Transmission device and control device

Abstract

According to the present invention, a transmission device to be used in a communication system in which a transmission path is configured comprises: a control device communication unit that receives, from a control device as an instruction related to the transmission path, the number of unit bands to be utilized in the transmission path; and a unit band selection unit that, on the basis of the number, selects unit bands to utilize.

Description

Transmission device and control device

[0001] The present invention relates to a communication system that uses a plurality of transmission devices to set up a transmission path.

[0002] In a communication system using an OTN (Optical Transport Network), by using ODUflex (see Non-Patent Document 1), it is possible to set a transmission path of a desired bandwidth in units of TS (Tributary Slot).

[0003] In the prior art, when setting up a transmission path, a controller specifies the TS to be used to a plurality of transmission devices.

[0004] Recommendation G.709Recommendation G.7044 / Y.1347

[0005] However, in the above-described conventional technology, the controller needs to manage the usage status of each TS for each link, which causes a problem that resource management in the controller becomes complicated.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has an object to provide a technique for simplifying resource management in a controller that controls transmission paths.

[0007] According to the disclosed technology, there is provided a transmission device used in a communication system in which a transmission path is set, the transmission device comprising: a control device communication unit that receives, from a control device, the number of unit bands to be used in the transmission path as an instruction regarding the transmission path; and a unit band selection unit that selects the unit band to be used based on the number.

[0008] The disclosed technology provides a technology for simplifying resource management in a controller that controls transmission paths.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example of a communication system using OTN. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of resource management information managed by a controller 40 in the prior art. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of resource management information managed by a controller 40. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a controller 40 in a first embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a transmission device 30 in a first embodiment. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation of the communication system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a controller 40 in a second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of a transmission device 30 in a second embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation of the communication system according to the second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating an example of a hardware configuration of a device.

[0010] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is merely an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment.

[0011] In the following, a tributary slot (TS) is used as a unit of bandwidth (referred to as a unit bandwidth) that constitutes the bandwidth of a transmission path, but something other than a TS may also be used as the unit bandwidth.

[0012] In the following, first, the conventional technology will be described in more detail, and then the technology according to the present embodiment will be described.

[0013] (Regarding Prior Art) Fig. 1 shows an example of a communication system using OTN. In this communication system, communication is performed between user equipment 10A and user equipment 10B via transmission equipment 20A, transmission equipment 30, and transmission equipment 20B. Link #1 connects transmission equipment 20A and transmission equipment 30, and link #2 connects transmission equipment 20B and transmission equipment 30. The link sections are configured by a transmission path (HO ODU) or fiber.

[0014] In OTN, ODUflex (see Non-Patent Document 1) allows transmission paths to be set in 1.25G or 5G bandwidth units. Slots in 1.25G to 5G units are called TSs (Tributary Slots). Setting / deleting / bandwidth changes of transmission paths are performed by the controller 40 on each transmission device. In this specification, " / " means "or" unless a different meaning is clear from the context. The controller 40 may also be an NMS (Network Management System). Both "controller" and "NMS" may also be called "control device."

[0015] In ODUflex, it is not necessary to assign a continuous TS to a transmission path, and the TS may be changed for each link.

[0016] Fig. 2 shows an example of resources set for each link. The information shown in Fig. 2 is an example of resource management information managed by the controller 40 in conventional technology. In this example, two transmission paths, ODUflex #1 and ODUflex #2, are set. For ODUflex #1, the bandwidth is 2.5 G (the bandwidth of each TS constituting this bandwidth is 1.25 G), and TS #1 and TS #3 are used in link #1, and TS #1 and TS #2 are used in link #2.

[0017] For ODUflex #2, the bandwidth is 2.5G (the bandwidth of each TS that makes up this bandwidth is 1.25G), TS #4 and TS #5 are used in link #1, and TS #6 and TS #7 are used in link #2.

[0018] The controller 40, which sets up / deletes / changes the bandwidth of transmission paths, manages the usage status of each TS on each link, as shown in Figure 2, and uses resource management information to specify to the transmission device the TS to be used when setting up a transmission path or changing the bandwidth.

