TWI469657B - Multiple-link transmission architecture and method for improving performance of bandwidth aggregation - Google Patents

Description

Multiple link transmission system and method for improving combined bandwidth performance

The present invention relates to a multiple link transmission system, and more particularly to a multiple link transmission system and method thereof that can improve the combined bandwidth performance by means of establishing a virtual link.

With the rise of high-definition mobile video services, the demand for network bandwidth for various application services is increasing. However, the current mobile network environment is mainly based on 3.5G/3G wireless transmission technology, and the network bandwidth that can be provided is quite limited, especially in the part of uploading bandwidth, the maximum theoretical value of each user connection is only 384Kbps. This is not conducive to their development for high-definition video and audio applications that require bandwidths of more than 1 Mbps. Even if the future wireless network environment is upgraded to 4G transmission technologies such as WiMAX or LTE, it is difficult to meet the increasing demand for mobile audio and video services. On the one hand, such networks are public networks, and the bandwidth of the network is easily shared by other users, and the minimum bandwidth required cannot be stably obtained. On the other hand, the demand for network bandwidth of high-definition video and audio services is high. It will continue to improve. The bandwidth requirement of 1Mbps high-definition video and audio is the smallest estimate. With the development of related technologies, it is likely to expand to 2Mbps, 3Mbps, and even 6Mbps of TV broadcasting.

In view of this, the technology of combining multiple link bandwidth aggregation has recently received considerable attention. With this concept, the amount of transmission required for a video service can be assigned to different network links for transmission. Taking the transmission capacity of audio and video application services of 1 Mbps as an example, if we can combine more than 3 3.5G/3G network bandwidths at the same time, a total transmission bandwidth of more than 1 Mbps can be obtained. At this point, 1Mbps service can be promoted in the mobile network environment. However, one of the difficulties in multi-link technology is to determine the amount of transmission per link, the so-called scheduling problem. It has been pointed out that when the merged links ask each other a large difference in network state, including: bandwidth resources, link packet loss rate, etc., it will seriously affect the performance of the combined bandwidth link, and even merge The transmission bandwidth obtained after the link will be lower than the transmission link with the best use of only one network state.

Therefore, this case proposes a method and framework for solving the above problems, which can contribute to the development of related multi-link technologies and promote the establishment and development of high-definition mobile video and audio services.

In view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, one of the objects of the present invention is to provide a multi-link transmission system and a method for improving the combined bandwidth performance, so as to solve the conventional use of combining multiple links for packet data transmission, such as When there is too much difference in bandwidth resources of each link, the problem of better combined bandwidth transmission performance cannot be obtained.

In accordance with the purpose of the present invention, a multiple link transmission system is provided that includes a plurality of first transmission modules and a setting module. The plurality of first transmission modules are configured to transmit or receive a packet data, and each of the first transmission modules corresponds to a first link channel, and each of the first link channels respectively corresponds to a transmission bandwidth. The setting module determines a reference transmission bandwidth according to each transmission bandwidth, and according to the reference transmission bandwidth, a plurality of Setting at least one of the first link channels to establish a plurality of first virtual link channels, so that the packet data is transmitted or received via the first virtual link channels and the undivided first link channels. .

Preferably, the transmission bandwidth corresponding to the first link channel that is divided is allocated to each of the first virtual link channels corresponding to the first link channel, so that the first virtual link The transmission bandwidth of the path and the undivided first link channel approaches or is equal to the reference transmission bandwidth.

Preferably, the setting module uses the minimum transmission bandwidth in each of the first link channels as a reference transmission bandwidth, and the setting module sets the first link channel larger than the reference transmission bandwidth. The set is divided into a plurality of first virtual link channels.

Preferably, the setting module determines the reference transmission bandwidth by the greatest common factor of the transmission bandwidth corresponding to each of the first link channels.

