Communication system and communication program

Abstract

To appropriately perform allocation of network resources with respect to a content constituted by an application group whose communication requirement varies dynamically.SOLUTION: A communication system 1a comprises a resource distribution determination unit 323 and a transfer apparatus setting unit 34. The resource distribution determination unit 323 determines a resource distribution amount to be distributed to each application 100 from a predetermined available resource amount for each of communication requirements, being requirements for communication by the application 100 via a network (for example, a communication band to be used by the application 100, a communication delay and jitter width to be allowed for the application 100, a computing resource to be used by the application 100, and the like). The transfer apparatus setting unit 34 sets to the network the determined resource distribution amount to each application based on the communication requirement.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication system and a communication program. [Background technology]

[0002] In recent years, services have been emerging that combine applications such as network-based calls, video distribution, games, sensing, and remote control to provide a single piece of content. However, some applications have strict communication requirements (e.g., latency of 10 ms or less), making it difficult to operate the service stably when using a network with a variety of traffic flows to provide the service. [Prior art documents] [Non-patent literature]

[0003] [Non-Patent Document 1] What is a VPN? A thorough explanation of the basics and secure VPN connections. [Retrieved August 13, 2020], Internet<URL:https: / / cybersecurity-jp.com / security-measures / 26436> Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] To ensure stable operation of the service, one option is to use a bandwidth-guaranteed line. However, stable operation of the service also requires communication requirements other than bandwidth (for example, requirements regarding acceptable delay and jitter, and security requirements such as blocking unauthorized access to terminals and servers). Furthermore, for content composed of multiple applications as described above, the communication quality required by each application (the quality required by the communication requirements) changes dynamically. This poses a problem in that it is difficult to allocate appropriate network resources to the content.

[0005] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to appropriately allocate network resources to content made up of a group of applications whose communication requirements change dynamically. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is characterized by comprising a resource allocation determination unit that determines the amount of resources to be allocated to each application from a predetermined amount of available resources based on communication requirements, which are requirements when an application communicates via a network, and a setting unit that sets the amount of resources to be allocated to each application based on the determined communication requirements in each network device that constitutes the network. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, network resources can be appropriately allocated to content made up of a group of applications whose communication requirements change dynamically. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of content. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a communication system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a modified example of the configuration of the communication system of the first embodiment. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a communication system according to the second embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the communication system of FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a communication system according to the third embodiment. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of the communication system of FIG. [Figure 8]FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of the configuration of a computer that executes a communication program. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, but it should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments.

[0010] First, an example of content handled by the communication system of each embodiment will be described. For example, the content may include multiple applications, and each application may provide a service by communicating via a network. This content may be, for example, a competitive XR sport. Below, using FIG. 1, the characteristics of the content when the content is a competitive XR sport (table tennis) will be described.

[0011] [Example of content] The users of this content are players, audience members, observers, etc. The state of the match in the virtual space is captured by a camera (virtual camera) and distributed to a monitor, etc. For example, players can use VR devices over the network to play against other players and cheer on others. Audiences can use VR devices over the network to watch and cheer on the game. Observers can watch and cheer on the game using smartphones. The content is provided as a service using an application according to the type of user described above, for example. The communication requirements for Player traffic are low latency, jitter suppression, and guaranteed bandwidth. The communication requirements for Audience traffic are low latency and guaranteed bandwidth. The communication requirements for Observer traffic are guaranteed bandwidth. The traffic priority for each application is as follows: Player traffic (play signals) is "highest priority," Audience viewing and cheering is "medium priority," viewing images captured by the camera is "medium priority," and Observer viewing is "low priority." A common security requirement for Player, Audience, and Observer is that a network that satisfies the above latency and bandwidth requirements must be available only to designated terminals and servers, and that it must be closed to prevent unauthorized use by other terminals, etc.

[0012] [Example of communication requirements] Also, examples of communication requirements handled by the communication system of each embodiment and processing for satisfying the quality indicated in the communication requirements are shown. Communication bandwidth: QoS control and bandwidth guarantee for transmission paths at network edge and gateway nodes Communication latency: Control of the location of the data center used by the content, the transfer path, and the QoS class (packet processing scheduling) Jitter: Suppression of delays within each device on the route by Time Sensitive Networking, Deterministic Networking, etc. Security: Preventing unauthorized access and communications by applying network appliances such as firewalls, IPS (Intrusion Prevention Systems), and DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack mitigation systems, or ensuring network closure by using VPN (Virtual Private Network) technology to block communication routes from the Internet and other external sources. Computing resources, storage resources: Provision of CPUs (Central Processing Units), memory, storage, etc. required to process packets at the data center used by the content.

