Network management system, integrated management device, collection device and network management method

Abstract

The network management system (10) is characterized by comprising: collection devices (2-1, 2-2, 2-3) provided in each of a plurality of networks (3-1, 3-2, 3-3) for measuring the communication quality between the networks (3-1, 3-2, 3-3) and generating inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; an integrated management device (1) for collecting inter-network communication quality information from the plurality of collection devices (2-1, 2-2, 2-3); and a measurement control unit for limiting the measurement of communication quality by the collection devices (2-1, 2-2, 2-3) based on the analysis results of changes in communication quality over time.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a network management system, an integrated management device, a collection device, and a network management method for managing communication quality between networks. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventional communication network systems are designed to monitor the communication status of a network in order to optimize network resources. For example, a network monitoring system disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of collection devices disposed in each of a plurality of networks connected via a backbone network, and a means for storing communication data information including timestamps. This network monitoring system also includes a collection means for collecting communication data information by application, and a communication quality measurement means for measuring the communication quality of each application. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-72496 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, according to the above-mentioned conventional technology, when measuring communication quality, detailed data of communication quality is requested from all collection devices and the detailed data is acquired from the collection devices to measure the communication quality between networks, which increases the network load and the calculation load. On the other hand, if the frequency of communication quality measurement is simply reduced uniformly, there is a problem that the communication quality may not be properly grasped.

[0005] If the timing of changes in communication quality can be predicted, it may be possible to grasp communication quality without frequently measuring it while it remains unchanged. For example, in broadband communication services using low-orbit satellite constellations, the satellites are constantly moving, causing terrestrial terminals to frequently switch satellites to which they connect. For this reason, broadband communication services using low-orbit constellations periodically recalculate resources, such as switching the terminals accommodated by each satellite, for example, every 15 seconds. This is known to cause the communication quality connected to the backbone network to periodically switch, and it is known that momentary increases in latency and decreases in throughput occur when communication quality switches.

[0006] Furthermore, when there are multiple terminals that share communication resources and therefore show similar trends in changes in communication quality, knowing the communication quality of one terminal makes it possible to determine that the communication quality of the other terminals is also similar. For example, when multiple terminals that are geographically close and connected to the same satellite share the satellite's communication resources, the changes in communication quality of the multiple terminals show similar trends.

[0007] The present disclosure has been made in view of the above, and aims to provide a network management system that can reduce network load and calculation load while appropriately grasping communication quality. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems and achieve the object, a network management system according to the present disclosure includes a collection device provided in each of a plurality of networks, which measures communication quality between the networks and generates inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results, an integrated management device which collects the inter-network communication quality information from the plurality of collection devices, and a measurement control unit which limits measurement of communication quality by the collection device based on an analysis result of a change in communication quality over time. The integrated management device includes an inter-network communication quality analysis unit that extracts a combination of inter-network communication quality information that has a similar tendency of change over time, and a measurement control unit that limits the measurement of communication quality by the collection device based on the analysis result of the inter-network communication quality analysis unit so that some of the plurality of inter-network communication quality information that has a similar tendency of change over time is not generated. It is characterized by the following. [Effects of the Invention]

[0009] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to reduce the network load and the calculation load while appropriately understanding the communication quality. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] A diagram showing an example of the configuration of a network management system [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an integrated management device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a collection device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 4] Diagram showing dedicated hardware for realizing the functions of the integrated management device and collection device [Figure 5] FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a control circuit for realizing the functions of an integrated management device and a collection device. [Figure 6] FIG. 1 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of an operation of the network management system according to the first embodiment. [Figure 7] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation of the integrated management device according to the first embodiment; [Figure 8] Diagram showing changes in communication quality over time [Figure 9] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a measurement target notification message. [Figure 10] 1 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of a collection device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of application communication quality information stored in a storage unit of a collection device. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a format of inter-network communication quality information. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of an integrated management device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a collection device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 15] 10 is a flowchart illustrating a communication quality measurement operation of a collection device according to a second embodiment. [Figure 16]FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of switching measurement frequencies in the second embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] A network management system, an integrated management device, a collection device, and a network management method according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0012] Embodiment 1 Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a network management system 10. The network management system 10 has an integrated management device 1 and multiple collection devices 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3. Application clients 5-1 and 5-2 and an application server 6 are located in networks 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 that are managed by the network management system 10. In the example of Fig. 1, application client 5-1 is located in network 3-1, application client 5-2 is located in network 3-2, and application server 6 is located in network 3-3.

[0013] In the following description, multiple components having similar functional configurations are distinguished from one another by adding a hyphen and a number after a common reference symbol. Also, when it is not necessary to distinguish between multiple components having similar functional configurations, only the common reference symbol may be used. For example, when it is not necessary to distinguish between the collection devices 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3, they will be referred to as collection device 2.

[0014] The networks 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 are connected to one another via a backbone network 4. The networks 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 may be connected to the Internet via optical fiber lines, or may be connected to the Internet via a broadband service using a low-earth orbit satellite constellation. The networks 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 may also be connected to the Internet as a cloud service. Communication between the application client 5 and the application server 6 is communication between the networks 3.

[0015] The integrated management device 1 collects inter-network communication quality information indicating the communication quality between networks 3 from collection devices 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3 disposed in the managed networks 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3, respectively. The integrated management device 1 manages the managed networks 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 based on the collected information. For example, the integrated management device 1 notifies application clients 5-1 and 5-2 and application server 6 of communication quality information and control information.