Preferably, the multiple link transmission system of the present invention further includes a plurality of second transmission modules for receiving or transmitting packet data, and each of the second transmission modules corresponds to a second link channel. And setting the module to set the at least one of the plurality of second link channels to the plurality of second virtual link channels according to the number of the plurality of first virtual link channels and the undivided first link channels. The packet data is received or transmitted by each of the second virtual link channels and the undivided second link channel. The sum of the number of the plurality of second virtual link channels and the undivided second link channels corresponds to the plurality of first virtual link channels and the undivided first link channels.

Preferably, the multiple link transmission system of the present invention further includes a second transmission module for receiving or transmitting packet data, and the second transmission module is corresponding to a second link channel, and is configured. The module is based on a plurality of first virtual link channels and is not divided The number of the first link channels is divided into a plurality of second virtual link channels for the second link channel to receive or transmit the packet data by using the second virtual link channels. The sum of the number of the plurality of second virtual link channels corresponds to the plurality of first virtual link channels and the undivided first link channels.

According to the purpose of the present invention, a method for improving combined bandwidth performance is further provided, which includes the following steps: transmitting or receiving a packet data through a plurality of first transmission modules, wherein each of the first transmission modules corresponds to one a first link channel, wherein each of the first link channels corresponds to a transmission bandwidth; a setting module determines a reference transmission bandwidth according to each transmission bandwidth; and the transmission bandwidth is determined according to the reference by the setting module Setting at least one of the plurality of first link channels to establish a plurality of first virtual link channels, so that the packet data is performed through each of the first virtual link channels and the undivided first link channel Transmit or receive.

As described above, the multi-link transmission system and the method of improving the multi-link bandwidth performance using the virtual link according to the present invention may have one or more of the following advantages:

(1) The multi-link transmission system and the method for improving the combined bandwidth performance are equally distributed by using the virtual link to allocate the bandwidth resources of the multiple links. In addition to improving the poor performance of the conventional use of link merging, if the link of large bandwidth is divided into more virtual links, it can provide more processing time to the big bandwidth chain. The road can alleviate the problem of bad scheduling, and at the same time, it can relieve the problem that the transmission performance drops suddenly due to the large drop of the Congestion Window (CWND) caused by the loss of the packet.

(2) The multi-link transmission system and its method for improving the combined bandwidth performance can be selected by using a virtual private network (VPN) router. The setting of the virtual link. Utilizing VPN technology can help some packets that are not widely supported by network transport protocols to flow unimpeded between network devices without being blocked by firewalls or NAT routing devices.

1, 10‧‧‧ data transmission end

11, 301‧‧‧ first transmission module

111‧‧‧First link channel

1111‧‧‧First virtual link channel

2, 20‧‧‧ setting module

3, 30‧‧‧ data receiving end

31, 101‧‧‧ second transmission module

311‧‧‧second link channel

3111‧‧‧Second virtual link channel

S‧‧‧Transport

R‧‧‧ Receiver

C‧‧‧Network Card

D‧‧‧VPN Router

S41~S43‧‧‧Steps

Figure 1 is a first schematic diagram of a multiple link transmission system of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a second schematic diagram of the multiple link transmission system of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a third schematic diagram of the multiple link transmission system of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a flow chart of a method for improving the combined bandwidth performance of the present invention.

Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a first embodiment of a multiple link transmission system and a method for improving the combined bandwidth performance of the present invention.

Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of the multi-link transmission system of the present invention and a method for improving the combined bandwidth performance.

The technical features, contents, and advantages of the present invention, as well as the advantages thereof, can be understood by the present inventors, and the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The subject matter is only for the purpose of illustration and description. It is not intended to be a true proportion and precise configuration after the implementation of the present invention. Therefore, the scope and configuration relationship of the attached drawings should not be interpreted or limited. First described.