[0019] For example, when setting ODUflex #3 at 2.5G, the controller 40 instructs each transmission device to use TS #2 and TS #6 on link #1 and TS #3 and TS #4 on link #2.

[0020] There is also a method for changing the ODUflex bandwidth without hits (see Non-Patent Document 2). Repeatedly setting / deleting / changing the bandwidth of an ODUflex makes it impossible to obtain continuous values ​​for the TS in each ODUflex. Therefore, it is necessary for the controller 40 to manage resources for each TS and to specify the TS to be used when setting up a transmission path or changing the bandwidth.

[0021] (Regarding the Problems) In the above-described conventional technology, the controller 40 must manage the usage status of each TS for each link, which results in a problem of complicated resource management.

[0022] (Outline of the embodiment) In order to solve the above problem, in the present embodiment, the controller 40 manages OTN resources by managing only the number of TSs available for each link, rather than managing the usage status of each TS for each link. When setting up a transmission path / changing the bandwidth, the controller 40 specifies to each transmission device only the number of TSs to be used, and each transmission device decides which TSs to actually use. In other words, each transmission device selects the number of TSs notified by the controller 40. This makes it possible to simplify resource management by the controller 40. (System configuration example) Figure 3 shows an example of the configuration of a communication system in this embodiment. The overall configuration of the communication system in this embodiment is the same as the overall configuration of the communication system shown in Figure 1, but as shown in Figure 3, in this embodiment, each transmission device has a TS selection function.

[0023] Fig. 4 shows an example of resource management information managed by the controller 40. As shown in Fig. 4, the controller 40 manages only the number of available TSs for each link. In the example of Fig. 4, it is shown that the number of available TSs for both link #1 and link #2 is 76. Since the total number of TSs is 80, it is also shown that the number of TSs in use is 4. Note that the controller 40 may manage information other than the "number of available TSs for each link section" as resource management information in addition to the "number of available TSs for each link section."

[0024] When instructing the setting of a transmission path or the change of the bandwidth of a transmission path, the controller 40 specifies only the number of TSs to be used for each transmission device. When each transmission device receives an instruction to set a transmission path / change the bandwidth from the controller 40, it performs a process to select the TSs to actually use.

[0025] In this case, the transmission devices on both sides of each link (two adjacent transmission devices) must select the same TS. Specifically, in the example of Fig. 3, the same TS must be selected between transmission device 20A (#1) and transmission device 30 (#2), which are at both ends of link #1, and between transmission device 30 (#2) and transmission device 20B (#3), which are at both ends of link #2. To achieve this, this embodiment uses the following method 1 or method 2.

[0026] Method 1: The TS selection logic in each transmission device is the same (e.g., selection from the lowest available TS), and the controller 40 controls the timing of issuing instructions to set / delete / change the bandwidth of a transmission path so that the TS selection logic operates in the same state (same TS usage status) in the transmission devices on both sides. Specifically, if a transmission path is being set / deleted / changed on a certain link, instructions to set / delete / change another transmission path on the same link are not issued until this process is completed.

[0027] Method 2: The transmission devices on both sides of the link communicate with each other and adjust to use the same TS.

[0028] Hereinafter, the configuration and operation using Method 1 will be described as Example 1, and the configuration and operation using Method 2 will be described as Example 2.

[0029] 5 shows an example of the configuration of the controller 40 in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 5, the controller 40 in the first embodiment includes a resource management unit 41, a transmission device communication unit 42, and a timing control unit 43.

[0030] The resource management unit 41 manages (holds) the number of available TSs for each link. The transmission device communication unit 42 communicates with the transmission devices. This communication includes sending instructions to each transmission device to set up / delete / change bandwidth of a transmission path, and receiving responses to the set up / delete / change bandwidth of a transmission path from each transmission device.

[0031] The timing control unit 43 controls the timing at which the transmission device communication unit 42 sends instructions to the transmission device. Specifically, the timing control is performed so that until the setting / deletion / change of a transmission path using a certain link is completed, an instruction to set / delete / change another transmission path for the same link is not sent.

