KR20030070350A - Method and apparatus for controlling a packet in home network - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method and an apparatus for controlling a packet in a home network are provided to differentially distribute network resources according to a packet type. CONSTITUTION: A packet classifying unit(202) receives packets, confirms the destination of the received packets, and classifies the packet according to a certain class. A packet storing unit(204) stores the classified packets according to the class. A packet distributing unit(206) differentially distributes network sources according to the class, and distributes the packets stored in the packet storing unit(204) to the corresponding destination. The class is decided by the emergency of a service provided from a network device corresponding to the destination.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING A PACKET IN HOME NETWORK}

The present invention relates in particular to a home network, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for controlling a packet in a home network in which network resources are differentially distributed according to types of packets.

The basic feature of the Internet is that it is the best effort service. Since the Internet is a packet network, each packet finds its way under the network, and the packet sender tries to send as many packets as possible. As a result, each service entity has a disadvantage in that it is difficult to guarantee the quality of service (QoS) of each service entity because they are competing for the maximum bandwidth possible. Therefore, some degree of management is required to guarantee QoS.

When the home network is actually built, the network in the home will be a complex structure of several networks. The networks entering the home network can be broadly classified into audio / video (hereinafter referred to as "A / V") networks, data networks, control networks, and wireless networks. The characteristics of each network are shown in Table 1 below. In the future, the services of the home network will be different depending on the characteristics of each network. A large number of video on demand services are referred to as A / V networks, and device control services for power line networks. The back will be the main service.

On the outside, the high-speed Internet currently has a downlink bandwidth of 2 to 8 Mbps and an uplink bandwidth of 800 Kbps, which is sufficient for the use of services such as Internet access. Services that require bandwidth of the downlink, services that require the bandwidth of a large uplink such as video chat and video conference, etc., are slightly insufficient.

Table 2 below summarizes the network requirements for each of the services that will appear when the home network is activated. In Table 2, it can be seen that the network requirements for each service are different. Instead of requiring a lot of bandwidth, VoD services are tolerant of packet loss or latency. Control services, however, require less bandwidth, but are tighter for packet loss and latency.

When using the service in the home, if the VoD service is used, most of the external network traffic is occupied by the VoD service, and when the user tries to use another service using the external network, the service is used properly. You may not be able to. In this case, if the other service you want to use is a control service that requires immediate response or an emergency service that needs to be notified of an emergency in your home, the problem is likely to be serious if these services do not work properly.

Therefore, in the home network to which several network devices providing different kinds of services are connected, the network devices can use the network resources differently according to the service, so that the limited home network resources can be efficiently used in the special situation of the home network. An object of the present invention is to provide a packet control method and apparatus that can be used.

1 is a block diagram of an entire network in which the present invention is used.

2 is a block diagram of a packet control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram of an example of a packet classification unit of FIG.

4 is a structural diagram of a packet.

5 is a block diagram of an example of the packet distributor of FIG. 2;

6 is a flowchart of a packet control method according to the present invention.

7 is a flowchart illustrating a specific process of the packet classification step of FIG.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a device for controlling the flow of packets in a home network to which a plurality of network devices are connected, wherein the packets are received, the packets are identified by a predetermined class after checking a destination of the received packets. A packet classification means for classifying a packet, a packet storage means for storing the classified packet for each class, and network resources in a differential manner for each class, and distributes the packet stored in the packet storage means to a corresponding destination. It is characterized by including a packet distribution means.

The packet class may be determined by the urgency or real-time of the service provided by the network device corresponding to the destination.

In addition, the present invention provides a gateway for a home network to which a plurality of network devices are connected, comprising: class information storage means for storing device class information determined according to the urgency and real time of a service provided by the network device, and a packet from outside A packet receiving means for receiving and storing a packet, receiving a packet from the packet receiving means, checking corresponding device information of the received packet, and classifying the packet according to the device class information with reference to the class information storage means. A packet classification means, a packet storing means for storing the classified packets for each class, and a network distribution for allocating network resources in a differential manner for each class, and for distributing a packet stored in the packet storing means to a corresponding device. With means It is another feature.

In addition, the present invention provides a method for controlling the flow of packets in a home network to which a plurality of network devices are connected, the method comprising: receiving class information about the network device, receiving a packet from the outside, and Classifying the packet according to the device class information after confirming the corresponding device information, storing the classified packet for each class, allocating network resources in a differentiated manner for each class, and storing the packet for each class. Another feature is the step of distributing the packet to the device.

By the packet control method and apparatus having such a feature, it is possible to use limited network resources in the home network as efficiently as possible. That is, services that can be handled even with a small bandwidth can solve the case where the service is not available because other services monopolize the bandwidth. Therefore, through the present invention, it is possible to construct a home network that can further satisfy home network users through some management that does not cost much.

Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings will be described an embodiment of the present invention; In the drawings, the same reference numerals are used to refer to the same or similar components and signals for the sake of consistency of description.