Please refer to FIG. 1, which is a first schematic diagram of the multiple link transmission system of the present invention. In the figure, the multi-link transmission system of the present invention comprises a data transmission end 1, a setting module 2 and a data receiving end 3. The data transmission end 1 and the data receiving end 3 may be devices such as a personal computer, a notebook computer, a tablet computer or a video and audio encoder having a multi-link transmission function. Setting module 2 can be a virtual private network (Virtual Private Network, VPN) server, but not limited to this. In the data transmission end 1, a plurality of first transmission modules 11 are used, and in the data receiving end 3, a second transmission module 31 is used. The first transmission module 11 and the second transmission module 31 can be wired network modules such as an RJ-45 interface Ethernet network card connected to the ADSL or optical network to connect to the Internet ( Internet), or connect to the Internet for wireless network modules such as 3G, WiFi, etc. The data transmission end 1 can transmit a packet data through the plurality of first transmission modules 11 and receive the data receiving end 3 via the second transmission module 31.

In the above, each of the first transmission modules 11 corresponds to a first link channel 111, and each of the first link channels 111 corresponds to a transmission bandwidth, wherein each transmission bandwidth is different and has one. Predetermined difference. The second transmission module 31 corresponds to a second link channel 311, which also corresponds to a transmission bandwidth. In order to enable the first link channel 111 to obtain the better combined bandwidth transmission performance in the combined transmission packet data, the setting of the virtual key can be performed through the setting module 2. The setting module 2 can determine a reference transmission bandwidth according to each transmission bandwidth corresponding to each of the first link channels 111, and set at least one of the first link channels 111 according to the reference transmission bandwidth. The set number is set to a plurality of first virtual link channels 1111, and the packet data is transmitted through each of the first virtual link channels 1111 and the undivided first link channel 111. However, when the setting module 2 sets a virtual link to the first link channel 111, the second link channel 311 also needs to be set according to the first virtual link channel 1111 and the first undivided first. The number of the link channels 111 is divided into a plurality of second virtual link channels 3111 for the second link channel 311 to be received by the data transmission end 1 by the second virtual link channels 3111. Packet information. The transmission bandwidth corresponding to the first link channel 111 that is divided is allocated to the first link. Each of the first virtual link channels 1111 corresponding to the channel 111 is such that the transmission bandwidth of each of the first virtual link channels 1111 and the undivided first link channel 111 approaches or equals the reference transmission bandwidth. , but not limited to this. The sum of the numbers of all the second virtual link channels 3111 will need to correspond to all the first virtual link channels 1111 and the undivided first link channels 111. The combined transmission bandwidths of all the first link channels 111 are equally divided by establishing a virtual link, so that the combined transmission bandwidth can be effectively utilized to achieve the desired transmission efficiency.

In the above, the setting module 2 establishes a virtual link, and the minimum transmission bandwidth in each of the first link channels 111 can be used as a reference transmission bandwidth. The setting module 2 sets the first link channel 111 that is larger than the reference transmission bandwidth to establish a plurality of first virtual link channels 1111 so that all the first virtual link channels 1111 are The transmission bandwidth approaches or is equal to the reference transmission bandwidth, but may not be limited thereto. For example, suppose that one of the first link channels 111 has a transmission bandwidth of 200 Kbps, the other first link channels 111 have 400 and 600 Kbps, and the setting module 2 uses a minimum transmission bandwidth of 200 Kbps as a reference transmission bandwidth. The first link channel 111 of 400 Kbps is divided into two first virtual link channels 1111, and the first link channel 111 of 600 Kbps is divided into three first virtual link channels 1111. Alternatively, the setting module 2 can determine the reference transmission bandwidth by the greatest common factor of the transmission bandwidth corresponding to each of the first link channels 111. For example, the transmission bandwidth of each first link channel 111 is 250Kbps, 300Kbps and 400Kbps respectively, and the setting module 2 can take the maximum common factor 50Kbps as the reference transmission bandwidth according to the three transmission bandwidths, so as to be the first of 250Kbps. The link channel 111 is divided into five first virtual link channels 1111, and the first link channel 111 of 300 Kbps is divided into six first virtual link channels 1111, and the first link channel 111 of 400 Kbps is divided into eight. The first virtual link channel 1111. borrow In the above manner, a virtual link in which the transmission bandwidth is equally divided can be established, but the above manner is only an implementation aspect, and should not be limited thereto.

