WO2023195106A1

WO2023195106A1 - Communication device, communication method and communication program

Info

Publication number: WO2023195106A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/017193
Authority: WO
Inventors: 孝幸中村; 貴允鳴海
Original assignee: 日本電信電話株式会社
Priority date: 2022-04-06
Filing date: 2022-04-06
Publication date: 2023-10-12

Abstract

A Virtual Private Network (VPN) gateway (GW) (10) measures an input traffic amount that is inputted from a relay network (50) used for relaying the communication between sites, and an output traffic amount of data inputted from the relay network (50) that is to be outputted to the site of transmission destination. Then, the VPN GW (10) determines whether the difference between the input traffic amount and the output traffic amount measured is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value. When the difference between the input traffic amount and the output traffic amount is equal to or greater than the predetermined threshold value, the VPN GW (10) transmits a predetermined notification to an external controller (20). Thereafter, when having received a notification to the effect that the traffic amount is to be limited, the VPN GW (10) performs a control to limit the output traffic amount for performing the communication.

Description

Communication device, communication method and communication program

The present invention relates to a communication device, a communication method, and a communication program.

Conventionally, VPN (Virtual Private Network) congestion may occur when the amount of traffic exceeds the bandwidth and transfer processing performance allocated under a contract between a VPN user and a VPN provider. For this reason, in a relay NW (Network) that relays communications between bases, congestion causes deterioration in the communication quality of a plurality of VPNs, so equipment may have to be expanded in response to an increase in traffic.

Furthermore, if traffic passing through a relay NW is lost at the VPN GW (Gateway) due to congestion, there is a method of suppressing the traffic flow rate of the relay NW by imposing a band limit before entering the relay NW. For example, a controller can collect and centrally manage data communication directions and up and down data for each pair of bases, and place a bandwidth limit on the traffic volume of the VPN GW before and after the relay network before entering the relay network. Suppress the traffic flow rate of the relay NW.

However, the conventional technology has a problem in that the load on the controller is high and the accuracy of traffic congestion determination may not be high. For example, in the conventional technology, a controller performs centralized data management, and collects data communication direction and up/down data for each pair of bases. Therefore, when there are many locations, there is a problem that the load on the controller increases. Furthermore, when the controller acquires traffic of different VPN GWs, there is a tendency for the acquisition time to deviate, and there is a possibility that congestion may be incorrectly determined due to the difference caused by this.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide a communication device, a communication method, and a communication program that can appropriately control communication while reducing the cost of information management. .

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the purpose, a communication device of the present invention transmits the amount of input traffic input from a relay network that relays communication between bases and the data input from the relay network to a destination. a measuring unit that measures the amount of output traffic output to a base; determining whether a difference between the input traffic amount and the output traffic amount measured by the measuring unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold; a determination unit that sends a predetermined notification to an external device if the difference between the input traffic amount and the output traffic amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold; and a traffic control unit that controls communication by limiting the amount of output traffic.

According to the present invention, it is possible to improve the accuracy of determining traffic congestion while reducing the load on the controller.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the VPN GW of this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the traffic storage unit. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of data notified from the VPN GW to the controller when congestion occurs. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of data notified from the VPN GW to the controller when congestion is resolved. FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the controller of this embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of information stored in the configuration information storage unit. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of data notified from the controller to the VPN GW when congestion occurs. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of data notified from the controller to the VPN GW when congestion is resolved. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure by the VPN GW of this embodiment. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing an example of a processing procedure by the VPN GW of this embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the conventional problem. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the effects of the communication system according to the embodiment. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a computer that executes a program.

Below, embodiments of a communication device, a communication method, and a communication program according to the present application will be described in detail based on the drawings. Further, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described below.

[Communication system configuration]
The configuration of a communication system 1 according to an embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication system 1 includes a plurality of VPN GWs (communication devices) 10A to 10C, a controller 20, a plurality of user bases 30A and 30B, a plurality of server bases 40A and 40B, and a relay NW (for example, a WAN ( Wide Area Network)) 50.