[0013] [First embodiment] [Configuration example] Next, a configuration example of a communication system according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. The communication system 1 according to the first embodiment includes a content server device 10, a network, and a resource setting device 30. The content server device 10 runs content including one or more applications 100. Note that the content server device 10 performs the same processing as described below even when it is installed separately for each application or when it is installed with multiple content server devices 10 each with the same application depending on the processing load of the application, etc.

[0014] The network is made up of a plurality of network devices (not shown), and transfers traffic of each application 100 of content, for example.

[0015] The resource setting device 30 determines the amount of resources to be allocated when each application 100 communicates via a network based on the communication requirements, and sets the determined amount of resources to be allocated to each network device (transfer device).

[0016] The resource setting device 30 includes a communication requirement integrated management unit 32, a communication requirement receiving unit 33, and a transfer device setting unit .

[0017] The communication requirement integrated management unit 32 manages the communication requirements of each application 100, and includes, for example, a communication requirement management unit 321 and a communication requirement notification unit 322. The communication requirement management unit 321 determines the communication requirements of each application 100. The communication requirement notification unit 322 outputs the determined communication requirements of each application 100 to the communication requirement receiving unit 33.

[0018] The communication requirement receiving unit 33 receives the communication requirements of each application 100 and outputs them to the transfer device setting unit .

[0019] The transfer device setting unit 34 sets communication requirements for each application 100 in each network device (transfer device) in the network. For example, the transfer device setting unit 34 sets, in each network device, identification information for the application 100 and communication requirements for the application 100 of the identification information (e.g., the communication bandwidth used by the application 100, the communication delay and jitter width allowed for the application 100, and the communication pattern for allowing or restricting communication (IP address, port number, packet arrival rate, etc.)). Thereafter, based on the settings, the network device performs control for each application 100, such as bandwidth allocation, destination allocation, delay control, allocation of computing resources for each location, and application of a security appliance such as a firewall that controls whether communication is allowed or restricted.

[0020] According to such a communication system 1, resources can be allocated appropriately even for content configured from an application 100 whose communication requirements change dynamically.

[0021] Each of the applications 100 in the communication system 1 may notify the resource setting device 30 of the communication requirements of the application 100. In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, each of the applications 100 includes a communication requirement setting unit 111 and a communication requirement notification unit 322.

[0022] The communication requirement setting unit 111 determines and sets communication requirements for its own application 100. The communication requirement notification unit 322 notifies the resource setting device 30 of the communication requirements set by the communication requirement setting unit 111 together with identification information of its own application 100.

[0023] Such a communication system 1 also makes it possible to appropriately allocate resources to content configured from the application 100 whose communication requirements change dynamically.

[0024] [Second embodiment] [Configuration example] Next, an example of the configuration of a communication system according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 4. The same components as those in the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described again.

[0025] The communication system 1a of the second embodiment is characterized in that it determines the amount of resources to be allocated when each application 100 communicates via a network based on communication requirements, from the amount of resources available for the entire content.

[0026] The resource setting device 30a of this communication system 1a includes a resource allocation determination unit 323. The resource allocation determination unit 323 determines the amount of resources to be allocated when each application 100 communicates via the network based on communication requirements and the amount of resources available for the entire content. The amount of resources available for the entire content is notified, for example, by the content provider or the network.

[0027] The communication requirement notification unit 322 outputs the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements determined by the resource allocation determination unit 323 to the communication requirement reception unit 33. The communication requirement reception unit 33 outputs the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements to the transfer device setting unit 34. The transfer device setting unit 34 sets the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements in each transfer device (each network device) within the network.

[0028] Furthermore, the resource setting device 30a stores application information in the storage unit 31, which indicates the priority (priority class) and distribution policy when allocating resources to the applications 100. This application information is referenced by the resource allocation determination unit 323 when determining the amount of resources to be allocated to each application 100 when communicating via a network based on communication requirements and from the amount of resources available for the entire content. Details of how the amount of resources to be allocated will be described later using a specific example.

[0029] [Example of processing procedure] Next, an example of the processing procedure of the resource setting device 30a will be described with reference to Fig. 5. It is assumed that the resource setting device 30a has already received in advance the amount of resources available for the entire content (the amount of available resources).

[0030] First, the resource allocation determination unit 323 of the resource setting device 30a determines the amount of resources to be allocated to each application 100 based on the amount of resources available for the entire content and on communication requirements (S1).

