WO2018008992A1 - Multinet aggregation traffic controller and traffic control method therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

An operating method of a traffic controller operating by at least one processor comprises the steps of: receiving, through a first network, information of a session generated between a terminal and a multinet aggregation gateway; confirming a data use state and a rate system corresponding to subscriber identification information of the session; and adjusting a transmission rate provided from the first network to the terminal, on the basis of determination information including the rate system and the data use state.

Description

Multi-network merge traffic controller, and its traffic control method

The present invention relates to multi-network merge transmission.

Aggregation transmission is a technique of transmitting data using a plurality of communication networks simultaneously. Through a merge transmission technology, a terminal may be connected to a plurality of communication networks at one time, and one service / application may communicate by merging a plurality of networks as one network regardless of network type or number of networks. Accordingly, the merge transmission apparatus may quickly transmit and receive a large amount of data using a plurality of available network resources. In the sense of merging a plurality of networks, it may be referred to as multinet aggregation.

Among the merge transmission technologies, there is a multi-path TCP (MPTCP) technology that bundles and uses multiple TCP flows. A terminal having a plurality of physical interfaces may be connected to a plurality of communication networks at one time through MPTCP technology, and end-to-end communication is generated by generating a session in subflow units. Therefore, the multi-network merging service can increase the overall transmission speed. However, when the multi-network merge service is used, the traffic is transmitted through the LTE network in which data usage is managed as well as the WiFi network, which is not charged, thereby charging for traffic through the LTE network.

If a user subscribes to a general plan that uses a certain amount of data for a predetermined period of time, the user is concerned about data exhaustion and additional charges and, if possible, tries to use a free communication service using a WiFi network. Therefore, unlike the unlimited plan subscribers, the regular plan subscribers have a limitation in using the multi-network merge service passively.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a multi-network merged traffic controller that differentially provides a transmission rate in the LTE network based on the user's data usage state when using a multi-network merge service, and a traffic control method thereof.

A method of operating a traffic controller operated by at least one processor according to an embodiment of the present invention, the method comprising: receiving information of a session created between a terminal and a multi-network merging gateway through a first network, and a subscriber of the session Checking a rate plan and a data use state corresponding to the identification information, and adjusting a transmission rate provided to the terminal in the first network based on determination information including the rate plan and the data use state; .

Adjusting the transmission rate is divided into a plurality of control intervals in accordance with the data usage, and sets the transmission rate corresponding to each control interval so that the transmission rate is lowered when the data usage increases, and when the plan is a controlled plan, A specific control section to which the data use state belongs may be found among the plurality of control sections, and a specific transmission rate set in the specific control section may be determined as the transmission rate of the terminal.

The adjusting of the transmission rate may include extracting transmission rate control conditions corresponding to subscriber identification information of the session from transmission rate control conditions for each subscriber identification information, and dividing the plurality of control intervals based on the extracted transmission rate control conditions. The transmission rate control condition for each subscriber identification information may be information input from a subscriber of corresponding subscriber identification information.

The controlled plan may be a plan that uses a basic data provision amount for a predetermined period of time.

The determination information may further include information on whether there is an additional session created between the terminal and the multi-network merging gateway through a second network different from the first network, and the adjusting of the transmission rate may include controlling the rate plan. In the case of the plan, if there is the additional session, the specific control interval to which the data use state belongs may be found among the plurality of control intervals, and the specific transmission rate set in the specific control interval may be determined as the transmission rate of the terminal.

The adjusting of the transmission rate may determine the default transmission rate of the first network as the transmission rate of the terminal when the rate plan is not a controlled rate plan or there is no additional session.

The operation method may further include receiving at least one of the plan, the data usage state, and the presence or absence of the additional session from the multi-network merging gateway.

The adjusting of the transmission rate may determine a transmission rate provided to the terminal in the first network for each of the uplink and the downlink based on the data usage state including uplink data usage and downlink data usage. have.