Please refer to FIG. 2, which is a second schematic diagram of the multiple link transmission system of the present invention. The multi-link transmission system of this figure is similar to that shown in Fig. 1, except that the data receiving end 3 uses a plurality of second transmission modules 31 to receive the packet data. After the setting module 2 establishes a virtual link for each of the first transmission modules 11, the setting module 2 will set the first virtual link channel 1111 and the undivided first link channel 111 according to the set. The number of the plurality of second link channels 311 is divided into a plurality of second virtual link channels 3111, by the second virtual link channels 3111 and the undivided second link channels. 311 to receive or transmit the packet data. The sum of the number of all the second virtual link channels 3111 and the undivided second link channels 311 corresponds to all the first virtual link channels 1111 and the undivided first link channels 111.

Please refer to FIG. 3, which is a third schematic diagram of the multiple link transmission system of the present invention. In this figure, the multi-link transmission system includes a data transmission terminal 10, a setting module 20, and a data transmission terminal 30. The technical features of the multi-link transmission system may correspond to the technical contents in FIGS. 1 and 2. The difference is only that the data transmission end 10 uses at least one second transmission module 101, and the data receiving end 30 uses a plurality of first transmission modules 301. The packet data is received by the plurality of first transmission modules 301 by transmitting the packet data via the at least one second transmission module 101. In the aspect of setting the module 20, the virtual link is set to each of the first transmission modules 301 of the download receiving end, and then the virtual link pair established according to each of the first transmission modules 301 is at least A second transmission module 101 performs virtual link setting. The setting method can be as described in the first and second figures, and will not be further described herein.

Please refer to FIG. 4, which is a flowchart of a method for improving multi-link bandwidth performance by using a virtual link according to the present invention. The steps include the following steps: S41: transmitting or receiving a packet data through a plurality of first transmission modules. Each of the first transmission modules corresponds to a first link channel, and each of the first link channels respectively corresponds to a transmission bandwidth; S42: using a setting module to determine one according to each transmission bandwidth a reference transmission bandwidth; S43: setting at least one of the plurality of first link channels according to the reference transmission bandwidth by the setting module, so as to establish a plurality of first virtual link channels, so that the packet data is respectively The first virtual link channel and the undivided first link channel transmit or receive.

In response to the development of multi-link transmission applications, the present invention proposes a method and architecture for improving the efficiency of combining multiple link bandwidths to achieve maximum bandwidth aggregation benefits. The cause of poor bandwidth aggregation benefits often comes from scheduling problems. This schedule determines decisions such as which link to use to transmit data and how much data should be transferred on the link. However, the method and architecture proposed by the present invention utilizes the observed multi-link transmission characteristics without changing any existing scheduling mechanism, and writes a mechanism for establishing a virtual link at the application layer to improve the merged link. Bandwidth performance. Since this method can be implemented in the application layer, it can be applied to various technologies for combining multiple link bandwidths, and the problem of poor performance of the original merged link is improved.

The present invention finds that if the bandwidth resource states of the links are similar, the best combined link performance can be obtained. Therefore, by establishing a virtual link in a physical link with a large number of bandwidth resources, it is logically divided into a plurality of links with a small bandwidth to make the transmission bandwidth resources of all links close to each other. , to get the best bandwidth and merge performance. Since the method of establishing a virtual link can be selectively implemented by using VPN technology, Another additional feature gained with VPN technology is that it can assist with certain packets that are not widely supported by network transport protocols, such as Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) packets, making them accessible. Unimpeded circulation between network devices, and through various firewalls and NAT routing devices, will not be blocked. For example, the multiple link transmission technology established in the SCTP has the problem that the NAT device cannot be penetrated. However, the method of the virtual link and the VPN technology proposed by the present invention can solve the problem of poor performance of the original link merge. In addition, it can also solve the problem of penetrating NAT devices.