It is assumed that in the communication system 1, settings for connecting each base necessary for providing the VPN service and various settings have already been made. In the communication system 1, it is assumed that the user bases 30A, 30B and the server bases 40A, 40B are in a state where they can communicate via the VPN GW10A, the VPN GW10B, the VPN GW10C, and the relay NW50 between them.

Note that the plurality of VPN GWs 10A to 10C are assumed to have similar functions and configurations, and will be referred to as VPN GW 10 when described without distinction. Further, when describing the plurality of user bases 30A, 30B and the plurality of server bases 40A, 40B without any particular distinction, they will be described as user base 30 and server base 40, respectively. Further, the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is only an example, and the specific configuration and the number of each device are not particularly limited. In addition, in the figure, the identification information of user base 30A is "user base 1", the identification information of user base 30B is "user base 2", the identification information of server base 40A is "server base 1", and the identification information of server base 40B is "user base 1". Assume that the information is "server base 2".

The VPN GW 10 is a communication device that performs data communication between a subordinate base and other bases. The VPN GW 10 measures traffic for each pair of source and destination locations. For example, in the example of FIG. 1, the VPN GW 10A calculates the amount of traffic input via the relay NW 50 and the amount of traffic output to the user location 30A, which is a subordinate location, regarding communication data from the server location 40A that is the source. Measure in pairs. In addition, the VPN GW 10A measures, in pairs, the amount of traffic input via the relay NW 50 and the amount of traffic output to the user location 30A, which is a subordinate location, regarding communication data from the server location 40B that is the transmission source.

Additionally, the VPN GW 10 controls data traffic transmitted from a base under its control to other bases in accordance with instructions from the controller 20. For example, the VPN GW 10 controls communication to limit the amount of data traffic transmitted from the user base 30A, which is a subordinate base, to the server base 40A or the server base 40B, in response to an instruction from the controller 20.

The controller 20 issues instructions to control the traffic of each VPN GW 10A to 10C. For example, when the controller 20 receives a notification from the VPN GW 10 that congestion has occurred, it instructs the VPN GW 10 that serves the transmission source base to limit the amount of traffic. To explain with a specific example, when the controller 20 receives a notification from the VPN GW 10A that congestion has occurred between the source server base 40A and the destination user base 30A, the controller 20 The server base 40A is instructed to limit the amount of traffic.

[VPN GW configuration]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the VPN GW of this embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the VPN GW 10 of this embodiment includes a communication processing section 11, a control section 12, and a storage section 13.

The communication processing unit 11 is realized by a NIC (Network Interface Card) or the like, and controls communication via a telecommunication line such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet.

The storage unit 13 stores data and programs necessary for various processing by the control unit 12, and has a traffic storage unit 13a. For example, the storage unit 13 is a semiconductor memory element such as a RAM (Random Access Memory) or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk.

The traffic storage unit 13a stores the traffic amount of data transmitted from the source base to the destination base. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the traffic storage unit 13a stores "source" indicating information identifying the base of the transmission source, "destination" indicating information identifying the base of the transmission destination, and the relay NW 50. ``Input/Output'' indicating whether the data was input via a server or output to a subordinate base, and ``Traffic Volume'' indicating the traffic volume of the input or output data are stored in association with each other. . FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the VPN GW of this embodiment.

The control unit 12 has an internal memory for storing programs that define various processing procedures and required data, and executes various processes using these. For example, the control unit 12 includes a traffic measurement unit 12a, a measurement result collection unit 12b, a congestion determination unit 12c, a limit setting unit 12d, and a traffic control unit 12e. Here, the control unit 12 is an electronic circuit such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) or an MPU (Micro Processing Unit), or an integrated circuit such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

The traffic measurement unit 12a measures the amount of input traffic input from the relay network 50 that relays communication between bases, and the amount of output traffic that outputs the data input from the relay network 50 to the destination base. In other words, the traffic measuring unit 12a measures the amount of input traffic from the relay network 50 to the own device and the amount of traffic output from the own device to the subordinate points for each pair of source and destination locations. do.

The measurement result collection unit 12b collects the input traffic volume and output traffic volume measured by the traffic measurement unit 12a, and collects the input traffic volume and output traffic volume in association with information identifying the transmission source base and information identifying the transmission destination base. The traffic amount is stored in the traffic storage unit 13a. For example, the measurement result collection unit 12b collects and holds the input and output traffic amounts for each base pair measured by the traffic measurement unit 12a at regular intervals (for example, every 5 seconds).