A method for controlling a traffic of a subflow generated in an LTE network by a network device operated by at least one processor according to another embodiment of the present invention, when the first subflow is generated in the LTE network, the first subflow Checking a data usage state corresponding to the subscriber identification information of the flow, and adjusting the transmission rate of the first subflow to a rate lower than the default transmission rate of the LTE network based on the determination information including the data usage state. It includes a step.

The adjusting may be performed by dividing a plurality of control sections according to data usage, and setting a transmission rate corresponding to each control section so that transmission speed is lowered when data usage increases, and the data usage state belongs to the plurality of control sections. The specific control interval may be found and the specific transmission rate set in the specific control interval may be determined as the transmission rate of the first subflow.

The determination information may further include a rate plan corresponding to the subscriber identification information, and the adjusting may include transmitting a rate of the first subflow based on the data usage state when the rate plan is a controlled rate plan. If the rate is lower than the default transmission rate of, and the rate plan is not the controlled rate plan, the default rate may be maintained at the rate of the first subflow.

The determination information may further include information on the presence or absence of a second subflow merged into the first subflow, and the adjusting may include the data use state when there is the second subflow merged into the first subflow. Adjust the transmission rate of the first subflow to a lower rate than the default transmission rate of the LTE network, and if there is no second subflow merged into the first subflow, set the default transmission rate to the second transmission rate. It can be maintained at the transmission rate of 1 subflow.

The determination information may further include a transmission rate control condition corresponding to the subscriber identification information, and the adjusting may include determining a transmission rate of the first subflow based on the data use state and the transmission rate control condition. You can adjust the speed lower than the default baud rate.

A traffic controller operated by at least one processor according to another embodiment of the present invention, comprising: a session information confirmation unit for confirming information of a session created between a terminal and a multi-network merging gateway through a first network, and the session And a determination unit configured to determine a transmission speed provided to the terminal in the first network based on the determination information related to the information, wherein the determination information includes a plan corresponding to subscriber identification information of the session, a data usage state, and the first network. It may include at least one of the presence or absence information of the additional session created between the terminal and the multi-network merge gateway through a different second network.

The determination unit divides the plurality of control sections according to the data usage, sets the transmission speed corresponding to each control section so that the transmission speed is gradually reduced when the data usage increases, and the data usage state belongs to the plurality of control sections. A specific control interval may be found and a specific transmission rate set in the specific control interval may be determined as the transmission rate of the terminal.

When the rate plan is a controlled rate plan, the determination unit determines a specific transmission rate set in the specific control interval as a transmission rate of the terminal based on the data usage state, and when the rate plan is not the controlled rate plan, The default transmission rate of the first network may be determined as the transmission rate of the terminal.

The determination unit, when there is an additional session generated through the second network, determines a specific transmission rate set in the specific control interval as the transmission rate of the terminal based on the data use state, and in case of the additional session, The default transmission rate of the first network may be determined as the transmission rate of the terminal.

The determination unit may receive a transmission rate control condition from a subscriber corresponding to the subscriber identification information, and determine a transmission rate provided to the terminal in the first network based on the determination information further including the transmission rate control condition. have.

The traffic controller receives first data sent from the multi-network merging gateway to the terminal, and determines the transmission rate provided by the determination unit to the terminal in the first network as a second transmission rate lower than the first transmission rate. If so, it may further include a transmission rate applying unit for transmitting the first data at the second transmission rate.

The multi-network merging gateway receives a reception response including quality information about the first data from the terminal, and determines second data to be transmitted to the terminal through the first network based on the reception response. The second data may include a smaller data amount than the first data.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a general plan subscriber who uses a certain amount of data for a predetermined period may reduce the burden of data amount charged in the LTE network when using a multi-network merge service. According to an embodiment of the present invention, the multi-network merge service provider may activate a service by increasing the number of subscribers using the multi-network merge service. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a multi-network aggregation service provider may reduce network load by throttling a transmission speed in an LTE network.