[0016] A plurality of collection devices 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3 are arranged in a plurality of networks 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3, respectively. In Fig. 1, the collection device 2 arranged in network 3-1 is referred to as collection device 2-1, the collection device 2 arranged in network 3-2 is referred to as collection device 2-2, and the collection device 2 arranged in network 3-3 is referred to as collection device 2-3. Note that the configuration shown in Fig. 1 is an example, and there is no particular limit to the number of networks 3 and collection devices 2.

[0017] The collection device 2 measures the communication quality between the networks 3, generates inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results, and transmits the generated inter-network communication quality information to the integrated management device 1. The collection device 2 measures the communication quality at a timing according to an instruction from the integrated management device 1.

[0018] 2 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of the integrated management device 1 according to the first embodiment. The integrated management device 1 includes an inter-network communication quality information collection unit 101, a storage unit 102, an inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103, a measurement target determination unit 104, and a notification unit 105. The measurement target determination unit 104 and the notification unit 105 are also collectively referred to as a measurement control unit 106.

[0019] The inter-network communication quality information collecting unit 101 collects inter-network communication quality information from the collecting device 2. The inter-network communication quality information collecting unit 101 stores the collected inter-network communication quality information in the storage unit .

[0020] The storage unit 102 stores the collected inter-network communication quality information.

[0021] The inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 analyzes the inter-network communication quality information stored in the storage unit 102. Specifically, the inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 analyzes whether or not there is a combination of inter-network communication quality information with similar trends in time-varying changes. If there is a combination of inter-network communication quality information with similar trends in time-varying changes, the inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 extracts the combination of inter-network communication quality information with similar trends in time-varying changes. As the analysis result, the inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 outputs information indicating the combination with similar trends in time-varying changes and the inter-network communication quality information to the measurement target determination unit 104 of the measurement control unit 106.

[0022] The measurement target determining unit 104 determines inter-network communication quality information to be measured and inter-network communication quality information not to be measured based on the analysis results of the inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103. Here, the measurement target determining unit 104 determines collection devices 2 to be measured that measure communication quality between networks 3 on a collection device 2 basis and collection devices 2 not to be measured that do not measure communication quality between networks 3. Specifically, the measurement target determining unit 104 excludes some of the collection devices 2 from the measurement targets so as to prevent some of the inter-network communication quality information extracted by the inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 from being generated, the inter-network communication quality information having similar trends in change over time. For example, the measurement target determining unit 104 identifies multiple collection devices 2 from which combinations of the extracted multiple inter-network communication quality information have been acquired. The measurement target determining unit 104 can determine the collection devices 2 to be measured and the collection devices 2 not to be measured based on the network load of the network 3 in which the identified collection devices 2 are installed. The measurement target determination unit 104 can select the collection device 2 arranged on the network 3 with the lowest network load as the measurement target, and exclude the collection devices 2 identified above other than the selected collection device 2 from the measurement targets. The measurement target determination unit 104 outputs information indicating whether each collection device 2 is a measurement target to the notification unit 105.

[0023] The notification unit 105 notifies each of the multiple collection devices 2 arranged in the network 3 to be managed of whether or not it is a measurement target. For example, the notification unit 105 can notify each collection device 2 of whether or not it is a measurement target by sending to each collection device 2 a notification message including a measurement target flag indicating whether or not it is a measurement target and information indicating the validity period of the measurement target flag.

[0024] Furthermore, the notification unit 105 can notify each of the application client 5 and the application server 6 of communication quality information and control information generated from the analysis results of the inter-network communication quality information. The communication quality information notified here is used to control application parameters such as the compression rate and update frequency when transmitting data, and the destination is the device that controls the application. Furthermore, the information to be notified may be control information indicating the control value of the parameter generated from the communication quality information.

[0025] 3 is a diagram showing a functional configuration of the collection device 2 according to the first embodiment. The collection device 2 includes a communication monitoring unit 201, a storage unit 202, an inter-network communication quality measuring unit 203, and a notification unit 204.

[0026] The communication monitoring unit 201 acquires application communication quality information from the application client 5 or the application server 6. Here, the communication monitoring unit 201 acquires the application communication quality information from a device connected to the same network 3 as the network 3 on which the collection device 2 is installed. The communication monitoring unit 201 stores the acquired application communication quality information in the storage unit 202.

[0027] The storage unit 202 stores the application communication quality information acquired by the communication monitoring unit 201 .

[0028] The inter-network communication quality measuring unit 203 measures the communication quality between the networks 3 based on the application communication quality information stored in the storage unit 202. The inter-network communication quality measuring unit 203 generates inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement result, and outputs the generated inter-network communication quality information to the notification unit 204.

[0029] The notification unit 204 notifies the central managing device 1 of the communication quality between the networks 3 by transmitting the inter-network communication quality information to the central managing device 1 .

[0030] Here, we will explain the hardware configuration of the integrated management device 1 and the collection device 2. The functions of the integrated management device 1 and the collection device 2 are realized by processing circuits. These processing circuits may be realized by dedicated hardware, or may be control circuits using a CPU (Central Processing Unit).

[0031] When the above processing circuits are realized by dedicated hardware, they are realized by the processing circuit 11 shown in Fig. 4. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing dedicated hardware for realizing the functions of the integrated management device 1 and the collection device 2. The processing circuit 11 is a single circuit, a composite circuit, a programmed processor, a parallel programmed processor, an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a combination of these.

