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

Abstract

A network management system (10) is characterized by comprising: collection devices (2-1, 2-2, 2-3) that are provided to each of a plurality of networks (3-1, 3-2, 3-3), measure communication quality between the networks (3-1, 3-2, 3-3), and generate inter-network communication quality information indicating measurement results; an integrated management device (1) that collects the inter-network communication quality information from the plurality of collection devices (2-1, 2-2, 2-3); and a measurement control unit that restricts measurement of the communication quality by the collection devices (2-1, 2-2, 2-3) on the basis of analysis results of changes over time in the communication quality.

Description

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

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

[0002] In a conventional communication network system, in order to optimize network resources, it is made possible to grasp the communication status of the network. For example, the network monitoring system disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a plurality of collection apparatuses arranged in each of a plurality of networks connected via a backbone network, and means for storing communication data information including a time stamp. Further, this network monitoring system includes an aggregating means that aggregates communication data information for each application, and a communication quality measuring means that measures communication quality for each application.

[0003] Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2008-72496

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

[0005] In this case, if the timing of changes in communication quality can be predicted, it may be possible to understand the communication quality without frequently measuring it while the communication quality is not changing. For example, in broadband communication services using low-Earth orbit satellite constellations, terminals on the ground frequently switch which satellite they are connected to because the satellites are constantly moving. For this reason, broadband communication services using low-Earth orbit constellations periodically recalculate resources, such as switching the terminals accommodated by each satellite, for example every 15 seconds. It is known that this causes the communication quality connected to the backbone network to switch periodically, and it is known that a momentary increase in latency and a decrease in throughput occur at the timing of the communication quality switch.

[0006] Furthermore, if multiple terminals share communication resources and show similar trends in communication quality, knowing the communication quality of one terminal allows us to determine that the communication quality of the others will be similar. For example, if multiple terminals that are geographically close and connected to the same satellite share the satellite's communication resources, the changes in communication quality will show similar trends across all terminals.

[0007] This disclosure is made in view of the above, and aims to provide a network management system that can reduce network load and computational load while appropriately understanding communication quality.

[0008] To solve the aforementioned problems and achieve the objectives, the network management system according to this disclosure is characterized by comprising: a collection device provided in each of a plurality of networks that measures the communication quality between networks and generates inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; an integrated management device that collects inter-network communication quality information from the plurality of collection devices; and a measurement control unit that limits the measurement of communication quality by the collection devices based on the results of an analysis of changes in communication quality over time.

[0009] According to this disclosure, it will be possible to reduce network load and computational load while appropriately understanding communication quality.

[0010] Figures illustrating the configuration of a network management system, a diagram showing the functional configuration of the integrated management device according to Embodiment 1, a diagram showing the functional configuration of the data collection device according to Embodiment 1, a diagram showing dedicated hardware for realizing the functions of the integrated management device and data collection device, a diagram showing the configuration of the control circuit for realizing the functions of the integrated management device and data collection device, a sequence diagram explaining an example of operation of the network management system according to Embodiment 1, a flowchart explaining an example of operation of the integrated management device according to Embodiment 1, a diagram showing the change in communication quality over time, a diagram showing an example of a measurement target notification message, a flowchart explaining the operation of the data collection device according to Embodiment 1, a diagram showing an example of application communication quality information stored in the memory of the data collection device, a diagram showing an example of the format of inter-network communication quality information, a diagram showing the functional configuration of the integrated management device according to Embodiment 2, a diagram showing the functional configuration of the data collection device according to Embodiment 2, a flowchart explaining the communication quality measurement operation of the data collection device according to Embodiment 2, a diagram showing an example of switching the measurement frequency in Embodiment 2.

[0011] The following describes in detail, with reference to the drawings, the network management system, integrated management device, collection device, and network management method according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0012] Embodiment 1. Figure 1 shows an example of the configuration of a network management system 10. The network management system 10 includes an integrated management device 1 and a plurality of data collection devices 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3. Application clients 5-1 and 5-2 and an application server 6 are located on the networks 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 managed by the network management system 10. In the example in Figure 1, application client 5-1 is located on network 3-1, application client 5-2 is located on network 3-2, and application server 6 is located on network 3-3.