Since the multi-network merge transmission device (MA-GW) is designed to accommodate tens of thousands of subscribers, it is difficult to check a plan or data usage for each session and to operate multiple schedulers for each session according to the plan or data usage. Therefore, it is difficult for the MA-GW to provide a function of differentially providing a transmission speed in an LTE network based on a user's data usage state when using a multi-network merging service. Even if the MA-GW provides a differential transmission speed in the LTE network based on the user's data usage status, the system load may affect the performance of the unlimited plan subscribers or the system demand performance may increase, resulting in significant network costs. have. However, according to an embodiment of the present invention in which a traffic controller providing a differential transmission speed in an LTE network based on a user's data usage state is implemented separately from the MA-GW, it does not affect the performance and operation environment of the MA-GW. It is possible to provide a differential transmission rate in the LTE network based on the data usage state of the user.

1 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a diagram illustrating speed differential control based on a determination condition according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a block diagram of a traffic controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is a flowchart of a method of operating a traffic controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a hardware block diagram of a traffic controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings so that those skilled in the art may easily implement the present invention. As those skilled in the art would realize, the described embodiments may be modified in various different ways, all without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. In the drawings, parts irrelevant to the description are omitted in order to clearly describe the present invention, and like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the specification.

Throughout the specification, when a part is said to "include" a certain component, it means that it can further include other components, without excluding other components unless specifically stated otherwise. In addition, the terms “… unit”, “… unit”, “module”, etc. described in the specification mean a unit that processes at least one function or operation, which may be implemented by hardware or software or a combination of hardware and software. have.

In the present invention, the transmitting apparatus and the receiving apparatus are connected in multiple networks, and when the transmitting apparatus sends data to the receiving apparatus, the multi-network merge transmission is performed. Next, when a transmitting device, which is a multi-network merge transmission device, transmits data to a receiving device, a scheduling method for determining whether to divide and transmit data to each subflow generated in each of the multiple networks will be described.

In the present invention, a terminal is a mobile station (MS), a mobile terminal (MT), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station (PSS), a user equipment (UE) It may also refer to an access terminal (AT) and the like, and may include all or some functions of a mobile station, a mobile terminal, a subscriber station, a portable subscriber station, a user device, an access terminal, and the like.

The terminal may include a base station (BS), an access point (AP), a radio access station (RAS), a node B (Node B), an advanced node B (evolved NodeB, eNodeB), and a transmission / reception base station ( A network device such as a base transceiver station (BTS) or a mobile multihop relay (MMR) -BS may be connected to a remote server.

The terminal may be a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, a tablet terminal such as a smart pad and a tablet PC, a computer, a television, and various types of communication terminals, and may include a plurality of communication interfaces. The communication interface may vary. For example, the communication interface may be a short-range wireless network interface such as Wi-Fi / WLAN / Bluetooth, and a mobile network interface such as 3G / LTE (Long Term Evolution) / LTE-A (LTE-A). It may include, and the terminal manufacturer may add various communication interfaces. In the present specification, a 3G / LTE interface and a WiFi interface are described as an example, but the communication interface is not limited thereto.

In the present invention, a plan that uses a basic data provision amount determined for each plan for a certain period of time is called a "general plan", and a plan that does not limit the amount of data provided is called "unlimited plan". Since the variable transmission speed in the LTE network mainly targets subscribers with a limited amount of available data, it is assumed that the general plan is a “control plan”. However, it is natural that unlimited rate subscribers can be set to vary the transmission speed in the LTE network.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a network configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating speed differential control according to a determination condition according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a network 10 providing a multi-network merging service includes a network device 200 and a traffic controller connected to a terminal 100 through a plurality of networks (for example, an LTE network and a WiFi network). a traffic controller 300 and a subscriber profile repository (SPR) 400. In the future, the network device 200 is called a multi-network aggregation gateway (MA-GW). The traffic controller 300 may be called a multinet aggregation traffic controller (MA-TC).

