JPH10303932A - Communication device, communication method and recording medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently allocate communication resources by allocating a band for a communication path that transfers in accordance with the content of communication information. SOLUTION: In a server 100, a variation band priority deciding part 105 retrieves an evaluation value that corresponds to an index which is added by a packet index adding part 104 from an index storing part and decides priority of each data flow. A variation band width allocating part 106 allocates a band to each data flow from the priority of each data flow. In a router 200, an index developing part 204 uses an index of a received packet, retrieves an evaluation value from the index storing part 203 and calculates an evaluation value of each data flow. A variation band priority deciding part 205 decides the priority of each data flow by using the evaluation value. A variation band width allocating part 206 allocates each data flow from the priority of each data flow.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a communication apparatus, a communication method, and a recording medium for securing communication resources according to required quality.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Distributed systems are rapidly spreading due to the spread of inter / intranets, but it is very difficult to grasp the whole picture of programs and systems due to the complexity of systems, the increase in scale, and the introduction of componentware. It's getting harder. For this reason, it is difficult to make a model for performing numerical analysis such as a simulation in advance, and performance grasp / evaluation at the time of system design / development cannot be sufficiently performed. Among the causes that make the performance evaluation difficult, the biggest cause is that a plurality of jobs share the resources of one system. Such sharing by a plurality of entities occurs for network resources and computing resources, and it is difficult to predict performance due to different optimization standards in their management policies. When evaluating the performance, the user can obtain not only the average performance but also the worst value. However, in a complex system shared by a plurality of subjects, such worst values are often obtained and exceed engineering experience values. For this reason, the theoretical analysis does not make sense, and even in actual experiments, it is not possible to create data that causes the worst situation, so it is not possible to simulate the worst situation that occurs during operation, and the performance evaluation / prediction problem Making it more difficult. This is because, for example, in the field of communication between many computers typified by the conventional Internet, the Best Effort method in which a plurality of entities share the communication resources equally is conventionally adopted.
As described above, it has always been affected by communication by other communication entities, and it has been difficult to guarantee a necessary band. For this reason, by measuring the communication speed on the data receiving side and feeding that information back to the data source,
There is a method of controlling the amount of data transmission on the transmission side and, for example, realizing data transfer at a constant speed by removing information when the communication speed is low and transmitting the information. However, this method requires a separate line for transferring the feedback information. Further, there is a problem that information is uniformly deleted regardless of the content of the transferred data.

[0003] Furthermore, instead of the Best Effort system, an ATM (Async) is used as a band securing communication system.
Hourous Transfer Mode (RS) communication method and RSVP (Resource Reservation)
On-protocol) is under study. However, in these methods, in accordance with the diversification of the data handled on the network, even though the proper handling is different depending on the characteristics of the data, the request was made early according to the principle of first-come-first-served basis. Only the necessary communication resources (bands) are secured in order. Therefore, if the requested bandwidth cannot be secured, the request is simply rejected, and the user is constantly forced to wait for a communication resource to be available and then make a request again.

As described above, in the prior art, it is difficult to guarantee a necessary band in the field of communication between computers, so that the data receiving side measures the communication speed and feeds back the information to the data transmission source. By controlling the amount of data transmission on the transmission side, for example, if the communication speed is low, the information is deleted and transmitted, so that a method of realizing data transfer at a constant speed requires a separate line. There is a problem that information is uniformly deleted regardless of the contents of data. Furthermore, when the required bandwidth cannot be secured by the ATM system or the RSVP system, the request is simply rejected, and the user is forced to constantly wait for a communication resource to be available and re-request.

[0005]

When such limited communication resources are shared by an unspecified number of subjects, the communication resources are not secured in accordance with only the requests from individual users, but are secured in the entire network. It is an issue to provide an index such as an objective priority common to all users, and to distribute resources equally to an unspecified number of users using the index.

For example, if the data to be transmitted and received is for video reporting, real-time retention is of the utmost importance, and if the image quality is relatively insignificant, if the traffic of routers and servers increases or decreases, Accordingly, it is necessary to omit this data within an allowable range. This makes it possible to satisfy other communication requests and provide services to a large number of users.

[0007] Conversely, when the data to be transmitted and received is movie information for the purpose of appreciation, if the image quality is more important than the real-time property, a time when good image quality can be provided is presented. Think that waiting until that time is not a problem. For this purpose, it is an issue to reserve resources for a communication channel on a time axis.

In addition, in the case of watching a movie, even in the same data flow, such as a climax scene and other scenes, a part requiring high quality that determines the value of the data and a somewhat high image quality are required. There are cases where parts that do not affect many people even if they fall are mixed. In the case of such information, it is a great loss to uniformly delete the information, and it is desired that the information processing method can be dynamically changed according to the situation.

The present invention has been made in view of such a problem.

An object of the present invention is to provide a communication device, a communication method, and a recording medium that can efficiently allocate communication resources.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a communication device, a communication method, and a recording medium capable of suppressing transmission of information of unnecessarily high quality and reducing traffic.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a communication apparatus, a communication method, and a recording medium in which a request is processed without being rejected even when a communication path is congested.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a communication device capable of presenting a start / end time of a service to a user,
A communication method and a recording medium are provided.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a communication device, a communication method, and a recording medium that enable scheduling according to priority and allow services to be given light weight.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a communication device, a communication method, and a recording medium which increase the possibility of transmitting and receiving communication resources between communication requests.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a communication apparatus, a communication method, and a recording medium capable of providing information of a quality as high as possible and higher than required quality according to a load condition of a communication path. It is in.

[0017]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication apparatus for transferring communication information to a communication channel, determining the content of the transferred communication information, Means for allocating a band of the communication path for transferring the communication information in accordance with the content.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to the first aspect, an index indicating the content of the communication information is added to the communication information to be transferred, and the determining unit determines the communication information based on the index. In addition, the contents of the communication information to be transferred are determined.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to the first aspect, the band is a fixed band in which a fixed bandwidth is fixedly secured during a period in which the communication information is transferred. , The bandwidth of which fluctuates according to a predetermined situation.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to the third aspect, the communication apparatus further comprises means for managing a resource allocation status of a communication path, wherein the allocating means includes a content of the communication information and the resource allocation. The present invention is characterized in that the fixed band and / or the variable band of the bandwidth according to the situation is secured, and the bandwidth of the variable band is controlled according to the content of the communication information and the resource allocation status.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to the fourth aspect, the bandwidth of the variable band is periodically controlled.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to the third aspect, means for transferring the communication information as a packet using the variable band, and discards the packet according to the decrease of the variable band. Means, means for temporarily storing the discarded packets, and means for transferring the temporarily stored packets in response to the increase in the variable bandwidth.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to the third aspect, means for holding a packet which failed to transfer the communication information as a packet to the original transmission path using the variable bandwidth, Means for transferring the held packet by using a free bypass route after grasping the bandwidth status of the bypass route when there is another bypass route other than the transmission route.

[0024] According to the present invention, there is provided means for allocating communication channel resources to a communication information transfer request, provisionally reserving the communication channel resources for the transfer request, and Means for scheduling the provisional reservation during a period, and means for changing the provisional reservation to a full reservation of the resources of the communication path according to the scheduling.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to the eighth aspect, a priority relating to the allocation of the resources of the communication path is added to the communication information, and the scheduling means determines the priority based on the priority. It is characterized by scheduling.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the scheduling means evaluates the priority of each transfer request during the bidding period every time the transfer request is made, and performs scheduling. It is characterized by doing.

[0027] According to the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to the ninth aspect, after the bidding period ends, the scheduling means evaluates the priority of each transfer request during the bidding period and performs scheduling. It is characterized by the following.

According to a twelfth aspect of the present invention, in the communication apparatus according to the ninth aspect, the scheduling means determines the length of the bidding period according to the priority of the transfer request, and is within the bidding period. It is characterized in that each transfer request is scheduled.

According to a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, in the communication device according to the ninth aspect, the first band which must be secured to a minimum band which is meaningless if information is deleted any more than the allocated band of the communication path. And a second band that can be cut off during congestion, wherein the scheduling unit deletes the second band of each transfer request and transfers each of the transfer requests during the bidding period after the bidding period ends. The scheduling is performed in consideration of the priority of the request.

