KR100789379B1 - Homegateway and its method for providing multicast traffic control function - Google Patents

Abstract

1. TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a home gateway device having a multicast traffic coordination function and a method thereof.

2. The technical problem to be solved by the invention

According to the present invention, when an indoor terminal requesting an IPTV service or the like is connected through a hub, a multicast packet processing process of the hub is performed by converting a multicast packet transmitted to the indoor terminal into a unicast packet and then transmitting the packet to the corresponding hub. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a home gateway device having a multicast traffic coordination function and a method thereof to prevent unnecessary traffic occurring in the network and to improve the efficiency of home network resource usage.

3. Summary of the Solution of the Invention

According to the present invention, a home gateway apparatus having a multicast traffic coordination function is configured to determine whether a home terminal that requests a service is directly connected to a hub or a hub from the number of terminals connected to a port using a MAC address learning scheme. Topology management means for confirming whether a connection is made; According to the confirmation result of the topology management means, if the indoor terminal is directly connected to the port, the multicast MAC address is set to the corresponding port to which the indoor terminal is connected, and if the indoor terminal is connected through the hub, the multicast MAC IGMP snooping means for setting the address to a port connected to the control board of the home gateway; IGMP proxy means for transmitting a subscription request message to an upper multicast router to request that the service requested by the indoor terminal is provided; And traffic conversion means for converting a multicast packet received through a port connected to the control board of the home gateway into a unicast packet and transmitting the multicast packet to a corresponding hub to be delivered to the indoor terminal.

4. Important uses of the invention

The present invention is used in home networks and the like.

Home Network, IPTV, Multicast Traffic, Home Gateway, Unicast, IGMP Snooping

Description

Homegateway device with multicast traffic control function and its method {Homegateway and its method for providing multicast traffic control function}

1 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of an IPTV system to which the present invention is applied;

2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of a conventional home gateway;

3 is a block diagram of a home gateway device having a multicast traffic adjustment function according to an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a flowchart illustrating a multicast traffic adjustment method in a home gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawing

101,102,104: home terminal 105: home server / home gateway

109: L3 switch 113: IPTV server

114: multicast router 300: home gateway

31: IGMP Snooping Module 32: IGMP Proxy Module

33: topology management module 34: traffic conversion module

The present invention relates to a home gateway apparatus having a multicast traffic adjustment function and a method thereof, and more particularly, to a multicast packet transmitted to an indoor terminal when an indoor terminal requesting an IPTV service or the like is connected through a hub. A multicast traffic coordination function to prevent unnecessary traffic that may occur during multicast packet processing of the hub and to improve the efficiency of using home network resources by converting the unicast packet to the corresponding hub. A gateway device and a method thereof are provided.

Recently, the broadcasting environment is changing due to the development of technology and changing demands of viewers. In other words, the current broadcasting environment is changed from analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting, diversified broadcasting media such as terrestrial cable, cable, satellite, etc., interworking with a communication network, and increasingly intelligent broadcasting terminals. More severe changes are going through.

Among them, IPTV broadcasting service is a service that can provide digital multimedia contents such as games, education and life information using a high-speed internet network, and viewers can use various services such as games, additional information, and shopping with a simple remote control operation. have.

The IPTV broadcasting service is a service that allows a viewer and a broadcasting station to interact with each other, rather than unilaterally transmitting a program from a broadcasting station like a conventional broadcasting. To this end, the broadcasting station may additionally produce content that implements the interactive function in addition to the program and transmit the content to the viewer, and the viewer may express intention through a return channel.

On the other hand, in general, IPTV packets are transmitted in a multicasting manner, and each router and home server / home gateway transmits IPTV packets to indoor terminals using the Internet Group Management Protocol. Referring to Figure 1 will be described the configuration of a general IPTV system.

1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an IPTV system to which the present invention is applied and shows an entire system including head-ends 113 to indoor terminals 101, 102, and 104 of an IPTV server.

As shown in FIG. 1, an IPTV system to which the present invention is applied may include an IPTV server 113, a multicast router 114, an L3 switch 109, a home server / home gateway 105, and an indoor terminal 101, 102, 104. Include.

Here, the network from the head end 113 of the IPTV server to the access network interface of the home server / home gateway 105 is referred to as an ISP premium network, and from the home network interface of the home server / home gateway 105 to the home terminals 101, 102, 104. A network up to) is called a home network. ISP Premium Networks are specialized services provided by Internet Service Providers (ISPs) for services that require high bandwidth and real-time performance, such as IPTV, video on demand (VoD) or Internet telephony (VoIP) services. Refers to a network.