The traffic controller 300 may be implemented inside the MA-GW 200 or may be implemented separately from the network device 200. In fact, if the MA-GW 200, which accommodates tens of thousands of subscribers, operates a large number of schedulers per session, the load on the MA-GW 200 is quite large. In addition, since a plurality of kernel level settings are required for operating multiple schedulers in the same server, it is not easy to configure an environment for multiple scheduler operations in the MA-GW 200. Therefore, in order to reduce the load of the MA-GW 200 while providing the maximum rate of merging for unlimited plan subscribers, the traffic controller 300 separated from the MA-GW 200 is transmitted to the LTE network for the regular plan subscribers. It demonstrates with the structure which adjusts speed. The terminal 100 may include multiple communication interfaces, and may be connected to a plurality of networks at one time through the multiple communication interfaces. The terminal 100 may be equipped with a management application that a user can access to set up or manage a multi-network connection.

The MA-GW 200 may be a gateway or a server that merges subflows transmitted through multipaths or divides and transmits flows transmitted through a single path into subflows of multipaths. The MA-GW 200 may be located at a contact point of multiple networks, for example, at a contact point of an LTE network and a WiFi network.

When the subscriber to be controlled uses the multi-network merging service, the traffic controller 300 adjusts a transmission speed in the LTE network based on a control condition related to the data usage state of the subscriber. The traffic controller 300 may be located at the front end of the MA-GW 200 (ie, between the MA-GW 200 and the base station) and connected to the same L3 switch as the MA-GW 200.

The control condition may be variously set according to the state information extracted from the data use state. The control condition may be set as default in the traffic controller 300. Alternatively, the control conditions can be set individually by the subscriber. The control condition may be set differently for upload traffic or download traffic. That is, the control condition may be set for each traffic direction.

The control condition may include at least one threshold value used to determine the transmission rate control section based on the data use state, and a plurality of threshold values may be set. When the data usage / data usage ratio of the subscriber reaches a threshold set by the subscriber, the traffic controller 300 sets the LTE service rate provided to the subscriber to a lower transmission rate than before.

Referring to (a) of FIG. 2, when a control condition is set according to data usage or data usage ratio, the service speed in the LTE network according to a transmission speed control section that divides the data usage or data usage ratio into a plurality of sections. Corresponds differentially. For example, the control condition is to set the transmission rate control section according to the data usage rate or data usage rate, and if the subscriber's data usage rate or data usage rate gradually increases, the transmission rate in the LTE network according to the transmission rate control section to which the subscriber belongs. Step down. The control condition may be set to a data remaining amount or a data remaining amount ratio which is inversely related to the data usage amount or data usage rate. The data usage ratio may be a ratio of data usage to basic data provision.

Referring to (b) of FIG. 2, the transmission speed in the LTE network may be classified into a normal speed mode, a first step reduction mode (general savings mode), a second step reduction mode (ultra savings mode), etc. according to a transmission rate control interval. Can be.

Referring back to FIG. 1, when a subscriber uses a multi-network aggregation service, the traffic controller 300 includes subscriber information including a subscriber's plan and data usage status from the MA-GW 200 or the SPR 400, and Obtain session information. The traffic controller 300 differentially controls the transmission speed in the LTE network based on the subscriber's data usage state and control conditions when the subscriber's plan is a controlled plan. When the traffic controller 300 receives the subscriber's traffic from the MA-GW 200 rather than the control plan, the traffic controller 300 bypasses the transmission rate control step.

The traffic controller 300 may receive a control condition related to a data use state from each subscriber. Alternatively, the traffic controller 300 may receive a control condition related to a data use state from the subscriber information management device of the network 10, for example, the SPR 400.

The SPR 400 may manage subscriber information such as subscriber identification information, subscriber-specific plan, and basic data provision amount provided by the plan. The subscriber information is managed corresponding to the subscriber identification information. For example, the subscriber identification information may be an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI).

The traffic controller 300 may directly manage subscriber-specific data state information. Alternatively, the traffic controller 300 may obtain data status information for each subscriber from an external device. In this case, the traffic controller 300 may obtain the data state information of the subscriber corresponding to the control target from the MA-GW 200, and then update the data state information based on the imported data state information.

In the present invention, it is assumed that the traffic controller 300 knows the data status information per subscriber through direct management or acquisition from the outside. Here, the external device may be a charging device related to policy and usage processing of the MA-GW 200, the SPR 400, or the network 10. The charging device includes a policy and charging rules function (PCRF), an online charging system (OCS), an OFfline charging system (OFCS), and the like, and real-time data transmitted from a packet data network-gateway (P-GW) of the network 10. Subtract usage from remaining data.

