Information provision device, information collection device, information collection system, information provision method, and information collection method

Abstract

Provided is an information provision device in an information collection system having an information collection device and at least one information provision device, the information provision device comprising: a request reception unit that receives a request message transmitted from the information collection device and requesting a report of communication quality; a report interval update unit that acquires information indicating the measured communication quality, and updates a transmission interval of a report message including the information indicating the communication quality according to the communication quality; and an information report unit that periodically transmits the report message to the information collection device at the transmission interval.

Description

Information providing device, information collecting device, information collecting system, information providing method, and information collecting method

[0001] The present invention relates to an information providing device, an information collecting device, an information collecting system, an information providing method, and an information collecting method.

[0002] A server may collect information from a remote device, such as when collecting information indicating communication quality. Conventionally, methods (telemetry) by which a server collects information from a remote device are broadly divided into request-type telemetry and model-driven telemetry. Request-type telemetry is used, for example, in SNMP (Simple Network Management Protocol) (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 1). Model-driven telemetry is used, for example, in streaming telemetry (see, for example, Non-Patent Document 2).

[0003] In model-driven telemetry, there are two types of timing for collecting information: periodic reporting and event reporting. In the case of periodic reporting, information is collected periodically at a predetermined cycle. In the case of event reporting, information is collected when the information changes. In both periodic reporting and event reporting, the remote device reports by returning a Report message in accordance with conditions specified in a Subscribe message transmitted from the server. When the information to be collected is information that changes frequently, such as communication quality, it is desirable to collect the information frequently.

[0004] RFC1157, "A Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)," May 1990, [Retrieved August 9, 2023], Internet (URL: https: / / datatracker.ietf.org / doc / html / rfc1157) "Model-Driven Telemetry," Cisco Systems, Inc., [Retrieved August 9, 2023], Internet (URL: https: / / www.cisco.com / c / ja_jp / td / docs / dcn / nx-os / nexus3000 / 103x / programmability / cisco-nexus-3500-series-nx-os-programmability-guide_103x / m_n3500_model_driven_telemetry_9x.pdf)

[0005] However, in the case of periodic reporting, the remote device continuously reports to the server at a predetermined cycle, which can result in an unnecessarily large number of reports being sent. On the other hand, even in the case of event reporting, when collecting frequently changing information, such as communication quality, the remote device constantly reports to the server, which can result in an unnecessarily large number of reports being sent. Therefore, in the past, even when, for example, network quality was good and frequent report sending was unnecessary, an unnecessarily large number of reports were sent. This resulted in wasted bandwidth and increased network load.

[0006] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide an information providing device, an information collecting device, an information collecting system, an information providing method, and an information collecting method that can reduce the network load when periodic reporting is performed.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is an information providing device in an information collection system having an information collecting device and at least one information providing device, the information providing device comprising: a request receiving unit that receives a request message sent from the information collecting device requesting a report of communication quality; a report interval update unit that acquires information indicating the measured communication quality and updates the transmission interval of a report message including the information indicating the communication quality in accordance with the communication quality; and an information reporting unit that periodically transmits the report message to the information collecting device at the transmission interval.

[0008] Another aspect of the present invention is an information collection device in an information collection system having an information collection device and at least one information providing device, the information collection device comprising: a report receiving unit that receives report messages including information indicating communication quality that are periodically transmitted from the information providing device; a report interval updating unit that determines the transmission interval of the report messages based on the communication quality; and a report request unit that transmits a request message to the information providing device that includes information indicating the transmission interval of the report messages.

[0009] Another aspect of the present invention is an information collection system having an information collection device and at least one information providing device, wherein the information collection device comprises a report request unit that transmits a request message to the information providing device requesting a report of communication quality, and a report receiving unit that receives a report message transmitted from the information providing device, the report message including information indicating the communication quality, and the information providing device comprises a request receiving unit that receives the request message transmitted from the information collection device, a report interval update unit that acquires information indicating the measured communication quality and updates the transmission interval of the report message according to the communication quality, and an information reporting unit that periodically transmits the report message to the information collection device at the transmission interval.

[0010] Another aspect of the present invention is an information collection system having an information collection device and at least one information providing device, wherein the information collection device comprises a report receiving unit that receives a report message sent from the information providing device and that includes information indicating communication quality, a report interval updating unit that determines the transmission interval of the report message based on the communication quality, and a report request unit that sends a request message to the information providing device that includes information indicating the transmission interval of the report message, and the information providing device comprises a request receiving unit that receives the request message sent from the information collection device, and an information reporting unit that updates the transmission interval of the report message in accordance with the information that indicates the transmission interval of the report message included in the request message, obtains information that indicates the measured communication quality, and periodically transmits the report message including the information indicating the communication quality to the information collection device at the transmission interval.

[0011] Another aspect of the present invention is an information providing method by an information collection system having an information collection device and at least one information providing device, the information providing method comprising: a request receiving step in which the information providing device receives a request message transmitted from the information collection device requesting a report of communication quality; a reporting interval updating step in which the information providing device acquires information indicating the measured communication quality and updates the transmission interval of a report message including the information indicating the communication quality in accordance with the communication quality; and an information reporting step in which the information providing device periodically transmits the report message to the information collection device at the transmission interval.

[0012] Another aspect of the present invention is an information collection method using an information collection system having an information collection device and at least one information providing device, the information collection method including a report receiving step in which the information collection device receives a report message including information indicating communication quality that is periodically transmitted from the information providing device, a report interval updating step in which the information collection device determines a transmission interval for the report message based on the communication quality, and a report request step in which the information collection device transmits a request message to the information providing device that includes information indicating the transmission interval for the report message.

[0013] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the network load when periodic reporting is performed.

[0014] 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a conventional information collection system 1. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of control of reporting intervals by an information collection system 1a according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of an information collection system 1a according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an information collection system 1a according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of policy information used in the information collection system 1a according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between a quality value of communication quality and a reporting interval according to the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of an information collection system 1a according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an information collection system 1b according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of an information collection system 1b according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an information collection system 1c according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of an information collection system 1c according to a third embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of an information collection system 1d according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of an information collection system 1d according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0015] The information providing device, information collecting device, information collecting system, information providing method, and information collecting method of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. For ease of understanding, an example of the configuration of a conventional information collecting system will be described first for comparison.

[0016] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of a conventional information collection system 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the information collection system 1 includes a server 10 and a remote device 20. The information collection system 1 is a system in which the server 10 collects information from the remote device 20 by model-driven telemetry.

[0017] The server 10 is configured to include a report request unit 11 and a report receiving unit 12. The report request unit 11 generates a Subscribe message. The Subscribe message includes information indicating condition settings for reporting from the remote device 20 to the server 10 (hereinafter referred to as "report condition information"). The condition settings here refer to the type of information that the server 10 requests from the remote device 20, the reporting method, etc. The reporting method is, for example, a periodic report or an event report. The report request unit 11 transmits the generated Subscribe message to the remote device 20. The report receiving unit 12 receives the Report message transmitted from the remote device 20.