[0031] After S1, the resource setting device 30a sets, in each network device within the network, the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements determined in S1 (S2). That is, the communication requirement notifying unit 322 outputs the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements, determined by the resource allocation determining unit 323, to the communication requirement receiving unit 33. Then, the communication requirement receiving unit 33 outputs the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements to the transfer device setting unit 34. The transfer device setting unit 34 sets, in each network device within the network, the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements.

[0032] Here, an example of a method for determining the amount of resource allocation to each application 100 based on communication requirements in S1 of FIG. 5 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0033] For example, first, the resource allocation determination unit 323 determines the amount of resource allocation for the first communication requirement as follows: In the following description, it is assumed that the content server device 10 is equipped with applications 1 to 4 (see FIG. 4). Here, it is assumed that the priority class of application 1 is Class_1, the priority class of application 2 is Class_2, the priority class of application 3 (not shown in FIG. 4) is Class_3, and the priority class of application 4 is Class_4.

[0034] The conditions used to determine the amount of resource allocation are as follows:

[0035] ·Available resource amount: X (X<Σxl*nl, l=1,2,3,4) Priority classes within content: Class_1, Class_2, Class_3, Class_4 Number of applications: Class_1 → n1, Class_2 → n2, Class_3 → n3, Class_4 → null · Resource distribution variables for each class: Class_1 → x1, Class_2 → x2, Class_3 → x3, Class_4 → x4 · Distribution policy for each class: Class_1 → Required, Class_2, 3 → Weighted (α, β) and distributed equally

[0036] Based on the above conditions, the resource allocation determination unit 323 determines the amount of resource allocation (distributed resource) for each class in the first communication requirement as follows.

[0037] Resource allocation per class: Class_1=x1 Class_2=x2=α(Xx*n1) / (αn2+βn3) Class_2=x3=β(Xx*n1) / (αn2+βn3) Class_4=x4=0

[0038] The resource allocation determination unit 323 sequentially determines the amount of resource to be allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements as described above. Then, the resource setting device 30a sets the amount of resource to be allocated to each application 100 based on the determined communication requirements in each network device within the network.

[0039] According to such a communication system 1a, even if the amount of resources available for the entire content is fixed, resources can be appropriately allocated to the content made up of the application 100 whose communication requirements change dynamically.

[0040] In the communication system 1a, as shown in FIG. 3, each application 100 may have a communication requirement setting unit 111 and a communication requirement notification unit 322, and each application 100 may notify the resource setting device 30a of the communication requirements of its own application 100.

[0041] [Third embodiment] [Configuration example] Next, an example of the configuration of a communication system according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. The same components as those in the above-described embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0042] The communication system 1b of the third embodiment is characterized in that it determines the amount of resources to be allocated to each application 100 based on communication requirements, based on the results of measuring the amount of resource usage in the network.

[0043] This communication system 1b includes a communication quality measurement unit 20 and a resource setting device 30b. The content server device 10 of the communication system 1b includes an application setting unit 110. The application setting unit 110 receives the information notified by the resource setting device 30b. The setting of each application 100 is changed according to the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements. The storage unit 31 of the communication system 1b further stores resource information indicating the amount of resources that can be provided to content for each resource type.

[0044] The communication quality measurement unit 20 measures the resource usage amount for each resource type in the network and notifies the resource setting device 30b.

[0045] The resource setting device 30b includes a communication quality management unit (update unit) 35 and a communication quality notification unit .

[0046] The communication quality management unit 35 calculates and updates the amount of resources that can be provided to the content based on the measurement results of the resource usage amount for each resource type notified by the communication quality measurement unit 20.

[0047] For example, the communication quality management unit 35 calculates the resource utilization rate of the entire network based on the measurement results of the resource utilization amount for each resource type notified by the communication quality measurement unit 20. Then, the communication quality management unit 35 calculates the amount of resources that can be provided to the currently operated content based on the calculation results of the resource utilization rate of the entire network. Thereafter, the communication quality management unit 35 updates the resource information using the calculated amount of resources that can be provided to the currently operated content.

[0048] The communication quality notification unit 36 ​​notifies the resource allocation determination unit 323 of the updated resource information (the latest amount of available resources).

[0049] The resource allocation determination unit 323 then determines the amount of resources to be allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements from the notified latest available resource amount. The transfer device setting unit 34 then notifies the content server device 10 of the amount of resources to be allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements determined by the resource allocation determination unit 323.

[0050] Then, the application setting unit 110 of the content server device 10 changes the setting of each application 100 in accordance with the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 based on the notified communication requirements.

[0051] For example, the application setting unit 110 changes the output traffic of each application 100 and the quality level of the content to be transmitted in accordance with the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 based on the notified communication requirements.