The congestion determination unit 12c determines whether the difference between the input traffic volume and the output traffic volume measured by the traffic measurement unit 12b is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and determines whether the difference between the input traffic volume and the output traffic volume is a predetermined value. , a predetermined notification is sent to the controller 20. For example, if the difference between the input traffic amount and the output traffic amount is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the congestion determination unit 12c sends a notification containing information identifying the source base stored in the traffic storage unit 13a to the controller. Send to 20.

Specifically, the congestion determination unit 12c subtracts the output traffic amount from the input traffic amount as the difference between the input and output traffic amounts for each base pair based on the contents of the measurement result collection unit 12b at regular intervals. Calculate the value. Then, the congestion determination unit 12c determines that congestion has occurred if any of the calculated differences exceeds a threshold value set in advance for congestion determination.

For example, the congestion determination unit 12c calculates the difference between the input and output traffic amounts for each base pair from the contents of the measurement result collection unit 12b at regular intervals (for example, every 5 seconds). Here, it is assumed that the output traffic volume is 100 Mbps for input and 50 Mbps for output when the source is "user base 1" and the destination is "server base 1." In this case, the congestion determination unit 12c determines that congestion has occurred if the difference exceeds the congestion determination threshold (10 Mbps).

Next, the congestion determination unit 12c determines the transmission source of the base pair that has been determined to have congestion, and the transmission sources of other base pairs that have the same transmission destination (hereinafter referred to as "congestion occurrence base") among the base pairs. is determined to be subject to traffic restriction.

For example, the congestion determination unit 12c sets the transmission destination to "user base 1" which is the transmission source of the base pair that has been determined to have congestion, and "server base 1" which is the transmission destination of the base pair and is the congestion occurrence base. "User base 2", which is the source of the other base pair, is determined to be subject to traffic restriction.

Then, the congestion determination unit 12c transmits a predetermined notification to the controller 20 in order to limit the amount of output traffic to the relay network 50 at the transmission source targeted for traffic restriction. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the congestion determination unit 12c determines, for each transmission source targeted for traffic restriction, the congestion occurrence base that is the transmission destination and the output traffic amount to the congestion occurrence base, with the congestion flag set to 1. Notice. In the example of FIG. 4, the congestion determination unit 12c tells the controller 20 that the transmission source is "user base 1", the transmission destination is "server base 1", the output traffic volume is "50 Mbps", and the congestion flag is "1". and send notifications regarding the same.

Then, the congestion determination unit 12c records the content of the notification to the controller 20 in the storage unit 13. Furthermore, if there are multiple transmission sources for the transmission destination where congestion has occurred, the congestion determination unit 12c transmits the above-mentioned predetermined notifications to the controller 20 for the number of transmission sources.

Then, if a predetermined condition is met in any of the base pairs whose transmission destination is a base that matches the congestion occurrence base included in the recorded notification content, the congestion determination unit 12c determines whether the traffic to the destination is congested. is determined to have been resolved. For example, the congestion determination unit 12c determines, as a predetermined condition, that the value obtained by subtracting the output traffic amount from the input traffic amount is less than a predetermined threshold value, and the output traffic in the relay network direction exceeds a predetermined limit value. If it is below, it is determined that the traffic congestion to the destination has been resolved.

Then, when the congestion determination unit 12c determines that the congestion of traffic to the destination has been resolved, it transmits a predetermined notification to the controller 20. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the congestion determining unit 12c notifies information in which the output traffic volume is blank and the congestion flag is changed to 0 for a destination where congestion has been resolved. Note that the congestion determination unit 12c transmits multiple notifications to the controller 20 when there are multiple destinations for which congestion has been resolved. The congestion determination unit 12c then deletes the content of the notification to the controller 20 from the storage unit 13.

When the limit setting unit 12d, as a communication device accommodating a transmission source base, receives a notification to limit the amount of traffic from the controller 20, it sets a limit value for the amount of traffic included in the notification. For example, based on the notification from the controller 20, the limit setting unit 12d controls the output traffic amount when the setting flag is "1" for traffic control in the output direction of the relay NW that matches the target transmission source/destination. The limit value is set, and if the setting flag is "0", the limit value setting is canceled.