[0013] In the following description, multiple components with similar functional configurations will be distinguished by a common code followed by a hyphen and a number. Furthermore, if it is not necessary to distinguish between multiple components with similar functional configurations, only the common code may be used. For example, if it is not necessary to distinguish between collection devices 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3, they will be referred to as collection device 2.

[0014] Networks 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 are connected to each other via the backbone network 4. Networks 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 may be connected to the internet via optical fiber lines, or via broadband services using low-Earth orbit satellite constellations. Alternatively, networks 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3 may be connected to the internet as cloud services. Communication between the application client 5 and the application server 6 is communication between networks 3.

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

[0016] Multiple collection devices 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3 are located in each of the multiple networks 3-1, 3-2, and 3-3. In Figure 1, the collection device 2 located in network 3-1 is referred to as collection device 2-1, the collection device 2 located in network 3-2 is referred to as collection device 2-2, and the collection device 2 located in network 3-3 is referred to as collection device 2-3. Note that the configuration shown in Figure 1 is just one example, and there are no particular restrictions on the number of networks 3 and collection devices 2.

[0017] The data collection device 2 measures the communication quality between networks 3, generates inter-network communication quality information showing the measurement results, and transmits the generated inter-network communication quality information to the integrated management device 1. The data collection device 2 performs the communication quality measurement at the timing in accordance with the instructions of the integrated management device 1.

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

[0019] The inter-network communication quality information collection unit 101 collects inter-network communication quality information from the collection device 2. The inter-network communication quality information collection unit 101 stores the collected inter-network communication quality information in the storage unit 102.

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

[0021] The inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 analyzes the inter-network communication quality information stored in the storage unit 102. Specifically, the inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 analyzes whether there are any combinations of inter-network communication quality information whose trends over time are similar. If there are combinations of inter-network communication quality information whose trends over time are similar, the inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 extracts the combinations of inter-network communication quality information whose trends over time are similar. As an analysis result, the inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 outputs information indicating combinations with similar trends over time, along with the inter-network communication quality information, to the measurement target determination unit 104 of the measurement control unit 106.

[0022] The measurement target determination unit 104 determines which inter-network communication quality information is to be measured and which is not to be measured, based on the analysis results of the inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103. Here, the measurement target determination unit 104 determines which collection devices 2 are to be measured and which are not to be measured, based on the collection device 2 units. Specifically, the measurement target determination unit 104 excludes some of the collection devices 2 from measurement so that some of the inter-network communication quality information extracted by the inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103, which have similar trends in changes over time, are not generated. For example, the measurement target determination unit 104 identifies multiple collection devices 2 that have acquired combinations of multiple extracted inter-network communication quality information. The measurement target determination unit 104 can determine which collection devices 2 are to be measured and which are not to be measured based on the network load of the network 3 where the identified collection devices 2 are installed. The measurement target determination unit 104 selects the data collection device 2 located on the network 3 with the lowest network load as the measurement target, and excludes other data collection devices 2 from the selected data collection device 2 from the measurement target. The measurement target determination unit 104 outputs information to the notification unit 105 indicating whether or not each data collection device 2 is a measurement target.

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

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

[0025] Figure 3 shows the functional configuration of the data collection device 2 according to Embodiment 1. The data collection device 2 includes a communication monitoring unit 201, a storage unit 202, a network-to-network communication quality measurement unit 203, and a notification unit 204.

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

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

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

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

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

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

[0032] When the above processing circuit is implemented using a CPU-based control circuit, this control circuit is, for example, the control circuit 12 with the configuration shown in Figure 5. Figure 5 is a diagram showing the configuration of the control circuit 12 for realizing the functions of the integrated management device 1 and the data collection device 2. As shown in Figure 5, the control circuit 12 comprises a processor 13, a memory 14, and a communication device 15. The processor 13 is a CPU, also known as a central processing unit, processing unit, arithmetic unit, microprocessor, microcomputer, DSP (Digital Signal Processor), etc. The memory 14 is, for example, a non-volatile or volatile semiconductor memory such as RAM (Random Access Memory), ROM (Read Only Memory), flash memory, EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), EEPROM (Registered Trademark) (Electrically EPROM), magnetic disk, flexible disk, optical disk, compact disk, minidisc, DVD (Digital Versatile Disk), etc.