[0032] 6 shows an example of the configuration of the transmission device 30 in the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 6, the transmission device 30 has a controller communication unit 31 and a TS selection unit 32. The other transmission devices also have the same configuration as the transmission device 30. Note that the respective functional units in the transmission devices 20A and 20B are referred to as controller communication units 21A and 21B and TS selection units 22A and 22B. The controller communication unit and the TS selection unit may also be referred to as a control device communication unit and a unit band selection unit, respectively.

[0033] The controller communication unit 31 communicates with the controller 40. The communication includes receiving an instruction to set / delete / change the bandwidth of a transmission path from the controller 40, and sending a response to the controller 40 indicating completion of the process of setting / deleting / changing the bandwidth of a transmission path.

[0034] The TS selector 32 selects a TS to use when it receives an instruction to set a transmission path / change bandwidth from the controller 40. By using the same TS selection logic in each transmission device (e.g., selecting from the lowest numbered available TS), it is possible to use the same TS in the transmission devices on both sides of each link.

[0035] <Operation Example> An operation example of the communication system in the first embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7. For convenience of explanation, the transmission device 20A, the transmission device 30, and the transmission device 20B will be described as transmission device #1, transmission device #2, and transmission device #3, respectively.

[0036] In S101, the transmission device communication unit 42 of the controller 40 generates a setting request for a 2.5G transmission path A. The transmission path A is a path that uses transmission devices #1, #2, and #3, i.e., a path that uses link #1 and link #2. The transmission device communication unit 42 of the controller 40 may receive the setting request from, for example, a user.

[0037] In S102, the timing control unit 40 of the controller 40 locks the links #1 and #2 as being in process. Here, "locking" means that no instructions other than those related to the setting request in S101 are given to the links #1 and #2.

[0038] In S103 to S105, the transmission device communication unit 42 of the controller 40 sends a path setting request to each transmission device used by transmission path A. This path setting request includes "number of TSs = 2," which corresponds to a bandwidth of 2.5G. The TS selection unit of each transmission device selects two TSs using the same TS selection logic and sets the selected TSs for use.

[0039] In S106, the transmission device communication unit 42 of the controller 40 generates a setting request for a 2.5G transmission path B. The transmission path B is a path that uses the transmission devices #1 and #2, that is, a path that uses the link #1.

[0040] In S107, the controller communication unit 21A of transmission device #1 notifies the controller 40 that the setting for transmission path A has been completed, and in S108, the controller communication unit 21B of transmission device #2 notifies the controller 40 that the setting for transmission path A has been completed.

[0041] In response to the completion of the setting of the link #1 portion of the transmission path A, in S109 the timing control unit 43 releases the lock on the link #1.

[0042] Next, when the timing control unit 43 determines to set up the transmission path B for the link #1 based on the setting request in S106, it locks the link #1 again in S110.

[0043] In S111 and S112, the transmission device communication unit 42 of the controller 40 sends a path setting request to each transmission device used by transmission path B. This path setting request includes "number of TSs = 2." The TS selection unit of each transmission device selects two TSs using the same TS selection logic and sets the selected TSs for use.

[0044] In S113, the controller communication unit 21B of the transmission device #3 notifies the controller 40 that the setting of the transmission path A for the link #2 has been completed. In S114, the transmission path A is opened.

[0045] In response to the completion of setting the link section #2 of the transmission path A, in S115 the timing control unit 43 releases the lock on the link #2.

[0046] In S116, the controller communication unit 21A of the transmission device #1 notifies the controller 40 that the setting for the transmission path B has been completed, and in S117, the controller communication unit 31 of the transmission device #2 notifies the controller 40 that the setting for the transmission path B has been completed. In S118, the transmission path B is opened.

[0047] In response to the completion of the setting of the transmission path B, in S119, the timing control unit 43 releases the lock on the link #1.

[0048] (Second Embodiment) <Device Configuration Example> Fig. 8 shows a configuration example of a controller 40 in the second embodiment. As shown in Fig. 8, the controller 40 in the second embodiment does not include a timing control unit 43, but includes a resource management unit 41 and a transmission device communication unit 42. The resource management unit 41 and the transmission device communication unit 42 are the same as the resource management unit 41 and the transmission device communication unit 42 in the first embodiment.