[0018] The remote device 20 is configured to include a request receiving unit 21 and an information reporting unit 22. The request receiving unit 21 receives a Subscribe message transmitted from the server 10. The request receiving unit 21 outputs the report condition information contained in the received Subscribe message to the information reporting unit 22. The information reporting unit 22 acquires the report condition information output from the request receiving unit 21. The information reporting unit 22 generates a Report message based on the acquired report condition information. The Report message includes information of the type specified by the report condition information contained in the Subscribe message (hereinafter referred to as "report information"). The information reporting unit 22 transmits the generated Report message to the server 10.

[0019] With this configuration, the conventional information collection system 1 can realize the function of the server 10 collecting information from the remote device 20 by model-driven telemetry.

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described. In the embodiments, components having the same functions are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated explanations of the functions may be omitted.

[0021] <First Embodiment> An information collection system 1a according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The information collection system 1a described below is a system that realizes a function in which a server 10 collects information from a remote device 20a by model-driven telemetry, similar to the conventional information collection system 1 shown in Fig. 1 described above. In the information collection system 1a according to this embodiment, information is transmitted from the remote device 20a to the server 10 by periodic reporting.

[0022] In addition to the functions of the conventional information collection system 1 shown in Figure 1 described above, the information collection system 1a in the first embodiment further has a reporting interval update function that automatically determines an appropriate reporting interval and updates the reporting interval setting.

[0023] 2 is a diagram showing an example of control of the reporting interval by the information collection system 1a according to the first embodiment of the present invention. The information collection system 1a according to this embodiment adaptively determines the interval of reports from the remote device 20a to the server 10 using a reporting interval update function. The reporting interval is determined based on information indicating communication quality obtained in the past (hereinafter referred to as "quality information"). The reporting interval may also be determined based on the priority class of the type of traffic flowing, etc.

[0024] 2, in the information collection system 1a of this embodiment, for example, when the communication quality is high, the report interval is set to a relatively long interval. As a result, Report messages are sent from the remote device 20a to the server 10 at low frequency. On the other hand, in the information collection system 1a of this embodiment, for example, when the communication quality is low, the report interval is set to a relatively short interval. As a result, Report messages are sent from the remote device 20a to the server 10 at high frequency.

[0025] [Overall Configuration of Information Collection System] The system configuration of the information collection system 1a in the first embodiment will be described below. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of the information collection system 1a in the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 3, the information collection system 1a includes one server 10 (information collection device) and multiple remote devices 20a (information providing devices).

[0026] The remote device 20a is a device installed at a location far away from the server 10. However, the location where the remote device 20a is installed does not have to be a location far away from the server 10. There may be only one remote device 20a. In the following description, the configuration of one remote device 20a will be described, but the other remote devices 20a have the same configuration.

[0027] The server 10 communicates with each remote device 20a and collects report information from each remote device 20a. In this embodiment, the report information is quality information (e.g., a quality value) indicating communication quality. The report information does not have to be quality information indicating communication quality, as long as it is information used as an index for communication control in the server 10 or a device (not shown) connected at a higher level.

[0028] The server 10 sends a Subscribe message to each remote device 20 a. Each remote device 20 a generates a Report message based on the report condition information included in the received Subscribe message. Each remote device 20 a reports to the server 10 by sending a Report message including the report information to the server 10.

[0029] [Functional Configuration of Information Collection System] The functional configuration of the information collection system 1a in the first embodiment will be described below. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the information collection system 1a in the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 4, the information collection system 1a includes a server 10 and a remote device 20a. The information collection system 1a is a system in which the server 10 collects information from the remote device 20a using model-driven telemetry. The remote device 20a periodically reports to the server 10 at a predetermined interval using periodic reporting.

[0030] The server 10 includes a report request unit 11 and a report receiving unit 12. The report request unit 11 generates a Subscribe message. The report request unit 11 transmits the generated Subscribe message to the remote device 20. The report receiving unit 12 receives the Report message transmitted from the remote device 20.

[0031] The Subscribe message includes report condition information indicating condition settings for reporting from the remote device 20 to the server 10. The condition settings here refer to the type of information that the server 10 requests from the remote device 20a, the reporting method, etc. Furthermore, the report condition information included in the Subscribe message in this embodiment differs from the report condition information included in the Subscribe message in the conventional information collection system 1 shown in Fig. 1 described above, and includes policy information used in the report interval update unit 23 described below.

[0032] Remote device 20a includes request receiving unit 21, information reporting unit 22a, and reporting interval updating unit 23. As described above, remote device 20a in the first embodiment is different in configuration from remote device 20 in the conventional information collection system 1 shown in FIG.

[0033] The request receiving unit 21 receives a Subscribe message transmitted from the server 10. The request receiving unit 21 outputs the report condition information included in the received Subscribe message to the report interval updating unit 23.

[0034] The reporting interval updater 23 acquires reporting condition information output from the request receiver 21. The reporting interval updater 23 also acquires quality information indicating communication quality output from the information reportr 22a, which will be described later. The reporting interval updater 23 adaptively determines a reporting interval based on policy information included in the reporting condition information acquired from the request receiver 21 and the quality information acquired from the information reportr 22a. The reporting interval updater 23 outputs information indicating the determined reporting interval and the reporting condition information to the information reportr 22a.

[0035] The information reporting unit 22a acquires the information indicating the reporting interval and the reporting condition information output from the reporting interval updating unit 23. The information reporting unit 22a generates a Report message based on the acquired reporting condition information. The Report message includes the type of reporting information specified by the reporting condition information included in the Subscribe message. The information reporting unit 22a transmits the generated Report message to the server 10 at the reporting interval (transmission interval) determined by the reporting interval updating unit 23. The information reporting unit 22a also outputs quality information to the reporting interval updating unit 23.

[0036] In this embodiment, the policy information is information based on past quality information for determining future reporting intervals. For example, if the quality information indicates poor communication quality, the server 10 is likely to change its settings, so reporting must be more real-time. Therefore, if the quality information indicates poor communication quality, the reporting interval update unit 23 sets the reporting interval to a relatively short value.

[0037] On the other hand, for example, if the communication quality indicated by the quality information is good, the server 10 is unlikely to change the settings. Therefore, if the communication quality indicated by the quality information is good, the report interval update unit 23 sets the report interval to a relatively long value, thereby reducing bandwidth consumption.

[0038] 5 is a diagram showing an example of policy information used in the information collection system 1a according to the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 5, for example, a relatively short reporting interval value is associated with a situation in which a quality value representing communication quality based on quality information is less than a predetermined threshold. Also, for example, a relatively long reporting interval value is associated with a situation in which a quality value representing communication quality based on quality information is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold.

