KR100826224B1 - Device and method for buffering data in the hybrid-fiber coaxial - Google Patents

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for buffering data in a hybrid-fiber coaxial network are provided to perform the repeated processing of a service supply terminal in a cell unit through a buffer memory installed on the transmission line of the hybrid-fiber coaxial network, thereby reducing the load of the service supply terminal. A buffer memory(230) receives data through an optical fiber(220) from a service supply terminal(210) on a hybrid-fiber coaxial network and stores the received data. A buffer controller(240) controls the transmission of the received data. The buffer memory transmits the stored data to a subscriber terminal(260) through a coaxial cable(250) according to the control of the buffer controller.

Description

DEVICE AND METHOD FOR BUFFERING DATA IN THE HYBRID-FIBER COAXIAL}

1 is a diagram showing the overall network configuration in a conventional optical coaxial mixed network.

2 is a block diagram of a data buffering apparatus in an optical coaxial mixing network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram of an optical coaxial mixed network in which subscriber stations are managed on a cell basis by an optical communication network unit (ONU) according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a method of buffering data in an optical coaxial mixing network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration in which data is buffered in both directions through a buffering apparatus in an optical coaxial mixed network according to another embodiment of the present invention.

The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for buffering data in an optical coaxial mixed network, and more particularly, to reduce a load of a service supply end in an optical coaxial mixed network, and to provide a data transmission speed and throughput rate from a service supply end to a subscriber end. The present invention relates to a data buffering apparatus and a method for improving the performance.

Optical coaxial mixed network is composed of optical fiber (or optical cable) and coaxial cable. It uses optical fiber to broadcast station and optical end station (or optical network unit), and uses coaxial cable from optical end station to subscriber. It is a broadband transmission network that can transmit data signals, such as the Internet, cable TV, crime prevention, disaster prevention, remote meter reading, and automatic control.

1 is a diagram showing the overall network configuration in a conventional optical coaxial mixed network.

Optical coaxial mixed network according to Figure 1 is CATV (Cable TV system), Optical Transmitter (OTX), Video On Demand (VOD), Internet, VoIP G / K (Internet telephony) installed in the service supply terminal 110 Gatekeeper) and a plurality of terminals such as a TV, a PC, a phone, and an air conditioner installed at the subscriber end 150. In addition, an optical fiber 120, an optical network unit (ONU) 130, and a coaxial cable 140 may be installed in a section between the service supply terminal 110 and the subscriber terminal 150. have.

In the optical coaxial mixed network, the optical communication network unit (ONU) 130 may be configured by replacing an existing modem (CMTS) equipment of the optical coaxial mixed network and an up amplifier of the existing optical communication network unit. The server 150 manages terminals (clients) installed at 150.

In the optical coaxial mixed network, the subscriber end is managed on a cell-by-cell basis by the optical communication network unit 130, but all data transmission processing to the subscriber end 150 is performed by the service supply end 110, thereby providing a service supply end ( There is a problem that the transmission capacity of 110) is enlarged and complicated.

 In addition, the data received at high speed through the optical fiber 120 from the service supply terminal 110 of the optical coaxial mixing network is transmitted at a low speed through the coaxial cable 140 when transmitting to the subscriber end 150, such as Differences in data rates due to differences in transmission media have led to problems such as transmission delays and bottlenecks in the entire network.

Also, with the recent coinage of User Created Contents (UCC), the creation of personal media activities such as images, digital cameras or mobile phone photos, and videos is flooding the Internet, and as paid AOD and VOD content increases, There is a need for a network that can transmit large amounts of content, especially VOD streaming data, to users without delay in real time.

Accordingly, the problem of delay in transmission speed due to the difference in the load of the service supply end and the difference in the transmission medium in the optical cable and the coaxial cable due to the increase in the transmission capacity in the optical coaxial mixed network as described above, and the transmission of a large amount of streaming data There was a need for the development of a technology that could smoothly.

Disclosure of Invention The present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned conventional problems, and to reduce the load on the service supply end by processing data transmission to the subscriber end through a buffer memory installed on a transmission line of an optical coaxial mixed network. It is done.