According to a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there are provided (a) a step of determining the contents of the communication information to be transferred, and (b) the communication path for transferring the communication information in accordance with the determined contents. Allocating the bandwidth of

According to a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, in the communication method according to the fourteenth aspect, the method further comprises the step of adding an index indicating the content of the communication information to the communication information to be transferred, and the step (b). Then, the contents of the communication information to be transferred are determined based on the index.

[0032] According to a sixteenth aspect of the present invention, in the communication method according to the fifteenth aspect, the band is a fixed band in which a fixed bandwidth is fixedly secured during a period in which the communication information is transferred. , And a variable band whose bandwidth varies according to a predetermined situation.

According to a seventeenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided the communication method according to the fifteenth aspect, further comprising a step of managing a resource allocation status of a communication path, wherein the step (b) comprises: Securing the fixed bandwidth and / or the variable bandwidth of the bandwidth according to the resource allocation status; and controlling the bandwidth of the variable bandwidth according to the content of the communication information and the resource allocation status. I do.

The present invention according to claim 18 is the communication method according to claim 16 or 17, wherein the step of controlling the bandwidth of the variable band includes periodically controlling the bandwidth of the variable band. And

According to a nineteenth aspect of the present invention, in the communication method according to the fifteenth aspect, the communication information is transferred as a packet using the variable band, and the packet is discarded according to the decrease in the variable band. The method further includes temporarily storing the discarded packet, and transmitting the temporarily stored packet according to the increase in the variable bandwidth.

According to a twentieth aspect of the present invention, in the communication method according to the fifteenth aspect, a packet which cannot transfer the communication information as a packet to an original transmission path using the variable band is held, and the original transmission is performed. The method further includes a step of, when there is a bypass route different from the route, transferring the held packet using a free bypass route after grasping the bandwidth status of the bypass route.

According to a twenty-first aspect of the present invention, (a) provisionally reserves the resources of the communication path in response to the transfer request, (b) schedules the provisional reservation during a predetermined bidding period, c) changing the temporary reservation to a full reservation of the resources of the communication path according to the scheduling.

According to a twenty-second aspect of the present invention, in the communication method according to the twenty-first aspect, a priority relating to allocation of resources of the communication path is added to the communication information, and the priority is set in the step (b). Scheduling is performed based on

According to a twenty-third aspect of the present invention, in the communication method according to the twenty-second aspect, in the step (b), the priority of each transfer request during the bidding period is evaluated every time the transfer request is made. Scheduling.

According to a twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention, in the communication method according to the twenty-second aspect, in the step (b), after the end of the bidding period, the priority of each transfer request during the bidding period is evaluated. It is characterized by scheduling.

According to a twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention, in the communication method according to the twenty-second aspect, in the step (b), the length of a bidding period is determined in accordance with the priority of the transfer request, and within the bidding period, Each transfer request is scheduled.

According to a twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention, in the communication method according to the twenty-second aspect, a band of a communication path to be allocated must be secured to a minimum limit that becomes meaningless if information is deleted any more. The method further comprises a step of dividing the band into a second band that can be cut off during congestion. In the step (b), after the bidding period ends, the second band of each transfer request during the bidding period is set. The scheduling is performed in consideration of the priority of the deletion and each transfer request.

According to a twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication device, comprising: means for transferring communication information to a communication path; means for determining the content of the transferred communication information; and transferring the communication information in accordance with the determined content. Means for allocating a band of the communication path for performing the communication.

According to a twenty-eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system comprising: means for allocating communication channel resources to a communication information transfer request; provisionally reserving communication channel resources for the transfer request;
Means for scheduling the provisional reservation during a predetermined bidding period; and means for changing the provisional reservation to a permanent reservation of the resources of the communication path according to the scheduling.

In the present invention, for example, an index indicating the message content added to the message is used, and a communication band corresponding to the index is allocated. At this time, in the present invention, for example, a communication band secured for transmitting information is managed by being divided into a fixed band and a variable band. The fixed band is a communication band that guarantees that it will not be cut off, and the fixed bandwidth is determined at the time of starting communication. In addition, the variable bandwidth is exchanged between the communication flows due to the fluctuation of the load on the router and the server.
The index is used for securing a fixed band at the time of starting communication and for changing the band of the variable band to objectively determine the priority according to the characteristics of communication contents and media. In securing the fixed bandwidth or the variable bandwidth, taking into consideration the case where the bandwidth cannot be secured immediately, it is possible to objectively determine the priority using the index even when implementing the communication reservation function by scheduling.

According to the present invention, messages exchanged between computers via a network can be reserved for communication resources. This makes it possible to clarify the start and end times of the service without rejecting the request even when the communication path is busy.

[0047]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of a network according to an embodiment of the present invention. This network includes various server machines 100, a router 200, and a terminal 300.
In general, in the so-called Internet or in-house network (intranet), communication is performed via a dedicated digital line in addition to a LAN, and is composed of various layers such as an ATM switch. Therefore, it will be described with a router. The server machine 1
Of 00, DB is a server machine for a database, MDB is a server machine for a multimedia database, KB is a server machine for a knowledge base, and LIB is a server machine for a library.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a communication network using an index according to an embodiment of the present invention in the network environment as shown in FIG. "Index" is used when data is selected, negotiated, transferred,
It is used to determine the priority at the time of connection or the like.

A communication network using an index includes at least a server 100 for transmitting an indexed packet in response to a user request, a router 200 for relaying and distributing the packet, and a terminal 3 for receiving and restoring the packet.
It consists of 00. Also, an indexed data creating unit 400 that supplies indexed data to the server.
May exist on a network.

The server 100 includes at least a user request window 101, an indexed data storage 10
2, an index storage unit 103, a packet index adding unit 104 for adding an index to a packet, a variable band priority determining unit 105, a variable band allocating unit 106,
Packet discarding / restoring unit 107, packet transmitting unit 108,
Further, it comprises a fixed band priority determining unit 109, a fixed band reservation unit 110, and a reservation information storage unit 111 for performing transmission after reservation or reservation of a band in advance. A data browsing unit 112 for a user to browse and select data handled by the server, an emergency news interruption unit 113 for allowing interruption of emergency news such as a disaster, and the like may be added to the configuration. The packet discarding / restoring unit 107 restores a packet once discarded when there is enough bandwidth, and a discarded packet cache unit 114 is connected.

In the server 100, the packet index adding unit 104 divides outgoing data into packets and uses the index of the index storage unit 103 to
An index is added to each packet. The variable bandwidth priority determining unit 105 searches the index storage unit for an evaluation value corresponding to the index, and determines the priority of each data flow. The variable bandwidth allocating unit 106 allocates a bandwidth to each data flow based on the priority of each data flow.
The packet discarding / restoring unit 107 selects only packets corresponding to the allocated bandwidth, and
, And discard or cancel the other packets. The emergency report interrupting unit 113 detects a packet having an index of the emergency report and determines a data flow or a packet to be transmitted with the highest priority to the variable bandwidth priority determining unit 10.
5 and the packet discarding / restoring unit 107.

The router 200 includes at least a user request window 201, a packet receiving unit 202, an index storing unit 203, an index expanding unit 204, a variable band priority determining unit 205, a variable band allocating unit 206, a packet discarding / restoring unit 207, The packet transmission unit 208 includes a fixed bandwidth priority determination unit 209 for securing the bandwidth in advance and then performing transmission, a fixed bandwidth reservation unit 210, and a reservation information storage unit 211. A packet cache unit 212 for temporarily storing received packets and sharing packets between data flows, a data filtering unit 213 for determining unnecessary data in a network below a terminal (such as a terminal), and a basis for the determination. A data mask rule storage unit 214 for storing rules to be stored, a packet index update unit 215 for updating a part of the index by a router, and an emergency news interrupt unit 216 for allowing an interrupt of emergency news such as a disaster are added to the configuration. Is also good. The packet discarding / restoring unit 207 restores a packet once discarded when there is enough bandwidth, and a discarded packet cache unit 217 is connected.