When the traffic control unit 12e receives a notification to limit the amount of traffic, it controls the amount of output traffic to be limited and performs communication. For example, the traffic control unit 12e controls the output traffic amount to be limited to the limit value set by the limit setting unit 12d, and performs communication.

[Controller configuration]
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the controller of this embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the controller 20 of this embodiment includes a communication processing section 21, a control section 22, and a storage section 23.

The communication processing unit 21 is realized by a NIC or the like, and controls communication via a telecommunication line such as a LAN or the Internet.

The storage unit 23 stores data and programs necessary for various processes by the control unit 22, and has a configuration information storage unit 23a. For example, the storage unit 23 is a semiconductor memory device such as a RAM or a flash memory, or a storage device such as a hard disk or an optical disk.

The configuration information storage unit 23a stores information that identifies the base and information that identifies the VPN GW 10 that accommodates the base in association with each other. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the configuration information storage unit 23a associates "base", which is information that identifies a base, with "accommodating VPN GW", which is information that identifies the VPN GW 10 that accommodates the base. memorize it.

The control unit 22 has an internal memory for storing programs that define various processing procedures and required data, and executes various processes using these. For example, the control section 22 includes a control instruction section 22a. Here, the control unit 22 is an electronic circuit such as a CPU or MPU, or an integrated circuit such as an ASIC or FPGA.

When the control instruction unit 22a receives a notification of the occurrence of congestion from the VPN GW that accommodates the destination base, it sends a notification to the VPN GW that accommodates the source base to limit the amount of traffic. Notice. For example, when the control instruction unit 22a receives a congestion occurrence notification from the VPN GW 10, the control instruction unit 22a refers to the information stored in the configuration information storage unit 23a and selects the VPN GW that accommodates the source base included in the notification. Search for. To explain using the examples of FIGS. 4 and 6, for example, when the control instruction unit 22a receives a notification with a congestion flag of "1" from the VPN GW 10, the control instruction unit 22a determines that the transmission source included in the notification is "user base". 1", the information stored in the configuration information storage unit 23a is referred to and "VPN GW1" is searched as the accommodating VPN GW corresponding to "user base 1".

Then, the control instruction unit 22a transmits a notification to the searched VPN GW 10 to limit the amount of output traffic. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 8, the control instruction unit 22a sends a notification that includes the source and destination of the notification, the output traffic volume of the notification as limit values, and the setting flag as "1". Send. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an example of data notified from the controller to the VPN GW when congestion occurs.

Furthermore, when the control instruction unit 22a receives a congestion resolution notification from the VPN GW that accommodates the destination base, the control instruction unit 22a instructs the VPN GW that accommodates the source base to limit the amount of traffic. Notify me of notifications. For example, when the control instruction unit 22a receives a congestion resolution notification from the VPN GW 10, the control instruction unit 22a refers to the information stored in the configuration information storage unit 23a and selects the VPN GW that accommodates the source base included in the notification. Search for.

Then, the control instruction unit 22a sends a notification to the searched VPN GW 10 that the restriction on the amount of output traffic is lifted. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 9, the control instruction unit 22a transmits a notification that includes information in which the source, destination, and limit value of the notification are blank, and the setting flag is set to "0." FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of data notified from the controller to the VPN GW when congestion is resolved.

Here, a series of processes will be specifically explained using the example of the communication system shown in FIG. The measurement result collection unit 12b of each VPN GW 10A to 10C collects and holds the input and output traffic amounts for each base pair measured by the traffic measurement unit 12a at regular intervals (for example, every 5 seconds).

Then, the congestion determination unit 12c of each VPN GW 10A to 10C calculates the difference between the input and output traffic volumes for each base pair from the contents of the measurement result collection unit 12b at regular intervals (for example, every 5 seconds). . Here, it is assumed that the output traffic volume is 100 Mbps for input and 50 Mbps for output when the source is "user base 1" and the destination is "server base 1." In this case, the congestion determination unit 12c determines that congestion has occurred if the difference exceeds the congestion determination threshold (10 Mbps).