[0052] In this way, the resource setting device 30b can set, for each application 100, the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 based on communication requirements in accordance with the resource utilization rate in the network. As a result, for example, the resource setting device 30b can throttle the output traffic of each application 100 when the network is congested (when there is a resource shortage), and can improve the quality level of content transmitted by each application 100 when the network is not congested (when there are sufficient resources).

[0053] [Example of processing procedure] Next, an example of the processing procedure of the resource setting device 30b will be described with reference to FIG.

[0054] First, the communication quality management unit 35 of the resource setting device 30b acquires the resource usage amount of the network based on the measurement results of the resource usage amount for each resource type notified by the communication quality measurement unit 20 (S11). Then, the communication quality management unit 35 calculates the resource usage rate of the entire network, and calculates the amount of resources that can be provided to the currently operated content based on the calculation results. Then, the communication quality management unit 35 updates the resource information using the calculated amount of resources that can be provided to the currently operated content (S12: Update available resource amount).

[0055] After S12, the resource allocation determination unit 323 of the resource setting device 30b determines the amount of resources to be allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements from the updated amount of available resources (S13). Then, the resource setting device 30b notifies the content server device 10 of the amount of resources to be allocated to each application 100 based on the determined communication requirements (S14). That is, the communication requirement notification unit 322 of the resource setting device 30b outputs the amount of resources to be allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements determined in S13 to the communication requirement notification unit 322. Then, the communication requirement notification unit 322 notifies the content server device 10 of the amount of resources to be allocated to each application 100 based on the communication requirements.

[0056] Thereafter, the application setting unit 110 of the content server device 10 changes the setting of each application 100 based on the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 based on the notified communication requirements.

[0057] In this way, the resource setting device 30b can set, for each application 100 in the network, the amount of resource allocation to each application 100 based on communication requirements, which is determined according to the resource utilization rate in the network.

[0058] In addition, in the communication system 1b, as shown in Figure 3 above, each application 100 may have a communication requirement setting unit 111 and a communication requirement notification unit 322, and each application 100 may notify the resource setting device 30b of the communication requirements of its own application 100.

[0059] In addition, the resource setting device 30b may set the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 based on communication requirements, which is determined based on the measurement results of resource usage, to each network device, or may set it to both each network device and each application 100.

[0060] Furthermore, the communication systems 1, 1a, and 1b may perform a charging process according to the amount of resources allocated to each application 100 of the content server device 10 or the amount of resources used.

[0061] The communication requirements integrated management unit 32 of the communication systems 1, 1a, and 1b may be provided on the content server device 10 side.

[0062] [System configuration, etc.] Furthermore, the components of each device shown in the figure are conceptual functional units and do not necessarily have to be physically configured as shown. In other words, the specific form of distribution and integration of each device is not limited to that shown, and all or part of each device can be functionally or physically distributed and integrated in any unit depending on various loads, usage conditions, etc. Furthermore, all or any part of the processing functions performed by each device can be realized by a CPU and a program executed by the CPU, or can be realized as hardware using wired logic.

[0063] Furthermore, among the processes described in the above embodiments, all or part of the processes described as being performed automatically can be performed manually, or all or part of the processes described as being performed manually can be performed automatically using a known method.In addition, the information including the processing procedures, control procedures, specific names, various data and parameters shown in the above documents and drawings can be changed as desired unless otherwise specified.

[0064] [program] The above-described communication systems 1, 1a, and 1b can be implemented by installing a program as package software or online software on a desired computer. For example, by executing the above-described program on an information processing device, the information processing device can function as the communication system of each embodiment. The information processing device referred to here includes desktop and notebook personal computers. In addition, the information processing device also includes mobile communication terminals such as smartphones, mobile phones, and PHS (Personal Handyphone Systems), as well as slate terminals such as PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants).

[0065] Furthermore, the communication system of each embodiment can be implemented as a server device that provides services related to the above-mentioned processes to a client terminal device used by a user. In this case, the server device may be implemented as a web server or as a cloud that provides services related to the above-mentioned processes by outsourcing.

[0066] 8 is a diagram showing an example of a computer that executes a communication program. The computer 1000 includes, for example, a memory 1010 and a CPU 1020. The computer 1000 also includes a hard disk drive interface 1030, a disk drive interface 1040, a serial port interface 1050, a video adapter 1060, and a network interface 1070. These components are connected by a bus 1080.