1 is a configuration diagram of an entire network in which the present invention is used. As shown in FIG. 1, the packet control apparatus 101 according to the present invention may be mounted in the gateway 102. As the network device, for example, the device 104 providing the control service, the device 106 providing the VoIP service, and the device 108 providing the VoD service are connected to the local network 110. Packets provided over the Internet from external web servers 110, 112, 114 are, for example, classified into three classes and provided to network devices 104, 106, 108.

Internet services can be classified according to real-time and urgent as shown in Table 3. That is, a packet corresponding to a control service requires urgency, whereas a packet corresponding to a multimedia streaming data service does not need urgency, but needs real time. And a packet corresponding to general data service does not need both urgency and real time.

1 illustrates a case of dividing a packet into three classes according to such a service classification. As with the control data packets in Table 3, packets with small bandwidth but requiring fast processing are classified as Class 1. Like multimedia streaming data packets, packets with some bandwidth and some fast processing are classified as Class 2. Like regular data packets, packets that require a lot of bandwidth but not very fast processing are classified as Class 3. There may be many other criteria for classifying classes, so the criteria for class classification should be determined at home network installation.

Class setting can be made for each device according to the request of such a service. It is assumed that only a specific service is used by a specific device, and no consideration is given to a device using a complex service. In FIG. 1, the device 104 providing the control service is set to class 1, and the device 106 providing the VoIP service is set to class 2. The device 108 providing the VoD service is set to class 3. The packet classifier 101 looks at the IP address or unique identification number (ID) assigned to each device, and determines the class of the packet according to which device the destination address of the external packet corresponds to.

2 is a block diagram of a packet control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 2, the packet control device 101 according to the present embodiment includes a packet classification unit 202, a packet storage unit 204, and a packet distribution unit 206.

The packet classifier 202 receives the data packet IN from external servers (110, 12, and 114 in FIG. 1) through the Internet, checks the destination of the received packet, and classifies the packet according to a predetermined class. The classified packets IC1, IC2, and IC3 are provided to the packet storage unit 204. In FIG. 2, the packet IC1 indicates a packet classified as class 1, the packet IC2 indicates a packet classified as class 2, and the packet IC3 indicates a packet classified as class 3, respectively. In the present embodiment, for example, packets are classified according to requests such as urgency and real time of a service to which the packet is directed.

The packets IC1, IC2, and IC3 classified into three classes provided by the packet classification unit 202 are stored for each class by the packet storage unit 204. Since the packets are classified into three classes by the packet classifying unit 202, the packet storing unit 204 is allocated one sub storage unit for each class, as shown in FIG. 208, 210, and 212. The sub storage unit 208 stores the packet IC1 classified as Class 1 in a first-in, first-out (hereinafter referred to as "FIFO") manner. The sub storage unit 210 stores the packet IC2 classified as class 2 in a first-in, first-out manner like the sub storage unit 208. The sub storage unit 212 also stores the packet IC3 classified as class 3 in a first-in first-out manner. The packet storage unit 204 provides the packet distribution unit 206 with the packets OC1, OC2, and OC3 stored first in each of the sub storage units 208, 210, and 212.

The packet distributor 206 allows the packet provided from the packet storage 204 to be provided to the local network (110 in FIG. 1) as an output signal OUT in a class-specific manner. That is, the packet distribution unit 206 distributes network resources to packets in different ways for each class and sends them to the corresponding destinations. For example, the packet distributor 206 controls the packet OC1, which is classified as Class 1, to be transmitted for a short time but frequently. The packet OC3, classified as Class 3, is sometimes transmitted, but once transmitted, it is controlled to be transmitted for a long time. The packet OC2 classified as Class 2 is controlled to be transmitted in an intermediate manner between the packet OC1 and the packet OC3. There may be a variety of ways to ensure that the packets OC1, OC2, and OC3 are provided to the local network (110 in FIG. 1) by class. As an example, if the sub storage unit 208 in which the packets classified as Class 1 are stored is completely empty, the packets stored in the sub storage unit 210 corresponding to the class 2 are output signal OUT. When the sub storage unit 210 is completely empty, a packet of the sub storage unit 212 corresponding to class 3 can be used as the output signal OUT.

3 is a block diagram of an example of a packet classification unit of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the packet classifier 202 may include a packet receiver 302, a class information store 306, a class determiner 304, and a demultiplexer 308. 3, A, B, C,... Z indicates one packet one by one.

First, the packet receiver 302 stores the packet IN received from the outside. The packet receiver 302 is implemented in a FIFO manner. The first packet received in the packet receiver 302 shown in FIG. 3 is packet B, and the most recently stored packet is packet Z. The packet receiver 302 buffers a packet when a large number of packets suddenly come from the outside and provides the packet to the class determiner 304.

The class information storage unit 306 stores class information for each of the network devices 104, 106, and 108 connected to the local network (110 of FIG. 1) that constructs the home network. In FIG. 3, D1, D2, etc. indicate an IP address or unique identification number (ID) assigned to each device as described above. And C1, C2, etc., indicate the class set in the devices of D1, D2, respectively. The class may be determined according to the urgency and real-time of the service provided by the network device as described above.