In addition, the present invention is to improve the overall network speed and transmission efficiency by controlling the difference between the transmission speed of the optical cable and the coaxial cable through the buffer memory installed on the transmission line of the optical coaxial mixed network. .

In order to achieve the object of the present invention as described above, and to solve the above problems of the prior art, the buffering device of the optical coaxial mixing network according to the present invention, the data from the service supply end of the optical coaxial mixing network through the optical cable A buffer memory for receiving and storing the received data, and a buffer controller for controlling transmission of the received data, wherein the buffer memory is configured to receive the stored data through a coaxial cable through a coaxial cable. To the end.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a method for buffering data in an optical coaxial mixed network includes: receiving a data transmission request from a subscriber end; retrieving the requested data from a buffer memory; Requesting the data from the service supply terminal of the optical coaxial mixing network, receiving the data from the service supply terminal through an optical cable, and storing the data in the buffer memory when the data is not present in the memory; And transmitting the stored data to the subscriber end via a cable, wherein transmitting the stored data to the subscriber end transmits the stored data to the subscriber end while receiving data from a service supply end of the optical coaxial mixed network. do.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and the contents described in the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited or limited to the embodiments. Like reference numerals in the drawings denote like elements.

2 is a block diagram of a data buffering device 270 in an optical coaxial mixing network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The service supply terminal 210 according to the present invention is a function of providing a service in an optical coaxial mixed network, depending on the type of service CATV (cable TV) service, VOD (Video On Demand) service, Internet service, VoIP It can be interpreted as a comprehensive concept that includes at least one of the services.

Alternatively, the service supply terminal 210 according to the present invention is a head end of an optical coaxial mixing network, which is connected to another communication network to receive a terrestrial television broadcast or satellite television broadcast program and transmit the same to a coaxial cable or an optical cable. A station may be a cable TV (CATV) broadcasting company or a general wired broadcasting station (SO) or a broadcasting server that transmits a program supplied by a program provider or a program supplied by a program provider.

The data buffering apparatus in the optical coaxial mixed network according to the present invention includes a buffer memory 230 and a buffer controller 240.

In general, a buffer memory is a storage device that temporarily stores data to solve a speed difference that occurs when a peripheral processing speed is slower than that of a central processing unit. The memory device allows each device or process to operate well without congestion from the other party. Also in the present invention, the buffer memory 230 temporarily stores data in order to solve the speed difference between data transmission in the optical cable 220, which is a high speed transmission medium, and the coaxial cable 250, which is a low speed transmission medium, in an optical coaxial mixed network. As a reservoir, it may be installed and used in the optical network unit 270 that mediates the optical cable 220 and the coaxial cable 250. The buffer memory 230 temporarily stores data received at high speed through the optical cable 220 from the service supply terminal 210 of the optical coaxial mixing network, and then stores the stored data under the control of the buffer controller 240. By transmitting to the subscriber end 260 via the coaxial cable 250, it is possible to solve the bottleneck of data transmission and to improve the speed of the overall network.

At this time, the buffer memory 230, even under the control of the buffer control unit 240, while receiving data from the service supply terminal 210 of the optical coaxial mixing network, subscribers to the data stored in the buffer memory 230 to date It may transmit to the stage 260. Accordingly, the data can be continuously transmitted to the subscriber end 260 without waiting until the entire data arrives in the buffer memory 230.

The buffer control unit 240 controls the transmission of the data received in the buffer memory 230 to the subscriber end 260.

For example, when receiving a data transmission request from the subscriber end 260, the buffer controller 240 determines whether data corresponding to the received transmission request is stored in the buffer memory 230. If there is the corresponding data in the buffer memory 230 as a result of the determination, the data corresponding to the transmission request is transmitted to the subscriber end 260, and if there is no corresponding data in the buffer memory 230, the transmission request Request the data corresponding to the service provider 210.

In the optical coaxial mixed network according to the present invention, the data buffering device 270 is located on a transmission line from the service supply terminal 210 to the subscriber terminal 260 to perform a management function of the subscriber terminal 260. It may be installed in an optical network unit (ONU).

In the present invention, the data transmitted from the service supply end 210 of the optical coaxial mixed network to the subscriber end 260 is transmitted in real time, such as audio on demand (VOD), video on demand (VOD), and animation, which are played on the Internet. It may be streaming data that is used, or data used when frequent updates are made.