[0032] When the processing circuit is implemented by a control circuit using a CPU, the control circuit is, for example, a control circuit 12 configured as shown in FIG. 5. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of the control circuit 12 for implementing the functions of the integrated management device 1 and the collection device 2. As shown in FIG. 5, the control circuit 12 includes a processor 13, a memory 14, and a communication device 15. The processor 13 is a CPU, and is also referred to as a central processing unit, processing device, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, or DSP (Digital Signal Processor). The memory 14 may be, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), or EEPROM (Electrically EPROM), a magnetic disk, a flexible disk, an optical disk, a compact disk, a minidisk, or a DVD (Digital Versatile Disk).

[0033] Each function of the integrated management device 1 and the collection device 2 is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The software or firmware is written as a program and stored in memory 14, and each function is realized by the processor 13 reading and executing the program stored in memory 14. The memory 14 is also used as a temporary memory for each process executed by the processor 13. The program may be provided in a state stored in a storage medium, or may be provided via a communication path such as the Internet.

[0034] Next, a description will be given of the operation of the network management system 10. Fig. 6 is a sequence diagram for explaining an example of the operation of the network management system 10 according to the first embodiment.

[0035] First, the application server 6 transmits data to the application client 5 (step S101). Upon receiving the data from the application server 6, the application client 5 transmits an acknowledgment response to the application server 6 (step S102). Here, an example is shown in which the application server 6 transmits data to the application client 5, and the application client 5 returns an acknowledgment response when the data arrives normally. During this type of communication, the application server 6 records the communication quality obtained through the application traffic, such as throughput (step S103).

[0036] Note that the communication between the application server 6 and the application client 5 is not limited to the above example. The direction of transmission and reception may be in either direction, or may be bidirectional. Furthermore, the communication between the application server 6 and the application client 5 may be communication that returns a non-arrival acknowledgement response when data does not arrive normally. Furthermore, the communication between the application server 6 and the application client 5 may be communication that does not send an acknowledgement response, such as UDP (User Datagram Protocol). In the above, the application server 6 is assumed to record the communication quality, but the application client 5 may also record the communication quality, or both the application server 6 and the application client 5 may record the communication quality.

[0037] The application server 6 transmits the application communication quality information indicating the recorded communication quality to the collecting device 2 (step S104).

[0038] The collecting device 2 measures communication quality such as throughput and delay between the networks 3 based on the application communication quality information received from the application server 6 (step S105). The collecting device 2 transmits inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results of the communication quality between the networks 3 to the integrated managing device 1 (step S106).

[0039] The integrated managing device 1 analyzes the communication quality between the networks 3 based on the inter-network communication quality information collected from the collecting device 2 (step S107). The integrated managing device 1 transmits communication quality information indicating the analysis results to the application server 6 (step S108). The transmitted communication quality information is used by the receiving device to control application parameters such as the compression rate and update frequency when transmitting data. Here, the destination is the application server 6, but it is desirable that the destination of the communication quality information be the device that controls the application. Furthermore, although the integrated managing device 1 transmits the communication quality information here, it may also determine the control values ​​of the parameters and transmit the determined control values. The integrated managing device 1 may also provide a parameter control function as an API (Application Programming Interface).

[0040] Furthermore, the integrated managing device 1 determines the collecting device 2 to be measured (step S109) and notifies the collecting device 2 of the measurement target by transmitting a measurement target notification message indicating the measurement target to the collecting device 2 (step S110). Note that, here, whether or not a collecting device 2 is a measurement target is determined on a collecting device 2 basis, but the unit for determining whether or not a collecting device 2 is a measurement target is not limited to this example. If one collecting device 2 acquires multiple types of inter-network communication quality information, whether or not a collecting device 2 is a measurement target may be determined on a network 3 basis for each type of network communication quality information. If multiple collecting devices 2 are installed in one network 3, whether or not a collecting device 2 is a measurement target may be determined on a network 3 basis. Note that, here, whether or not a collecting device 2 is a measurement target is determined on a collecting device 2 basis. However, since one collecting device 2 is installed in one network 3 as shown in FIG. 1, whether or not a collecting device 2 is a measurement target may also be determined on a network 3 basis. It is desirable that the operation shown in FIG. 6 be performed repeatedly.

[0041] Here, a specific operation of the integrated managing device 1 will be described. Fig. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the integrated managing device 1 according to the first embodiment. At the start of operation, all of the collecting devices 2 are measurement targets. The measurement target determining unit 104 of the integrated managing device 1 calculates the similarity of the change over time for each combination of inter-network communication quality information (step S11).

[0042] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing changes in communication quality over time. In FIG. 8, delay time is shown as the communication quality. The delay time shown here has the characteristic that peaks occur periodically and, although there are random fluctuations between the peaks, the value does not change significantly. For example, the inter-network communication quality information handled in step S11 of FIG. 7 can be the round-trip delay time between networks 3 measured using a command such as ping. The similarity can be calculated by calculating the cross-correlation between multiple pieces of inter-network communication quality information. Furthermore, when throughput is used as inter-network communication quality information, the throughput can be measured using a command such as iperf.

[0043] Returning to the explanation of Figure 7, the measurement target determination unit 104 extracts combinations of inter-network communication quality information whose similarity is equal to or greater than a threshold (step S12). The measurement target determination unit 104 regards the extracted combinations as a group having similar characteristics, and aggregates multiple inter-network communication quality information belonging to the group into one piece of data. The data aggregation is performed by, for example, averaging. The measurement target determination unit 104 notifies the application of the latest aggregated communication quality information obtained by averaging (step S13).