[0033] Each function of the integrated management device 1 and the data collection device 2 is realized by software, firmware, or a combination of software and firmware. The software or firmware is written as a program and stored in memory 14. Each function is realized when the processor 13 reads and executes the program stored in memory 14. Memory 14 is also used as temporary memory for each process executed by the processor 13. The program may be provided stored on a storage medium or provided via a communication channel such as the internet.

[0034] Next, the operation of the network management system 10 will be described. Figure 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the operation of the network management system 10 according to Embodiment 1.

[0035] First, the application server 6 sends data to the application client 5 (step S101). Upon receiving the data from the application server 6, the application client 5 sends an acknowledgment to the application server 6 (step S102). This example illustrates communication in which the application server 6 sends data to the application client 5, and the application client 5 returns an acknowledgment if the data arrives successfully. During this communication, the application server 6 records the communication quality obtained through application traffic, such as throughput (step S103).

[0036] The communication between the application server 6 and the application client 5 is not limited to the example above. The direction of transmission and reception can be either direction, or both directions. Furthermore, the communication between the application server 6 and the application client 5 may be one in which an acknowledgment of non-delivery is sent if the data does not arrive successfully. Also, the communication between the application server 6 and the application client 5 may be one in which an acknowledgment is not sent, such as with UDP (User Datagram Protocol). In the above example, the application server 6 records the communication quality, but the application client 5 may record the communication quality, or both the application server 6 and the application client 5 may record the communication quality.

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

[0038] The data collection device 2 measures the communication quality, such as throughput and latency, between networks 3 based on the application communication quality information received from the application server 6 (step S105). The data collection device 2 transmits the inter-network communication quality information, which shows the measurement results of the communication quality between networks 3, to the integrated management device 1 (step S106).

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

[0040] Furthermore, the integrated management device 1 determines the collection device 2 to be measured (step S109) and notifies the collection device 2 of the measurement target by sending a measurement target notification message (step S110). Here, the determination of whether or not a collection device is a measurement target is made on a per-collection device 2 basis, but the unit for determining whether or not a collection device is a measurement target is not limited to this example. If one collection device 2 acquires multiple types of inter-network communication quality information, the determination of whether or not a collection device is a measurement target may be made on a per-type network communication quality information basis. If multiple collection devices 2 are deployed in one network 3, the determination of whether or not a collection device is a measurement target may be made on a per-network 3 basis. Here, the determination of whether or not a collection device is a measurement target is made on a per-collection device 2 basis, but as shown in Figure 1, one collection device 2 is deployed in one network 3, so it can also be said that the determination of whether or not a collection device is a measurement target is made on a per-network 3 basis. It is desirable that the operation shown in Figure 6 be performed repeatedly.

[0041] Here, a specific operation of the integrated management apparatus 1 will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining an operation example of the integrated management apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. Note that, at the start of the operation, all collection apparatuses 2 are measurement targets. A measurement target determining unit 104 of the integrated management apparatus 1 calculates the similarity of temporal changes for each combination of inter-network communication quality information (step S11).

[0042] FIG. 8 is a diagram showing temporal changes in communication quality. In FIG. 8, delay time is shown as communication quality. The delay time shown herein is characterized in that peaks occur periodically, and although random changes occur between peaks, the value does not change significantly. For example, the inter-network communication quality information handled in step S11 of FIG. 7 can be obtained by measuring a round-trip delay time between networks 3 using a command such as ping. A cross-correlation of such pieces of inter-network communication quality information can be used as the similarity. In addition, when throughput is used as inter-network communication quality information, the throughput can be measured using a command such as iperf, for example.