Before establishing a virtual link, you must first decide the number of virtual links that should be established. According to the previously discovered principle - "when the transmission states of the merged links are more similar to each other, the throughput that can be obtained after the merger has more chances." The number of virtual links after the decision should be able to establish the most similar bandwidth resources among all the merged links. Taking the two links of 9 Mbps and 1 Mbps as an example, nine virtual links should be established on the 9 Mbps link, so that the bandwidth resources of the 9 Mbps link can be equally divided into nine transmission links of 1 Mbps (ie, nine). In the meantime, after the virtual link is established, the virtual link is like a link that combines ten 1 Mbps bandwidth resources to eliminate the difference in bandwidth resources in the original transmission link.

The present invention uses the technology of the VPN tunnel to establish a virtual link mechanism, as shown in FIG. 5 (taking the physical two-link connection architecture 2 to 2 as an example). In order to establish multiple virtual links (that is, multiple channels in a large bandwidth link, the network card C of the sender S and the Receiver R must be able to set multiple sets of IP addresses. Most of the Ethernet network cards used in general can support multiple IP address settings. However, if the wireless network cards such as 3.5G and WiFi cannot be used to support multiple IP address settings, you can use the mobile router. To mediate these wireless network cards and the transmission terminal S Ethernet network card, and then set multiple IP addresses on the Ethernet network card. The manner of setting the IP address for the wireless network cards is only an implementation aspect, and should not be limited thereto. The network card C address of the transmitting end S and the receiving end R must be in one-to-one correspondence. Taking Figure 5 as an example, the IPs1, IPs2, ..., IPsn of the transmitting end S must correspond to the IPR1, IPr2, ... of the receiving end R respectively. IPrn, that is, the data sent from the IPs1 of the transmission terminal S, must be received by the IPR1 of the receiving end R, and the data sent by the IPs2 of the transmitting end S must be received by the IPr2 of the receiving end R, and so on. In this way, n virtual links can be established in the large bandwidth link. One-to-one correspondence of virtual links can be done through VPN router D settings. Generally, various technologies for combining multiple link bandwidths, in the process of initializing, at least obtain all connectable IP addresses of the receiving end R for knowing the transmission link of the amount of data that can be allocated. When the virtual link is applied, only one IP address to be reached at the receiving end is set at the transmitting end S, and which IP address in the transmitting end S is sent out, the one-to-one correspondence purpose can be implemented.

Figure 5 is a transmission mode of the physical link 2 to 2 (an analog n to n transmission architecture), that is, the transmission end S and the receiving end R each establish the physical link with two network cards C. In fact, the virtual link can also be applied to the transmission mode of the physical link 2 to 1 (which can be analogized to the n to 1 transmission architecture), as shown in Figure 6, that is, the transmission terminal S has two network cards C. The receiving end R has only one network card C, which is also the transmission architecture in most practical application scenarios.

Since the IP addresses of the transmitting end S and the receiving end R are virtual IPs, the connection of the IP addresses of the two terminals must be achieved through VPN technology. Also because of the application of VPN technology, it can assist some packets that are not widely supported by network transport protocols, and will not be blocked by firewalls or NAT routers. Due to the large number of VPN practices, this case is not limited to specific VPN technologies, as long as VPN technology can help meet the following functions:

1. It can help the IP address of the transmitting end and the receiving end to correspond one-to-one. That is, the relevant route must be set so that the specific source IP address can be linked to a specific destination IP address.

2. Assist non-standard TCP and UDP packets, which can penetrate various network devices to successfully reach the destination.

The above is intended to be illustrative only and not limiting. Any equivalent modifications or alterations to the spirit and scope of the invention are intended to be included in the scope of the appended claims.