In general, streaming data is data that is reproduced in real time without being stored in the subscriber's terminal. Since the data is transmitted at an inconsistent speed according to the state of the Internet network, the streaming data is prevented as much as possible through buffering so that the streaming data is not interrupted or delayed. According to the present invention, by buffering the streaming data flowing from the service provider 210 through the data buffering device 270 in the optical coaxial mixing network, it is possible to seamlessly transmit to the subscriber end 260.

3 is a block diagram of an optical coaxial mixed network in which subscriber stations are managed in units of cells by an optical communication network unit according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

The optical coaxial mixing network is connected to the subscriber end 350 through the coaxial cable 340 via the optical communication unit (ONU) 330 through the optical cable 320 from the service supply terminal 310. Subscriber end 350 of the optical coaxial mixing network is a cell # 1 (360), Cell # 2 (by the optical network unit 330 including a data buffering device (270 in Figure 2) in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention 370)... , Cell # n 380 may be managed in units of cells. Accordingly, iterative data processing (for example, retransmission of data) of the service supply terminal 310 can be performed in the cell unit Cell # 1 360 through the data buffering device, and the service supply terminal 310 can be used. It is possible to reduce the load. Also

4 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a method of buffering data in an optical coaxial mixing network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, in step S410, the data buffering device 270 determines whether a data transmission request is received from the subscriber end 260 of the optical coaxial mixing network.

The data buffering device 270 is a buffer that temporarily stores data in order to solve the speed difference between data transmission in the optical cable 220 which is a high speed transmission medium and the coaxial cable 250 which is a low speed transmission medium in an optical coaxial mixed network. And a buffer control unit 240 for controlling the transmission of the data received in the memory 230 and the buffer memory 230 to the subscriber end 260, and an optical communication network for mediating the optical cable 220 and the coaxial cable 250. It may be installed and used in the unit 270.

As a result of the determination in step S410, if the data transmission request is not received, the reception is continued. If the data transmission request is received, the buffer memory 230 searches for the requested data (step S420).

As a result of the search in step S420, if the data is not in the buffer memory 230, a request is made to transmit the data to the service supply terminal 210 of the optical coaxial mixing network, and the data is supplied from the service supply terminal 210. Received through the optical cable 220 and stored in the buffer memory 230 (steps S430, S440).

In the present invention, data transmitted from the service supply terminal 310 of the optical coaxial mixed network to the subscriber terminal 260 is transmitted in real time, such as AOD (Audio On Demand), VOD (Video On Demand), and animation, which are played on the Internet. It may be streaming data that is used, or data used when frequent updates are made.

As a result of the search in step S420, if the data is in the buffer memory 230, step S450 is performed.

In operation S450, the data stored in the buffer memory 230 is transmitted to the subscriber station 260 through the coaxial cable 250.

For example, in step S440, the buffer memory 230 of the data buffering device 270 receives data from the service supply terminal 210 of the optical coaxial mixing network under the control of the buffer controller 240. By transmitting the data stored in the buffer memory 230 to the subscriber station 260 up to the present time in step S450, the reception and transmission of data can be performed in parallel.

In the above-described buffering device according to the present invention, by retrieving the requested data from the buffer memory of the buffering device according to the data request received from the subscriber end of the optical coaxial mixing network, or by requesting to the service provider, It can be transmitted to the subscriber end in one direction.

In another embodiment of the present invention, in response to a data transmission request from another user connecting to a headend (or service provider) of an optical coaxial mixing network, the buffering device may be configured to receive a service request generated by the headend. It is also possible to send the requested data in both directions.

The other user may be an Internet user accessing the headend through a communication network other than the optical-coaxial mixing network of the present invention or the optical-coaxial mixing network.

The data requested from the other user may be streaming data transmitted in real time such as AOD (Audio On Demand), VOD (Video On Demand), and animation, which are played on the Internet, or data used when frequent updates are made. .

5 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration in which data is buffered in both directions through a buffering apparatus in an optical coaxial mixed network according to another embodiment of the present invention.