[0039] Fig. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the relationship between the quality value of communication quality and the reporting interval in the first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 6, the reporting interval is set to be shorter as the quality value decreases, and longer as the quality value increases. However, as shown in Fig. 6, for example, the length of the reporting interval may be set so that it does not become shorter than a certain length when the quality value decreases beyond a certain value, and so that it does not become longer than a certain length when the quality value increases beyond a certain value. This makes it possible to prevent the reporting interval from being set to an extremely short or long value.

[0040] [Operation of Information Collection System] An example of the operation of the information collection system 1a in the first embodiment will now be described. Fig. 7 is a flowchart showing the operation of the information collection system 1a in the first embodiment of the present invention.

[0041] The report request unit 11 of the server 10 generates a Subscribe message. The report request unit 11 transmits the generated Subscribe message to the remote device 20 (step S001). The request receiving unit 21 of the remote device 20a receives the Subscribe message transmitted from the server 10 (step S002). The request receiving unit 21 outputs the report condition information included in the received Subscribe message to the report interval updating unit 23.

[0042] The reporting interval updater 23 acquires the reporting condition information output from the request receiver 21. The reporting interval updater 23 also acquires quality information indicating communication quality output from the information reportr 22a (described later) (step S003). The reporting interval updater 23 adaptively determines the reporting interval based on the policy information included in the reporting condition information acquired from the request receiver 21 and the quality information acquired from the information reportr 22a (step S004). The reporting interval updater 23 outputs information indicating the determined reporting interval and the reporting condition information to the information reportr 22a.

[0043] The information reporting unit 22a acquires the information indicating the reporting interval and the reporting condition information output from the reporting interval updating unit 23. The information reporting unit 22a updates the reporting interval setting based on the acquired information (step S005). The information reporting unit 22a generates a Report message including reporting information based on the acquired reporting condition information (step S006). The information reporting unit 22a transmits the generated Report message to the server 10 at the updated reporting interval (transmission interval) (step S007). The report receiving unit 12 of the server 10 receives the Report message transmitted from the remote device 20a (step S007).

[0044] This completes the operation of the information collection system 1a from the transmission of the Subscribe message until the transmission of the first Report message.

[0045] The past quality information used in the policy information may be information based on the most recent communication quality, or may be statistical information based on communication quality at multiple times in the past.

[0046] Instead of or in addition to the quality information, the reporting interval may be determined based on the type of traffic (e.g., priority class) that is flowing. Specifically, for example, the reporting interval updater 23 may set the reporting interval to be relatively short when traffic of a high priority class is flowing, and set the reporting interval to be relatively long when traffic of a low priority class is flowing. In this case, the information reporting unit 22a outputs information indicating the traffic type (or information indicating the priority class) to the reporting interval updater 23 instead of the quality information.

[0047] When the reporting interval is updated, the remote device 20a may output information indicating that the update has been performed as an internal log. When the reporting interval is updated, the remote device 20a may notify the operator by turning on a notification lamp (not shown).

[0048] In addition, in a configuration in which the reporting interval update unit 23 is provided in the remote device 20a, as in the information collection system 1a in this embodiment (i.e., a configuration in which the reporting interval is determined on the remote device 20a side), information indicating the determination criteria for determining the reporting interval may be transmitted in advance from the server 10 to each remote device 20a, for example, using a Subscribe message.

[0049] With this configuration, the information collection system 1a in the first embodiment can realize a function in which the server 10 collects information from the remote device 20a using a model-driven information collection method. Furthermore, with this configuration, the information collection system 1a can reduce the frequency of sending report messages when, for example, the network quality is good and frequent report transmission is not necessary, thereby reducing the increase in network load. Furthermore, with this configuration, the information collection system 1a can increase the frequency of sending report messages when, for example, the network quality fluctuates frequently and frequent report transmission is necessary, thereby improving the real-time nature of quality information collection.

[0050] Second Embodiment An information collection system 1b according to a second embodiment of the present invention will now be described. The information collection system 1b described below is a system in which a server 10b implements a function of collecting information from a remote device 20 by model-driven telemetry, similar to the conventional information collection system 1 shown in Fig. 1 described above. In the information collection system 1b according to this embodiment, information is transmitted from the remote device 20 to the server 10b by periodic reporting.

[0051] The information collection system 1b in the second embodiment is further equipped with a reporting interval update function that automatically determines an appropriate reporting interval and updates the reporting interval setting, in comparison with the conventional information collection system 1 shown in FIG. 1 described above.

[0052] Furthermore, in the information collection system 1a of the first embodiment shown in Figure 4 above, the remote device 20a is provided with a reporting interval update unit, whereas in the information collection system 1b of the second embodiment described below, the server 10b is provided with a reporting interval update unit (i.e., the reporting interval is determined on the server 10b side).

[0053] The overall configuration of the information collection system 1b in the second embodiment is similar to the overall configuration of the information collection system 1a in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0054] [Functional Configuration of Information Collection System] The functional configuration of the information collection system 1b according to the second embodiment will be described below. FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the information collection system 1b according to the second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 8, the information collection system 1b includes a server 10b (information collection device) and a remote device 20 (information providing device). The information collection system 1b is a system in which the server 10b collects information from the remote device 20 using model-driven telemetry. The server 10b requests the remote device 20 to periodically report at a predetermined interval using periodic reporting.

[0055] Server 10b is configured to include a report request unit 11b, a report receiving unit 12b, and a report interval updating unit 13. Report request unit 11b generates a Subscribe message. Report request unit 11b transmits the generated Subscribe message to remote device 20. Report receiving unit 12b receives a Report message transmitted from remote device 20. Furthermore, report receiving unit 12b outputs quality information indicating communication quality included in the Report message to report interval updating unit 13.

[0056] The reporting interval updater 13 acquires the quality information output from the report receiver 12b. The reporting interval updater 13 also acquires policy information stored in a storage medium (not shown) included in the server 10b, for example. The reporting interval updater 13 adaptively determines the reporting interval based on the acquired policy information and the quality information acquired from the report receiver 12b. The reporting interval updater 13 outputs information indicating the determined reporting interval to the report requester 11b.

[0057] As described above, the policy information is information based on past quality information for determining future reporting intervals. For example, if the quality information indicates poor communication quality, the server 10b is likely to change its settings, making it necessary to improve the real-time nature of reporting. Therefore, if the quality information indicates poor communication quality, the reporting interval update unit 13 sets the reporting interval to a relatively short value.

[0058] On the other hand, if the communication quality indicated by the quality information is good, the server 10b is unlikely to change the settings. Therefore, if the communication quality indicated by the quality information is good, the report interval update unit 13 sets the report interval to a relatively long value. This reduces bandwidth consumption.