In the router 200, the index expansion unit 204 searches the index storage unit 203 for an evaluation value using the index of the received packet, and calculates the evaluation value of each data flow. Variable band priority determining unit 20
5 uses this evaluation value to determine the priority of each data flow. The variable bandwidth allocating unit 206 allocates a bandwidth to each data flow based on the priority of each data flow. The packet discarding / restoring unit 207 selects only packets that match the allocated bandwidth, passes them to the packet transmitting unit, and discards or cancels the other packets. The emergency news interrupting unit 216 detects a packet having an index of the emergency news and notifies the data flow or packet to be transmitted with the highest priority to the variable bandwidth priority determining unit 205, the packet discarding / restoring unit 207, and the like.

The terminal 300 is connected to a network at least by the terminal and receives a packet with an index, a network using unit 301 for searching for desired data, a user request issuing unit 302 for requesting transmission of desired data, and the like. A packet receiving unit 303 and a data restoring unit 304 for restoring data from a received packet to a form desired by the user are provided. When it is necessary to temporarily store received packets as packets or as decoded data, the data cache unit 305 is used. When it is desired to filter received data, data filtering as in a router configuration is performed. A unit, a data mask rule storage unit, and an index storage unit may be added to the configuration. Also, when the terminal wants to perform processing referring to the index and its evaluation value, the index storage unit may be added to the configuration.

The indexed data creating section 400 includes at least an indexless data storage section 401 for storing data to which no index is added.
An index storage unit 402, a content index addition unit 403 that adds data contents to the entire data, an indexed data storage unit 404 that stores indexed data, and a data supply that supplies indexed data to a server or the like. It comprises a part 405.
When it is necessary to add a scene index indicating the importance of each scene in the data, a scene cutout unit 406 that cuts out a scene from data to which a scene index is not added, a scene that adds a scene index to the cutout scene The index adding unit 407 may be included in the configuration.

In this communication network, a method for making a reservation or securing when a communication is performed by reserving or securing a communication band in advance is as follows.

The user operates the server 1 having desired data.
00 is obtained by the network using unit 301 of the terminal 300.

User request issuing unit 3 of terminal 300
02 is the user request window 20 of the router 200
1. Connect to the relevant server 100 through the user request window 101 of the server 100, check the data contents (outline description, size, fee, etc.), and request the user (transfer start time, transfer rate, transfer end time, etc.) ) Is issued from the terminal 300 to the router 200 and the server 100.

In the server 100 or the router 200 that has received the user request, the fixed bandwidth priority decision units 109 and 209
The evaluation value of the data is searched to determine the priority when securing a fixed band.

The fixed bandwidth reservation units 110 and 210 search the reservation status of the communication bandwidth from the reservation information storage units 111 and 211, and check whether it is possible to secure the communication bandwidth for the time required by the user. As a result, if it can be secured, the user is notified through the user request window. If it cannot be secured, an alternative is created and the fact is presented to the user through the user request window.

If the request cannot be secured as requested by the user, negotiation is performed with the server 100 and the router 200 through the user request window.

If the user is able to secure, or if it is possible to secure satisfactorily by negotiation,
After confirming this, the server 100 and the router 200 are requested to secure and transmit a communication band through the user request window.

FIG. 3 shows an example of a communication band dividing policy in a communication network using an index and a method of allocating a communication band to each communication according to the policy.

Here, the fixed band is a communication band that is guaranteed not to be deleted by a certain communication. The specific value is called a fixed bandwidth. The fixed bandwidth is determined at the time of scheduling the fixed band before the start of communication. The variable band refers to a communication band in which a band other than a band secured as a fixed band in a communication band of a router or a server is allocated to each simultaneously performed communication by priority. Further, the minimum transfer bandwidth is a minimum bandwidth in which certain data is maintained in real time and information of the data is sufficiently transmitted.

The policy of band division is divided into several depending on the characteristics of data. Here, the following four are given as examples.
In the following description of the present embodiment, “real-time priority data (thinning possible)” covering four examples is used.

Real-time priority data (thinning-out possible) This is data that requires real-timeness, but data that can be restored to the extent that the user can compromise on the receiving side even if packets are thinned out within a certain range. The extent to which the data needs to be restored depends on the user, beyond the technical minimum.

This includes general moving image data and audio data (including telephones). As a form of bandwidth reservation,
It consists of a fixed band and a variable band, and the ratio of the fixed band and the thinning rate of the variable band can be changed according to the content, scene, and importance of the transfer data. The communication bandwidth (transfer speed) is determined by the sum of the fixed bandwidth and the variable bandwidth determined by balancing other data flows.

Real-time priority data (impossible to thin out) Data that requires real-time properties and for which data thinning is not allowed.

A moving image requiring high precision, communication of a real-time control system, and the like correspond to this.

The communication band is composed of a fixed band sufficient to maintain real-time performance, and the communication bandwidth (transfer speed) is determined by the content of data.

Integrity-priority data (securing bandwidth) Data that emphasizes data integrity, is transferred according to a certain schedule, and needs to guarantee the time until transfer is completed. A period (day,
This corresponds to a case where data such as various totalized results for each month, year, and year are transferred to the head office. The communication band is
It is composed of a fixed band sufficient to be transmitted according to the schedule, and the width (transfer speed) of the communication band is determined by the amount of data and the time required for transfer.

-Integrity priority data (band fluctuation) Data where importance is placed on data integrity, but the time until transfer is not so important. This is e-mail exchanged between individuals. The communication band is composed only of the variable band, and the communication bandwidth (transfer speed) is determined in consideration of other data flows. Current Best Eff
In TCP / IP or the like based on the ort method, the bandwidth of all data flows fluctuates without priority.

FIG. 4 shows an example of an index table covering the types of data published in the network.
In this case, when a special priority method is set for handling data similar to an emergency report, it is necessary to limit the method to a specific individual such as a network administrator or a public organization.

FIG. 4 shows an example in which evaluation values are set for video, audio, character strings, etc., but if these values are not distinguished and a single value is used, the values are determined in another way. May be set. Also, when it is desired to distinguish between the priority of the connection itself and the priority at the time of securing the communication bandwidth, the evaluation value at the time of connecting the communication line and the evaluation value at the time of communication are set separately. Is also good.

The scene index shown in FIG. 5 may be set. This index is effective for flexible accommodation of the communication band when the priorities are different in the same data. FIG.
For example, the index of FIG. 4 is used as a basic evaluation value when securing a communication band, and the index of FIG. 5 is an evaluation value for modifying the index. Used as For example, the evaluation value may be changed between the climax of the movie and the portion that is not.

FIG. 6 shows a configuration example of a data packet received by each server, router, terminal, etc. in communication using an index. In this configuration example, the index is added to the normal header portion of the data packet. This index includes a portion representing the content of the data being communicated (content: an index of the communication content shown in FIG. 4 is added) and a portion representing the degree of importance in the data (scene: shown in FIG. 5). May be added, and the number of requests for the same data at the same time (the number of requests) may be included. Further, if the setting is made so that the data to be transmitted can be specifically specified by the content, the data may also include an ID (ID within data) indicating which part of the entire transmitted data.

By using the number of requests, it is possible for each router and server to preferentially process the larger one. This is because a plurality of requests can be transmitted in one data flow until the router copies and distributes them. Here, if the data to be transmitted can be specified specifically by the contents of the index, or if the data is transmitted with a time lag that can be covered by the cache even if the data is not transmitted at the same time, the same request may be counted. It is possible. This is
This is because the use of D allows sharing between data flows. Also, the data flow of a request with a large fixed bandwidth can include the data flow of a request with a small fixed bandwidth, so that it can be included in the same request until it is distributed by a router. Furthermore, if the packet on the router's cache contains the data requested by the user and the quality of the packet also satisfies the user's request (the data is transferred with a fixed bandwidth higher than the user's request), Can take the place of a shoulder.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the configuration of fixed bandwidth reservation units 110 and 210 in server 100 and router 200 shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of the fixed bandwidth reservation process.

1. Data Selection (Step 801) The user finds and selects some desired data using a WWW browser or the like, or using a directory search mechanism on a network. When selected, the server will provide information about the data (index, size,
Transfer time, bandwidth for transferring data, fee, etc.) to the user. For example, a user accesses a multimedia database from a terminal using a browser, and selects video data “Jurassic Wars”. Then, information about Jurassic Wars as shown in FIG. 9 is sent from the server. In the table of FIG.
The full transfer bandwidth indicates the bandwidth required to transfer data at full specifications.

