WO2015143863A1

WO2015143863A1 - Flow-based network switching method and apparatus and terminal

Info

Publication number: WO2015143863A1
Application number: PCT/CN2014/088403
Authority: WO
Inventors: 张红
Original assignee: 中兴通讯股份有限公司
Priority date: 2014-03-26
Filing date: 2014-10-11
Publication date: 2015-10-01
Also published as: CN104955119A; CN104955119B

Abstract

Disclosed are a flow-based network switching method and apparatus and a terminal. The method comprises: performing network access according to multiple preset networks so as to access one of the multiple networks; determining to perform network switching according to the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network; and switching the accessed network to another network comprised in the one or more networks.

Description

Traffic-based network switching method, device and terminal

Technical field

The present invention relates to the field of mobile communication technologies, and in particular, to a traffic-based network switching method, apparatus, and terminal.

Background technique

Cellular mobile communication adopts a cellular wireless networking mode, and is connected between a terminal and a network device through a wireless channel, so that users can communicate with each other during activities. The cellular mobile communication network has a wide coverage and can meet the high mobility of the terminal. However, the data transmission rate in a cellular mobile communication network is not high.

Wi-Fi is an important part of Wireless Local Area Nerworks (WLAN). Wi-Fi is a technology that connects multiple terminals to each other wirelessly, and has a high data transmission rate.

Cellular mobile communication networks can take advantage of the high transmission rate of Wi-Fi data to compensate for the limitations of their data transmission rate. Wi-Fi can utilize the perfect authentication mechanism of cellular mobile communication networks, and combines the characteristics of cellular mobile communication networks to carry out switching in multiple access modes. In this way, the fusion of the Wi-Fi network and the cellular mobile communication network can be realized.

Through reasonable utilization of the cellular mobile communication network and the Wi-Fi network, timely switching between the cellular mobile communication network and the Wi-Fi network is realized. However, some handover algorithms between the cellular mobile communication network and the Wi-Fi network currently provided need to upgrade the hardware and software of the existing network, and some need to detect the data of the network protocol layer, which causes the existing handover. The way to implement it is more complicated.

Summary of the invention

In order to solve the existing technical problems, the embodiments of the present invention provide a traffic-based network switching method, apparatus, and terminal.

To solve the above technical problem, the embodiment of the present invention is implemented by the following technical solutions:

An embodiment of the present invention provides a traffic-based network switching method, including: performing network access based on multiple preset networks to access one of the multiple networks; according to the accessed network The number of transmitted data packets, determining to perform a network handover; switching the accessed network to another network; the other network being included in the plurality of networks.

The method further includes: determining to perform network switching when the network switching is not performed.

Wherein, before determining to perform network handover according to the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network, the method further includes: identifying, among the plurality of data packets transmitted in the uplink and/or the downlink Acknowledgement of an ACK packet; based on the identified ACK packet, obtaining a number of packets between two adjacent ACK packets in the uplink and/or downlink as the network in the access The number of packets transmitted.

The determining, according to the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network, determining to perform network switching, including: in an uplink and/or a downlink, the number of data packets between two adjacent ACK data packets is greater than A preset number threshold is determined to perform a network switch.

The determining, according to the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network, determining to perform network handover, including: continuously appearing between the two adjacent ACK data packets in the uplink and/or the downlink If the number is greater than the preset number threshold, and the number of consecutive occurrences is greater than the set number of times threshold, it is determined to perform network switching.

Performing network access to access one of the plurality of networks based on a plurality of networks set in advance, including: setting priorities for the plurality of networks in advance; according to the plurality of networks Priority, attempting to perform network access in sequence until access to one of the networks.

The embodiment of the present invention further provides a traffic-based network switching apparatus, including: an access module, configured to perform network access based on multiple preset networks to access one of the multiple networks; The determining module is configured to determine to perform network switching according to the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network, and the switching module is configured to: when the determining module determines to perform network switching, switch the accessed network to Another network; the other network is included in the plurality of networks.

The determining module is further configured to: when it is determined that the network switching is not performed, continue to determine whether to perform network switching.

The apparatus further includes: the identification and acquisition module configured to identify an ACK packet in the plurality of data packets transmitted in the uplink and/or the downlink; and based on the identified ACK packet, Obtaining the number of data packets between two adjacent ACK packets in the uplink and/or downlink as the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network.