[0044] The measurement target determination unit 104 determines, as the measurement target, the one belonging to the network 3 with the lowest network load among the multiple collection devices 2 that have acquired inter-network communication quality information of a combination with a similarity equal to or greater than a threshold (step S14). Having determined the measurement target, the measurement target determination unit 104 outputs information indicating the determined measurement target to the notification unit 105.

[0045] The notifying unit 105 notifies the collecting device 2 of the measurement target determined by the measurement target determining unit 104 (step S15). Here, the notifying unit 105 can notify the collecting device 2 of whether or not the device is a measurement target by transmitting a measurement target notification message including a measurement target flag indicating whether or not the device is a measurement target and the validity period of the measurement target flag. The operation shown in Fig. 7 is performed repeatedly.

[0046] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of a measurement target notification message. FIG. 9 shows the contents of a measurement target notification message sent to the collection devices 2-1 and 2-3 when the network 3-3 is a measurement target. The measurement target notification message can include a measurement target flag indicating whether the destination device of the measurement target notification message is a measurement target and the validity period of the measurement target flag. Even if the communication quality similarity is temporarily high, it is possible that the characteristics will change after a certain period of time. Therefore, by setting a validity period, if the communication quality characteristics change, it is possible to remove the measurement target restriction after the validity period has expired. In this example, the value of the measurement target flag for the collection device 2-3 belonging to the network 3-3 is "1," indicating that it is a measurement target, and the value of the measurement target flag for the collection device 2-1 is "0," indicating that it is not a measurement target. The validity period of each measurement target flag is set to 30 seconds.

[0047] Next, a specific operation of the collecting device 2 will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the collecting device 2 according to the first embodiment. The operation shown in FIG. 10 is executed each time the collecting device 2 receives a measurement target notification message. Upon receiving the measurement target notification message, the inter-network communication quality measuring unit 203 of the collecting device 2 determines whether the collecting device 2 is a measurement target based on the value of the measurement target flag (step S21). If the collecting device 2 is a measurement target (step S21: Yes), the inter-network communication quality measuring unit 203 measures the communication quality between the networks 3 (step S22). The combination of networks 3 to be measured here is selected from combinations of networks 3 with which applications to be managed in the network management system 10 communicate within the network 3 to which the collecting device 2 belongs, and may be all networks 3 or any combination of networks 3. The collecting device 2 stores the measurement results in the storage unit 202.

[0048] 11 is a diagram showing an example of application communication quality information stored in the storage unit 202 of the collection device 2. The application communication quality information can include a source IP indicating the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the source, a destination IP indicating the IP address of the destination, a source NW (Network), a destination NW, a packet length, a time indicating the time when the data was acquired, a throughput, and a delay indicating the delay time. The storage unit 202 stores a plurality of the above data in association with the acquisition time.

[0049] When the inter-network communication quality measuring unit 203 detects a peak in which the measured value stored in the storage unit 202 exceeds the threshold value a predetermined number of times, it calculates the peak interval, which is the interval between the multiple peaks (step S23).

[0050] The inter-network communication quality measuring unit 203 determines whether the calculated variation in the multiple peak intervals is within a standard (step S24). For example, a variance value can be used as a value indicating the variation in the peak intervals. When the variance value is used, the inter-network communication quality measuring unit 203 can determine that the variation is within the standard if the variance value is equal to or less than a predetermined variance threshold. If the variation in the peak intervals is within the standard (step S24: Yes), the inter-network communication quality measuring unit 203 outputs the inter-network communication quality information to the notifying unit 204, and the notifying unit 204 notifies the integrated managing device 1 of the inter-network communication quality information (step S25). If the variation in the peak intervals is outside the standard (step S24: No), the notification of the inter-network communication quality information is omitted, and the inter-network communication quality measuring unit 203 returns to the processing of step S22. Here, as shown in Figure 8, it is assumed that there are communication characteristics in which the value indicating the communication quality takes periodic peaks. Therefore, if there is no variation in the peak intervals, it is determined that the communication quality has been calculated accurately, and the inter-network communication quality information is transmitted.

[0051] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the format of the inter-network communication quality information. In step S25, the notification unit 204 can transmit the inter-network communication quality information in the format shown in FIG. 12. The inter-network communication quality information collected from the collection device 2 can include the source NW, the destination NW, a time indicating the data acquisition time, the throughput, a delay indicating the delay time, and a next change time. The throughput and the delay time are examples of information indicating communication quality, and the inter-network communication quality information may include either one or both of the pieces of information indicating communication quality, or may include data other than those shown in the examples. The next change time is information indicating the time when the communication quality will next change, calculated based on the peak interval calculated in step S23.

[0052] Returning to the explanation of Fig. 10, if the collection device 2 is not a measurement target (step S21: No), the inter-network communication quality measurement unit 203 determines whether the current time is within the valid period from the value of the measurement target flag in the measurement target notification message (step S26). If it is within the valid period (step S26: Yes), the inter-network communication quality measurement unit 203 repeats the process of step S26. If it is not within the valid period (step S26: No), the inter-network communication quality measurement unit 203 proceeds to the process of measuring the communication quality in step S22. As a result, the collection device 2 determined not to be a measurement target will not measure the communication quality during the valid period of the measurement target flag, and will resume measuring the communication quality when the valid period expires.