Further, in the required fixed bandwidth in the user request column, a bandwidth obtained by adding + α to the minimum transfer bandwidth by the server can be set as a default fixed bandwidth.

2. User Request (Step 802) The user confirms the information from the server and his / her own option settings, and issues a request. In the request, enter the date and time when you want to start the transfer from the terminal, and change the user request column as you like or need (optional setting)
And then issue. For example, as shown in FIG. 10, the transfer start date and time are entered, and the fixed bandwidth is set to 25 Kby by default.
te can be changed to 35 Kbytes. In this case, the selection range is such that the full transfer bandwidth is the upper limit and the minimum transfer bandwidth is the lower limit.

When data is distributed for a fee, a license fee for receiving the data itself or charging information based on the communication amount may be presented at the same time. When charging based on the communication amount, it is also possible to distinguish between a fixed band charging method and a variable band charging method.

3. Fixed bandwidth priority determination (step 80)
3) The router and the server determine the priority when the respective bands are provisionally reserved, for example, using the following equation 1 with respect to the data requested by the user. Each evaluation value is shown in FIG.
Search from the index table of.

In case of containing video, audio, and characters ej = epj + esj + ecj pj = ej / Σei (Equation 1) where epj: video information evaluation value of certain flow j esj: audio information evaluation value of certain flow j ecj: certain flow j 3. Character information evaluation value ej: Evaluation value of a certain flow j pj: Priority Router, Server Bandwidth Temporary Reservation (Step 804) The terminal, the server, and the router between the terminal and the server temporarily reserve a communication path (data flow) from the transfer start date and time to the end of the transfer. At this time, the tentative reservation unit 402 introduces a predetermined time called a bidding period, schedules communication requests arriving within the period according to the evaluation value (priority) of the information, and temporarily sets communication resources. Make a reservation. Therefore, when a plurality of communication requests are received within the bidding period, each time a request with a higher evaluation value (priority) is received, the service start time of a communication request with a lower evaluation value (priority) than the evaluation value is changed. May be delayed.

5. The bidding period monitoring unit 403 notifies the main reservation unit 404 of the end of the bidding period periodically or after a lapse of a fixed time after the notification from the provisional reservation unit (S805).

6. In the main reservation unit 404, the provisional reservation of the communication resource is committed and registered as the main reservation (S80).
6).

8. As a result of the communication resource reservation to the user,
The start and end times of the service are notified (S807).

Several variations can be considered as a method of selecting a bidding period, a tentative reservation, and a scheduling method for making a real reservation. An example is shown below. The number added to the data represents an evaluation value (priority). Here, the higher the number, the higher the priority.

There is also a method of allocating on a first-come, first-served basis without using a bidding period, but such a case is a simple case where service priority is not considered. Therefore, a case in which the priority is considered will be described below.

Bid Method 1. Keep the length of the bidding period constant,
Scheduling for provisional reservation is performed within the bidding period.
(Figure 11) Bidding method 2. The length of the bidding period is fixed, and scheduling for the main reservation is performed after the bidding period ends. (Figure 1
2) Bidding method3. The length of the bidding period differs depending on the priority for each data. In each bid period, scheduling for provisional reservation is performed. (FIG. 13) In the case of the bidding methods 1 and 3, the time chart of the fixed band changes as shown in FIG. Note that a, b, and c in the figure represent the temporal occupancy of the bandwidth at the time when the communication channel securing request packet having the priority arrives.
The communication path securing request packets arriving at the time are called a communication request a, a communication request b, and a communication request c, respectively. The priority of each communication request is priority 5, priority 1, and priority 3, respectively. In the following examples, the length of the bidding period is fixed for simplicity, but the same processing can be performed even if the bidding periods overlap. [Bid Method 1] First, the bidding method 1 will be described.

The start of the bidding period is notified to the tentative reservation unit 402 by the bidding period monitoring unit 403. The length of the bidding period is fixed.

The first bidding period is called bidding period 1. The case where three communication requests have arrived in the bidding period 1 will be described. This is shown in FIG. The arriving communication request is sent to the fixed bandwidth priority decision sections 109, 209, etc.
Obtain information such as fixed bandwidth, transfer time, and priority required for scheduling for securing communication resources.

The communication request a that arrives first in the bidding period 1 makes a provisional reservation of a communication resource in the provisional reservation section 402. After the provisional reservation, the provisional reservation information of the communication resource is registered in the reservation information storage units 111 and 211. Here, the tentative reservation information is information including a transfer start time, a transfer end time, a necessary bandwidth, a provisional reservation, and the like, and is stored in a form such as a database.

Since the communication request b that has arrived next has a lower priority than the communication request a that has arrived earlier, it does not affect the tentative reservation of the communication resource of the communication request a, and is currently available in the same manner as described above. The temporary reservation unit 402 makes a temporary reservation of communication resources on the existing band.

In the bidding period 1, the communication request c that has arrived last has a higher priority than the communication request b that has arrived within the same bidding period. Therefore, first, the temporary reservation unit 402 notifies the reservation information storage units 111 and 211 that the communication resources allocated for the communication request b are released. Thereafter, the tentative reservation unit 402 makes a tentative reservation of the communication resource for the communication request c. Finally, the provisional reservation unit 402 makes a provisional reservation for the communication request b having a low priority. The above result is registered as temporary reservation information in the reservation information storage units 111 and 211.

FIG. 14 shows how the required bandwidth and the transfer start / end time are provisionally reserved.

The bidding period monitoring unit 403 notifies the main reservation unit 404 that the bidding period has ended. In the main reservation unit 404, the resource information provisionally reserved in the reservation information storage units 111 and 211 is used as the main reservation information as the reservation information storage unit 11
1, 211 are registered. The main reservation information has the same configuration as the provisional reservation information except for the information indicating that the main reservation is made. [Bid Method 2] Next, an example of reducing the load by performing scheduling at the end of the bidding period without performing scheduling each time a request is received (bid method 2) will be described.

As in the bidding method 1, three communication requests a,
An example in which b and c have arrived will be described. This is shown in FIG. Note that the length of the bidding period is constant as in the bidding method 1. The start and end of the bidding period are monitored by the bidding period monitoring unit 403.

The fixed bandwidth information is extracted from the communication request arriving before the end of the bidding period 1, and the fixed bandwidth information is notified to the tentative reservation unit 402. When the bidding period monitoring unit 403 notifies the temporary reservation unit 402 that the bidding period 1 has ended, scheduling for communication resource allocation is performed in the next bidding period (bidding period 2). Communication resources are allocated in order from the communication request with the highest priority that arrived in the bidding period 1. In the example of FIG. 12, a communication request a having a high priority
Scheduling is performed on the vacant band in the order of the communication request c and the communication request b, and the real reservation unit 404 is notified. The main reservation unit 404 registers the main reservation information in the reservation information storage units 111 and 211.

[Bid Method 3] A method of changing the bidding period according to the evaluation value (priority) of each communication request will be described.

As in the bidding method 1, three communication requests a,
An example in which b and c have arrived will be described. This is shown in FIG. The bidding period monitoring unit 403 monitors the period of the bidding period. The length of the bidding period is determined according to the priority of the communication request. Here, the higher the priority of the communication request, the shorter the length of the bidding period, that is, the lower the possibility of interruption and scheduling. First, when the communication request a arrives, fixed bandwidth information is extracted. Then, the temporary reservation section 40
In step 2, a temporary reservation is made, and the reservation information storage units 111 and 21
1 is registered as temporary reservation information, and the priority information described therein is notified to the bidding period monitoring unit 403 to determine the length of the bidding period. Unless a communication request having a higher priority than the communication request a arrives within the bidding period of the communication request a, the other communication requests are not interrupted by scheduling for communication resource allocation. In this example, since only the communication request b having a lower priority than the communication request a arrives within the bidding period of the communication request a, the communication request a is notified by the bidding period monitoring unit 403 of the end of the bidding period for the communication request a. After that, the main reservation is made in the main reservation unit 404,
The main reservation information is registered in the reservation information storage units 111 and 211.