Meanwhile, the IPTV server 113 generates and transmits broadcast data as a multicast packet, and the lower multicast router 114 receives data for all channels broadcast from the IPTV server 113 to set a path. To the L3 switch 109.

The L3 switch 109 forwards the packet to the optimal path considering the IP address of the destination according to the path stored in the routing table. That is, the L3 switch 109 transfers only the traffic for the requested channel to the home server / home gateway 105 by using the snooping function of the Internet Group Management Protocol, and the home server / The home gateway 105 delivers traffic of a specific channel received from the L3 switch 109 to the terminals 101, 102, 104 in the home network.

Here, the Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is a protocol for managing an Internet multicast group operating on one Ethernet segment, and manages the segment so that a user can dynamically join and leave a member of a specific multicast group. IGMP snooping is a technique for preventing flooding of IP multicast traffic (forwarding one packet from one node to all other nodes connected to the router).

When the switch does not implement IGMP snooping, a multicast packet (a packet whose MAC address is a multicast address) is copied and forwarded to all ports except the port where the packet is entered. . This action prevents the network from using the bandwidth effectively. In particular, when multicast packets are forwarded to only a portion of multiple ports, multicast packets that are not needed by multiple nodes take up the network load, thereby wasting network bandwidth required by other applications, thereby reducing network resource efficiency. Will fall.

Therefore, the Ethernet switch of the home server / home gateway 105 uses IGMP snooping when delivering a multicast stream to the terminals 101, 102, and 104 in the home network. That is, when the home server / home gateway 105 receives the multicast packet, the multicast stream is forwarded only to the switch port to which the host requesting to join the multicast stream is connected, and the multicast stream is not forwarded to the remaining ports. This reduces the inefficient use of network resources connected to other switch ports.

However, even if the home server / home gateway 105 transmits the multicast stream only to a specific switch port, the home terminal is not directly connected to the port of the home server / home gateway 105 and does not support multicast. When connected through a hub, there is still a significant waste of network resources.

That is, when the indoor terminals 230 and 250 are not directly connected to the ports of the home server / home gateway 105 as shown in FIG. 2, but are connected through a general hub 240 that does not support multicast. After the packet is duplicated in the hub 240, the multicast packet is transmitted to all ports of the hub 240.

This causes serious network congestion, causes serious waste of network resources, and consequently has a problem in that the terminal 250 which does not need a multicasting stream cannot perform a normal function.

In order to solve this problem, a multicast-enabled hub or a home terminal must be directly connected to a home server / home gateway. However, a multicast-supported hub is not suitable for home use. The method of directly connecting a home terminal to a home server / home gateway has a problem in that the number of ports is limited.

The present invention has been proposed in order to solve the above problems, and when a home terminal requesting an IPTV service or the like is connected through a hub, the multicast packet transmitted to the home terminal is converted into a unicast packet. The present invention provides a home gateway device having a multicast traffic coordination function and a method thereof for preventing unnecessary traffic occurring in the multicast packet processing of the hub and improving the efficiency of using home network resources by delivering to the hub. There is a purpose.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention can be understood by the following description, and will be more clearly understood by the embodiments of the present invention. Also, it will be readily appreciated that the objects and advantages of the present invention may be realized by the means and combinations thereof indicated in the claims.

The apparatus of the present invention for achieving the above object is, in the home gateway device having a multicast traffic adjustment function, using the MAC address learning scheme, the premises requesting the service from the number of terminals connected to the port Topology management means for confirming whether the terminal is directly connected or connected through a hub; According to the confirmation result of the topology management means, if the indoor terminal is directly connected to the port, the multicast MAC address is set to the corresponding port to which the indoor terminal is connected, and if the indoor terminal is connected through the hub, the multicast MAC IGMP snooping means for setting the address to a port connected to the control board of the home gateway; IGMP proxy means for transmitting a subscription request message to an upper multicast router to request that the service requested by the indoor terminal is provided; And a traffic conversion means for converting the multicast packet received through a port connected to the control board of the home gateway into a unicast packet and transmitting the multicast packet to a corresponding hub to be delivered to the indoor terminal.