[0053] As described above, according to the first embodiment, it is possible to provide a network management system 10 comprising a collection device 2, an integrated management device 1, and a measurement control unit 106. The collection device 2 is provided in each of a plurality of networks 3, measures the communication quality between the networks 3, and generates inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results. The integrated management device 1 collects inter-network communication quality information from a plurality of collection devices 2. The measurement control unit 106 limits the measurement of communication quality by the collection device 2 based on the analysis results of changes in communication quality over time. This makes it possible to reduce network load and calculation load while appropriately understanding communication quality.

[0054] In the first embodiment, the measurement control unit 106 is provided in the integrated management device 1. The integrated management device 1 includes an inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 that extracts combinations of inter-network communication quality information having similar trends of change over time, and a measurement control unit 106 that, based on the analysis results of the inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103, restricts the measurement of communication quality by the collection device 2 so as not to generate some of the plurality of inter-network communication quality information having similar trends of change over time. The restriction on the measurement of communication quality may be performed by determining whether each piece of inter-network communication quality information is a measurement target or an exemption from measurement, or by determining whether each collection device 2 that generates inter-network communication quality information is a measurement target or an exemption from measurement. In this way, the measurement of communication quality by the collection device 2 is restricted so as not to generate some of the plurality of inter-network communication quality information having similar trends of change over time. When a plurality of pieces of inter-network communication quality information have similar trends of change over time, measuring the communication quality of one of the pieces of inter-network communication quality information allows estimation of the other pieces of inter-network communication quality information. Therefore, one of the communication qualities is measured. This reduces the network load and calculation load associated with measuring communication quality, and also reduces the message exchange between the integrated management device 1 and the collection device 2 that occurs when measurements are taken, thereby reducing the network load.

[0055] Furthermore, the measurement control unit 106 can determine which inter-network communication quality information is to be measured and which is not to be measured based on the network load from among the extracted combinations of similar inter-network communication quality information. For example, the measurement control unit 106 can select the collection device 2 provided in the network 3 with the lowest network load as the measurement target, and exclude all other collection devices 2 from the measurement target. This makes it possible to prevent further increases in network load due to communication quality measurements in networks 3 with high network loads.

[0056] Furthermore, the measurement control unit 106 can restrict measurement of communication quality by the collecting device 2 by transmitting to the collecting device 2 a notification message including a measurement target flag indicating whether or not the information is a measurement target and the validity period of the measurement target flag. When the collecting device 2 receives a notification message including a measurement target flag indicating that the information is not a measurement target, the collecting device 2 stops measuring the communication quality corresponding to the target inter-network communication quality information for the validity period included in the notification message, and resumes measuring the communication quality when the validity period has elapsed. As a result, even if the measurement of communication quality has been restricted once, if the trend in the change in communication quality over time changes, the restriction is lifted and communication quality measurement is performed, making it possible to accurately grasp the communication quality.

[0057] The collection device 2 calculates the peak interval of the communication quality multiple times, and if the variation in the calculated peak intervals is within the standard, notifies the integrated management device 1 of the inter-network communication quality information. However, if the variation in the peak intervals is outside the standard, the collection device 2 does not notify the integrated management device 1 of the inter-network communication quality information. Here, it is assumed that the communication quality has a tendency to change over time, with periodic peaks occurring and the values ​​between the peaks not changing significantly. Therefore, when the variation in the peak intervals is large, some kind of abnormality is occurring in the communication, and even if the integrated management device 1 is notified of the inter-network communication quality information, there is a high possibility that an abnormality will occur in the data transmission and reception. Furthermore, when the variation in the peak intervals is large and it is thought that some kind of abnormality is occurring in the communication, transmitting the inter-network communication quality information to the integrated management device 1 will further deteriorate the communication quality and hinder the transmission and reception of application data other than the inter-network communication quality information. Therefore, by notifying the integrated management device 1 of inter-network communication quality information only when the variation in peak intervals is within the standard, and not notifying the integrated management device 1 of inter-network communication quality information when the variation in peak intervals is outside the standard, it is possible to suppress a decline in communication quality and improve the stability of communications within network 3 and communications between networks 3.

[0058] Furthermore, according to the first embodiment, an integrated management device 1 can be provided, which is characterized by comprising an inter-network communication quality information collection unit 101 that is provided in each of a plurality of networks 3 and collects inter-network communication quality information from a plurality of collection devices 2 that measure the communication quality between the networks 3 and generate inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results, an inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 that uses the collected inter-network communication quality information to analyze changes in communication quality over time, and a measurement control unit 106 that limits the measurement of communication quality by the collection devices 2 based on the analysis results of changes in communication quality over time.

[0059] The inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 extracts combinations of inter-network communication quality information that have similar trends in change over time, and the measurement control unit 106, based on the analysis results of the inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103, restricts the measurement of communication quality by the collection device 2 so that some of the multiple inter-network communication quality information that have similar trends in change over time are not generated.

[0060] Furthermore, according to embodiment 1, a network management method can be provided that includes the steps of a collection device 2 provided in each of a plurality of networks 3 measuring the communication quality between the networks 3 and generating inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results, a step in which an integrated management device 1 collects inter-network communication quality information from the plurality of collection devices 2, and a step in which a measurement control unit 106 restricts the measurement of communication quality by the collection device 2 based on the analysis results of changes in communication quality over time.