3 is a block diagram of a traffic controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 3, the terminal 100 and the MA-GW 200 generate at least one subflow through at least one network. When the terminal 100 and the MA-GW 200 generate a subflow through the LTE network, the traffic controller 300 determines whether to control the transmission rate of the traffic through the subflow. To this end, the traffic controller 300 operates by at least one processor, and includes a session information checking unit 310, a determining unit 330, and a transmission rate applying unit 350.

The session information confirming unit 310 confirms session information connected between the terminal 100 and the MA-GW 200. The session information checking unit 310 may receive session information from the MA-GW 200 in association with the MA-GW 200. In this case, the MA-GW 200 may obtain subscriber information including subscriber identification information (IMSI) and subscriber plan from the SPR 400. Here, the session information confirming unit 310 obtains the session information and the subscriber information of the terminal 100 from the MA-GW 200 through the MA-GW interworking interface, but is not limited thereto.

The session information may include IMSI, LTE IP address, 5 tuples specifying the source and destination of the traffic, whether the WiFi network access. The LTE IP address is an IP address assigned by the terminal 100 from a carrier grade-network address translation (CG-NAT) device. Five tuples include the source IP and port and the destination IP and port. Five tuples are used to distinguish upload or download traffic. Whether the WiFi network is connected indicates whether the terminal 100 and the MA-GW 200 generate a subflow through the WiFi network. The MA-GW 200 receives the IMSI and the LTE IP address from the SPR 400, and if there is a session that does not correspond to the LTE IP address among the sessions generated by the IMSI, the terminal of the IMSI is connected to the WiFi network. You can judge.

The determination unit 330 determines that the terminal 100 and the MA-GW 200 are LTE based on the data usage state for each subscriber, transmission rate control condition, subscriber rate plan, and session information collected by the session information checking unit 310. Determine whether to control the transmission speed of the subflow created through the network.

The determination unit 330 checks whether the subscriber of the control target rate plan is based on the rate plan corresponding to the IMSI of the terminal 100. If the terminal 100 is an unlimited plan subscriber, the determination unit 330 determines whether the transmission rate is controlled. If the terminal 100 is a general plan subscriber that is a controlled plan, the determination unit 330 may generate a sub through the LTE network based on a data usage state and a transmission rate control condition corresponding to the IMSI of the terminal 100. Determine the baud rate of the flow. The determination unit 330 may control a transmission speed for each of upload and download directions based on five tuples of session information.

The determination unit 330 may determine whether the terminal 100 is connected only to the LTE network based on the session information, and when the terminal 100 is connected to only the LTE network, the determination on whether to control the transmission rate may be terminated. . This is because the terminal 100 is connected only to the LTE network, but since the service quality may be affected by lowering the transmission speed in the LTE network, when the subflow is generated in the WiFi network, the transmission speed control of the LTE network is performed. To do this. Therefore, when the terminal 100 is connected only to the LTE network, the traffic of the terminal passes through the traffic controller 300 without controlling the transmission speed.

The determination unit 330 may determine whether there is a data remaining amount based on the data usage state corresponding to the IMSI of the terminal 100, and if there is no data remaining amount, the determination unit 330 may terminate the multi-network merging service and induce data charging.

The transmission rate applying unit 350 applies the transmission rate of the terminal 100 determined by the determination unit 330 to the session of the terminal 100. Therefore, the MA-GW 200 transmits the traffic at the default transmission rate regardless of the rate plan, but the traffic of the controlled rate subscriber is slowed down and the traffic of the unlimited rate subscriber is output while maintaining the default rate. .

Next, when the traffic controller 300 lowers the transmission rate in the LTE network of the controlled subscriber plan, the method of distributing traffic to the WiFi network by the MA-GW 200 will be described.