The determining module is configured to: in the uplink and/or the downlink, the number of data packets between two adjacent ACK data packets is greater than a preset number threshold, and determining to perform network switching.

The judging module is configured to: in the uplink and/or the downlink, consecutively appear that the number of data packets between two adjacent ACK data packets is greater than a preset number threshold, and the number of consecutive occurrences is greater than A threshold number of times is determined to determine the execution of the network switch.

The access module is configured to: set priorities for the multiple networks in advance; and sequentially perform network access according to priorities of the multiple networks until accessing one of the networks.

The embodiment of the invention further provides a terminal, comprising the above traffic-based network switching device.

Embodiments of the present invention also provide a computer storage medium, the computer storage medium comprising a set of instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform the traffic-based network switching method described above.

The beneficial effects of the embodiments of the present invention are as follows:

The embodiment of the invention is based on the TCP/IP protocol, and determines whether the data traffic is too large by monitoring the data packets sent and received, and adaptively performs network switching when the data traffic is large, thereby improving the convenience of the network switching mode.

DRAWINGS

In the drawings, which are not necessarily to scale, the Like reference numerals with different letter suffixes may indicate different examples of similar components. The drawings generally illustrate the various embodiments discussed herein by way of example and not limitation.

1 is a flow chart of a traffic based network switching method according to an embodiment of the invention;

2 is a flowchart of steps of performing network handover for an uplink, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

3 is a flowchart of steps of performing network handover for a downlink, in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

4 is a structural diagram of a traffic based network switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

detailed description

In order to solve the problem that the switching algorithm between the cellular mobile communication network and the Wi-Fi network is complicated, the embodiment of the present invention provides a traffic-based network switching method, device, and terminal, which are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments. The invention is further described in detail. It is understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of the invention and are not intended to limit the invention.

In the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), in order to provide a reliable connection service, TCP uses a three-way handshake to establish a connection. After the connection is established, each time the data packet is transmitted, the sender To send a data packet, the receiver needs to acknowledge (answer). If the receiver successfully receives the data packet, it sends an acknowledgement (ACK) packet to the sender. based on Therefore, in various embodiments of the present invention, the inherent data is monitored by monitoring the ACK data packet by using the inherent TCP/IP, and the network is adaptively switched according to the size of the data traffic, thereby improving the convenience of network switching.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of a traffic-based network switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1 , a traffic-based network switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

Step S110: Perform network access according to a plurality of networks set in advance to access one of the plurality of networks.

The plurality of networks include at least: a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, a Wi-Fi network, and the like.

Specifically, one network may be randomly selected from multiple networks to perform network access, or priority may be set for multiple networks in advance, and network access is sequentially attempted according to the priorities of the multiple networks. Enter one of the networks.

After the network access is successful, the transmission of the data packet is performed.

Step S120: determining whether to perform network switching according to the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network, and if yes, executing step S130; if not, proceeding to step S120.

Packets transmitted in the network are divided into uplink data and downlink data. Both the uplink data and the downlink data respectively contain a plurality of data packets, and ACK data packets are included in the plurality of data packets. Further, the ACK data packet in the uplink is used by the terminal to answer the network, and the data packet sent by the network side terminal to the terminal has been successfully received by the terminal; the ACK data packet in the downlink is used for the network response terminal, indicating that the terminal is to the network. The data packet sent by the side has been successfully received by the network side.

The step of determining whether to perform network handover includes: obtaining the number of transmitted data packets in the accessed network, and further identifying the ACK data in multiple data packets transmitted in the uplink and/or the downlink. Packet; based on the identified ACK packet, obtaining the number of packets between two adjacent ACK packets in the uplink and/or downlink; according to uplink and/or downlink The number of packets between two adjacent ACK packets in the link determines whether to perform network switching. If in the uplink and/or downlink, the number of packets between two adjacent ACK packets is greater than a preset number threshold, then it is determined to perform a network switch. Further, the first quantity threshold and the second quantity threshold may be preset. If in the uplink, the number of packets between two adjacent ACK packets is greater than a preset first number threshold, and/or if in the downlink, the number of packets between two adjacent ACK packets If it is greater than the preset second number threshold, it is determined to perform network switching. Wherein, the first quantity threshold and the second quantity threshold may be empirical values.