[0061] Embodiment 2 In the first embodiment, an example has been shown in which the integrated managing device 1 has a measurement control unit 106 and limits the measurement targets, thereby limiting the measurement of communication quality by the collecting device 2. In the second embodiment, an example will be described in which the collecting device 2 controls the measurement frequency, thereby limiting the measurement of communication quality by the collecting device 2.

[0062] A network management system 10A (not shown) according to the second embodiment has a configuration similar to that of the network management system 10 shown in Fig. 1. Since the functional configurations of the integrated management device 1 and the collection device 2 are partially different from those of the first embodiment, they are referred to as the integrated management device 1A and the collection device 2A in the second embodiment. The following mainly describes the parts that are different from the first embodiment, and a detailed description of the parts that are the same as those of the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0063] 13 is a diagram showing the functional configuration of an integrated management device 1A according to the second embodiment. The integrated management device 1A includes an inter-network communication quality information collection unit 101, a storage unit 102, an inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103A, and a notification unit 105. The inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103A generates communication quality information to be notified to the application client 5 or the application server 6 based on the inter-network communication quality information stored in the storage unit 102.

[0064] 14 is a diagram illustrating a functional configuration of a collection device 2A according to the second embodiment. The collection device 2A includes a communication monitoring unit 201, a storage unit 202, an inter-network communication quality measuring unit 203, a notification unit 204, and a measurement control unit 205.

[0065] The measurement control unit 205 controls the communication monitoring unit 201 to change the frequency of measuring communication quality. Specifically, the measurement control unit 205 calculates the peak interval of communication quality while causing the communication monitoring unit 201 to measure the communication quality, and changes the frequency at which the communication monitoring unit 201 measures the communication quality between the networks 3 based on the calculated peak interval. The measurement control unit 205 measures the peak interval of communication quality while performing high-frequency measurement that measures communication quality at a first frequency. The measurement control unit 205 can limit the measurement of communication quality by changing the frequency at which communication quality is measured based on the peak interval. For example, the measurement control unit 205 can change the measurement frequency of communication quality between periods including peaks in communication quality and periods not including peaks. It is desirable to lower the measurement frequency in periods not including peaks than the measurement frequency in periods including peaks. As an example, the following describes an example in which the measurement control unit 205 changes the measurement frequency by switching the measurement frequency of communication quality between a first frequency and a second frequency lower than the first frequency. When switching the measurement frequency, it is desirable to provide a margin time before and after. Even if there are small fluctuations in communication quality, it is possible to measure communication quality at an appropriate measurement frequency. Furthermore, the measurement control unit 205 can limit the measurement of communication quality when the variation in the measured peak interval is within a standard, and can not limit the measurement of communication quality when the variation in the peak interval is outside the standard. Here, a communication environment is assumed in which the communication quality reaches peak values ​​at regular intervals, and when the variation in the peak interval is large, it is not possible to estimate the trend in the change in communication quality. For this reason, it is desirable to limit the measurement of communication quality only when the variation in the peak interval is small.

[0066] 15 is a flowchart for explaining the communication quality measurement operation of the collection device 2A according to the second embodiment. The measurement control unit 205 first causes the communication monitoring unit 201 to perform high-frequency measurement (step S31). The measurement control unit 205 determines whether or not N peaks have been detected as a result of the high-frequency measurement (step S32). N is a natural number equal to or greater than 2 and is set in advance. If N peaks have been detected (step S32: Yes), the measurement control unit 205 measures the peak intervals (step S33) and determines whether the variation in the measured peak intervals is within a standard range (step S34).

[0067] If the variation in the peak intervals is not within the standard (step S34: No), the measurement control unit 205 returns to the process of step S31. Also, if the peak has not been detected N times (step S32: No), the measurement control unit 205 returns to the process of step S31.

[0068] If the variation in the peak intervals is within the standard (step S34: Yes), the measurement control unit 205 switches from high frequency measurement to low frequency measurement (step S35).

[0069] The measurement control unit 205 determines whether the current time is near the next peak (step S36). For example, the measurement control unit 205 can estimate the peak time by determining the time when the measured peak interval has elapsed since the time when the most recent peak was detected, and determine whether the current time is near the peak based on the estimated time. The measurement control unit 205 may provide a margin time before the estimated time, and determine that the current time is "near the peak" when the time that is the margin time before the estimated time arrives.

[0070] If the current time is not near the next peak (step S36: No), the measurement control unit 205 returns to step S35 and continues the low-frequency measurement. If the current time is near the next peak (step S36: Yes), the measurement control unit 205 switches from low-frequency measurement to high-frequency measurement (step S37). While performing the high-frequency measurement, the measurement control unit 205 determines whether a peak in communication quality has been detected (step S38). If a peak has not been detected (step S38: No), the measurement control unit 205 returns to the processing of step S37 and continues the high-frequency measurement. If a peak has been detected (step S38: Yes), the measurement control unit 205 proceeds to the processing of step S35 and switches from high-frequency measurement to low-frequency measurement.

[0071] As described above, the measurement control unit 205 measures the peak interval while performing high-frequency measurement, and based on the measured peak interval, can switch to low-frequency measurement during periods that do not include peaks and switch to high-frequency measurement during periods that include peaks. During periods near peaks, communication quality varies significantly, but varies little during periods other than near peaks. Therefore, during periods other than near peaks when communication quality varies little, reducing the measurement frequency to reduce the network load has little effect on the detection accuracy of communication quality.