The bidding period of the communication request b arriving during the bidding period of the communication request a is also determined by the bidding period monitoring unit 403 based on the priority of the extracted communication request b. Since the communication request b has a lower priority than the communication request a, the bidding period is set longer than that of the communication request a. Thereafter, the communication request c that has arrived is notified by the bidding period monitoring unit 403 that the communication request b has arrived within the bidding period. Further, it can be seen that the priority of the extracted communication request c is higher than the priority of the communication request b currently provisionally reserved. Therefore, after the provisional reservation information of the communication request b is notified to the reservation information storage units 111 and 211, the provisional reservation unit 402 is notified.
Scheduling of communication requests b and c is performed in
The temporary reservation information is registered in the reservation information storage units 111 and 211. If a communication request having a higher priority does not arrive within the bidding period of the communication requests b and c, a notification of the end of the bidding period is made by the bidding period monitoring unit 403, and the temporary reservation information related to these communication requests is transmitted to the main reservation unit. The main reservation is made by 404. In this example, the end of the bidding period of the communication request c is notified first by the bidding period monitoring unit 403, and the tentative reservation information relating to the communication request c is registered in the reservation information storage units 111 and 211 as the main reservation information. Subsequently, the end of the bidding period of the communication request b is notified from the bidding period monitoring unit 403, and the tentative reservation information related to the communication request b is registered in the reservation information storage units 111 and 211 as the main reservation information.

[Bid Method 4] Further, two types of fixed bandwidths, "minimum transfer bandwidth" and "user-required additional fixed bandwidth" are considered, and a pattern in which resource allocation is determined between them is shown.

The "minimum transfer band" is a band which must be secured at the minimum level, which becomes meaningless if information is deleted any more. The "user requested additional fixed band" is a fixed band that can be cut off during congestion. . Fixed bandwidth provides a fixed bandwidth throughout the service period,
It does not change from moment to moment according to the load condition of the communication path unlike the variable band. FIG. 15 shows a configuration example of the fixed band.

Hereinafter, description will be made with reference to FIG. 16 and FIG.

The length of the bidding period is fixed. Bidding period 1
Is notified from the bidding period monitoring unit 403, the communication request arriving in the bidding period 1 makes a tentative reservation by the tentative reservation unit 402 in the bidding period 2 which is the next bidding period. Although the communication requests a, b, and c are scheduled in the descending order of priority, all communication requests may not be allocated to a band. Therefore, scheduling is performed in consideration of the user request for the arrived service. Here, the following is assumed.

The communication request a and the communication request b request the service start immediately, but the deletion of the user requested additional band is permitted.

The service start time of the communication request c may be delayed, but the deletion of the user requested additional band is not allowed.

In the temporary reservation section 402, the communication request a and the communication request b are scheduled. At this time, communication resources cannot be assigned to all two communication requests.
Therefore, the bandwidth of “addition of user request” is divided according to the priority. In this example, they are divided at a ratio of 5: 3.

Next, communication resources are allocated from the earliest time at which all remaining communication requests c can be transferred. When all scheduling is completed, the main reservation unit 40
4 is notified of the result, and the main reservation unit 404 registers the scheduling data in the reservation information storage units 111 and 211 as the main reservation information.

It is also possible to carry out as shown in FIG. 18 without providing a bidding period as described above.

The method shown in FIG. 18 is the same as that shown in FIG. 8 up to the determination of the priority of the fixed band, but differs therefrom.

4. Router and server bandwidth provisional reservation (steps 1804 and 1805) The terminal, the server, and the router between the terminal and the server provisionally reserve a communication path (data flow) from the transfer start date and time to the end of the transfer. At this time, a search is made for a communication path that can secure a fixed bandwidth so as to meet the request issued by the user as much as possible, and to perform scheduling. As a result, communication of the lowest level of quality required from the reserved designated start date and time is guaranteed.

If the bandwidth cannot be secured as requested by the user, the corresponding server or router
Provide the user with an alternative that best fits the user's request. Examples of alternatives are shown below.

Alternative 1: As shown in FIG. 19, data transfer is started from the time closest to the request while priority is given to the start time and a bandwidth equal to or greater than the minimum fixed bandwidth can be secured.

Alternative 2: As shown in FIG. 20, the fixed bandwidth requested by the user is prioritized, and data transfer is started from the time zone closest to the request that can secure the bandwidth.

[0118] 5. Negotiation (step 180
6) If the user is satisfied with the presented provisional reservation result (including the alternative), the user proceeds to the request in step 1607. However, when the user is not satisfied with the provisional reservation result and the alternative, the request is made as follows, for example. Make changes and issue the request again.

Examples of the change of the user request include the following.

Compromise to select an alternative.

Issue the request again with another option.

Search for another server having the same data.

Give up and search for completely different data.

6. Request (Step 1807) If there is a schedule according to the request or an alternative that can be compromised, a request for data transfer is made.

[0125] 7. Data Transfer (Step 1808) In communication based on the index, data transfer in each router is performed according to the procedure shown in FIG.

7-1. In step S2101, the free bandwidth management unit 218 refers to the reservation information storage unit 211 to know how many data are currently flowing and how many of them are being used. Calculate whether can be used.

7-2. In step S2102, the variable bandwidth priority determining unit 205 grasps the evaluation value of each data from the index of the received packet.

7-3. In step S2103, the variable band priority determining unit 205 calculates a priority based on the evaluation value obtained in step S2102, and the variable band allocating unit 206 calculates this and the amount of the variable band obtained in step S2101. Based on this, a variable band to be assigned to each data is determined.

7-4. In step S2104, the variable band allocation unit 206 refers to the reservation information storage unit 211 and determines the number of packets to be allocated to the fixed band and the number of packets to be allocated to the variable band.

7-5. In step S2105, the variable bandwidth allocating unit 206 determines whether or not all the packets of the variable bandwidth can be transmitted with the variable bandwidth determined in steps S2103 and S2104.

7-6. If it is determined in step S2105 that the band is insufficient, in step S2106,
The packet discarding / restoring unit 207 thins out the packet, determines a packet to be transmitted, and proceeds to step S2107.
Instruct the packet transmission unit 208 to transmit a packet. Further, in step S2108, the discarded packet is sent to the discarded packet cache unit 217, and the discarded packet is temporarily stored in the discarded packet cache unit 217. Further, in step S2109, the packet discarding / restoring unit 207 determines whether data transmission can be performed on a detour path different from the original path. If data transmission is possible, in step S2110, the packet discarding / restoring unit 207 receives a packet from the discarded packet cache unit 217 and executes To send the packet.

7-7. If it is determined in step S2105 that the bandwidth is sufficient, in step S2111, the packet discarding / restoring unit 207 refers to the discarded packet cache unit 217 and, if there is a cached packet, a packet that can only be transmitted. Take it out of here. In step 2112, the packet transmission means is instructed to transmit the packet to which the packet is added.

7-8. The above processing is repeated at certain time intervals to re-assign the variable band. This time interval can be determined independently of the above-mentioned fixed-band scheduling interval (bid period), but the re-allocation of the variable band is not performed even though a new service has started. For example, in order to prevent occurrence of mismatch between the fixed band and the variable band, the fixed band and the variable band may be set to an integral fraction of the bidding period.

An example of an allocation processing procedure in variable band allocation section 502 will be described with reference to FIGS. 22 and 23.

Although the fixed band and the variable band of each of the data 1, 2, and 3 are separately shown in the figure, the total band of them can be collectively secured and realized as one data flow. Of course, as shown in the figure, it is also possible to realize by securing the fixed band and the variable band as separate flows.

In FIG. 22, three types of data, data 1, 2, and 3, are transmitted. Initially, only data 1 and data 2 flow, so that the bands other than those used by these fixed bands are variable bands. The allocation of the variable band to each data is determined according to the priority ratio calculated based on the evaluation value given to each data. Here, the evaluation value is regarded as the priority as it is. That is, data 1
Is the evaluation value 6 and the data 2 is the evaluation value 3, the priority ratio is 2: 1 and the entire variable band is divided at a ratio of 2: 1. The assignment of the variable band is reviewed at each time interval t.