[0067] The memory 1010 includes a ROM (Read Only Memory) 1011 and a RAM 1012. The ROM 1011 stores a boot program such as a BIOS (Basic Input Output System). The hard disk drive interface 1030 is connected to a hard disk drive 1090. The disk drive interface 1040 is connected to a disk drive 1100. A removable storage medium such as a magnetic disk or optical disk is inserted into the disk drive 1100. The serial port interface 1050 is connected to a mouse 1110 and a keyboard 1120, for example. The video adapter 1060 is connected to a display 1130, for example.

[0068] The hard disk drive 1090 stores, for example, an OS 1091, an application program 1092, a program module 1093, and program data 1094. That is, a program that defines each process executed by the communication system of each embodiment is implemented as a program module 1093 in which computer-executable code is written. The program module 1093 is stored, for example, in the hard disk drive 1090. For example, a program module 1093 for executing processes similar to those of the functional configuration in the communication system of each embodiment is stored in the hard disk drive 1090. Note that the hard disk drive 1090 may be replaced with an SSD.

[0069] Furthermore, various types of information used in the processing of the above-described embodiment are stored as program data 1094 in, for example, the memory 1010 or the hard disk drive 1090. Then, the CPU 1020 reads the program module 1093 or the program data 1094 stored in the memory 1010 or the hard disk drive 1090 into the RAM 1012 as necessary and executes them.

[0070] The program module 1093 and program data 1094 are not limited to being stored in the hard disk drive 1090, but may also be stored in, for example, a removable storage medium and read by the CPU 1020 via the disk drive 1100 or the like. Alternatively, the program module 1093 and program data 1094 may be stored in another computer connected via a network (such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or WAN (Wide Area Network)). The program module 1093 and program data 1094 may then be read by the CPU 1020 from the other computer via the network interface 1070. [Explanation of symbols]

[0071] 1,1a,1b communication system 10 Content server device 20 Communication quality measurement unit 30, 30a, 30b Resource setting device 31 Storage section 32 Communication Requirements Integrated Management Department 33 Communication requirements receiving unit 34 Transfer device setting section 35 Communication Quality Control Department 36 Communication quality notification unit 321 Communication Requirements Management Department 322 Communication Requirements Notification Department 323 Resource Allocation Decision Unit

Claims

1. A communication system that is composed of two or more applications and provides services that define multiple different roles, an updating unit that updates the amount of available resources that can be used by each application based on measurement results of the amount of resource usage of the network acquired from each network device that constitutes the network; a resource allocation determination unit that determines an amount of resources to be allocated to each application from the updated amount of available resources based on communication requirements notified from each application corresponding to a role in a virtual space provided within a service consisting of a group of applications, the communication requirements being requirements for the application to communicate via the network; and a setting unit that sets, for each network device that constitutes the network, the amount of resource allocation to each application based on the determined communication requirements; A communication system comprising:

2. one or more of the network devices that perform forwarding control of traffic of each application based on the amount of resource allocation to each application based on the set communication requirements. The communication system of claim 1 further comprising:

3. The resource allocation determination unit For applications included in the same content, the amount of resources to be allocated to each application based on communication requirements is determined according to information indicating the priority when allocating resources to each application.

2. The communication system according to claim 1.

4. The communication requirements are: The information includes at least one of a communication band used when the application communicates via the network, an allowable communication delay, an allowable jitter width, computing resources, and security.

2. The communication system according to claim 1.

5. A communication system comprising two or more applications and providing services that define multiple different roles, an updating unit that updates the amount of available resources that can be used by each application based on measurement results of the amount of resource usage of the network acquired from each network device that constitutes the network; a resource allocation determination unit that determines an amount of resources to be allocated to each application from the updated amount of available resources based on communication requirements notified from each application corresponding to a role in a virtual space provided within a service consisting of a group of applications, the communication requirements being requirements for the application to communicate via the network; and an application setting unit that sets, for each application, an amount of resource allocation to the application based on the determined communication requirements; one or more of the applications that change the quality level of the content they transmit based on the setting; the application setting unit suppresses output traffic of the application when a resource shortage occurs. A communication system comprising:

6. A communication program executed by a communication system that provides a service that is composed of two or more applications and defines a plurality of different roles, updating the amount of available resources available to each application based on measurement results of the amount of resource usage of the network acquired from each of the network devices constituting the network; determining an allocation amount of resources to be allocated to each application from the updated amount of available resources based on communication requirements notified from each application corresponding to a role in a virtual space provided within a service consisting of a group of applications, the communication requirements being requirements for the application to communicate via the network; setting, in each of the network devices constituting the network, the amount of resource allocated to each application based on the determined communication requirements; A communication program characterized by causing a computer to execute the above.

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