internet Protocol Version 6 (IPv6), the traffic class field of the Internet Protocol (IP) is used to identify the packet connector. An ATM interface unit for interfacing with an asynchronous transmission mode (ATM) network; An ATM processing unit for ATM traffic management; An ATM switch for switching according to the ATM connection; A Segmentation and Reassembly (SAR) processing unit for performing protocol conversion between ATM and Internet Protocol (IP); A real time packet connector identification unit for real-time checking the ATM connection and a predetermined IP connection in hardware; An IP switch for realizing IP switching according to an address of a protocol layer; Real-time heterogeneous network interworking device including an IP interface unit for interfacing with the IP network. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the real-time packet connector checking unit uses a wire speed packet connector checking method for automatic multi-routing network interworking for a real-time service. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the real-time heterogeneous network interworking device classifies and routes real-time and non-real-time using real-time packet connector identification, quality of service / class of service / type of service using the real-time packet connector identification (QoS / CoS / ToS). Real-time heterogeneous network interworking device, characterized in that the support. 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the real-time heterogeneous network interworking device classifies traffic input from a private internet protocol (IP) network, thereby real-time service traffic is interworked with a public ATM network, and non-real-time service traffic is a public internet protocol (IP). Real-time heterogeneous network interworking device, characterized in that the interlocking network. The method of claim 9, wherein the ATM interface unit uses a synchronous transfer module, Level 1 (STM-1) or a synchronous transfer module, Level 4 (STM-4). Real-time heterogeneous network interworking apparatus characterized in that the interface with the ATM network. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the IP interface unit interfaces with the IP network using Fast Ethernet (FE) / Gigabit Ethernet (GE). 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the real-time packet connector checker, using the hardware for input IP traffic, the destination medium access control (MAC) address, the source medium access control (MAC) address, the destination Internet Protocol (IP) address and the source Internet. A real-time heterogeneous network interworking apparatus characterized by checking a current Internet Protocol (IP) connection by referring to any one of a Protocol (IP) address and an Internet Protocol (IP) Service Type (ToS) field. 10. The apparatus of claim 9, further comprising a plurality of real-time packet connector identifiers according to an operator's request for broadcasting using multicasting / broadcasting and / or real-time bidirectional communication using the ATM network or the IP network. Real-time heterogeneous network interworking device.

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