The class determiner 304 reads the reception address of the packet A, and then determines the class of the packet A by referring to the class information storage 306. As shown in FIG. 4, the packet 400 includes a reception address field, a transmission address field, and a data field. From this field, it is possible to determine which device the packet A is to be used by reading the transmission address specifying the destination of the packet. On the other hand, the class determiner 304 stores information indicating which device corresponds to which class as described above. Therefore, the class of the packet A can be determined by referring to the class determiner 304 according to the transmission address of the packet A. FIG. The class determiner 304 generates a class indication signal CLS indicating the class of the packet A and provides it to the demultiplexer 308 as a control signal. The demultiplexer 308 converts the packet A input via the class determiner 304 into a class 1 packet IC1 or a class 2 packet according to the class indication signal CLS provided from the class determiner 304. Output to (IC2) or class 3 packet (IC3).

5 is a block diagram of an example of the packet distributor of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 5, the packet distributor 206 may include a multiplexer 502 and a distribution controller 504. In FIG. 5, OC1 indicates a packet provided from a packet storage unit 204 of FIG. 2 as a class 1 packet, OC2 indicates a packet provided as a class 2 packet, and OC3 indicates a packet provided as a class 3 packet, respectively.

The distribution controller 504 generates and provides a control signal CTR to the multiplexer 502 to allow access of a differential network for each class. In response to the control signal CTR, the multiplexer 502 causes the packets OC1, OC2, and OC3 to be output as the output signal OUT. The control signal CTR is determined by how to allow network access for each class.

Hereinafter, the operation of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. 6 is a flowchart of a packet control method according to the present invention. First, as illustrated in FIG. 6, first, a method of allocating network resources for each class is set (601). The setting of the network resource distribution method may be made at home network construction and may be adjusted by the user even after the construction. Next, information identifying the devices connected to the home network and the class of each device are set (602). Whenever a new device is connected to the network, a class setting operation must be performed for the newly connected device. Of course, such as plug and play in the operating system window (WINDOW), when the device is plugged into the network can automatically set the class of the device. Next, a packet is received from the outside, and the packet is classified by class (604).

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating a specific process of the packet classification step of FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 7, the packet classification step 604 first receives a packet from the outside (702) and reads the destination of the received packet (704). Here, the destination of the packet refers to the IP address or unique identification number of the device where the packet is used. Next, the class of the packet is determined (708) by referring to the device class information using the destination of the read packet (706).

Referring back to FIG. 6, after the packet classification step 604, the classified packets are stored for each class (606). The network resources are distributed in a differentiated manner for each class, and the packets stored for each class are distributed to the corresponding device (608).

The embodiments described herein are merely intended to enable those skilled in the art to easily understand and practice the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Therefore, those skilled in the art should note that various modifications or changes are possible within the scope of the present invention. The scope of the invention is defined in principle by the claims that follow.

According to the configuration of the present invention as described above, the limited resources of the home network can be used as efficiently as possible by simple packet classification. That is, services that can be handled even with a small bandwidth can solve the case where the service is not available because other services monopolize the bandwidth. Therefore, through the present invention, it is possible to construct a home network that can further satisfy home network users through some management that does not cost much.

Claims (7)

An apparatus for controlling the flow of packets in a home network to which a plurality of network devices are connected, Packet classification means for receiving a packet, identifying a destination of the received packet, and classifying the packet by a predetermined class; Packet storing means for storing the classified packet for each class; A packet distribution means for distributing network resources in a discriminating manner for each class and distributing packets stored in the packet storage means to a corresponding destination; Packet control device for a home network, characterized in that provided. The method of claim 1, The packet class is a packet control device for a home network, characterized in that determined by the urgency of the service provided by the network device corresponding to the destination. The method of claim 1, The packet class is a packet control device for a home network, characterized in that determined by the real-time availability of services provided by the network device corresponding to the destination. In the gateway for a home network to which a plurality of network devices are connected, Class information storage means for storing device class information determined according to the urgency and real-time of a service provided by the network device; Packet receiving means for receiving and storing packets from the outside; A packet classification means for receiving a packet from the packet receiving means, identifying the corresponding device information of the received packet, and classifying the packet according to the device class information with reference to the class information storage means; Packet storing means for storing the classified packet for each class; A packet distribution means for allocating network resources in a differentiated manner for each class and for distributing packets stored in the packet storage means to a corresponding device; Packet control device for a home network, characterized in that provided. In the method for controlling the flow of packets in a home network to which a plurality of network devices are connected, Receiving class information about the network device; Receiving a packet from the outside, checking the corresponding device information of the received packet, and classifying the packet according to the device class information; Storing the classified packets for each class; Distributing network resources in a differential manner for each class and distributing packets stored for each class to a corresponding device. Packet control method in a home network, characterized in that provided. The method of claim 5, The device class information is determined according to the urgency and real-time of the service provided by the network device. The method of claim 5, And setting a method of allocating network resources for each class.