As a result, for example, the congestion determination unit 12c of the VPN GW 10C determines that "user base 1" is the source of the base pair that has been determined to have congestion, and "server base 1" is the transmission destination of the base pair and is the congestion occurrence base. "User base 2", which is the transmission source of the other base pair whose transmission destination is "User base 2", is determined to be subject to traffic restriction. In addition, the congestion determination unit 12c of the VPN GW 10C informs the controller 20 that the source is "user base 1", the destination is "server base 1", the output traffic volume is "50 Mbps", and the congestion flag is "1". Send notifications to Similarly, the congestion determination unit 12c of the VPN GW 10C informs the controller 20 that the source is "user base 2", the destination is "server base 1", the output traffic volume is "30 Mbps", and the congestion flag is " 1” is sent.

Then, the control instruction unit 22a of the controller 20 uses the above notification as an opportunity to connect the VPN GW 10A that accommodates the sender "user base 1" included in each notification, and the VPN GW 10B that accommodates the sender "user base 2" included in each notification. is searched from the configuration information storage unit 23A. Then, the control instruction unit 22a includes information indicating that the transmission source is "user base 1", the transmission destination is "server base 1", the limit value is "20 Mbps", and the setting flag is "1" for the VPN GW 10A. Send notifications. In addition, the control instruction unit 22a includes information for the VPN GW 10B that sets the transmission source to "user base 2", the transmission destination to "server base 1", the limit value to "30 Mbps", and the setting flag to "1". Send notifications. Note that the limit value may be determined in advance or may be determined dynamically depending on the state of congestion.

After receiving this notification, the restriction setting unit 12d of the VPN GW 10A sets the settings for the sender "user base 1" and the destination "server base 1" included in this notification, since the setting flag is "1". Based on the information, a limit value of 20 Mbps is set for the traffic control unit 12e in the WAN direction through which the relevant traffic passes.

After receiving this notification, the restriction setting unit 12d of the VPN GW 10B sets the settings for the sender "user base 2" and the destination "server base 1" included in this notification, since the setting flag is "1". Based on the information, a limit value of 30 Mbps is set for the traffic control unit 12e in the WAN direction through which the relevant traffic passes.

Assume that a certain period of time has passed since then, and the amount of output traffic from "user base 2" to "server base 1" has decreased to 10 Mbps. The congestion determination unit 12c of the VPN GW 10C determines that the difference between the amount of output traffic from "user base 2" to "server base 1" in the WAN direction and in the base direction is less than the threshold for congestion determination, and that it is less than the recorded limit value. When something happens, it is determined that the congestion has been resolved.

As a result, the congestion determination unit 12c notifies the controller 20 of the information that the source is "user base 2", the destination is "server base 1", the output traffic volume is blank, and the congestion flag is set to "0". do.

Then, the control instruction unit 22a of the controller 20 notifies the information that the source is "user base 1", the destination is "server base 1", the output traffic amount is blank, and the congestion flag is set to "0". The control instruction unit 22a of the controller 20 sends a notification to the VPN GW 10A including information indicating that the source is "user base 1", the destination is "user base 1", the limit value is blank, and the setting flag is "0". Send.

In addition, the control instruction unit 22a of the controller 20 sends information to the VPN GW 10B specifying that the source is "user base 2", the destination is "server base 1", the limit value is blank, and the setting flag is "0". Send notifications containing. Then, after receiving this notification, the restriction setting unit 12d of the VPN GW 10A sets the sending source "user base 1" and the destination "server base 1" included in this notification because the setting flag is "0". Based on the information, the limit value setting is canceled for the traffic control unit 12e in the WAN direction through which the relevant traffic passes. In addition, after receiving this notification, the restriction setting unit 12d of the VPN GW 10B also determines that the setting flag is "0", so the limit setting unit 12d of the VPN GW 10B also sets the "user base 2" of the transmission source and the "server base 1" of the transmission destination included in this notification. Based on the information, the limit value setting is canceled for the traffic control unit 12e in the WAN direction through which the relevant traffic passes.