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

[0044] The measurement target determining unit 104 sets, as a measurement target, a collection apparatus that belongs to the network 3 with the lowest network load among the plurality of collection apparatuses 2 that have acquired inter-network communication quality information of a combination whose similarity is equal to or greater than the threshold (step S14). After determining the measurement target, the measurement target determining unit 104 outputs information indicating the determined measurement target to a notification unit 105.

[0045] The notification unit 105 notifies the collection device 2 of the measurement target determined by the measurement target determination unit 104 (step S15). Here, the notification unit 105 can notify the collection device 2 whether or not something is a measurement target by sending a measurement target notification message that includes a measurement target flag indicating whether or not it is a measurement target, and the validity period of the measurement target flag. The operation shown in Figure 7 is repeated.

[0046] Figure 9 shows an example of a measurement target notification message. Figure 9 shows the content of the measurement target notification message sent to collection devices 2-1 and 2-3 when network 3-3 is the measurement target. The measurement target notification message may include a measurement target flag indicating whether the destination device of the measurement target notification message is the measurement target, and the validity period of the measurement target flag. Even if the similarity of communication quality is high temporarily, it is possible that different characteristics will be exhibited after a certain period of time. Therefore, by setting a validity period, if the characteristics of communication quality change, it becomes possible to lift the restriction on the measurement target after the validity period has expired. Here, the value of the measurement target flag for collection device 2-3, which belongs to network 3-3, is "1", indicating that it is the measurement target, and the value of the measurement target flag for collection device 2-1 is "0", indicating that it is not the measurement target. The validity period of each measurement target flag is set to 30s.

[0047] Next, a specific operation of the collection device 2 will be described. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the collection device 2 according to the first embodiment. The operation shown in FIG. 10 is assumed to be executed each time the collection device 2 receives a measurement target notification message. When the measurement target notification message is received, an inter-network communication quality measurement unit 203 of the collection device 2 determines whether or not the collection device 2 is a measurement target based on a value of a measurement target flag (step S21). If it is a measurement target (step S21: Yes), the inter-network communication quality measurement unit 203 measures communication quality between networks 3 (step S22). The combination of the networks 3 to be measured here is selected from combinations of the networks 3 in which the application managed by the network management system 10 communicates within the network 3 to which the collection device 2 belongs, and may be all of the networks 3 or any partial combination thereof. The collection device 2 stores the measurement result in a storage unit 202.

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

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

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

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

[0052] Returning to the explanation of Figure 10, if the device is not a target for measurement (Step S21: No), the inter-network communication quality measurement unit 203 determines whether the current time is within the validity period based on the value of the measurement target flag in the measurement target notification message (Step S26). If it is within the validity period (Step S26: Yes), the inter-network communication quality measurement unit 203 repeats the process in Step S26. If it is not within the validity period (Step S26: No), the inter-network communication quality measurement unit 203 proceeds to the process of measuring the communication quality in Step S22. As a result, the collection device 2, which has been determined not to be a target for measurement, will not measure the communication quality within the validity period of the measurement target flag, and will resume measuring the communication quality once the validity period has expired.

[0053] As described above, Embodiment 1 provides a network management system 10 characterized by comprising a data collection device 2, an integrated management device 1, and a measurement control unit 106. The data collection device 2 is provided in each of the multiple networks 3 and measures the communication quality between the networks 3 to generate inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results. The integrated management device 1 collects inter-network communication quality information from the multiple data collection devices 2. The measurement control unit 106 restricts the measurement of communication quality by the data collection devices 2 based on the analysis results of changes in communication quality over time. This makes it possible to reduce network load and computation load while appropriately understanding communication quality.

[0054] In Embodiment 1, the measurement control unit 106 is provided in the integrated management device 1. The integrated management device 1 includes an inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 that extracts combinations of inter-network communication quality information with similar trends over time, and a measurement control unit 106 that, based on the analysis results of the inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103, restricts the measurement of communication quality by the collection device 2 so that some of the inter-network communication quality information with similar trends over time are not generated. The restriction on the measurement of communication quality may be performed by deciding whether to measure or not measure on an inter-network communication quality information basis, or by deciding whether to measure or not measure on an collection device 2 basis that generates the inter-network communication quality information. This restricts the measurement of communication quality by the collection device 2 so that some of the inter-network communication quality information with similar trends over time are not generated. When multiple inter-network communication quality information has similar trends over time, measuring the communication quality of one of them makes it possible to estimate the other inter-network communication quality information, so one of the communication quality is measured. This reduces the network load and computational load required for measuring communication quality, and also reduces the exchange of messages between the integrated management device 1 and the collection device 2 that occurs during measurement, thus leading to a reduction in network load.