[0059] The report request unit 11b acquires information indicating the reporting interval output from the report interval update unit 13. If the reporting interval based on the acquired information differs from the current reporting interval (i.e., if the reporting interval needs to be updated), the report request unit 11b generates a new Subscribe message and transmits it to the remote device 20, thereby requesting the remote device 20 to change the reporting interval.

[0060] The subscribe message includes report condition information indicating condition settings for reporting from the remote device 20 to the server 10b. The condition settings here refer to the type of information that the server 10b requests from the remote device 20, the reporting method, etc. As described above, in the information collection system 1b of the second embodiment, the subscribe message may include information indicating an updated reporting interval in addition to the report condition information.

[0061] Remote device 20 is configured to include a request receiving unit 21 and an information reporting unit 22. Request receiving unit 21 receives a Subscribe message transmitted from server 10. Request receiving unit 21 outputs reporting condition information included in the received Subscribe message to information reporting unit 22. Furthermore, if the received Subscribe message includes information indicating a reporting interval, request receiving unit 21 outputs the information indicating the reporting interval to information reporting unit 22.

[0062] The information reporting unit 22 acquires the report condition information output from the request receiving unit 21. The information reporting unit 22 generates a Report message based on the acquired report condition information. The Report message includes report information of the type specified by the report condition information included in the Subscribe message.

[0063] Furthermore, the information reporting unit 22 updates the setting of the reporting interval when it acquires information indicating the reporting interval from the request receiving unit 21. The information reporting unit 22 transmits the generated Report message to the server 10b at the determined reporting interval (i.e., if the reporting interval is updated, at the updated reporting interval).

[0064] [Operation of Information Collection System] An example of the operation of the information collection system 1b in the second embodiment will now be described. Fig. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the information collection system 1b in the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0065] The report receiver 12b of the server 10b outputs quality information indicating communication quality, which is included in the received Report message, to the report interval updater 13. The report interval updater 13 acquires the quality information output from the report receiver 12b. The report interval updater 13 also acquires policy information stored, for example, in a storage medium (not shown) included in the server 10b (step S101). The report interval updater 13 adaptively determines a report interval based on the acquired policy information and the quality information acquired from the report receiver 12b (step S102). The report interval updater 13 outputs information indicating the determined report interval to the report requester 11b.

[0066] The report request unit 11b acquires information indicating the reporting interval output from the report interval update unit 13. If the reporting interval based on the acquired information differs from the current reporting interval (i.e., if the reporting interval needs to be updated), the report request unit 11b generates a new Subscribe message and transmits the generated Subscribe message to the remote device 20 (step S103).

[0067] The request receiving unit 21 of the remote device 20 receives the Subscribe message transmitted from the server 10b (step S104). The request receiving unit 21 outputs the reporting condition information and the information indicating the reporting interval contained in the received Subscribe message to the information reporting unit 22. The information reporting unit 22 acquires the reporting condition information and the information indicating the reporting interval output from the request receiving unit 21.

[0068] The information reporting unit 22 generates a Report message based on the acquired reporting condition information (step S105). The Report message includes the type of reporting information specified by the reporting condition information included in the Subscribe message. The information reporting unit 22 also updates the reporting interval setting based on the acquired information indicating the reporting interval (step S106). The information reporting unit 22 transmits the generated Report message to the server 10b at the updated reporting interval (step S107). The report receiving unit 12b of the server 10b receives the Report message transmitted from the remote device 20.

[0069] This completes the operation of the information collection system 1b from the time the quality information is acquired until the first Report message is transmitted.

[0070] As in the first embodiment described above, the past quality information used in the policy information may be information based on the most recent communication quality, or may be statistical information based on communication quality at multiple times in the past.

[0071] As in the first embodiment, the reporting interval may be determined based on the type of traffic (e.g., priority class) flowing instead of or in addition to the quality information. Specifically, the reporting interval updater 13 may set the reporting interval to be relatively short when high-priority traffic is flowing, and set the reporting interval to be relatively long when low-priority traffic is flowing. In this case, the report receiver 12b outputs information indicating the traffic type (or information indicating the priority class) to the reporting interval updater 13 instead of the quality information.

[0072] When the reporting interval is updated, the server 10b may output information indicating that the update has been performed as an internal log. When the reporting interval is updated, the server 10b may notify the operator by turning on a notification lamp (not shown).

[0073] In the information collection system 1b of this embodiment, the reporting interval update unit 13 is provided in the server 10b (i.e., the reporting interval is determined on the server 10b side), so each time the reporting interval is updated, the server 10b transmits information indicating the updated reporting interval to each remote device 20 using a Subscribe message.

[0074] With this configuration, the information collection system 1b in the second embodiment can realize a function in which the server 10b collects information from the remote device 20 using a model-driven information collection method. Furthermore, with this configuration, the information collection system 1b can reduce the frequency of sending report messages when, for example, the network quality is good and frequent report transmission is not necessary, thereby reducing the increase in network load. Furthermore, with this configuration, the information collection system 1b can increase the frequency of sending report messages when, for example, the network quality fluctuates frequently and frequent report transmission is necessary, thereby improving the real-time nature of quality information collection.

[0075] <Third Embodiment> An information collection system 1c according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The information collection system 1c described below is a system that realizes a function in which a server 10c collects information from a remote device 20 by model-driven telemetry, similar to the conventional information collection system 1 shown in Fig. 1 described above. In the information collection system 1c according to this embodiment, information is transmitted from the remote device 20 to the server 10c by periodic reporting.

[0076] The overall configuration of the information collection system 1c in the third embodiment is similar to the overall configuration of the information collection system 1a in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0077] In the information collection system 1b in the second embodiment described above, the server 10b is configured to determine the reporting interval for each remote device 20 based on the quality information acquired from each remote device 20. That is, in the information collection system 1b in the second embodiment, the reporting interval is determined individually for each remote device 20. In contrast, in the information collection system 1c in the third embodiment described below, the multiple remote devices 20 are grouped, and the server 10c is configured to determine the reporting interval for each group. That is, the same reporting interval is set for the remote devices 20 belonging to the same group.

[0078] [Functional Configuration of Information Collection System] The functional configuration of the information collection system 1c according to the third embodiment will be described below. Fig. 10 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the information collection system 1c according to the third embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 10, the information collection system 1c includes a server 10c (information collection device) and a plurality of remote devices 20 (information providing devices).

[0079] It is assumed that a plurality of remote devices 20 are grouped in advance, and that remote device 20-1 and remote device 20-2 are remote devices 20 that belong to the same group.

[0080] 10 illustrates only two remote devices 20, remote device 20-1 and remote device 20-2, for ease of viewing, but it is assumed that there are many more remote devices 20. For example, assume that 30 remote devices 20 are connected to server 10c, and the 30 remote devices 20 are grouped into three groups of 10 devices each.