[0049] FIG. 9 shows an example of the configuration of a transmission device 30 in the second embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the transmission device 30 has a controller communication unit 31, a TS selection unit 32, and a transmission device communication unit 33. That is, in the second embodiment, a transmission device communication unit 33 is added to the components of the first embodiment. The controller communication unit 31 and the TS selection unit 32 are the same as those in the first embodiment. However, the TS selection logic of the TS selection unit 32 in the second embodiment does not have to be the same as the TS selection logic of the TS selection unit 32 in the first embodiment. The other transmission devices also have the same configuration as the transmission device 30. Note that the respective functional units in the transmission devices 20A and 20B are referred to as controller communication units 21A and 21B, TS selection units 22A and 22B, and transmission device communication units 23A and 23B.

[0050] The transmission device communication unit 33 communicates with adjacent transmission devices to check whether the TSs selected by the TS selection units match, and if they do not match, adjusts the selection so that the same TS is selected. Specific examples of the adjustment method include the following examples 1 and 2. Either example 1 or example 2 may be used.

[0051] Example 1: Priorities are assigned to transmission devices, and the TS selected by the transmission device with the higher priority is given priority. However, if this TS cannot be used by a transmission device with a lower priority, adjustments are made again.

[0052] Example 2: The lowest available number is exchanged between the transmission devices on both sides, and if they match, that number is used. This is repeated for the number of TSs required.

[0053] <Operation Example> An operation example of the communication system in the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 10. For convenience of explanation, in the second embodiment as well, the transmission device 20A, the transmission device 30, and the transmission device 20B will be described as transmission device #1, transmission device #2, and transmission device #3, respectively.

[0054] In S201, the transmission device communication unit 42 of the controller 40 generates a setting request for a 2.5G transmission path A. The transmission path A is a path that uses transmission devices #1, #2, and #3, i.e., a path that uses links #1 and #2. The transmission device communication unit 42 of the controller 40 may receive the setting request from, for example, a user.

[0055] In steps S202 to S204, the transmission device communication unit 42 of the controller 40 transmits a path setting request to each transmission device used by the transmission path A. This path setting request includes "number of TSs=2".

[0056] In S205 and S206, the transmission devices adjust the TSs used for the transmission path A. The TS adjustment method is as described above.

[0057] In S207, the transmission device communication unit 42 of the controller 40 generates a setting request for a 2.5G transmission path B. The transmission path B is a path that uses transmission devices #1 and #2, i.e., a path that uses link #1. The transmission device communication unit 42 of the controller 40 may receive the setting request from, for example, a user.

[0058] In S208 and S209, the transmission device communication unit 42 of the controller 40 transmits a path setting request to each transmission device used by the transmission path B. This path setting request includes "number of TSs=2".

[0059] In S210, the transmission devices adjust the TS used for the transmission path B. The TS adjustment method is as described above.

[0060] In S211, the controller communication unit 21A of the transmission device #1 notifies the controller 40 that the setting for the transmission path A has been completed, and in S212, the controller communication unit 31 of the transmission device #2 notifies the controller 40 that the setting for the transmission path A has been completed. In S213, the controller communication unit 21B of the transmission device #3 notifies the controller 40 that the setting for the transmission path A has been completed. In S214, the transmission path A is opened.

[0061] In S215, the controller communication unit 21A of the transmission device #1 notifies the controller 40 that the setting for the transmission path B has been completed, and in S216, the controller communication unit 31 of the transmission device #2 notifies the controller 40 that the setting for the transmission path B has been completed. In S217, the transmission path B is opened.

[0062] (Hardware Configuration Example) Any of the devices (controller 40, each transmission device) described in this embodiment can be realized, for example, by causing a computer to execute a program. This computer may be a physical computer or a virtual machine on a cloud.

[0063] That is, the device can be realized by executing a program corresponding to the processing performed by the device using hardware resources such as a CPU and memory built into a computer. The program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium (such as a portable memory) and stored or distributed. The program can also be provided via a network such as the Internet or email.