[0072] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of switching the measurement frequency in the second embodiment. Here, delay time is used as the communication quality. Furthermore, N=4, and when four peaks are detected, the peak interval is measured. At the start of operation, high-frequency measurement is performed. Thereafter, after the fourth peak is detected, the peak interval is measured and it is determined whether the variation in the peak interval is within the standard. Since the variation in the peak interval is within the standard, after the fourth peak, the measurement is switched to low-frequency measurement. Thereafter, the estimated time of the next peak is calculated based on the measured peak interval, and the measurement is switched to high-frequency measurement before the estimated time. If a peak is detected from the measured value, the measurement is switched to low-frequency measurement, and this process is repeated.

[0073] As described above, according to the second embodiment, a network management system 10A can be provided, which includes: a collecting device 2 provided in each of a plurality of networks 3, which measures communication quality between the networks 3 and generates inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; an integrated managing device 1A which collects inter-network communication quality information from the plurality of collecting devices 2; and a measurement control unit 205 which limits measurement of communication quality by the collecting device 2 based on analysis results of changes in communication quality over time. In the second embodiment, the measurement control unit 205 is provided in each of the plurality of collecting devices 2. The measurement control unit 205 calculates the peak interval of communication quality while measuring the communication quality, and limits the measurement of communication quality by changing the measurement frequency of communication quality between the networks 3 based on the peak interval. Similar to the first embodiment, the above configuration also makes it possible to reduce network load and calculation load while appropriately grasping communication quality. More specifically, the measurement control unit 205 switches the measurement frequency during periods not including peaks of communication quality to a second frequency lower than the first frequency at which communication quality is measured during periods including peaks, based on the measured peak interval. This allows the measurement frequency of communication quality to be lower during periods not including peaks compared to near peaks. Reducing the frequency of communication quality measurement may make it difficult to grasp the communication quality. However, as shown in FIG. 16 , in the case of communication quality in which periodic peaks occur and the fluctuations between the peaks are small, it is assumed that the fluctuations in the values ​​are small during periods that do not include the peaks. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately grasp the communication quality even if the measurement frequency is reduced. More specific processing by the measurement control unit 205 will be described. While measuring communication quality at the first frequency, the measurement control unit 205 switches the measurement frequency to the second frequency after detecting a peak. Furthermore, while measuring communication quality at the second frequency, the measurement control unit 205 estimates the time when the communication quality will next peak based on the time when the most recent peak was detected and the measured peak interval, and switches the measurement frequency to the first frequency before the estimated time. This allows high-frequency measurement at the first frequency near the peaks and low-frequency measurement at the second frequency outside the peaks.

[0074] The measurement control unit 205 can perform control so as to restrict the measurement of communication quality when the variation in peak intervals is within the standard, and not to restrict the measurement of communication quality when the variation in peak intervals is outside the standard. Here, it is assumed that the communication quality is such that periodic peaks occur and the value fluctuates little between peaks, as shown in Fig. 16. When the variation in peak intervals is large, the communication quality changes greatly and it may be better to measure the communication quality more frequently even in periods that do not include peaks.

[0075] Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, it is possible to provide a collecting device 2A having the following characteristics: The collecting device 2A includes an inter-network communication quality measuring unit 203 that measures the communication quality between the network 3 in which the collecting device 2A is located and other networks 3 and generates inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results, a notifying unit 204 that transmits the inter-network communication quality information to an integrated managing device 1A that collects inter-network communication quality information from a plurality of collecting devices 2A, and a measurement control unit 205 that limits the measurement of communication quality by the collecting device 2A based on the analysis results of changes in communication quality over time.

[0076] The measurement control unit 205 included in the collection device 2A calculates the peak interval of the communication quality while measuring the communication quality, and limits the measurement of the communication quality by changing the measurement frequency of the communication quality between the networks based on the peak interval.

[0077] The configurations shown in the above embodiments are examples of the contents of the present disclosure, and may be combined with other known technologies, and parts of the configurations may be omitted or modified within the scope of the gist of the present disclosure.

[0078] For example, in the first embodiment described above, whether each piece of inter-network communication quality information is a measurement target or a non-measurement target is determined by determining whether it is a measurement target or a non-measurement target for each collection device 2. However, whether it is a measurement target or a non-measurement target may be determined for each piece of inter-network communication quality information. For example, when one collection device 2 generates multiple pieces of inter-network communication quality information, whether it is a measurement target or a non-measurement target for each piece of inter-network communication quality information may be determined. As shown in FIG. 12 , inter-network communication quality information is generated for each combination of a source NW and a destination NW. Therefore, when communication is performed from a network 3 in which a collection device 2 is installed to multiple networks 3, one collection device 2 will generate multiple pieces of inter-network communication quality information. Furthermore, when multiple application clients 5 or application servers 6 are installed in one network 3, one collection device 2 will generate multiple pieces of inter-network communication quality information. Alternatively, when multiple collection devices 2 are installed in one network 3, whether it is a measurement target or a non-measurement target may be determined for each network 3. [Explanation of symbols]

[0079] 1,1A Integrated management device, 2,2-1,2-2,2-3,2A Collection device, 3,3-1,3-2,3-3 Network, 4 Backbone network, 5,5-1,5-2 Application client, 6 Application server, 10,10A Network management system, 11 Processing circuit, 12 Control circuit, 13 Processor, 14 Memory, 15 Communication device, 101 Inter-network communication quality information collection unit, 102,202 Storage unit, 103,103A Inter-network communication quality analysis unit, 104 Measurement target determination unit, 105,204 Notification unit, 106,205 Measurement control unit, 201 Communication monitoring unit, 203 Inter-network communication quality measurement unit.