[0081] The information collection system 1c is a system in which a server 10c collects information from a remote device 20 by model-driven telemetry. The server 10c requests the remote device 20 to periodically report at a predetermined interval by periodic reporting.

[0082] The server 10c includes a report request unit 11c-1 and a report request unit 11c-2, a report receiving unit 12c-1 and a report receiving unit 12c-2, and a report interval updating unit 13c.

[0083] The report request unit 11c-1 generates a Subscribe message and transmits the generated Subscribe message to the remote device 20-1, while the report request unit 11c-2 generates a Subscribe message and transmits the generated Subscribe message to the remote device 20-2.

[0084] The report receiving unit 12c-1 receives a Report message transmitted from the remote device 20-1. The report receiving unit 12c-2 receives a Report message transmitted from the remote device 20-2. The report receiving units 12c-1 and 12c-2 output quality information indicating the communication quality included in the Report message to the report interval updating unit 13c.

[0085] The report interval updater 13c acquires the quality information output from the report receiver 12c-1 and the quality information output from the report receiver 12c-2. The report interval updater 13c also acquires policy information stored in, for example, a storage medium (not shown) included in the server 10c. The report interval updater 13c adaptively determines the report interval based on the acquired policy information and the quality information output from the report receiver 12c-1 and the report receiver 12c-2. The report interval updater 13c outputs information indicating the determined report interval to the report requester 11c-1 and the report requester 11c-2.

[0086] That is, in the information collection system 1c of the third embodiment, quality information collected from each of the remote devices 20c-1 and 20c-2 belonging to the same group is used to determine a reporting interval to be commonly applied to all of the remote devices 20 in the group. Note that, although the present embodiment is configured as described above, the present invention is not limited to this configuration. The quality information used to determine the reporting interval may be one piece of quality information collected from any one remote device 20, or may be multiple pieces of quality information collected from any part of the remote devices 20 in the group.

[0087] As described above, the policy information is information based on past quality information for determining future reporting intervals. For example, if the quality information indicates poor communication quality, the server 10c is likely to change its settings, making it necessary to improve the real-time nature of reporting. Therefore, if the quality information indicates poor communication quality, the reporting interval update unit 13c sets the reporting interval to a relatively short value.

[0088] On the other hand, for example, if the communication quality indicated by the quality information is good, the server 10c is unlikely to change the settings. Therefore, if the communication quality indicated by the quality information is good, the report interval update unit 13c sets the report interval to a relatively long value. This reduces bandwidth consumption.

[0089] The report request units 11c-1 and 11c-2 acquire information indicating the reporting interval output from the report interval update unit 13c. If the reporting interval based on the acquired information differs from the current reporting interval (i.e., if the reporting interval needs to be updated), the report request unit 11c-1 generates a new Subscribe message and transmits it to the remote device 20-1, thereby requesting the remote device 20-1 to change the reporting interval. Furthermore, if the reporting interval based on the acquired information differs from the current reporting interval (i.e., if the reporting interval needs to be updated), the report request unit 11c-2 generates a new Subscribe message and transmits it to the remote device 20-2, thereby requesting the remote device 20-2 to change the reporting interval.

[0090] The subscribe message includes report condition information indicating condition settings for reporting from the remote device 20 to the server 10c. The condition settings here refer to the type of information that the server 10c requests from the remote device 20, the reporting method, etc. As described above, in the information collection system 1c of the third embodiment, the subscribe message may include information indicating an updated reporting interval in addition to the report condition information.

[0091] Remote device 20-1 and remote device 20-2 are configured to include a request receiving unit 21 and an information reporting unit 22. The request receiving unit 21 receives a Subscribe message transmitted from server 10c. The request receiving unit 21 outputs reporting condition information included in the received Subscribe message to the information reporting unit 22. Furthermore, if the received Subscribe message includes information indicating a reporting interval, the request receiving unit 21 outputs the information indicating the reporting interval to the information reporting unit 22.

[0092] The information reporting unit 22 acquires the report condition information output from the request receiving unit 21. The information reporting unit 22 generates a Report message based on the acquired report condition information. The Report message includes report information of the type specified by the report condition information included in the Subscribe message.

[0093] Furthermore, the information reporting unit 22 updates the setting of the reporting interval when it acquires information indicating the reporting interval from the request receiving unit 21. The information reporting unit 22 transmits the generated Report message to the server 10c at the determined reporting interval (transmission interval).

[0094] [Operation of Information Collection System] An example of the operation of the information collection system 1c in the third embodiment will now be described. Fig. 11 is a flowchart showing the operation of the information collection system 1c in the third embodiment of the present invention.

[0095] The report receivers 12c-1 and 12c-2 of the server 10c each output quality information indicating communication quality included in the received Report message to the report interval updater 13c. The report interval updater 13c acquires the quality information output from the report receivers 12c-1 and 12c-2. The report interval updater 13c also acquires policy information stored in, for example, a storage medium (not shown) included in the server 10c (step S201).

[0096] The reporting interval update unit 13c adaptively determines the reporting interval based on the acquired policy information and the quality information acquired from the report receivers 12c-1 and 12c-2 (step S202). The reporting interval update unit 13c outputs information indicating the determined reporting interval to the report request unit 11c-1 and 11c-2. The report request units 11c-1 and 11c-2 each acquire the information indicating the reporting interval output from the reporting interval update unit 13c.

[0097] If the report interval based on the acquired information is different from the current report interval (i.e., if the report interval needs to be updated), the report request unit 11c-1 generates a new Subscribe message and transmits it to the remote device 20-1 (step S203).

[0098] The request receiving unit 21 of the remote device 20-1 receives the Subscribe message transmitted from the server 10c (step S204). The request receiving unit 21 outputs the reporting condition information and the information indicating the reporting interval contained in the received Subscribe message to the information reporting unit 22. The information reporting unit 22 acquires the reporting condition information and the information indicating the reporting interval output from the request receiving unit 21.

[0099] The information reporting unit 22 generates a Report message based on the acquired reporting condition information (step S205). The Report message includes the type of reporting information specified by the reporting condition information included in the Subscribe message. The information reporting unit 22 also updates the reporting interval setting based on the acquired information indicating the reporting interval (step S206). The information reporting unit 22 transmits the generated Report message to the server 10c at the updated reporting interval (transmission interval) (step S207). The report receiving unit 12c-1 of the server 10c receives the Report message transmitted from the remote device 20-1 (step S208).

[0100] On the other hand, if the reporting interval based on the acquired information is different from the current reporting interval (i.e., if the reporting interval needs to be updated), the report request unit 11c-2 generates a new Subscribe message and transmits it to the remote device 20-2 (step S209).