In other words, in the communication system 1, the line bandwidth and transfer processing performance of the VPN GWs 10A to 10C, which are allocated by the contract between the VPN users at the user bases 30A and 30B and the VPN provider at the server bases 40A and 40B, are used as VPNs. The amount of traffic within the network may exceed and cause congestion. Therefore, in the communication system 1, it is possible to prevent traffic that is discarded due to congestion at the VPN GWs 10A to 10C after passing through the relay NW 50 from flowing into the relay NW 50.

[VPN GW10 processing procedure]
Next, an example of a processing procedure executed by the VPN GW 10 will be described using FIGS. 10 and 11. FIGS. 10 and 11 are flowcharts showing an example of a processing procedure by the VPN GW of this embodiment.

As illustrated in FIG. 10, the traffic measurement unit 12a of the VPN GW 10 transmits the amount of input traffic input from the relay network 50 that relays communication between bases and the data input from the relay network 50 to the destination base. The amount of output traffic to be output is measured (step S101).

The traffic measuring unit 12a collects the measured traffic amount (step S102). For example, the measurement result collection unit 12b collects the input traffic volume and output traffic volume measured by the measurement unit 12a, and collects the input traffic volume and output traffic volume in association with information identifying the transmission source base and information identifying the transmission destination base. The traffic amount is stored in the traffic storage unit 13a.

Then, the congestion determination unit 12c determines whether congestion has occurred (step S103). For example, the congestion determination unit 12c determines whether the difference between the input traffic volume and the output traffic volume measured by the measurement unit 12b is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and determines whether the difference between the input traffic volume and the output traffic volume is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. If it is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, it is determined that congestion has occurred. As a result, if the congestion determination unit 12c determines that congestion has occurred (Yes at step S103), the process proceeds to step S104. Further, when the congestion determining unit 12c determines that congestion has not occurred (No in step S103), the process ends.

In step S104, the congestion determination unit 12c transmits a predetermined notification to the controller 20. For example, if the difference between the input traffic amount and the output traffic amount is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, the congestion determination unit 12c sends a notification containing information identifying the source base stored in the traffic storage unit 13a to the controller. Send to 20.

Then, the congestion determination unit 12c determines whether the congestion has been resolved (step S105). For example, when the value obtained by subtracting the output traffic amount from the input traffic amount is less than a predetermined threshold value, and the output traffic toward the relay network is less than a predetermined limit value, the congestion determination unit 12c determines that , it is determined that the traffic congestion to the destination has been resolved. As a result, if the congestion determining unit 12c determines that the congestion has been resolved (Yes in step S105), the process proceeds to step S106. Further, if the congestion determining unit 12c determines that the congestion has not been resolved (No in step S105), the congestion determining unit 12c repeats the process in step S105.

In step S106, the congestion determination unit 12c transmits a predetermined notification to the controller 20 (step S106). For example, the congestion determination unit 12c notifies information in which the output traffic volume is blank and the congestion flag is changed to 0 for a destination where congestion has been resolved.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 11, when the limit setting unit 12d of the VPN GW 10 receives a notification to limit the traffic amount from the controller 20 (Yes in step S201), the limit setting unit 12d of the VPN GW 10 sets a limit value for the traffic amount (step S202). ).

When the limit setting unit 12d receives a notification from the controller 20 to cancel the traffic limit (Yes at step S203), the limit setting unit 12d cancels the limit value of the traffic amount (step S204).

[Effects of embodiment]
In this way, the VPN GW 10 of the communication system 1 according to the embodiment outputs the input traffic amount input from the relay network 50 that relays communication between bases and the data input from the relay network 50 to the destination base. Measure the amount of output traffic. Then, the VPN GW 10 determines whether the difference between the measured input traffic amount and output traffic amount is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and determines whether the difference between the input traffic amount and output traffic amount is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold. In this case, a predetermined notification is sent to the external controller 20. When the VPN GW 10 receives a notification to limit the amount of traffic, it controls the amount of output traffic to be limited and performs communication. Therefore, the VPN GW 10 can improve the accuracy of determining traffic congestion while reducing the load on the controller 20.