In one embodiment, if in the uplink and/or the downlink, the number of consecutive data packets between two adjacent ACK data packets is greater than a preset number threshold, and the number of consecutive occurrences is greater than the setting. The number of times threshold is determined to perform network switching. Further, the first quantity threshold and the second quantity threshold may be preset, and the first number of times threshold and the second number of times of the threshold. If in the uplink, the number of consecutively adjacent ACK packets is greater than a preset first number threshold, and the number of consecutive occurrences is greater than the first threshold, and/or if In the link, if the number of data packets between two adjacent ACK packets is greater than a preset second number threshold, and the number of consecutive occurrences is greater than the second threshold, it is determined that network switching is performed. Wherein: the first quantity threshold and the second quantity threshold, and the first number of times threshold and the second number of times threshold may be empirical values.

Step S130, the accessed network is switched to another network; the other network is included in a plurality of networks set in advance.

When performing network switching, one network may be selected and the network switching may be performed in a preset plurality of networks; or the network may be switched to the next priority network according to a preset network priority.

The embodiment of the invention adaptively performs network switching when the data traffic is large, improves the convenience of the network switching mode, does not need to upgrade the hardware and software of the existing network, and can implement the invention based on the existing TCP/IP. Embodiments, and embodiments of the present invention take into account users access to the Internet The demand for traffic, when the network traffic is large, switch the network, which can improve the speed of the Internet, improve the user experience, and avoid network congestion.

In order to more clearly describe the present invention, the steps of determining whether to perform network switching in the uplink and downlink, respectively, will be described in conjunction with a specific embodiment. Further, the embodiment of the present invention may further determine whether to perform network switching by combining the number of data packets transmitted in the uplink and the downlink.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a step of performing network handover for an uplink according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, a method for performing network handover in an uplink according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

Step S210, obtaining priorities of a plurality of networks set in advance.

Specifically, the second terminal obtains the priority of the plurality of networks set in advance from the first terminal. The first terminal is a device used by the user. The first terminal is, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet, a computer, or the like. The first terminal can be configured to implement data interaction with the network. For example, the first terminal can upload data to the network, and the first terminal can also download data from the network. The second terminal is located between the first terminal and the network, and is configured to transmit data packets to the first terminal and the network, and determine whether the network needs to be switched according to the number of transmitted data packets. That is to say, the data uploaded or downloaded by the first terminal must pass through the second terminal.

The user can set multiple networks that can be accessed through the user interface of the first terminal, and set priorities for each network. After the second terminal starts working, the network set by the first terminal and the priority of each network are obtained from the first terminal. Further, the first terminal sends the priority of each network to the second terminal local area network side through an AT (Attention) command, and then sends the second terminal to the second terminal wide area network side. The local area network side of the second terminal refers to the first terminal accessing the second terminal side. The WAN side of the second terminal refers to the second terminal accessing the network side.

Step S220, accessing the network with the highest priority.

If the second terminal performs network access according to the network priority, when the second terminal obtains the most After the high priority network, access to the highest priority network. For example, the user sets the WLAN network and the LTE network in the first terminal, and selects the WLAN network or the LTE network as the highest priority network. If the user chooses to preferentially access the WLAN network, the second terminal preferentially searches for and accesses the Wi-Fi hotspot. If the user chooses to preferentially access the LTE network, the second terminal preferentially accesses the LTE wireless network.

After the second terminal accesses the network, the first terminal requests data from the network, thereby generating downlink traffic. After receiving the data packet from the network, the first terminal sends an ACK packet to the network. In this process, the first terminal may also send uplink data, such as multiple data packets, to the network, and the multiple data packets and the ACK data packet for replying are mixed together through the local area network side of the second terminal, and the wide area network side network. send.

In step S230, the number UL of the data packets is accumulated on the wide area network side.

The plurality of data packets (including the ACK data packets) sent by the first terminal pass through the local area network side of the second terminal and reach the wide area network side of the second terminal. On the WAN side, the second terminal performs a cumulative counting operation every time a packet is received, such as UL=UL+1. The initial value of the count can be an empirical value, such as an initial value of zero.

In step S240, it is determined whether the current data packet is an ACK data packet. If yes, step S250 is performed; if no, step S230 is executed to continue to accumulate the received data packet.