[0055] Furthermore, the measurement control unit 106 can determine which inter-network communication quality information to measure and which to exclude from measurement based on network load, among the extracted combinations of similar inter-network communication quality information. For example, it can select the collection device 2 located in the network 3 with the lowest network load as the measurement target, and exclude all other collection devices from measurement. This makes it possible to suppress further increases in network load in the network 3 with a high network load due to communication quality measurement.

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

[0057] The data collection device 2 calculates the peak interval of communication quality multiple times. If the variation in the calculated peak intervals is within the standard range, it notifies the integrated management device 1 of the inter-network communication quality information. If the variation in peak intervals is outside the standard range, it does not notify the inter-network communication quality information. Here, it is assumed that periodic peaks occur in communication quality, and that there is a tendency for the value to change over time without significant changes between peaks. Therefore, when the variation in peak intervals is large, some kind of abnormality is occurring in the communication, and there is a high possibility that abnormalities will occur in the transmission and reception of data even if an attempt is made to notify the integrated management device 1 of the inter-network communication quality information. Furthermore, if the variation in peak intervals is large and it is thought that some kind of abnormality is occurring in the communication, sending the inter-network communication quality information to the integrated management device 1 will further worsen the communication quality and interfere with the transmission and reception of application data other than inter-network communication quality information. Therefore, by notifying the integrated management device 1 of inter-network communication quality information only when the variation in peak intervals is within the standard range, and not notifying the integrated management device 1 of inter-network communication quality information when the variation in peak intervals is outside the standard range, it is possible to suppress a deterioration in communication quality and improve the stability of communication within network 3 and communication between networks 3.

[0058] Furthermore, according to Embodiment 1, an integrated management device 1 can be provided, which comprises: an inter-network communication quality information collection unit 101 that collects inter-network communication quality information from a plurality of collection devices 2 provided in each of a plurality of networks 3, which measure the communication quality between the networks 3 and generate inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; an inter-network communication quality analysis unit 103 that analyzes the change in communication quality over time using the collected inter-network communication quality information; and a measurement control unit 106 that limits the measurement of communication quality by the collection device 2 based on the analysis results of the change in communication quality over time.

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

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

[0061] Embodiment 2. Embodiment 1 showed an example where the integrated management device 1 has a measurement control unit 106 and limits the measurement target to restrict the measurement of communication quality by the collection device 2. Embodiment 2 describes an example where the collection device 2 controls the measurement frequency to restrict the measurement of communication quality by the collection device 2.

[0062] The network management system 10A (not shown) according to Embodiment 2 has the same configuration as the network management system 10 shown in Figure 1. Since the functional configuration of the integrated management device 1 and the collection device 2 differs in part from Embodiment 1, in Embodiment 2 they will be referred to as the integrated management device 1A and the collection device 2A. The following will mainly describe the parts that differ from Embodiment 1, and detailed descriptions of the parts that are the same as Embodiment 1 will be omitted.

[0063] Figure 13 shows the functional configuration of the integrated management device 1A according to Embodiment 2. The integrated management device 1A includes a network-to-network communication quality information collection unit 101, a storage unit 102, a network-to-network communication quality analysis unit 103A, and a notification unit 105. The network-to-network communication quality analysis unit 103A generates communication quality information to be notified to the application client 5 or application server 6 based on the network-to-network communication quality information stored in the storage unit 102.

[0064] Figure 14 shows the functional configuration of the data collection device 2A according to Embodiment 2. The data collection device 2A includes a communication monitoring unit 201, a storage unit 202, a network-to-network communication quality measurement unit 203, a notification unit 204, and a measurement control unit 205.