When the content server transmits data a1 to a10 to the terminal 100 subscribed to the controlled plan, the MA-GW 200 receives the data a1 to a10 according to the quality of the LTE network and the WiFi network. Distribute

For example, upon initial transmission, the MA-GW 200 transmits a1 to the LTE network and a2 to the WiFi network according to the network quality. At this time, the traffic controller 300 lowers the transmission speed of a1 transmitted to the LTE network. At this time, since the terminal 100 transmits the acknowledgment (ACK) of a1 and transmits the network quality information including the bad information, the MA-GW 200 transmits the acknowledgment (ACK) received from the terminal 100. If confirmed, it is found that the quality of the LTE network is not good. Accordingly, the MA-GW 200 distributes more data to the WiFi network than the LTE network of poor quality (for example, a3 to a7 to the WiFi network, a8 to the LTE network, and a9 and a10 to the WiFi network). send.

As such, when the traffic controller 300 lowers the transmission speed of traffic transmitted to the LTE network so that the MA-GW 200 recognizes that the quality of the LTE network is low, the MA-GW 200 traffics the WiFi network rather than the LTE network. As a result, it is possible to reduce the data usage in the LTE network as a result of using the multi-network merge service.

4 is a flowchart of a method of operating a traffic controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4, the traffic controller 300 receives session information of the terminal 100 connected to the LTE network from the MA-GW 200 (S100). The session information may be subflow information of MPTCP. The session information may include subscriber identification information (IMSI), LTE IP address, 5 tuples, whether the WiFi network access.

The traffic controller 300 checks the rate plan, the data usage state, and the transmission rate control condition corresponding to the subscriber identification information (IMSI) of the session information (S110). At least a part of a plan corresponding to the subscriber identification information (IMSI), a data usage state, and a transmission rate control condition may be received from an external network device. The data usage state includes status information required in transmission rate control conditions such as basic data provision amount, data usage amount, and data remaining amount of the plan, or values for extracting status information. When the transmission rate control condition can be set for each subscriber, the traffic controller 300 checks the transmission rate control condition corresponding to the subscriber identification information (IMSI) of the session information.

The traffic controller 300 determines whether the terminal 100 is a transmission speed control target based on a plan corresponding to the subscriber identification information (IMSI) of the session information (S120). If it is not the transmission rate control object, the traffic controller 300 ends the transmission rate control determination.

When the terminal 100 is the transmission rate control target, the traffic controller 300 determines whether the terminal 100 corresponding to the subscriber identification information (IMSI) of the session information is connected to the multiple networks (S130). That is, the traffic controller 300 determines whether the traffic can be transmitted to a subflow of another path even if the service speed in the LTE network is lowered. To this end, the traffic controller 300 may receive from the MA-GW 200 whether there is a session that does not correspond to the LTE IP address among the sessions generated by the subscriber identification information (IMSI) of the session information. When the terminal 100 corresponding to the subscriber identification information (IMSI) of the session information is connected only to the LTE network, the traffic controller 300 ends the transmission rate control determination.

The traffic controller 300 determines the transmission rate provided to the terminal 100 in the LTE network based on the data usage state and the transmission rate control condition corresponding to the subscriber identification information (IMSI) of the session information (S140). In this case, the traffic controller 300 may adjust the transmission rate for each of the upload and download directions based on five tuples of session information. For example, as described with reference to (a) of FIG. 2, a control condition for setting a transmission rate control section based on data usage and differentially adjusting a service rate in an LTE network according to the transmission rate control section. In the case of Table 1 and Table 2, transmission rates may be determined.

Transmission speed control section	judgment	Baud rate (A> B> C)
1 (normal speed mode)	Data usage or data usage rate <first threshold	Default baud rate (or no speed control) (e.g., A Mbps)
2 (normal savings mode)	First threshold <data usage or data usage ratio <second threshold	1-step regulated baud rate (e.g., B Mbps)
3 (second savings mode)	Second threshold <data usage or data usage ratio <third threshold	2-step regulated baud rate (e.g., C Mbps)
4	Data usage or data usage rate> third threshold	Traffic blocking and data charging request to LTE network