The plurality of data packets sent by the first terminal first reach the local area network side of the second terminal, and then reach the wide area network measurement of the second terminal. On the LAN side, the second terminal monitors the data packet from the first terminal and identifies the ACK packet therein. Further, the second terminal can mark the ACK packet.

On the WAN side, the second terminal determines, according to the flag, whether the currently received data packet is an ACK data packet.

In step S250, it is determined whether the number of packets UL is greater than the first number threshold. If yes, step S270 is performed; if not, step S260 is performed.

In step S260, the number of packets UL is cleared to cause step S230 to restart counting from the count initial value.

In step S270, it is determined whether the number of packets UL is twice greater than the first number threshold. If yes, step S130 is performed; if not, step S260 is performed.

Here, the two times are preset first time thresholds. The number of packets UL is twice consecutively greater than the first number threshold, indicating that among the three consecutive ACK packets A, B, C, the number of packets transmitted between A and B is greater than the first number threshold, and B and C The number of packets transmitted between them is also greater than the first number threshold.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a step of performing network handover for a downlink according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 3, a method for performing network handover on a downlink according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the following steps:

Step S310 - step S320 may refer to step S210 - step S220.

In step S330, the number DL of data packets is accumulated on the wide area network side.

Here, the transmission direction of the data in the downlink is from the network to the first terminal. Therefore, the data packet first reaches the WAN side of the second terminal. On the WAN side, the second terminal performs a cumulative count on each received packet, for example, DL=DL+1. The count initial value can be an empirical value.

Step S340, determining whether the current data packet is an ACK data packet, if yes, executing step S350; if not, executing step S330 to continue accumulating the received data packet.

Here, on the wide area network side of the second terminal, the second terminal monitors each data packet from the network and identifies an ACK packet therein.

In step S350, it is determined whether the number of packets DL is greater than the second threshold. If yes, step S370 is performed; if no, step S360 is performed.

In step S360, the number of packets DL is cleared to cause step S330 to restart counting from the count initial value.

Step S370, determining whether the number of data packets DL is twice greater than the second number threshold, if If yes, go to step S130; if no, go to step S360.

Here, the two times are preset second time thresholds. The number of data packets DL is twice consecutively greater than the second number threshold, indicating that among the three consecutive ACK packets E, F, G, the number of data packets transmitted between E and F is greater than the second number threshold, and F and G The number of packets transmitted between them is also greater than the second number threshold.

The embodiment of the invention further provides a traffic switching based network switching device. 4 is a structural diagram of a traffic based network switching apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the traffic switching device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes: an access module 410, a determining module 420, and a switching module 440;

The access module 410 is configured to perform network access based on multiple networks preset to access one of the plurality of networks;

Further, the access module 410 is specifically configured to set priorities for multiple networks in advance; and perform network access in sequence according to priorities of multiple networks until accessing one of the networks.

The determining module 420 is configured to determine whether to perform network switching according to the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network; when the determination is no, continue to determine whether to perform network switching;

The switching module 440 is configured to switch the accessed network to another network when the determining module determines to be YES; the other network is included in the plurality of networks.

The apparatus further includes the identification and acquisition module 430 configured to: identify an ACK packet in the plurality of data packets transmitted in the uplink and/or downlink; and obtain an uplink based on the identified ACK packet And/or the number of data packets between two adjacent ACK packets in the downlink as the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network;

Correspondingly, the determining module 420 is specifically configured to determine to perform network switching if the number of data packets between two adjacent ACK data packets is greater than a preset number threshold in the uplink and/or downlink.

In one embodiment, the determination module 420 is specifically configured to: if on the uplink and/or down In the line link, if the number of data packets between two adjacent ACK data packets continuously exceeds a preset number threshold, and the number of consecutive occurrences is greater than the set number of times threshold, it is determined that network switching is performed.

In practical applications, the access module 410 and the switching module 440 may be a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), or a programmable logic array (FPGA) in a traffic-based network switching device. The Field-Programmable Gate Array is implemented in conjunction with a specific circuit; the determination module 420 and the identification and acquisition module 430 can be implemented by a CPU, DSP or FPGA in a flow-based network switching device.