At time T1, transmission of data 3 starts.
Since the fixed band of the data 3 uses the communication band, the band that can be used as the variable band decreases. Since the time T1 is an integral multiple of the time interval t, the allocation of the variable band is reviewed. Data 1 is evaluation value 6, data 2 is evaluation value 3,
Since the data 3 is the evaluation value 4, the ratio of the allocated variable band is 6: 3: 4 according to the priority ratio.

FIG. 23 shows an example in which the evaluation value changes in the middle of the data. Initially, data 1 and 2 are transmitted.
At time T1 (T1 ≠ n1t: n1 is an integer), data 1
Transmission of is ended. At this time, since the data transmission end time T1 is not an integral multiple of the time interval t, the reallocation is not immediately performed at this time. Time T which is the next integer multiple of time interval t
2 (T2 = n2t: n2 is an integer), reallocation is performed, and the area occupied by the data 1 in the fluctuation band of the data 2 is extended.

When transmission of data 3 is started at time T3 (T3 = n3t: n3 is an integer), the allocation ratio of the variable bands of data 2 and data 3 becomes 1: 2. Further, at time T4 (T4 = n4t: n4 is an integer), the scene index of data 2 is "movie climax".
Assume that the evaluation value temporarily rises to 6. In this case, at the time T4 when the variable bandwidth is reallocated, the evaluation values of data 2 and data 3 are both equal to 6, so that the variable bandwidth of data 2 is extended, and the variable bandwidth of data 3 is deleted by that much and 1 : 1 ratio. When the “movie climax” ends and the evaluation value returns to the original value, the band allocation also returns to the original value.

In the example of FIG. 22, the transmission band of data 1 and data 2 is reduced due to the start of transmission of data 3. If the variable bandwidth is reduced in this way, or if the required variable bandwidth cannot be secured, packets that should have been transmitted using the variable bandwidth are discarded.
However, instead of discarding immediately, the discarded packet cache unit 217 and the packet discarding / restoring 207
Attempt to rescue disposal. First, a description will be given of the discarding of a packet that cannot be transmitted because a band cannot be secured. The data transmitted using the variable band is data that can be mechanically thinned out. Therefore, when data must be discarded, the data is thinned out.

For example, the image data of the interlaced GIF format is represented by coordinates (0, 0), (1,
0), (2, 0),. . . Instead of saving data in the order of (0,0), (10,0), (20,
0),. . . , (1,0), (11,0), (21,
0),. . . In this way, it takes a format that saves everywhere. Therefore, even if the end of the data is discarded, the image is formed although the image quality is degraded. Therefore, data that can be transmitted according to the allocated band is transmitted in order from the beginning of the data, and the data that cannot be transmitted is discarded as it is.

Alternatively, in the image data compression method employed in MPEG, there are three types of data, B, P, and I. First, B, P if there is no B, and I if there is no P. Can be sharpened. This is due to the dependency that B data is decoded using P data and I data, and P data is decoded using I data. In other words, if I is missing, neither P nor B until the next I is decoded. If P is missing, there is a relationship that B up to P is not decoded next. Therefore, B and P packets can be discarded according to the band that can be secured.

Next, the processing of the discarded packet cache unit 217 will be described with reference to FIG. This figure shows the transmission status of a certain piece of data. When the variable band is removed from time t1 to t2, the variable band returns to the original at time t2, and further extra band can be secured. Is shown.

In this example, a packet that was intended to be transmitted during the period from t1 to t2 but could not be transmitted due to the cut of the bandwidth is held in the discarded packet cache unit 217. At time t2, when the communication channel congestion is resolved and a sufficient bandwidth can be secured, the packet discarding / restoring unit 207 extracts the cached packet from the discarded packet cache unit 217, and performs normal fluctuation. The transmission is performed during the period from t2 to t3 in addition to the packet for the band.

The packet discarding / restoring unit 207 functions even when there is a bypass route different from the original transmission route. The packet discarding / restoring unit 207 always keeps track of the bandwidth status of the bypass route, and when there is a free space in the bypass route,
The discarded packet is extracted from the discarded packet cache unit 217 and transmitted to the bypass route.

When a packet is detoured by a detour path, or when a packet is temporarily cached and transmitted after congestion in a communication path is resolved, the packet arrives at the client (terminal) later than the original arrival time. Will be. Therefore, the client receives the packet transmitted on the original route / time as shown in FIG.
A packet receiving / holding unit 2501 for holding packets arriving late, and a delay packet receiving unit 2502 for receiving packets transmitted via the detour route and packets transmitted late after the congestion of the communication channel is resolved.
And a received data combining unit 2503 that combines the above two types of packets and reconstructs them into correct data.

By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to cope with the occurrence of a packet arriving late, but there are also cases where the real-time property is required and the arrival delay is not allowed. Delay in arrival is not allowed,
Alternatively, by including information on how long the arrival delay can be tolerated in the index,
Based on this information, the discarded packet cache unit 217
To determine whether to cache or immediately discard. In addition, the packet held in the discarded packet cache unit 217 immediately exceeds the allowable delay time.
Removed from cache.

In the communication based on the index, data transfer in each router can be performed by the procedure shown in FIG.

[0149] 1. Packet Receiving (Step 2601) Each router and server has a buffer that can search and operate a packet in accordance with an evaluation value obtained from an index for each data flow at every preset cycle. The received packet is first stored in this buffer.

2. Index expansion (Step 260)
2) Retrieving an evaluation value corresponding to the index of the packet of each data flow from the index tables of FIGS. 4 and 5 which are shared by the routers and servers every certain period, for example, every one cycle or an appropriate number of cycles. I do. If the index table of FIG. 5 is not used, that is, if there is no change in the evaluation value within the same data flow, the evaluation value of each packet obtained from the index table of FIG. In many cases, it can be used consistently. When considering the number of requests, a function corresponding to the number of requests may be used as in Expression 3.

Efki = ei (Equation 2) where efki: Evaluation value of flow i in a certain period k ei: Evaluation value in the index table of data of flow i efki = H (ei, ri) (Equation 3) where ri : The number of requests to the flow i H: a function that adds the number of requests to the evaluation value When setting an evaluation value in the same data as the scene index in FIG. 5, the search is performed for each flow as in Expression 4. It is desirable to perform statistical processing on the evaluated values thus obtained and use the statistical values as the evaluation values of the respective flows. As the statistical value, a value that can characterize each flow or compare flows can be obtained, such as a total value, an average value, and normalization of the evaluation values of each packet. When considering the number of requests, a function corresponding to the number of requests may be used as in Expression 5.

Efki = G (ei × ski1, ei × Ski2,. Value G: Function for statistically processing the evaluation value of each packet efki = H (G (ei × ski1, ei × Ski2,... Ei × Skij,...), Ri) (Equation 5) where ri: request to flow i Number H: Function that adds the number of requests to the evaluation value Also, when the data evaluation value is set for each type of video, audio, character string, etc., particularly when the bandwidth can be manipulated for each media, It is also possible to perform any one of the processing of Expressions 2 to 5.

3. Priority Determination (Step 2603) The priority between data flows is determined using the evaluation value of each data flow in each period. The priority determination function differs depending on how to set the type of the evaluation value and how to take the evaluation value. One simple example is when the evaluation value is represented by a number and the larger the number, the higher the evaluation, as in the case where the evaluation value of each data flow is obtained as in Equations 2 to 5, etc. As shown in Expression 6, there is a method in which the ratio of the evaluation value of each data flow to the total evaluation value of all data flows is set as the priority of each data flow.

Alternatively, for example, the evaluation value of the data flow can be regarded as the priority as it is.

Pki = efki / Σefkn n = 1, 2, 3,..., I,... (Equation 6) where efki: evaluation value of flow i in certain period k Pki: priority of flow i in certain period k When the data evaluation value is set for each type of video, audio, character string, and the like, and particularly when the bandwidth can be manipulated for each medium, the processing of Expression 6 may be performed for each medium.

4. Communication Band Determination (Step 2604) The communication bandwidth allocated to each data flow is the sum of the fixed band and the variable band.

Since the fixed bandwidth is already secured by the scheduling mechanism when securing the router / server bandwidth,
Here, a variable band is assigned to each data flow. As an example of the allocation method, there is a method of allocating a communication band to each data flow using the priority determined for each data flow. The method of assignment differs depending on the priority, but one simple example is to calculate the ratio of the evaluation value of each data flow to the sum of the evaluation values of all data flows as determined by the processing of Expression 6. When the priority of each data flow is used, a method of calculating the bandwidth of each data flow from the product of the bandwidth and the priority of the entire variable region in the communication path as in Equation 7 is used.