[0101] The request receiving unit 21 of the remote device 20-2 receives the Subscribe message transmitted from the server 10c (step S210). The request receiving unit 21 outputs the reporting condition information and the information indicating the reporting interval contained in the received Subscribe message to the information reporting unit 22. The information reporting unit 22 acquires the reporting condition information and the information indicating the reporting interval output from the request receiving unit 21.

[0102] The information reporting unit 22 generates a Report message based on the acquired reporting condition information (step S211). The Report message includes the type of reporting information specified by the reporting condition information included in the Subscribe message. The information reporting unit 22 also updates the reporting interval setting based on the acquired information indicating the reporting interval (step S212). The information reporting unit 22 transmits the generated Report message to the server 10c at the updated reporting interval (transmission interval) (step S213). The report receiving unit 12c-2 of the server 10c receives the Report message transmitted from the remote device 20-2 (step S214).

[0103] This completes the operation of the information collection system 1c from the time when the quality information is acquired from each remote device 20 until the first Report message is transmitted.

[0104] As in the first embodiment described above, the past quality information used in the policy information may be information based on the most recent communication quality, or may be statistical information based on communication quality at multiple times in the past.

[0105] As in the first embodiment, the reporting interval may be determined based on the type of traffic (e.g., priority class) flowing instead of or in addition to the quality information. Specifically, the reporting interval updater 13c may set the reporting interval to be relatively short when high-priority class traffic is flowing, and set the reporting interval to be relatively long when low-priority class traffic is flowing. In this case, the report receivers 12c-1 and 12c-2 output information indicating the traffic type (or information indicating the priority class) to the reporting interval updater 13c instead of quality information.

[0106] When the reporting interval is updated, the server 10c may output information indicating that the update has been performed as an internal log. When the reporting interval is updated, the server 10c may notify the operator by turning on a notification lamp (not shown).

[0107] In the information collection system 1c of this embodiment, the reporting interval update unit 13c is provided in the server 10c (i.e., the reporting interval is determined on the server 10c side), so each time the reporting interval is updated, the server 10c uses a Subscribe message to transmit information indicating the updated reporting interval to the remote device 20-1 and the remote device 20-2.

[0108] With this configuration, the information collection system 1c in the third embodiment can realize a function in which the server 10c collects information from the remote device 20 using a model-driven information collection method. Furthermore, with this configuration, the information collection system 1c can reduce the frequency of sending report messages when, for example, the network quality is good and frequent report transmission is not necessary, thereby reducing the increase in network load. Furthermore, with this configuration, the information collection system 1c can increase the frequency of sending report messages when, for example, the network quality fluctuates frequently and frequent report transmission is necessary, thereby improving the real-time nature of quality information collection.

[0109] Furthermore, by having such a configuration, the information collection system 1c in the third embodiment controls the reporting interval collectively for each group consisting of multiple remote devices 20, rather than individually for each remote device 20, thereby reducing the processing load related to controlling the reporting interval.

[0110] <Fourth Embodiment> An information collection system 1d according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described below. The information collection system 1d described below is a system that realizes a function in which a server 10d collects information from a remote device 20 by model-driven telemetry, similar to the conventional information collection system 1 shown in Fig. 1 described above. In the information collection system 1d according to this embodiment, information is transmitted from the remote device 20 to the server 10d by periodic reporting.

[0111] The information collection system 1d in the fourth embodiment is further equipped with a reporting interval update function that automatically determines an appropriate reporting interval and updates the reporting interval setting, in comparison with the conventional information collection system 1 shown in FIG. 1 described above.

[0112] Furthermore, the information collection system 1d in the fourth embodiment further includes an analysis and control function that periodically uses the collected quality information to evaluate the quality of the resources being used and (if necessary) determine the switching destination.

[0113] The overall configuration of the information collection system 1d in the fourth embodiment is similar to the overall configuration of the information collection system 1a in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and therefore a description thereof will be omitted.

[0114] [Functional Configuration of Information Collection System] The functional configuration of the information collection system 1d according to the fourth embodiment will be described below. FIG. 12 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the information collection system 1d according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 12, the information collection system 1d includes a server 10d (information collection device) and a remote device 20 (information providing device). The information collection system 1d is a system in which the server 10d collects information from the remote device 20 using model-driven telemetry. The server 10d requests the remote device 20 to periodically report at a predetermined interval using periodic reporting.

[0115] Server 10d includes a report request unit 11d, a report receiving unit 12d, a report interval updating unit 13d, and an analysis and control unit 14. Report request unit 11d generates a Subscribe message and transmits it to remote device 20. Report receiving unit 12d receives a Report message transmitted from remote device 20. In addition, report receiving unit 12d outputs quality information indicating communication quality to report interval updating unit 13d and analysis and control unit 14.

[0116] The reporting interval updater 13d acquires the quality information output from the report receiver 12d. The reporting interval updater 13d also acquires policy information stored in, for example, a storage medium (not shown) included in the server 10b. The reporting interval updater 13d adaptively determines the reporting interval based on the acquired policy information and the quality information acquired from the report receiver 12d. The reporting interval updater 13d outputs information indicating the determined reporting interval to the report requester 11d and the analysis and control unit 14.

[0117] As described above, the policy information is information based on past quality information for determining future reporting intervals. For example, if the quality information indicates poor communication quality, the server 10d is likely to change its settings, making it necessary to improve the real-time nature of reporting. Therefore, if the quality information indicates poor communication quality, the reporting interval update unit 13d sets the reporting interval to a relatively short value.

[0118] On the other hand, for example, if the communication quality indicated by the quality information is good, the server 10d is unlikely to change the settings. Therefore, if the communication quality indicated by the quality information is good, the report interval update unit 13d sets the report interval to a relatively long value. This reduces bandwidth consumption.

[0119] The analysis and control unit 14 acquires the quality information output from the report receiving unit 12d. The analysis and control unit 14 also acquires information indicating the reporting interval output from the reporting interval updating unit 13d. Using the acquired quality information, the analysis and control unit 14 periodically executes an analysis and control process that evaluates the quality of the resources being used and (if necessary) determines the switching destination. The analysis and control unit 14 aligns the execution interval of this process with the reporting interval based on the information acquired from the reporting interval updating unit 13d.

[0120] The report interval update unit 13d may measure in advance the round trip time (RTT) from when a Subscribe message instructing the remote device 20 to update the report interval to when the update of the report interval of the Report message including the quality information is completed, and output the measured RTT value to the analysis and control unit 14. In this way, the analysis and control unit 14 can synchronize the update timing of the report interval of the Report message with the update timing of the execution interval of the analysis and control process by delaying the application of the updated report interval by the RTT value.

[0121] The report request unit 11 d acquires information indicating the reporting interval output from the report interval update unit 13 d. If the reporting interval based on the acquired information differs from the current reporting interval (i.e., if the reporting interval needs to be updated), the report request unit 11 d generates a new Subscribe message and transmits it to the remote device 20, thereby requesting the remote device 20 to change the reporting interval.