On the other hand, the method of the present invention for achieving the above object, in the multicast traffic adjustment method in the home gateway, using the MAC address running scheme as the home gateway receives a service request signal from the premises terminal, A checking step of checking whether a home terminal requesting a service to a corresponding port is directly connected or connected through a hub from the number of terminals connected to the terminal; A first setting step of setting a multicast MAC address to a corresponding port to which the indoor terminal is connected when the indoor terminal is directly connected to an arbitrary port; A second setting step of setting a multicast MAC address to a port connected to a control board of the home gateway when the indoor terminal is connected through a hub; A service request step of transmitting a subscription request message to an upper multicast router to request server to provide a corresponding service; And receiving the multicast packet destined for the port connected to the control board from the outside, converting the received multicast packet into a unicast packet, and then transmitting the multicast packet to the corresponding hub to transmit to the corresponding terminal requesting the service. Adjustment step.

The above objects, features and advantages will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, whereby those skilled in the art may easily implement the technical idea of the present invention. There will be. In addition, in describing the present invention, when it is determined that the detailed description of the known technology related to the present invention may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted. Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

3 is a block diagram of a home gateway device having a multicast traffic adjustment function of a home network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the home gateway 300 having a multicast traffic coordination function of a home network according to an embodiment of the present invention is an IGMP snooping module 31, an IGMP proxy module 32, and a topology management module ( 33) and traffic conversion module 34.

First, the topology management module 33 determines a connection structure (topology) of an indoor terminal connected to a port based on the number of terminals connected to a specific port by using a MAC address learning technique of the switch. That is, the topology management module 33 infers whether one terminal is directly connected to the corresponding port or connected through the hub from the number of terminals connected to the port.

The IGMP snooping module 31 sets the multicast MAC address of the indoor terminal that requested the service. In this case, the IGMP proxy module 32 sets a multicast MAC address to a port to which the indoor terminal is connected if the indoor terminal is directly connected to a random port from the connection structure of the indoor terminal recognized by the topology management module 33. If the indoor terminal is connected through a hub, the multicast MAC address is set to a port (port 1) connected to the control board of the home gateway 300. Then, the multicast packet input to this port (port 1) is delivered to the traffic conversion module 34.

The IGMP proxy module 32 joins the multicast group by sending a subscription request message to an upper multicast router, so that the indoor terminal can receive the requested service (IPTV broadcast stream).

The traffic conversion module 34 converts a multicast packet received through a port connected to the control board of the home gateway 300 into a unicast packet, and then transmits the multicast packet to a corresponding hub 340, where the converted unicast packet is serviced. To be delivered directly to the corresponding terminal 350 requesting.

Hereinafter, a more specific example will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

As shown in FIG. 3, when a terminal 380 directly connected to port 4 requests an IPTV service, an IGMP join message (IPTV stream access request) passes through the topology management module 33 to IGMP. Sent to the snooping module 31.

At this time, the topology management module 33 recognizes that only one terminal is directly connected to port 4, to which an IGMP join message (IPTV stream access request) is input. Then, the IGMP snooping module 31 is configured to output the multicast MAC address of the terminal 380 requesting the IPTV service to port 4. For reference, in the IGMP join message, the destination MAC address is set to a multicast MAC address generated by combining the unicast MAC address and the IP multicast group address of the indoor terminal.

As a result, multicast (IPTV) packets input from the IPTV server with the multicast MAC address set for port 4 are inputted to port 0 and output to port 4 without further processing.

Meanwhile, when the terminal 350 connected to the hub 340 requests an IPTV service, an IGMP join message (IPTV stream access request) is transmitted to the IGMP snooping module 31 through the topology management module 33. At this time, the topology management module 31 recognizes that port 3 to which an IGMP join message (IPTV stream access request) is input is connected to the indoor terminal 350 through the hub 240.

Then, the IGMP snooping module 31 sets the multicast MAC address of the terminal 350 requesting the IPTV service to be input to the control board of port 1, that is, the home gateway 300. In addition, the IGMP proxy module 32 transmits a subscription request message to an upper multicast router to join the multicast group, thereby allowing the terminal 380 to receive the requested IPTV service.

Subsequently, multicast (IPTV) packets having a multicast MAC address set for port 1 from the IPTV server and input to port 0 are input to the traffic conversion module 34 through the control board of the home gateway 300. do.

Then, the traffic conversion module 34 converts the received multicast packet into a unicast packet, and then transmits the multicast packet to the hub 340 to be delivered to the corresponding terminal 350 requesting the service. In this case, since the hub 340 receives the traffic converted into the unicast packet in the traffic conversion module 34, the hub 340 may deliver the traffic only to the corresponding terminal 350 requesting the service without unnecessary packet generation process.