1‧‧‧ data transmission end

11‧‧‧First transmission module

111‧‧‧First link channel

1111‧‧‧First virtual link channel

2‧‧‧Setting module

3‧‧‧data receiving end

31‧‧‧Second transmission module

311‧‧‧second link channel

3111‧‧‧Second virtual link channel

Claims (10)

A multiple link transmission system includes: a plurality of first transmission modules for transmitting or receiving a packet data, each of the first transmission modules respectively corresponding to a first link channel, and each of the first a link channel corresponds to a transmission bandwidth; and a setting module determines a reference transmission bandwidth according to a maximum common factor of the transmission bandwidth corresponding to each of the first link channels, and according to the The reference transmission bandwidth sets at least one of the first link channels to establish a plurality of first virtual link channels, so that the packet data is transmitted through each of the first virtual link channels and not divided. The first link channel transmits or receives. The multi-link transmission system of claim 1, wherein the transmission bandwidth corresponding to the first link channel is divided into corresponding ones of the first link channel. Each of the first virtual link channels is such that the transmission bandwidth of each of the first virtual link channel and the undivided first link channel approaches or is equal to the reference transmission bandwidth. The multiple link transmission system of claim 1, wherein the setting module uses the minimum transmission bandwidth of each of the first link channels as the reference transmission bandwidth, and the setting mode The group sets the first link channel that is greater than the reference transmission bandwidth to establish a plurality of first virtual link channels. The multiple link transmission system of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of second transmission modules for receiving or transmitting the packet data, each of the second transmission modules corresponding to a second chain a channel, and the setting module is based on the first virtual The number of the link channels and the undivided first link channels, the at least one of the second link channels is divided into a plurality of second virtual link channels, by each of the second virtual links The channel channel and the undivided second link channel receive or transmit the packet data; wherein, the sum of the number of the second virtual link channels and the undivided second link channels corresponds to the The first virtual link channel and the first link channel that are not separated. The multiple link transmission system of claim 1, further comprising a second transmission module for receiving or transmitting the packet data, wherein the second transmission module corresponds to a second link channel And the setting module is configured to divide the second link channel into a plurality of second virtual link channels according to the number of the first virtual link channels and the undivided first link channels, Receiving or transmitting the packet data by each of the second virtual link channels; wherein the sum of the number of the second virtual link channels corresponds to the first virtual link channels and the undivided First link channel. A method for improving combined bandwidth performance, comprising the steps of: transmitting or receiving a packet data through a plurality of first transmission modules, wherein each of the first transmission modules respectively corresponds to a first link channel, and Each of the first link channels respectively corresponds to a transmission bandwidth; a set module is used to determine a reference transmission bandwidth according to a maximum common factor of the transmission bandwidth corresponding to each of the first link channels; The setting module sets at least one of the first link channels according to the reference transmission bandwidth to establish a plurality of first virtual link channels, and the packet data is sent to each of the first virtual links. The channel channel and the undivided first link channel transmit or receive. The method for improving the combined bandwidth performance according to the sixth aspect of the patent application, wherein the transmission bandwidth corresponding to the first link channel that is divided is correspondingly allocated to the first link channel. Each of the first virtual link channels is divided such that the transmission bandwidth of each of the first virtual link channels and the undivided first link channels approaches or is equal to the reference transmission bandwidth. The method for improving the combined bandwidth performance, as described in claim 6, wherein the setting module uses the minimum transmission bandwidth of each of the first link channels as the reference transmission bandwidth, and borrows The first link channel that is greater than the reference transmission bandwidth is set by the setting module to establish a plurality of first virtual link channels. The method for improving combined bandwidth performance, as described in claim 6, further comprising the steps of: receiving or transmitting the packet data through a plurality of second transmission modules, wherein each of the second transmission modules corresponds to a second link channel; and establishing, by using the setting module, the at least one of the second link channels according to the number of the first virtual link channels and the undivided first link channels Receiving or transmitting the packet data by each of the second virtual link channels and the undivided second link channel; wherein the second virtual link channels are And the sum of the number of the undivided second link channels corresponding to the first virtual link channels and the undivided first link channels. The method for improving the combined bandwidth performance, as described in claim 6, further comprising the steps of: receiving or transmitting the packet data via a second transmission module, wherein the second transmission module corresponds to a first a second link channel; and using the setting module according to the first virtual link channels and the undivided first chain The number of path channels, the second link channel establishment is divided into a plurality of second virtual link channels, to receive or transmit the packet data by each of the second virtual link channels; wherein, the second The sum of the number of virtual link channels corresponds to the first virtual link channels and the undivided first link channels.