Bki = pki × bkT where bki: priority of flow i in a certain period k bkT: total variable bandwidth for data communication in a certain period k pki: variable bandwidth for data communication of flow i in a certain period k 5 . Packet transmission (Step 2605) Packets are transmitted while appropriately discarding the packets to match the communication bandwidth allocated to each data flow.
There are two levels of discarding. One is to discard a packet from a flow having a lower priority according to the priority between data flows. The importance can be determined using the evaluation value of the index. The other is to reduce the amount of information by discarding packets from each data flow according to the low priority. In the present embodiment, the latter level will be described as an example. As an example of this method, there is the following method, for example.

Next, an example to which the present invention is applied will be described.

First, when the “emergency report” is used,
Communication control will be described. By using an emergency report as an index, information can be privilegedly provided without following a normal scheduling rule. For example, conventionally, when a disaster such as an earthquake occurs, communication requests to the location where the disaster occurs frequently occur and the communication line is punctured.
There is a problem that emergency communication by the 0th or 119th cannot be used. By setting the index to "emergency communication" for such a problem, it is possible to perform processing with priority over any other information. This is because simply setting the priority to the highest priority makes it possible to immediately set the bandwidth for emergency communication if the fixed bandwidth required for other services occupies the entire bandwidth, based on the scheduling rules described above. I can not secure it. Therefore, a special scheduling mechanism for securing a communication band for emergency communication is required even if the minimum quality of other services is lacking (a fixed band is cut off). This can be easily extended by determining whether or not the index is “emergency communication” when scheduling a fixed band. This technology can correspond to the broadcast of earthquake information and election bulletin by the current telop on television. For example, in a network using a VOD mechanism, it is possible to broadcast emergency information as needed even when information is being provided to the full band.

However, even for this emergency information, unnecessary information can be masked at the personal responsibility by using the information filtering mechanism described later. For example, it is possible to eliminate the need for an election bulletin and to limit disaster information to the Kanto area.

However, even with this technique, it is assumed that emergency communications frequently occur and all emergency communications cannot be processed in real time (communication band becomes insufficient). This is often a problem in the current telephone network, and even emergency communication deals with only intermittently connected information, and ignores requests for which a line has not been secured. As a countermeasure against such a problem, all requests, including requests that have been ignored in the past, are counted, and the distribution of request occurrences is grasped macro-wise, and used for disaster countermeasures such as dispatching an ambulance. To make things possible.

This is because, when the fixed band is scheduled, when the emergency communication cannot be processed in real time, it is possible to estimate the frequency of occurrence and the distribution of occurrence of requests by performing only the schedule and evaluating the delay time. .

As an example of the next application, an example is shown in which individual and terminal information is added to an index and sent. This allows for waste,
From the viewpoints of work efficiency, privacy / confidentiality, contract contents, etc., it is possible to automatically adjust services based on the terminal used and the individual.

For example, from the viewpoint of waste, it is useless to transfer data with an accuracy exceeding the specifications of the terminal. A printer wants data at a speed of about 300 dpi, but image data that can be viewed only on a screen requires about 72 dpi. If this can be automatically distinguished, the communication amount will be 1/3 or less. It can also send color information to a black and white terminal,
It is useless to transmit 256-bit color information to a place where there is only CRT accuracy of it.

It is useless to transfer media data that cannot be detected by a person with some handicap. It is possible to automate a function of sending image data and character data to a deaf person and audio data and Braille data to a blind person.

In order to eliminate such useless data transfer, when a service is requested from a terminal, information about the terminal and the individual is added to notify the server. On the server side, after processing the data to the data accuracy according to the terminal and the individual in advance,
The processed data can be sent to the communication path.
This eliminates useless transfer of information that was conventionally discarded because it could not be used on the terminal side, and communication resources can be used more effectively.

Further, from the viewpoint of work efficiency, it is difficult for a sales person to search for data useful for sales from detailed technical information. Therefore, construction of a multifaceted database (data warehouse) and improvement of its efficiency Is desired. Indexes streamline database searches.

From a privacy / confidentiality perspective, a partially publicized personal index (machine I
(Similar to P-address), from the viewpoint of personal authentication in addition to encrypted communication, unauthorized disclosure of personal information,
It is a department to prevent secret leakage from public institutions.

Further, several levels of contract contents can be considered as the contract contents, and the service contents can be automatically changed by the contract contents index.

As a third application example, the present invention can be applied to information filtering. How to shut out unnecessary or disadvantageous information for individuals of various granularities, such as individuals, regions, and nations, has become an urgent issue as a huge network environment such as the Internet has spread. ing. In addition, there is a problem that legislation for protecting personal privacy, public order and morals, or protecting the national interest is delayed due to the free flow of information on the Internet.

[0172] Index-based communication is also a solution to such a problem. For example, nations, providers, corporations, individuals, etc., use the index to publish the range of data to be handled or the range not to be handled among the types of data published on the Internet, so that the types of data that are not handled can be unilaterally disclosed. Can be rejected. This makes it possible to automatically exclude information that is unfavorable in morals and information that is not of interest, and it is possible to simultaneously select necessary information.

The integrated public information communication network shown in FIG. 27 and FIG.
The large-scale integrated public information communication network shown in FIG. 8 establishes a communication network using the above-described index by a user request.
It shows an example in which the present invention is applied to a public infrastructure such as a service for distributing programs such as news, movies, and music, a computer network service, and a telephone service.

Each component includes at least the component of the communication unit using the above-mentioned index.

The correspondence between the components is determined by the key station 1301.
Is the server 100, the relay station 1302 and the relay station (small) 140
3 corresponds to the router 200, the home 1304 corresponds to the terminal 300, and the information creating station 1305 corresponds to the index data creating unit 400.

[0176]

According to the present invention, it becomes possible to allocate communication requests from an unspecified number of people according to the contents of the transfer information, and to dynamically change the resource allocation according to the information contents. It becomes possible. That is, the following effects can be obtained by dividing the band required for communication into a fixed region and a variable region and scheduling them separately.

By transmitting only the minimum required information in a fixed band, transmission of information (images and the like) with higher quality than necessary is suppressed, and traffic can be reduced.

By performing fixed-bandwidth scheduling, requests can be processed without being rejected even when communication channels are congested, and it is possible to present to the user start / end times of services that were not known conventionally. Becomes

By using a bidding period, scheduling according to priority can be performed, and services can be given light weight.

In the related art, even in the case where the band is full and transmission cannot be performed anymore, the possibility of transmission can be increased by mutually interchanging the variable band between communication requests.

The additional information can be dynamically added according to the load condition of the communication channel, and it is possible to constantly provide the highest quality information that is higher than the required quality. This means that, for example, even in a single communication flow, it is possible to provide high-quality video and audio only in certain parts, such as climax, and to respond to fine-grained user requests. I have.

According to the present invention, it is possible to allocate a communication request from an unspecified majority according to the contents of the transfer information, and to dynamically change the resource allocation according to the information contents. It becomes possible. Further, it is possible to construct a network capable of promptly responding to a disaster or the like, to prevent intrusion of data or the like that is against public order and morals, and to promote a user's compromise and secure communication resources in a form that the user is satisfied with.

[Brief description of the drawings]

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

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of each server, router, and terminal shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a policy of dividing a communication band in a communication network using an index, and a method of allocating a communication band to each communication according to the policy.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an index table covering types of data published in a network.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a scene index.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a data packet received by each server, router, terminal, and the like in communication using an index.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a fixed bandwidth reservation unit that is a component of a server and a router of a network according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating a data transfer procedure in communication performed using an indexed packet.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of data transfer regulation information sent from a server to a terminal.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of data transfer regulation information in consideration of a user request sent from a terminal to a server.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bidding method 1 in which, among methods of allocating communication resources to received information, the length of a bidding period is fixed and scheduling for provisional reservation is performed within the bidding period. .

FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of a bidding method 2 that is a method of performing a scheduling for a final reservation after a bidding period, in which a bidding period has a constant length, among communication resource allocation methods for received information. .