[0122] The subscribe message includes report condition information indicating condition settings for reporting from the remote device 20 to the server 10d. The condition settings here refer to the type of information that the server 10d requests from the remote device 20, the reporting method, etc. As described above, in the information collection system 1d of the fourth embodiment, the subscribe message may include information indicating an updated reporting interval in addition to the report condition information.

[0123] Remote device 20 includes a request receiving unit 21 and an information reporting unit 22. Request receiving unit 21 receives a Subscribe message transmitted from server 10d. Request receiving unit 21 outputs reporting condition information included in the received Subscribe message to information reporting unit 22. Furthermore, if the received Subscribe message includes information indicating a reporting interval, request receiving unit 21 outputs the information indicating the reporting interval to information reporting unit 22.

[0124] The information reporting unit 22 acquires the report condition information output from the request receiving unit 21. The information reporting unit 22 generates a Report message based on the acquired report condition information. The Report message includes report information of the type specified by the report condition information included in the Subscribe message.

[0125] Furthermore, the information reporting unit 22 updates the setting of the reporting interval when it acquires information indicating the reporting interval from the request receiving unit 21. The information reporting unit 22 transmits the generated Report message to the server 10d at the determined reporting interval (transmission interval).

[0126] [Operation of Information Collection System] An example of the operation of the information collection system 1d according to the fourth embodiment will now be described with reference to Fig. 13, which is a flowchart showing the operation of the information collection system 1d according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

[0127] The report receiving unit 12d of the server 10d outputs quality information indicating the communication quality included in the received Report message to the report interval updating unit 13 and the analysis and control unit 14. The report interval updating unit 13d acquires the quality information output from the report receiving unit 12d. The report interval updating unit 13d also acquires policy information stored, for example, in a storage medium (not shown) included in the server 10d (step S301). The report interval updating unit 13d adaptively determines a report interval based on the acquired policy information and the quality information acquired from the report receiving unit 12d (step S302). The report interval updating unit 13d outputs information indicating the determined report interval to the report requesting unit 11 and the analysis and control unit 14.

[0128] The analysis and control unit 14 acquires the quality information output from the report receiving unit 12d. The analysis and control unit 14 also acquires information indicating the reporting interval output from the reporting interval updating unit 13d. Using the acquired quality information, the analysis and control unit 14 periodically executes an analysis and control process that evaluates the quality of the resources being used and (if necessary) determines a switching destination (step S303). The analysis and control unit 14 aligns the execution interval of this process with the reporting interval acquired from the reporting interval updating unit 13d.

[0129] The report request unit 11d acquires the information indicating the reporting interval output from the report interval update unit 13d. If the reporting interval based on the acquired information differs from the current reporting interval (i.e., if the reporting interval needs to be updated), the report request unit 11d generates a new Subscribe message and transmits it to the remote device 20 (step S304).

[0130] The request receiving unit 21 of the remote device 20 receives the Subscribe message transmitted from the server 10d (step S305). The request receiving unit 21 outputs the reporting condition information and the information indicating the reporting interval included in the received Subscribe message to the information reporting unit 22. The information reporting unit 22 acquires the reporting condition information and the information indicating the reporting interval output from the request receiving unit 21.

[0131] The information reporting unit 22 generates a Report message based on the acquired reporting condition information (step S306). The Report message includes the type of reporting information specified by the reporting condition information included in the Subscribe message. The information reporting unit 22 also updates the reporting interval setting based on the acquired information indicating the reporting interval (step S307). The information reporting unit 22 transmits the generated Report message to the server 10d at the updated reporting interval (transmission interval) (step S308). The report receiving unit 12d of the server 10d receives the Report message transmitted from the remote device 20 (step S309).

[0132] This completes the operation of the information collection system 1d from the time the quality information is acquired until the first Report message is transmitted.

[0133] As in the first embodiment described above, the past quality information used in the policy information may be information based on the most recent communication quality, or may be statistical information based on communication quality at multiple times in the past.

[0134] As in the first embodiment, the reporting interval may be determined based on the type of traffic (e.g., priority class) flowing instead of or in addition to the quality information. Specifically, the reporting interval updater 13d may set the reporting interval to be relatively short when high-priority traffic is flowing, and set the reporting interval to be relatively long when low-priority traffic is flowing. In this case, the report receiver 12d outputs information indicating the traffic type (or information indicating the priority class) to the reporting interval updater 13d instead of the quality information.

[0135] When the reporting interval is updated, the server 10d may output information indicating that the update has been performed as an internal log. When the reporting interval is updated, the server 10d may notify the operator by turning on a notification lamp (not shown).

[0136] In addition, in the information collection system 1d of this embodiment, the reporting interval update unit 13d is provided in the server 10d (i.e., the reporting interval is determined on the server 10d side), so each time the reporting interval is updated, the server 10d transmits information indicating the updated reporting interval to each remote device 20 using a Subscribe message.

[0137] With this configuration, the information collection system 1d in the fourth embodiment can realize a function in which the server 10d collects information from the remote device 20 using a model-driven information collection method. Furthermore, with this configuration, the information collection system 1d can reduce the frequency of sending report messages when, for example, the network quality is good and frequent report transmission is not necessary, thereby reducing an increase in network load. Furthermore, with this configuration, the information collection system 1d can increase the frequency of sending report messages when, for example, the network quality fluctuates frequently and frequent report transmission is necessary, thereby improving the real-time nature of quality information collection.

[0138] Furthermore, with such a configuration, the information collection system 1d in the fourth embodiment can periodically execute a process of evaluating the quality of resources to be used and (if necessary) determining a switching destination by using the collected quality information. Furthermore, the information collection system 1d can execute a process of evaluating the quality of resources to be used and (if necessary) determining a switching destination in accordance with the timing of periodically collecting information from the remote device 20.

[0139] According to the above-described embodiment, the information collection system includes an information collection device and at least one information providing device. For example, the information collection system is the information collection system 1a in the embodiment, the information collection device is the server 10 in the embodiment, and the information providing device is the remote device 20a in the embodiment. The information collection device includes a report request unit and a report receiving unit. For example, the report request unit is the report request unit 11 in the embodiment, and the report receiving unit is the report receiving unit 12 in the embodiment. The report request unit transmits a request message requesting a report of communication quality to the information providing device. For example, the request message is a Subscribe message in the embodiment. The report receiving unit receives a report message transmitted from the information providing device and including information indicating communication quality. For example, the report message is a Reprt message in the embodiment. The information providing device includes a request receiving unit, a report interval updating unit, and an information reporting unit. For example, the request receiving unit is the request receiving unit 21 in the embodiment, the reporting interval updating unit is the reporting interval updating unit 23 in the embodiment, and the information reporting unit is the information reporting unit 22a in the embodiment. The request receiving unit receives a request message transmitted from the information collecting device. The reporting interval updating unit acquires information indicating the measured communication quality and updates the transmission interval of the report message according to the communication quality. For example, the information indicating the communication quality is quality information in the embodiment (e.g., a quality value of the communication quality). The information reporting unit periodically transmits the report message to the information collecting device at the above-mentioned transmission interval.