The network switching device in the embodiment of the present invention basically corresponds to the foregoing second terminal. Since the function of the second terminal has been described in the method embodiment shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, in the description of this embodiment, For details, refer to the related description in the foregoing embodiments, and no further details are provided herein.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that embodiments of the present invention can be provided as a method, system, or computer program product. Accordingly, the present invention can take the form of a hardware embodiment, a software embodiment, or a combination of software and hardware. Moreover, the invention can take the form of a computer program product embodied on one or more computer-usable storage media (including but not limited to disk storage and optical storage, etc.) including computer usable program code.

The present invention has been described with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, apparatus (system), and computer program products according to embodiments of the invention. It will be understood that each flow and/or block of the flowchart illustrations and/or FIG. These computer program instructions can be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, embedded processor, or other programmable data processing device to produce a machine for the execution of instructions for execution by a processor of a computer or other programmable data processing device. Means for implementing the functions specified in one or more of the flow or in a block or blocks of the flow chart.

The computer program instructions can also be stored in a computer readable memory that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing device to operate in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture comprising the instruction device. The apparatus implements the functions specified in one or more blocks of a flow or a flow and/or block diagram of the flowchart.

These computer program instructions can also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing device such that a series of operational steps are performed on a computer or other programmable device to produce computer-implemented processing for execution on a computer or other programmable device. The instructions provide steps for implementing the functions specified in one or more of the flow or in a block or blocks of a flow diagram.

While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been disclosed for purposes of illustration, those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, and the scope of the invention should not be limited to the embodiments described above.

Claims

A traffic-based network switching method, the method comprising:

Performing network access based on a plurality of networks set in advance to access one of the plurality of networks;

Determining to perform network switching according to the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network;

Switching the accessed network to another network; the other network is included in the plurality of networks.
The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: determining to determine whether to perform network switching when the network switching is not performed.
The method of claim 1, wherein the method further comprises: before performing the network switching according to the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network, the method further comprising:

Recognizing an ACK packet in a plurality of data packets transmitted in the uplink and/or downlink;

Obtaining, according to the identified ACK data packet, the number of data packets between two adjacent ACK data packets in the uplink and/or downlink as the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network .
The method of claim 3, wherein the determining to perform network switching based on the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network comprises:

In the uplink and/or downlink, the number of data packets between two adjacent ACK data packets is greater than a preset number threshold, and it is determined that network switching is performed.
The method of claim 3, wherein the determining to perform network switching based on the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network comprises:

In the uplink and/or downlink, the number of consecutive data packets between two adjacent ACK data packets is greater than a preset number threshold, and the number of consecutive occurrences is greater than a set number of times threshold, and the network switching is determined to be performed. .
The method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the performing network access to access one of the plurality of networks based on a plurality of networks set in advance comprises:

Prioritizing the plurality of networks in advance;

According to the priorities of the multiple networks, network access is sequentially attempted until one of the networks is accessed.
A flow-based network switching device, the device comprising:

An access module, configured to perform network access based on multiple preset networks to access one of the multiple networks;

The determining module is configured to determine to perform network switching according to the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network;

And a switching module configured to switch the accessed network to another network when the determining module determines to perform a network handover; the another network is included in the multiple networks.
The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the determining module is further configured to continue to determine whether to perform network switching when it is determined that network switching is not performed.
The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the apparatus further comprises: an identification and acquisition module configured to: identify ACK packets in a plurality of data packets transmitted in the uplink and/or downlink; Obtaining, according to the identified ACK data packet, the number of data packets between two adjacent ACK data packets in the uplink and/or downlink as the number of data packets transmitted in the accessed network .
The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the determining module is configured to:

In the uplink and/or downlink, the number of data packets between two adjacent ACK data packets is greater than a preset number threshold, and it is determined that network switching is performed.
The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the determining module is configured to:

In the uplink and/or the downlink, the number of consecutive data packets between two adjacent ACK data packets is greater than a preset number threshold, and the number of consecutive occurrences is greater than a set number of times threshold. The value determines the execution of the network switch.
The apparatus according to any one of claims 7 to 11, wherein the access module is configured to: prioritize priorities of the plurality of networks; and sequentially perform execution according to priorities of the plurality of networks Network access until access to one of the networks.
A terminal comprising the apparatus of any of claims 7-12.
A computer storage medium comprising a set of instructions that, when executed, cause at least one processor to perform the flow based network switching method of any one of claims 1 to 6.