Here, the effects of the communication system 1 according to this embodiment will be explained in comparison with the conventional technology using FIGS. 12 and 13. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating the conventional problem. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating the effects of the communication system according to the embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the controller 200 needed to collect relay/base direction and up/down data for each pair of bases. Therefore, when there are many locations, the load on the controller 200 increases. Further, in the controller 200, if there is a large traffic fluctuation during the data acquisition interval, the data acquisition time may be shifted, which may result in a difference in the amount of traffic between the VPN GWs 100A and 100B. In this case, when the controller 200 acquires the traffic of the different VPN GWs 100A and 100B, there is likely to be a lag in the acquisition time, and there is a possibility that congestion may be incorrectly determined due to the difference caused by this.

In contrast, in the communication system 1 according to the present embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 13, the function of collecting traffic volume and determining congestion is distributed and deployed in the VPN GW 10. Furthermore, in order to distribute the congestion determination function in the VPN GW 10, the traffic volume measured at the output point to the relay NW 500 in the conventional technology is changed to the input point from the relay NW 50.

In the communication system 1 according to the present embodiment, for example, when the relay NW 50 is provisioned so that there is no congestion, the base output traffic volume and the relay input traffic volume match, so that the relay output is determined by the relay input traffic volume. By replacing it, traffic volume collection and congestion determination are performed within the VPN GWs 10A and 10C. In addition, in the communication system 1, when there is a shortage of bandwidth between the VPN GW and the base or when the bandwidth within the VPN GWs 10A and 10C is tight, a difference occurs in the amount of traffic output from the base compared to the amount of relay input traffic, so based on this, congestion is determined. judge.

Therefore, in the communication system 1, the problems of the prior art are solved by distributed processing and local processing of traffic volume collection processing and congestion determination processing in each VPN GW 10A, 10C. The VPN GW 10 according to the present embodiment can reduce the load on the controller 20 and improve the accuracy of determining traffic congestion. That is, in the communication system 1, the load on the controller 20 can be reduced by distributing the function of collecting traffic volume and determining congestion in the VPN GW 10, and notifying the VPN GW 10 of the occurrence of congestion. Furthermore, since the distributed processing, traffic volume collection, and congestion determination processing in each VPN GW 10 are performed within the VPN GW 10, there is no deviation in acquisition time and it is possible to reduce the possibility of erroneous determination.

[System configuration, etc.]
The components of the illustrated devices according to the above embodiments are functional and conceptual, and do not necessarily need to be physically configured as illustrated. In other words, the specific form of distributing and integrating each device is not limited to what is shown in the diagram, and all or part of the devices can be functionally or physically distributed or integrated in arbitrary units depending on various loads and usage conditions. Can be integrated and configured. Furthermore, all or any part of each processing function performed by each device may be realized by a CPU and a program that is analyzed and executed by the CPU, or may be realized as hardware using wired logic.

Furthermore, among the processes described in the above embodiments, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or the processes described as being performed manually can be performed manually. All or part of the process can also be performed automatically using known methods. In addition, information including processing procedures, control procedures, specific names, and various data and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings may be changed arbitrarily, unless otherwise specified.

〔program〕
Furthermore, it is also possible to create a program in which the processing executed by the VPN GW 10 or the controller 20 described in the above embodiments is written in a computer-executable language. In this case, when the computer executes the program, the same effects as in the above embodiment can be obtained. Furthermore, the same processing as in the above embodiments may be realized by recording such a program on a computer-readable recording medium and having the computer read and execute the program recorded on this recording medium.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing a computer that executes the program. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the computer 1000 includes, for example, a memory 1010, a CPU 1020, a hard disk drive interface 1030, a disk drive interface 1040, a serial port interface 1050, a video adapter 1060, and a network interface 1070. However, each of these parts is connected by a bus 1080.

The memory 1010 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1011 and a RAM 1012, as illustrated in FIG. The ROM 1011 stores, for example, a boot program such as BIOS (Basic Input Output System). Hard disk drive interface 1030 is connected to hard disk drive 1031, as illustrated in FIG. Disk drive interface 1040 is connected to disk drive 1041, as illustrated in FIG. For example, a removable storage medium such as a magnetic disk or an optical disk is inserted into the disk drive 1041. The serial port interface 1050 is connected to, for example, a mouse 1051 and a keyboard 1052, as illustrated in FIG. Video adapter 1060 is connected to display 1061, for example, as illustrated in FIG.