[0140] Furthermore, according to the above-described embodiment, the information collection system includes an information collection device and at least one information providing device. For example, the information collection system is information collection systems 1b to 1d in the embodiments, the information collection device is servers 10b to 10d in the embodiments, and the information providing device is remote device 20 in the embodiments. The information collection device includes a report receiving unit, a report interval updating unit, and a report requesting unit. For example, the report receiving unit is report receiving units 12b to 12d in the embodiments, the report interval updating unit is report interval updating units 13, 13c, and 13d in the embodiments, and the report requesting unit is 11b to 11d in the embodiments. The report receiving unit receives a report message including information indicating communication quality transmitted from the information providing device. For example, the information indicating communication quality is quality information (e.g., a quality value of communication quality) in the embodiments, and the report message is a Reprt message in the embodiments. The report interval updating unit determines the transmission interval of the report message according to the communication quality. The report request unit transmits a request message including information indicating the transmission interval of the report message to the information providing device. For example, the request message is a Subscribe message in the embodiment. The information providing device includes a request receiving unit and an information reporting unit. For example, the request receiving unit is the request receiving unit 21 in the embodiment, and the information reporting unit is the information reporting unit 22 in the embodiment. The request receiving unit receives the request message transmitted from the information collecting device. The information reporting unit updates the transmission interval of the report message according to information indicating the transmission interval of the report message included in the request message, acquires information indicating the measured communication quality, and periodically transmits a report message including the information indicating the communication quality to the information collecting device at the above transmission interval. For example, the information indicating the communication quality is quality information in the embodiment (e.g., a quality value of the communication quality).

[0141] In the above-described information collection system, the report interval update unit may set the transmission interval to a relatively long interval when the communication quality is relatively good, and set the transmission interval to a relatively short interval when the communication quality is relatively poor.

[0142] The information collection systems 1a to 1d in the above-described embodiments may be implemented in part or in whole by a computer. In this case, a program for implementing this function may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be loaded into a computer system and executed. Note that the term "computer system" as used herein includes hardware such as an OS and peripheral devices. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording medium" refers to portable media such as flexible disks, optical magnetic disks, ROMs, and CD-ROMs, as well as storage devices such as hard disks built into computer systems. Furthermore, "computer-readable recording medium" may also include media that dynamically store programs for a short period of time, such as communication lines used when transmitting programs via networks such as the Internet or telephone lines, or media that store programs for a fixed period of time, such as volatile memory within the computer system that serves as the server or client. The program may be designed to implement some of the aforementioned functions, or may be capable of implementing the aforementioned functions in combination with a program already stored in the computer system, or may be implemented using a programmable logic device such as an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array).

[0143] Although an embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and includes designs within the scope of the present invention that do not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

[0144] DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a to 1d... Information collection system, 10, 10b to 10d... Server, 11, 11b to 11d... Report request unit, 12, 12b to 12d... Report receiving unit, 13, 13c, 13d... Report interval updating unit, 14... Analysis and control unit, 20, 20a, 20c... Remote device, 21... Request receiving unit, 22, 22a... Information reporting unit, 23... Report interval updating unit

Claims

1. An information providing device in an information collecting system having an information collecting device and at least one information providing device, the information providing device comprising: a request receiving unit that receives a request message transmitted from the information collecting device requesting a report of communication quality; a report interval updating unit that acquires information indicating the measured communication quality and updates the transmission interval of a report message including the information indicating the communication quality in accordance with the communication quality; and an information reporting unit that periodically transmits the report message to the information collecting device at the transmission interval.

2. The information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the report interval update unit sets the transmission interval to a relatively long interval when the communication quality is relatively good, and sets the transmission interval to a relatively short interval when the communication quality is relatively poor.

3. An information collection device in an information collection system having an information collection device and at least one information providing device, the information collection device comprising: a report receiving unit that receives a report message including information indicating communication quality, which is periodically transmitted from the information providing device; a report interval updating unit that determines the transmission interval of the report message based on the communication quality; and a report requesting unit that transmits a request message including information indicating the transmission interval of the report message to the information providing device.

4. The information collection device according to claim 3, wherein the report interval update unit sets the transmission interval to a relatively long interval when the communication quality is relatively good, and sets the transmission interval to a relatively short interval when the communication quality is relatively poor.

5. An information collection system having an information collection device and at least one information providing device, wherein the information collection device comprises: a report request unit that transmits a request message to the information providing device requesting a report of communication quality; and a report receiving unit that receives a report message transmitted from the information providing device, the report message including information indicating the communication quality; and the information providing device comprises: a request receiving unit that receives the request message transmitted from the information collection device; a report interval updating unit that acquires information indicating the measured communication quality and updates the transmission interval of the report message in accordance with the communication quality; and an information reporting unit that periodically transmits the report message to the information collection device at the transmission interval.

6. An information collecting system having an information collecting device and at least one information providing device, wherein the information collecting device comprises: a report receiving unit that receives a report message transmitted from the information providing device, the report message including information indicating communication quality; a report interval updating unit that determines a transmission interval of the report message in accordance with the communication quality; and a report request unit that transmits a request message to the information providing device, the request message including information indicating the transmission interval of the report message; and the information providing device comprises: a request receiving unit that receives the request message transmitted from the information collecting device; and an information reporting unit that updates the transmission interval of the report message in accordance with information indicating the transmission interval of the report message included in the request message, obtains information indicating the measured communication quality, and periodically transmits the report message including the information indicating the communication quality to the information collecting device at the transmission interval.

7. An information providing method by an information collecting system having an information collecting device and at least one information providing device, comprising: a request receiving step in which the information providing device receives a request message transmitted from the information collecting device requesting a report of communication quality; a reporting interval updating step in which the information providing device acquires information indicating the measured communication quality and updates the transmission interval of a reporting message including the information indicating the communication quality in accordance with the communication quality; and an information reporting step in which the information providing device periodically transmits the reporting message to the information collecting device at the transmission interval.

8. An information collecting method by an information collecting system having an information collecting device and at least one information providing device, comprising: a report receiving step in which the information collecting device receives a report message including information indicating communication quality, the report message being periodically transmitted from the information providing device; a report interval updating step in which the information collecting device determines a transmission interval of the report message according to the communication quality; and a report request step in which the information collecting device transmits a request message including information indicating the transmission interval of the report message to the information providing device.

Images