Baud rate control section	judgment	Baud rate (A> B> C)
1 (normal speed mode)	Data usage rate <first threshold (30%)	A Mbps
2 (normal savings mode)	First Threshold (30%) <Data Usage Rate <Second Threshold (60%)	B Mbps = 50 Mbps
3 (second savings mode)	Second threshold (60%) <Data usage rate <Third threshold (90%)	C Mbps = 10 Mbps
4	Data usage rate> third threshold (90%)	Traffic blocking and data charging request to LTE network

The traffic controller 300 may monitor the data use state and repeat the transmission rate determination procedure (S150). That is, the traffic controller 300 determines whether it is connected to the multiple network based on the result of monitoring the data use state (S130) or determining the transmission rate provided to the terminal 100 in the LTE network (S140). Can be repeated.

5 is a hardware block diagram of a traffic controller according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 5, the traffic controller 300 is composed of hardware including a processor 1100, a memory device 1200, a storage device 1300, a communication device 1400, and the like. The program to be executed is stored. The hardware has the configuration and performance to implement the method of the present invention. The program includes instructions implementing the operating method of the present invention described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4, and executes the present invention in combination with hardware such as the processor 1100 and the memory device 1200.

As such, even if the general plan subscriber uses the multi-network merge service, the traffic controller 300 may flexibly adjust the amount of traffic through the LTE network according to the data usage state of the subscriber. Therefore, subscribers do not need to check their data usage status and decide whether to use the multi-network merging service. Instead, the subscriber can increase the merging speed through the transmission speed of the LTE network optimized for his / her data usage status, while also paying the bill due to data consumption. Can be reduced. Accordingly, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a multi-network merge service provider may activate a service by increasing a subscriber to use a multi-network merge service, and may reduce network load by throttling a transmission speed in an LTE network.

The embodiments of the present invention described above are not only implemented through the apparatus and the method, but may be implemented through a program for realizing a function corresponding to the configuration of the embodiments of the present invention or a recording medium on which the program is recorded.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and various modifications and improvements of those skilled in the art using the basic concepts of the present invention defined in the following claims are also provided. It belongs to the scope of rights.

Claims (20)

1. A method of operating a traffic controller operated by at least one processor,

   Receiving information of a session created between the terminal and the multi-network merging gateway through the first network,

   Confirming a plan and a data usage state corresponding to the subscriber identification information of the session; and

   Adjusting a transmission rate provided to the terminal in the first network based on the determination information including the rate plan and the data usage state;

   Operation method comprising a.
2. In claim 1,

   Adjusting the transmission rate

   Divide a plurality of control sections according to the data usage, and set the transmission speed corresponding to each control section so that the transmission speed is lowered when the data usage increases,

   And when the rate plan is a controlled rate plan, finds a specific control section to which the data usage state belongs among the plurality of control sections, and determines a specific transmission rate set in the specific control section as the transmission rate of the terminal.
3. In claim 2,

   Adjusting the transmission rate

   In the transmission rate control conditions for each subscriber identification information, a transmission rate control condition corresponding to the subscriber identification information of the session is extracted, and the plurality of control sections are divided based on the extracted transmission rate control conditions;

   The transmission rate control condition for each subscriber identification information is information input from a subscriber of the subscriber identification information.
4. In claim 2,

   The controlled plan is a plan that uses the basic data providing amount for a predetermined period.
5. In claim 2,

   The determination information is

   Further including the presence information of the additional session created between the terminal and the multi-network merge gateway through the second network different from the first network,

   Adjusting the transmission rate

   When the rate plan is a control target rate plan and the additional session is present, a specific control section to which the data use state belongs is found among the plurality of control sections, and the specific transmission rate set in the specific control section is determined as the transmission rate of the terminal. Operation method.
6. In claim 5,

   Adjusting the transmission rate

   And when the rate plan is not the controlled rate plan or the additional session, the default transmission rate of the first network is determined as the transmission rate of the terminal.
7. In claim 5,

   Receiving at least one of the plan, the data usage state, and presence or absence of the additional session from the multi-network merging gateway.