[0065] The measurement control unit 205 controls the communication monitoring unit 201 to change the frequency of measuring communication quality. Specifically, the measurement control unit 205 calculates the peak interval of communication quality while having the communication monitoring unit 201 measure communication quality, and changes the frequency at which the communication monitoring unit 201 measures communication quality between networks 3 based on the calculated peak interval. The measurement control unit 205 measures the peak interval of communication quality while performing high-frequency measurements that measure communication quality at a first frequency. The measurement control unit 205 can limit the measurement of communication quality by changing the frequency at which it measures communication quality based on the peak interval. For example, the measurement control unit 205 can change the frequency of communication quality measurement between periods that include communication quality peaks and periods that do not. It is desirable that the measurement frequency during periods without peaks be lower than the measurement frequency during periods that include peaks. Below, as an example, an example is described in which the measurement control unit 205 changes the measurement frequency by switching the measurement frequency of communication quality between a first frequency and a second frequency that is lower than the first frequency. When switching the measurement frequency, it is desirable to provide a margin time before and after the switch. Even if there are small fluctuations in communication quality, it is possible to measure communication quality at an appropriate measurement frequency. Furthermore, the measurement control unit 205 can restrict the measurement of communication quality if the variation in the measured peak interval is within the standard range, and can not restrict the measurement of communication quality if the variation in the peak interval is outside the standard range. Here, a communication environment in which communication quality takes peak values ​​at a constant period is assumed, and if the variation in the peak interval is large, the trend of change in communication quality cannot be estimated. For this reason, it is desirable to restrict the measurement of communication quality only when the variation in the peak interval is small.

[0066] Figure 15 is a flowchart illustrating the communication quality measurement operation of the data collection device 2A according to Embodiment 2. First, the measurement control unit 205 causes the communication monitoring unit 201 to perform high-frequency measurements (step S31). The measurement control unit 205 determines whether or not N peaks were detected as a result of the high-frequency measurements (step S32). N is a natural number of 2 or more and is set in advance. If N peaks are detected (step S32: Yes), the measurement control unit 205 measures the peak interval (step S33) and determines whether or not the variation in the measured peak interval is within the standard (step S34).

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

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

[0069] The measurement control unit 205 determines whether the current time is near the next peak (step S36). For example, the measurement control unit 205 can determine whether it is near the peak based on the estimated time of the peak, which is the time when the measured peak interval has elapsed from the time when the latest peak was detected. The measurement control unit 205 may also set a margin time before the estimated time and determine that it is "near the peak" when the time arrives at a point that is the margin time before the estimated time.

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

[0071] As described above, the measurement control unit 205 measures the peak interval while performing high-frequency measurements, and based on the measured peak interval, it can switch to low-frequency measurements during periods without peaks and switch to high-frequency measurements during periods with peaks. During times near peaks, the change in communication quality is large, but during times outside of peaks, the change in communication quality is small. Therefore, during times outside of peaks when the change in communication quality is small, reducing the measurement frequency to reduce network load has little impact on the accuracy of communication quality detection.

[0072] Figure 16 shows an example of switching the measurement frequency in Embodiment 2. Here, delay time is used as the communication quality. Also, N = 4, and the peak interval is measured when four peaks are detected. High-frequency measurement is performed at the start of operation. After that, after detecting the fourth peak, the peak interval is measured and it is determined whether or not the variation in the peak interval is within the standard. Since the variation in the peak interval was within the standard, the system switches to low-frequency measurement after the fourth peak. After that, the estimated time of the next peak is calculated based on the measured peak interval, and the system switches to high-frequency measurement before the estimated time. When a peak is detected from the measured value, the system switches back to low-frequency measurement, and this process is repeated.