When the headend 510 connected to the buffering device 520 and the optical coaxial mixed network (HFC) of the present invention receives a data transmission request signal from another user 540 connected through a communication network, the headend 510 receives the requested data. Search within 510). If there is no requested data in the headend 510 connected to the buffering device 520 and the HFC network, the headend 510 requests the requested data to the buffering device 520. If there is the requested data in the buffer memory of the buffering device 520, the data is provided to the other user 540 via the headend 510, and if the requested data is not in the buffer memory, the buffering device 520 The request may be transmitted to the user 530 connected through the optical coaxial mixing network, and the data received from the user 530 may be provided to the other user 540 via the headend 510. .

According to the above-described embodiment, the buffering device of the present invention enables not only two-way VOD service, but also the user (subscriber) through the optical network (or optical cable) of the optical coaxial mixed network via the headend. It is possible to receive a data request at a high speed, which can lead to improved network performance than the method of receiving a data request through a slow coaxial network.

In addition, embodiments of the present invention include computer-readable media containing program instructions for performing various computer-implemented operations. The computer readable medium may include program instructions, data files, data structures, etc. alone or in combination. The medium or program instructions may be those specially designed and constructed for the purposes of the present invention, or they may be of the kind well-known and available to those having skill in the computer software arts. Examples of computer-readable recording media include magnetic media such as hard disks, floppy disks, and magnetic tape, optical media such as CD-ROMs, DVDs, and magnetic disks, such as floppy disks. Magneto-optical media, and hardware devices specifically configured to store and execute program instructions, such as ROM, RAM, flash memory, and the like. Examples of program instructions include not only machine code generated by a compiler, but also high-level language code that can be executed by a computer using an interpreter or the like.

According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the load of the service supply stage by enabling the repetitive processing of the service supply stage in units of cells through the buffer memory installed on the transmission line of the optical coaxial mixed network.

In addition, according to the present invention, by adjusting the difference between the transmission speed of the optical cable and the coaxial cable through the buffer memory installed on the transmission line of the optical coaxial mixed network, the response speed of the subscriber end, the overall network speed and transmission efficiency It can be improved.

In addition, according to the present invention, not only the bi-directional VOD service can be enabled, but also the user's data request can be received at high speed through the optical network (or optical cable) of the optical coaxial mixed network via the headend (or service provider). As a result, the network performance can be improved compared to the method of receiving data requests through a low speed coaxial network.

As described above, although the present invention has been described with reference to limited embodiments and drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains various modifications and variations from such descriptions. This is possible. Therefore, the scope of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, but should be determined not only by the claims below but also by the equivalents of the claims.

Claims (8)

In the buffering apparatus of the optical coaxial mixing network, A buffer memory configured to receive data from a service supply terminal of the optical coaxial mixed network through an optical cable and to store the received data; And Buffer control unit for controlling the transmission of the received data Including, The buffer memory transmits the stored data to a subscriber end through a coaxial cable under the control of the buffer controller. A buffering device, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, And the buffering device is installed in the optical communication network unit. The method of claim 1, And the data is streaming data or data that is frequently updated. The method of claim 1, The buffer controller receives a data transmission request from the subscriber end, determines whether data corresponding to the received transmission request is stored in the buffer memory, and if not, the buffer controller corresponds to the transmission request. And requesting data from the service provider. The method of claim 1, And the buffer memory transmits the stored data to the subscriber end while receiving data from the service supply end of the optical coaxial mixing network. The method of claim 1, The buffering device is connected to the plurality of subscriber terminals via a coaxial cable, characterized in that for managing the plurality of subscriber terminals in units of cells. A method for buffering data in an optical coaxial mixed network, Receiving a data transmission request from a subscriber end; Retrieving the requested data from a buffer memory; If the requested data is not in the buffer memory, requesting the data from a service supply terminal of the optical coaxial mixing network, receiving the data from the service supply terminal through an optical cable, and storing the data in the buffer memory; Transmitting data stored in the buffer memory to the subscriber end through a coaxial cable; Including, The transmitting of the stored data to the subscriber end comprises transmitting the stored data to the subscriber end while receiving data from a service supply end of the optical coaxial mixing network. A computer-readable recording medium having recorded thereon a program for performing the method of claim 7.

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