[0064] Fig. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the computer. The computer in Fig. 11 includes a drive device 1000, an auxiliary storage device 1002, a memory device 1003, a CPU 1004, an interface device 1005, a display device 1006, an input device 1007, an output device 1008, and the like, all of which are interconnected via a bus B. The computer may further include a GPU.

[0065] The program that realizes the processing on the computer is provided by a recording medium 1001, such as a CD-ROM or a memory card. When the recording medium 1001 storing the program is set in the drive device 1000, the program is installed from the recording medium 1001 to the auxiliary storage device 1002 via the drive device 1000. However, the program does not necessarily have to be installed from the recording medium 1001, but may be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 1002 stores the installed program as well as necessary files, data, etc.

[0066] The memory device 1003 reads and stores a program from the auxiliary storage device 1002 when an instruction to start the program is received. The CPU 1004 realizes functions related to the device in accordance with the program stored in the memory device 1003. The interface device 1005 is used as an interface for connecting to a network, etc. The display device 1006 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) or the like according to the program. The input device 1007 is composed of a keyboard, mouse, buttons, a touch panel, etc., and is used to input various operation instructions. The output device 1008 outputs the results of calculations.

[0067] As described above, in the technology described in the present embodiment, OTN resource management is performed by managing only the number of available TSs for each link, rather than the usage status of each TS for each link, and when setting up a transmission path / changing bandwidth, only the number of TSs to be used is specified, and each transmission device decides which TSs to actually use. This makes it possible to simplify resource management for the controller.

[0068] The following additional notes are provided regarding the above-described embodiments.

[0069] <Additional Notes> (Additional Item 1) A transmission device used in a communication system in which a transmission path is set, comprising: a control device communication unit that receives from a control device the number of unit bands to be used in the transmission path as an instruction related to the transmission path, and a unit band selection unit that selects a unit band to be used based on the number. (Additional Item 2) The transmission device according to Additional Item 1, wherein the unit band selection logic is the same between the transmission device and a second transmission device adjacent to the transmission device, and an instruction is sent from the control device so that the selection logic operates in the same state in the transmission device and the second transmission device. (Additional Item 3) The transmission device according to Additional Item 1, wherein communication is performed between the transmission device and a second transmission device adjacent to the transmission device, and the unit band selection unit selects the same unit band as the unit band selected by the second transmission device. (Addendum 4) A control device that executes control over a communication system having a plurality of transmission devices, comprising: a resource management unit that manages the number of available unit bandwidths for each link in the communication system; and a timing control unit that controls the timing of instructions so that instructions regarding another transmission path that uses a certain link are not issued until processing on the transmission path that uses the link is completed.

[0070] Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to such a specific embodiment, and various modifications and changes are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.

[0071] 10A, 10B User device 20A, 20B, 30 Transmission device 31 Controller communication unit 32 TS selection unit 33 Transmission device communication unit 40 Controller 41 Resource management unit 42 Transmission device communication unit 43 Timing control unit 1000 Drive device 1001 Recording medium 1002 Auxiliary storage device 1003 Memory device 1004 CPU 1005 Interface device 1006 Display device 1007 Input device 1008 Output device

Claims

1. A transmission device used in a communication system in which a transmission path is set, comprising: a control device communication unit that receives, from a control device, the number of unit bands to be used in the transmission path as an instruction regarding the transmission path; and a unit band selection unit that selects the unit band to be used based on the number.

2. The transmission device according to claim 1, wherein the unit band selection logic is the same between the transmission device and a second transmission device adjacent to the transmission device, and instructions are sent from the control device so that the selection logic operates in the same state in the transmission device and the second transmission device.

3. The transmission device according to claim 1, wherein, by performing communication between the transmission device and a second transmission device adjacent to the transmission device, the unit band selection unit selects the same unit band as the unit band selected by the second transmission device.

4. A control device that executes control over a communication system having multiple transmission devices, comprising: a resource management unit that manages the number of available unit bandwidths for each link in the communication system; and a timing control unit that controls the timing of instructions so that instructions regarding another transmission path that uses a certain link are not issued until processing on that transmission path is completed.

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