[0073] As described above, Embodiment 2 provides a network management system 10A characterized by comprising: a collection device 2 provided in each of the multiple networks 3, which measures the communication quality between the networks 3 and generates inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; an integrated management device 1A that collects inter-network communication quality information from the multiple collection devices 2; and a measurement control unit 205 that limits the measurement of communication quality by the collection devices 2 based on the results of an analysis of the change in communication quality over time. In Embodiment 2, the measurement control unit 205 is provided in each of the multiple collection devices 2. The measurement control unit 205 calculates the peak interval of communication quality while measuring the communication quality, and limits the measurement of communication quality by changing the measurement frequency of communication quality between the networks 3 based on the peak interval. With the above configuration, as in Embodiment 1, it is possible to reduce the network load and computation load while appropriately understanding the communication quality. More specifically, based on the measured peak interval, the measurement control unit 205 switches the measurement frequency to a second frequency, which is lower than the first frequency for measuring communication quality during periods that do not include peaks, compared to periods that include peaks. This makes it possible to lower the measurement frequency of communication quality during periods that do not include peaks compared to periods near peaks. Reducing the frequency of communication quality measurements can make it difficult to grasp the communication quality. However, as shown in Figure 16, if periodic peaks occur and the value fluctuations are small between peaks, then it is assumed that the value fluctuations will be small during periods without peaks. Therefore, it is possible to appropriately grasp the communication quality even if the measurement frequency is reduced. A more specific process of the measurement control unit 205 will now be described. While the measurement control unit 205 is measuring the communication quality at the first frequency, after a peak is detected, it switches the measurement frequency to the second frequency. Also, while the measurement control unit 205 is measuring the communication quality at the second frequency, it estimates the time when the communication quality will next peak based on the time when the latest peak was detected and the measured peak interval, and switches the measurement frequency back to the first frequency before the estimated time. This allows for high-frequency measurements at the first frequency near peaks and low-frequency measurements at the second frequency outside of peaks.

[0074] Furthermore, the measurement control unit 205 can restrict the measurement of communication quality when the variation in peak intervals is within the standard range, and can not restrict the measurement of communication quality when the variation in peak intervals is outside the standard range.Here, we assume a case where periodic peaks occur and the fluctuation in values ​​between peaks is small, as shown in Figure 16.When the variation in peak intervals is large, even during periods without peaks, the change in communication quality is large, and it may be better to measure the communication quality at a high frequency.

[0075] Furthermore, according to Embodiment 2, a data collection device 2A having the following features can be provided. The data collection device 2A includes an inter-network communication quality measurement unit 203 that measures the communication quality between the network 3 on which the data collection device 2A is located and other networks 3 and generates inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; a notification unit 204 that transmits the inter-network communication quality information to an integrated management device 1A that collects inter-network communication quality information from a plurality of data collection devices 2A; and a measurement control unit 205 that limits the measurement of communication quality by the data collection device 2A based on the results of an analysis of the change in communication quality over time.

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

[0077] The configurations shown in the embodiments described above are merely examples of the content of this disclosure and can be combined with other known technologies, and parts of the configuration can be omitted or modified without departing from the gist of this disclosure.

[0078] For example, in the above embodiment 1, the determination of whether each inter-network communication quality information is subject to measurement or not was made by determining whether it is subject to measurement or not at the unit level of the collection device 2. However, whether it is subject to measurement or not may also be determined for each inter-network communication quality information. For example, if one collection device 2 generates multiple inter-network communication quality information, the determination of whether it is subject to measurement or not may be made for each inter-network communication quality information. As shown in Figure 12, inter-network communication quality information is generated for each combination of source NW and destination NW. Therefore, when communication is made from a network 3 where a collection device 2 is installed to multiple networks 3, one collection device 2 will generate multiple inter-network communication quality information. Also, if multiple application clients 5 or application servers 6 are installed in one network 3, one collection device 2 will generate multiple inter-network communication quality information. Alternatively, if multiple collection devices 2 are installed in one network 3, the determination of whether it is subject to measurement or not may be made at the network 3 level.

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

Claims

1. A network management system comprising: an acquisition device provided in each of a plurality of networks, which measures the communication quality between networks and generates inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; an integrated management device that collects the inter-network communication quality information from the plurality of acquisition devices; and a measurement control unit that limits the measurement of the communication quality by the acquisition devices based on the results of an analysis of the change in the communication quality over time.