FIG. 13 shows a method of allocating communication resources to received information, in which the length of a bidding period differs depending on the priority of each data, and a method of performing scheduling for provisional reservation in each bidding period. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a method 3.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a procedure for creating a schedule table in which a fixed band is secured over time.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a fixed band in a bidding method 4;

FIG. 16 is a diagram illustrating an example of scheduling of a variable band.

FIG. 17 is a diagram illustrating an example of a fixed band schedule result in the bidding method 4;

FIG. 18 is a flowchart illustrating another data transfer procedure in communication performed using an indexed packet.

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of data transfer regulation information as an alternative sent from the server to the terminal.

FIG. 20 is a diagram illustrating another example of data transfer regulation information as an alternative sent from the server to the terminal.

FIG. 21 is a flowchart illustrating a procedure of a basic process in a variable bandwidth allocating unit.

FIG. 22 is a diagram illustrating an example of scheduling of a variable band.

FIG. 23 is a diagram illustrating an example of scheduling of a variable band.

FIG. 24 is a diagram illustrating the concept of data retransmission.

FIG. 25 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a client (terminal) -side device in the case of packet detour or packet cache.

FIG. 26 is a flowchart showing another procedure in the variable bandwidth allocating unit.

FIG. 27 is a diagram illustrating an example of an integrated public information communication network.

FIG. 28 is a diagram illustrating an example of a large-scale integrated public information communication network.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 100 server machine 105 variable bandwidth priority determination unit 200 router 210 fixed bandwidth reservation unit 300 terminal 400 indexed data creation unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Yasuo Namioka 70, Yanagicho, Saiwai-ku, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside the Toshiba Yanagicho Plant (72) Inventor Satoshi Kagaya 1 Toshiba-cho, Fuchu-shi, Tokyo Toshiba Fuchu Plant (72) Inventor Haruhiko Iida 70 Yanagimachi, Yuki-ku, Kawasaki City, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside the Toshiba Yanagimachi Plant Co., Ltd. Hitoya Toshiba Corporation Head Office, 1-1-1, Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Hideaki Shioya 1st Toshiba R & D Center, Komukai Toshiba-cho, Kawasaki-shi, Kanagawa

Claims (28)

[Claims] 1. A means for transferring communication information to a communication path, a means for determining the content of the communication information to be transferred, and a band of the communication path for transferring the communication information in accordance with the determined content Means for allocating a communication device. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: adding an index indicating the content of the communication information to the communication information to be transferred; and determining the content of the communication information to be transferred based on the index. Item 1
The communication device as described. 3. A fixed band in which a fixed bandwidth is fixedly secured during a period in which the communication information is transferred, and a variable band in which the bandwidth fluctuates according to a predetermined situation. The communication device according to claim 1, comprising: 4. A fixed bandwidth and / or a variable bandwidth of a bandwidth according to the content of the communication information and the resource allocation status, further comprising a unit for managing a resource allocation status of a communication path. 4. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the bandwidth of the variable bandwidth is controlled according to the content of the communication information and the resource allocation status. 5. The communication device according to claim 4, wherein a bandwidth of said variable band is periodically controlled. 6. A means for transferring the communication information as a packet using the fluctuating band, a means for discarding a packet according to a decrease in the fluctuating band, and a means for temporarily storing the discarded packet. 4. The communication device according to claim 3, further comprising: means for transferring the temporarily stored packet in accordance with an increase in the variable bandwidth. 7. A means for holding a packet that could not transfer the communication information as a packet to an original transmission path using the variable bandwidth, and when there is a detour path different from the original transmission path, 4. The communication apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: means for transferring the held packet by using a vacant detour path after grasping the band status of the detour path. 8. A means for allocating resources of a communication path in response to a transfer request for communication information; means for temporarily reserving resources of the communication path in response to the transfer request; A communication apparatus comprising: means for performing scheduling on the communication path; and means for changing the temporary reservation to a full reservation of resources of the communication path in accordance with the scheduling. 9. The communication apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a priority related to resource allocation of said communication path is added to said communication information, and said scheduling means performs scheduling based on said priority. 10. The communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said scheduling means evaluates said priority of each transfer request during said bidding period and performs scheduling each time said transfer request is made. 11. The communication apparatus according to claim 9, wherein said scheduling means evaluates said priority of each transfer request during said bidding period and performs scheduling after said bidding period ends. 12. The method according to claim 9, wherein said scheduling means determines a length of a bidding period according to a priority of said transfer request, and schedules each transfer request within said bidding period. Communication device. 13. A means for dividing a band of a communication path to be allocated into a first band which has to be secured to a minimum which becomes meaningless if information is deleted any more, and a second band which can be cut off during congestion. Further comprising: after the end of the bidding period,
10. The communication device according to claim 9, wherein scheduling is performed in consideration of deletion of the second band of each transfer request during the bidding period and priority of each transfer request. (A) determining the content of communication information to be transferred; and (b) assigning a band of the communication path for transferring the communication information according to the determined content. A communication method, comprising: 15. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: adding an index indicating the content of the communication information to the communication information to be transferred;
The communication method according to claim 14, wherein the contents of the communication information to be transferred are determined. 16. The method according to claim 16, wherein the bandwidth is a fixed bandwidth in which a fixed bandwidth is fixedly secured during a period in which the communication information is transferred, and a variable bandwidth in which the bandwidth varies according to a predetermined situation. 16. The communication method according to claim 15, comprising: 17. The method according to claim 17, further comprising a step of managing a resource allocation status of a communication path, wherein the step (b) comprises: the fixed bandwidth of the bandwidth according to the content of the communication information and the resource allocation status. The communication method according to claim 15, further comprising: securing a variable bandwidth; and controlling a bandwidth of the variable bandwidth according to the content of the communication information and the resource allocation status. 18. The communication method according to claim 16, wherein in the step of controlling the bandwidth of the variable band, the bandwidth of the variable band is periodically controlled. 19. The method according to claim 19, wherein the communication information is transferred as a packet using the variable band, the packet is discarded in accordance with the decrease in the variable band, and the discarded packet is temporarily stored. 16. The communication method according to claim 15, further comprising the step of transferring the temporarily stored packets according to the increase. 20. A packet which cannot transfer the communication information as a packet to an original transmission path by using the variable bandwidth, and when there is a detour path different from the original transmission path, the detour path 16. The communication method according to claim 15, further comprising a step of transferring the held packet by using a vacant detour path after grasping the bandwidth status of the packet. 21. (a) provisionally reserving resources of the communication path in response to the transfer request; (b) scheduling for the provisional reservation during a predetermined bidding period; and (c) responding to the scheduling. A step of converting the temporary reservation into a full reservation of the resources of the communication path. 22. The communication method according to claim 21, wherein a priority related to resource allocation of the communication path is added to the communication information, and scheduling is performed based on the priority in the step (b). . 23. The communication method according to claim 22, wherein in the step (b), each time the transfer request is made, the priority of each transfer request during the bidding period is evaluated for scheduling. 24. In the step (b), after the end of the bidding period, scheduling is performed by evaluating the priority of each transfer request during the bidding period.
2. The communication method according to 2. 25. The method according to claim 22, wherein in the step (b), the length of the bidding period is determined according to the priority of the transfer request, and each transfer request within the bidding period is scheduled. The communication method described. 26. A band of a communication path to be allocated is divided into a first band which must be secured to a minimum which becomes meaningless if information is deleted any more, and a second band which can be cut off during congestion. The method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of: in the step (b), after the ending of the bidding period, performing scheduling while considering the elimination of the second band of each transfer request during the bidding period and the priority of each transfer request. The communication method according to claim 22, characterized in that: 27. A means for transferring communication information to a communication path, a means for determining the content of the communication information to be transferred, and a communication path for transferring the communication information in accordance with the determined content. A recording medium on which a program for causing a computer to function as a means for allocating a band is recorded. 28. A means for allocating resources of a communication path in response to a transfer request for communication information; a means for temporarily reserving resources of the communication path in response to the transfer request; A recording medium for recording a program for causing a computer to function as means for performing scheduling, and for changing the provisional reservation into a permanent reservation for the resources of the communication path in accordance with the scheduling.