   Operation method further comprising.
8. In claim 1,

   Adjusting the transmission rate

   And determining a transmission rate provided to the terminal in the first network for each of the uplink and the downlink based on the data usage state including uplink data usage and downlink data usage.
9. A method of controlling a traffic of a subflow generated in an LTE network by a network device operated by at least one processor,

   When the first subflow is generated in the LTE network, checking a data use state corresponding to the subscriber identification information of the first subflow; and

   Adjusting a transmission rate of the first subflow to a rate lower than a default transmission rate of the LTE network based on the determination information including the data use state;

   Traffic control method comprising a.
10. In claim 9,

    The adjusting step

    Divide a plurality of control sections according to the data usage, and set the transmission speed corresponding to each control section so that the transmission speed is lowered when the data usage increases,

    Finding a specific control section to which the data usage state belongs among the plurality of control sections, and determining a specific transmission rate set in the specific control section as a transmission rate of the first subflow.
11. In claim 9,

    The determination information is

    Further comprising a plan corresponding to the subscriber identification information,

    The adjusting step

    When the rate plan is a control target rate, the transmission rate of the first subflow is adjusted to a rate lower than the default transmission rate of the LTE network based on the data usage state.

    And if the rate plan is not the controlled rate plan, maintaining the default rate at the rate of the first subflow.
12. In claim 9,

    The determination information is

    Further including the presence information of the second subflow merged into the first subflow,

    The adjusting step

    If there is the second subflow merged into the first subflow, the transmission rate of the first subflow is adjusted to a rate lower than the default transmission rate of the LTE network based on the data usage state,

    If there is no second subflow merged with the first subflow, maintaining the default transmission rate at the transmission rate of the first subflow.
13. In claim 9,

    The determination information is

    And a transmission rate control condition corresponding to the subscriber identification information.

    The adjusting step

    And controlling the transmission rate of the first subflow to be lower than the default transmission rate of the LTE network based on the data use state and the transmission rate control condition.
14. A traffic controller operated by at least one processor, comprising:

    A session information confirmation unit for confirming information of a session created between the terminal and the multi-network merge gateway through the first network, and

    Determination unit for determining the transmission rate provided to the terminal in the first network based on the determination information related to the session

    Including,

    The determination information is

    Traffic including at least one of a plan corresponding to subscriber identification information of the session, data usage state, presence or absence information of an additional session generated between the terminal and the multi-network merging gateway through a second network different from the first network. Controller.
15. The method of claim 14,

    The determination unit

    Divide a plurality of control intervals according to the data usage, and set the transmission rate corresponding to each control interval so that the transmission rate is lowered step by step when the data usage increases,

    And a specific control section to which the data use state belongs among the plurality of control sections, and determine a specific transmission rate set in the specific control section as the transmission rate of the terminal.
16. The method of claim 15,

    The determination unit

    When the rate plan is a control target rate, the specific transmission rate set in the specific control period is determined as the transmission rate of the terminal based on the data usage state,

    And when the rate plan is not the controlled rate plan, determining a default transmission rate of the first network as a transmission rate of the terminal.
17. The method of claim 15,

    The determination unit

    If there is an additional session generated through the second network, the specific transmission rate set in the specific control interval is determined as the transmission rate of the terminal based on the data use state,

    And in case of the additional session, determine a default transmission rate of the first network as a transmission rate of the terminal.
18. The method of claim 14,

    The determination unit

    Receiving a transmission rate control condition from a subscriber corresponding to the subscriber identification information, and determining a transmission rate provided to the terminal in the first network based on the determination information further including the transmission rate control condition.
19. The method of claim 14,

    When the multi-network merge gateway receives the first data sent to the terminal, and the determination unit determines the transmission rate provided to the terminal in the first network to a second transmission rate lower than the first transmission rate, Transmission rate applying unit for transmitting the first data at the second transmission rate

    Traffic controller further comprising.
20. The method of claim 19,

    The multi-network merge gateway

    Receiving a reception response including quality information about the first data from the terminal, and determining second data to be transmitted to the terminal through the first network based on the reception response;

    Wherein the second data comprises a lesser amount of data than the first data.

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