2. The network management system according to claim 1, wherein the integrated management device comprises: an inter-network communication quality analysis unit that extracts combinations of inter-network communication quality information having similar trends over time; and a measurement control unit that, based on the analysis results of the inter-network communication quality analysis unit, restricts the measurement of the communication quality by the collection device so as not to generate any part of a plurality of inter-network communication quality information having similar trends over time.

3. The network management system according to claim 2, characterized in that the measurement control unit determines, based on the network load, which inter-network communication quality information to be measured and which inter-network communication quality information not to be measured from among the extracted similar combinations of inter-network communication quality information.

4. The network management system according to claim 3, characterized in that the measurement control unit restricts the measurement of the communication quality by the collection device by sending a notification message to the collection device that includes a measurement target flag indicating whether or not the subject is a measurement target and the validity period of the measurement target flag.

5. The network management system according to claim 4, characterized in that, when the collection device receives the notification message which includes the measurement target flag indicating that it is not subject to measurement, it stops measuring the communication quality for the duration of the validity period included in the notification message, and resumes measuring the communication quality when the validity period has elapsed.

6. The network management system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the collection device calculates the peak interval of the communication quality multiple times, notifies the integrated management device of the inter-network communication quality information if the variation of the multiple calculated peak intervals is within the standard, and does not notify the inter-network communication quality information if the variation of the peak intervals is outside the standard.

7. The network management system according to claim 1, characterized in that each of the plurality of collection devices has a measurement control unit that calculates the peak interval of the communication quality while measuring the communication quality, and limits the measurement of the communication quality between networks by changing the measurement frequency based on the peak interval.

8. The network management system according to claim 7, characterized in that the measurement control unit restricts the measurement of communication quality when the variation in the peak interval is within a standard, and does not restrict the measurement of communication quality when the variation in the peak interval is outside a standard.

9. The network management system according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that the measurement control unit switches the measurement frequency to a second frequency lower than the first frequency for measuring the communication quality during the period including the peak, based on the measured peak interval.

10. The network management system according to claim 9, characterized in that the measurement control unit switches the measurement frequency to the second frequency after a peak is detected while measuring the communication quality at the first frequency, estimates the time when the communication quality will next peak based on the time when the latest peak was detected and the measured peak interval, and switches the measurement frequency to the first frequency before the estimated time.

11. An integrated management device comprising: an inter-network communication quality information collection unit that collects inter-network communication quality information from a plurality of collection devices provided in each of a plurality of networks, which measure the communication quality between networks and generate inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; an inter-network communication quality analysis unit that analyzes the change in communication quality over time using the collected inter-network communication quality information; and a measurement control unit that limits the measurement of the communication quality by the collection devices based on the analysis results of the change in communication quality over time.

12. The integrated management device according to claim 11, characterized in that the inter-network communication quality analysis unit extracts combinations of inter-network communication quality information that have similar trends over time, and the measurement control unit restricts the measurement of the communication quality by the collection device so as not to generate any of the multiple inter-network communication quality information that have similar trends over time, based on the analysis results of the inter-network communication quality analysis unit.

13. A data collection device comprising: an inter-network communication quality measurement unit that measures the communication quality between the network on which the data collection device is located and another network and generates inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; a notification unit that transmits the inter-network communication quality information to an integrated management device that collects the inter-network communication quality information from a plurality of data collection devices; and a measurement control unit that limits the measurement of the communication quality by the data collection device based on the results of an analysis of the change in the communication quality over time.

14. The collection device according to 13, characterized in that the measurement control unit calculates the peak interval of the communication quality while measuring the communication quality, and limits the measurement of the communication quality between networks by changing the measurement frequency based on the peak interval.

15. A network management method characterized by comprising: a step of a collection device provided in each of a plurality of networks measuring the communication quality between networks and generating inter-network communication quality information indicating the measurement results; a step of an integrated management device collecting the inter-network communication quality information from the plurality of collection devices; and a step of a measurement control unit restricting the measurement of the communication quality by the collection devices based on the results of an analysis of the change in the communication quality over time.

Images