Here, as illustrated in FIG. 14, the hard disk drive 1031 stores, for example, an OS 1091, an application program 1092, a program module 1093, and program data 1094. That is, the above program is stored, for example, in the hard disk drive 1031 as a program module in which commands to be executed by the computer 1000 are written.

Further, the various data described in the above embodiments are stored as program data in, for example, the memory 1010 or the hard disk drive 1031. Then, the CPU 1020 reads out the program module 1093 and program data 1094 stored in the memory 1010 and the hard disk drive 1031 to the RAM 1012 as necessary, and executes various processing procedures.

Note that the program module 1093 and program data 1094 related to the program are not limited to being stored in the hard disk drive 1031, but may be stored in a removable storage medium, for example, and read by the CPU 1020 via a disk drive or the like. . Alternatively, the program module 1093 and program data 1094 related to the program are stored in another computer connected via a network (LAN (Local Area Network), WAN (Wide Area Network), etc.), and are transmitted via the network interface 1070. It may be read by the CPU 1020.

Although embodiments to which the invention made by the present inventor is applied have been described above, the present invention is not limited by the description and drawings that form part of the disclosure of the present invention by this embodiment. That is, all other embodiments, examples, operational techniques, etc. made by those skilled in the art based on this embodiment are included in the scope of the present invention.

10, 10A-10C VPN GW
11, 21 Communication processing unit 12, 22 Control unit 12a Traffic measurement unit 12b Measurement result collection unit 12c Congestion determination unit 12d Limit setting unit 12e Traffic control unit 13, 23 Storage unit 13a Traffic storage unit 22a Control instruction unit 23a Configuration information storage unit 30A, 30B User base 40A, 40B Server base 50 Relay NW

Claims

a measurement unit that measures an input traffic amount input from a relay network that relays communication between bases, and an output traffic volume that outputs data input from the relay network to a destination base;
determining whether a difference between the input traffic amount and the output traffic amount measured by the measurement unit is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, and determining whether the difference between the input traffic amount and the output traffic amount is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold If so, a determination unit that transmits a predetermined notification to an external device;
A communication device, comprising: a traffic control section that controls communication by limiting the output traffic amount when receiving a notification to limit the amount of traffic.
Collecting the input traffic volume and the output traffic volume measured by the measurement unit, and storing the collected traffic volume in a storage unit in association with information identifying a transmission source base and information identifying a transmission destination base. The communication device according to claim 1, further comprising a collection unit for storing information.
If the difference between the input traffic volume and the output traffic volume is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold, the determination unit transmits a notification containing information for identifying a transmission source base stored in the storage unit to the controller. The communication device according to claim 2, characterized in that:
The communication device accommodating the transmission source base further includes a limit setting unit that sets a limit value of the traffic amount included in the notification when the communication device receives a notification to limit the traffic amount from the controller. ,
4. The communication device according to claim 3, wherein the traffic control unit controls the output traffic amount to be limited to a limit value set by the limit setting unit to perform communication.
A communication method performed by a communication device, the method comprising:
a measurement step of measuring the amount of input traffic input from a relay network that relays communication between the bases, and the amount of output traffic that outputs the data input from the relay network to the destination base;
Determining whether the difference between the input traffic amount and the output traffic amount measured in the measurement step is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold, and the difference between the input traffic amount and the output traffic amount is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold. If so, a determination step of transmitting a predetermined notification to an external device;
A communication method comprising: a traffic control step of controlling communication by limiting the output traffic amount when a notification to limit the traffic amount is received.
a measuring step of measuring the amount of input traffic input from a relay network that relays communication between the bases, and the amount of output traffic that outputs the data input from the relay network to the destination base;
determining whether the difference between the input traffic amount and the output traffic amount measured in the measuring step is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold; and the difference between the input traffic amount and the output traffic amount is greater than or equal to the predetermined threshold. If so, a determining step of transmitting a predetermined notification to an external device;
A communication program that causes a computer to perform a traffic control step of controlling the communication by limiting the output traffic amount when a notification to limit the amount of traffic is received.