Hereinafter, the overall operation of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a multicast traffic adjustment method in a home gateway according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, when the home gateway 300 receives a service request signal (IPTV service request signal) from the terminal in the home network (S401), whether the indoor terminal requesting the service is directly connected to a random port or connected through a hub. Check (S402). Here, using the MAC address learning technique, it is possible to determine whether the indoor terminals connected to the port are directly connected to the port or connected through the hub from the number of terminals connected to a specific port.

As a result of the checking (S402), if the indoor terminal is directly connected to a certain port, the multicast MAC address is set to the corresponding port to which the indoor terminal is connected, so that the packet is transmitted in the same manner as in the conventional method (S407).

On the other hand, if the check result (S402), if the indoor terminal is connected via a hub, the multicast MAC address is set to the port connected to the control board of the home gateway (300) (S403).

On the other hand, the home gateway 300, after completing the multicast MAC address setting, transmits a subscription request message to an upper multicast router and joins the multicast group, thereby requesting the provision of the corresponding service to the server side (IPTV server) (S404). ).

Then, when the home gateway 300 receives the multicast packet transmitted from the server side (IPTV server) through the port connected with the control board (S405), the received multicast packet is converted into a unicast packet to the corresponding hub. By transmitting (S406), the hub transmits the unicast packet received from the home gateway 300 directly to the corresponding terminal 350 requesting the service.

As described above, the present invention is a conventional problem that may occur when a home terminal to be provided with an IPTV service through a home gateway is connected through a hub, that is, a multicast packet (IPTV) received from the home gateway by the hub. It solves the problem of generating unnecessary traffic by duplicating packets) to all terminals connected to the hub. Accordingly, since the IPTV stream is not transmitted to other terminals except for the terminal requesting the IPTV service, the efficiency of network resource usage is increased as a result.

As described above, the method of the present invention may be implemented as a program and stored in a recording medium (CD-ROM, RAM, ROM, floppy disk, hard disk, magneto-optical disk, etc.) in a computer-readable form. Since this process can be easily implemented by those skilled in the art will not be described in more detail.

The present invention described above is capable of various substitutions, modifications, and changes without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention for those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. It is not limited by the drawings.

As described above, the present invention is a conventional problem that may occur when an indoor terminal to be provided with an IPTV service through a home gateway is connected through a hub, that is, a multicast packet (IPTV packet received by the hub from a home gateway). ) To solve the problem of generating unnecessary traffic by copying to all the terminals connected to the hub, thereby improving the efficiency of network resource usage.

Claims (5)

delete In the home gateway device having a multicast traffic adjustment function, Topology management means for confirming whether a home terminal requesting a service to a corresponding port is directly connected or connected through a hub using a MAC address learning technique; According to the confirmation result of the topology management means, if the indoor terminal is directly connected to the port, the multicast MAC address is set to the corresponding port to which the indoor terminal is connected, and if the indoor terminal is connected through the hub, the multicast MAC IGMP snooping means for setting the address to a port connected to the control board of the home gateway; IGMP proxy means for transmitting a subscription request message to an upper multicast router to request that the service requested by the indoor terminal is provided; And Traffic conversion means for converting a multicast packet received through a port connected to the control board of the home gateway to a unicast packet and then transmitted to a corresponding hub to be delivered to the indoor terminal Home gateway device having a multicast traffic adjustment function comprising a. The method of claim 2, The service request of the indoor terminal, The multicast traffic is generated using an IGMP join message, and an IGMP join message generated when the home terminal requests a service is transmitted to the IGMP snooping means through the topology management means. Home gateway device with adjustment function. delete In the multicast traffic adjustment method in the home gateway, As the home gateway receives the service request signal from the indoor terminal, the indoor terminal requesting the service from the number of terminals connected to the port is directly connected or connected through a hub using a MAC address learning technique. A confirmation step to check if there is; A first setting step of setting a multicast MAC address to a corresponding port to which the indoor terminal is connected when the indoor terminal is directly connected to an arbitrary port; A second setting step of setting a multicast MAC address to a port connected to a control board of the home gateway when the indoor terminal is connected through a hub; A service request step of transmitting a subscription request message to an upper multicast router to request server to provide a corresponding service; And In response to receiving a multicast packet destined for a port connected to the control board from the outside, the received multicast packet is converted into a unicast packet and transmitted to the corresponding hub, so that the traffic can be delivered to the corresponding terminal requesting the service. step Multicast traffic adjustment method in the home gateway comprising a.

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