Claims

1. a collection device provided in each of the plurality of networks, for measuring communication quality between the networks and generating inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; an integrated management device that collects the inter-network communication quality information from a plurality of the collection devices; a measurement control unit that limits the measurement of the communication quality by the collecting device based on an analysis result of the change in the communication quality over time; Equipped with The integrated management device an inter-network communication quality analysis unit that extracts combinations of the inter-network communication quality information that have similar trends of change over time; the measurement control unit restricting the measurement of the communication quality by the collection device based on the analysis result of the inter-network communication quality analysis unit so that some of the plurality of inter-network communication quality information having similar time-varying trends is not generated; have A network management system comprising:

2. The measurement control unit Among the extracted combinations of similar inter-network communication quality information, the inter-network communication quality information to be measured and the inter-network communication quality information not to be measured are determined based on the network load.

2. The network management system according to claim 1.

3. The measurement control unit limits measurement of the communication quality by the collecting device by transmitting to the collecting device a notification message including a measurement target flag indicating whether or not the device is the measurement target and a validity period of the measurement target flag.

3. The network management system according to claim 2.

4. When the collection device receives the notification message including the measurement target flag indicating that the collection device is not subject to measurement, The measurement of the communication quality is stopped during the validity period included in the notification message, and the measurement of the communication quality is resumed when the validity period has elapsed.

4. The network management system according to claim 3.

5. The collecting device calculates the peak interval of the communication quality a plurality of times, and if the variation of the calculated plurality of peak intervals is within a standard, notifies the integrated managing device of the inter-network communication quality information, and if the variation of the peak intervals is outside the standard, does not notify the integrated managing device of the inter-network communication quality information.

5. The network management system according to claim 1, wherein the network management system is a network management system for managing a plurality of network devices.

6. A collection device provided in each of a plurality of networks, which measures communication quality between the networks and generates inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; an integrated management device that collects the inter-network communication quality information from a plurality of the collection devices; a measurement control unit that limits the measurement of the communication quality by the collecting device based on an analysis result of the change in the communication quality over time; Equipped with Each of the plurality of collection devices has the measurement control unit that calculates a peak interval of the communication quality while measuring the communication quality, and limits the measurement of the communication quality by changing the measurement frequency of the communication quality between networks based on the peak interval. A network management system comprising:

7. The measurement control unit limits the measurement of the communication quality when the variation in the peak intervals is within a standard, and does not limit the measurement of the communication quality when the variation in the peak intervals is outside the standard.

7. The network management system according to claim 6.

8. The measurement control unit switches the measurement frequency to a second frequency, which is lower than a first frequency for measuring the communication quality during a period not including a peak of the communication quality, based on the measured peak interval.

8. The network management system according to claim 6 or 7.

9. The measurement control unit while measuring the communication quality at the first frequency, after the peak is detected, switching the measurement frequency to the second frequency; While the communication quality is being measured at the second frequency, the time when the communication quality will next peak is estimated based on the time when the latest peak was detected and the measured peak interval, and the measurement frequency is switched to the first frequency before the estimated time.

9. The network management system according to claim 8.

10. an inter-network communication quality information collecting unit provided in each of the plurality of networks, which collects the inter-network communication quality information from a plurality of collecting devices that measure communication quality between the networks and generate inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; an inter-network communication quality analysis unit that analyzes changes in the communication quality over time using the collected inter-network communication quality information; a measurement control unit that limits the measurement of the communication quality by the collecting device based on an analysis result of the change in the communication quality over time; Equipped with the inter-network communication quality analysis unit extracts combinations of the inter-network communication quality information that have similar trends of change over time, The measurement control unit limits the measurement of the communication quality by the collection device based on the analysis result of the inter-network communication quality analysis unit so as not to generate some of the plurality of inter-network communication quality information having similar trends of change over time. An integrated management device characterized by:

11. A collection device comprising: an inter-network communication quality measurement unit that measures communication quality between the network in which the collection device is located and another network and generates inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; a notification unit that transmits the inter-network communication quality information from a plurality of collection devices to an integrated management device that collects the inter-network communication quality information; a measurement control unit that limits the measurement of the communication quality by the collecting device based on an analysis result of the change in the communication quality over time; Equipped with The measurement control unit calculates the peak interval of the communication quality while measuring the communication quality, and limits the measurement of the communication quality by changing the frequency of measurement of the communication quality between networks based on the peak interval.

12. a collecting device provided in each of the plurality of networks measuring communication quality between the networks and generating inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; an integrated management device collecting the inter-network communication quality information from a plurality of the collection devices; the integrated management device extracting combinations of the inter-network communication quality information that have similar trends in time-varying changes; the integrated management device restricts the measurement of the communication quality by the collection device based on an analysis result of the change in the communication quality over time so that some of the plurality of pieces of inter-network communication quality information having similar trends in change over time are not generated; 10. A network management method comprising:

13. A step in which a collection device provided in each of a plurality of networks measures communication quality between the networks, calculates peak intervals of the communication quality, and generates communication quality information between networks indicating the measurement results; an integrated management device collecting the inter-network communication quality information from a plurality of the collection devices; each of the plurality of collection devices changing a measurement frequency of the communication quality between networks based on the peak interval of the communication quality, thereby limiting measurement of the communication quality by the collection device; 10. A network management method comprising:

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