JP2003333091A - Network quality control method, network system, and management device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To achieve high quality services, in a network system for inter connecting between a VLAN (virtual local area network) and an IP-VPN (IP- virtual private network). <P>SOLUTION: A management apparatus 4 distributes quality control information to terminal devices 11 and transfer nodes. Each of the devices 11 decides a quality control policy, corresponding to a transmission frame on the basis of the quality control information, and adds label information corresponding to the decided policy to the transmission frame. Each of the transmission nodes decides on a quality control policy, corresponding to the label information of an arrived frame on the basis of the quality of control information, and controls the traffic in accordance with the decided policy. Among the transfer nodes, a connection gateway 3 for connecting the VLAN 12 to the IP-VPN 2 applies an independent quality control policy for each VLAN and each VPN. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) based on a wide area Ethernet network and an I.
The present invention relates to a network quality control method, a network system, and a management apparatus that provide quality services (QoS) in a network system interconnecting a P-VPN (IP Virtual Private Network).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A wide area Ethernet network is a conventional IP-V.
Compared with VPN technologies such as PN, (1) delay is small,
(2) Since the router is not required, the components are inexpensive,
(3) Easy network construction, (4) Transparent upper protocol,
(5) It has advantages such as few troubles and is expected to spread in the future.

However, the wide area Ethernet network lacks the QoS function as compared with the leased line. In order to connect to the IP-VPN, it is desirable to have a QoS function such as bandwidth control (priority control or minimum bandwidth guarantee). In order to realize this QoS function, it is generally necessary to perform the processing illustrated in FIG. Each will be described below.

[1] Analysis of Frame Information First, the source address, destination address, and belonging VLAN (Virtual Local Area Network) of the arrival frame FRM
Information such as is analyzed and read (FIG. 11A). If the area to be analyzed is expanded, detailed information of the frame such as the state of the higher-layer protocol and the sending application can be obtained, but when combined with the next matching, the processing time of one frame becomes long and the scalability deteriorates.

[2] Search for Class Matching Frame Analysis Result Next, it is checked which class in the policy table set in advance the information obtained as a result of the frame analysis matches (see FIG. 11 (b)). )). [3] Assign the label corresponding to the class to the frame When the class is known, the label LA corresponding to this class
B is added to the inside or the outside of the frame FRM (see FIG. 11).
(C)). For example, ToS (Type of Services) / DS
Many devices support quality control by CP (Diffserv Code Point).

[4] Corresponding to the label LAB added to the traffic control frame FRM according to the label,
The frame FRM is buffered (queuing, etc.), and priority control of the transmission order, minimum bandwidth guarantee, and traffic control such as filtering are performed. For example, it is possible to perform queuing for each class, provide a class group, and hierarchically allocate the used bandwidth. However, if the number of queues is large or complicated bandwidth control is performed, the effective throughput is reduced.

[0007]

The conventional method of connecting the VLAN and the IP-VPN of the wide area Ethernet network has a problem that the connection gateway has a poor quality control function and traffic interferes between the VPNs. Also within a VPN, a specific quality class (ToS / Diffse
There was a problem that fairness among terminals could not be maintained due to monopoly of rv). Each VPN has an independent policy, and it is necessary to perform quality control so that the network can be used according to the policy without being influenced by other VPNs.

The quality control service level differs depending on the difference between the Ethernet network service and the IP-VPN service. Therefore, for example, when connecting the guarantee type service and the best effort type service, it is necessary to perform appropriate policy conversion and perform buffering to complement the difference in service level as much as possible.

Further, in the conventional connection method, a specific node (mainly a router) or a dedicated node performs the above-mentioned quality control. More sophisticated QoS can be realized by expanding the analysis range of frame information, increasing the number of classes, and hierarchically controlling the frame transmission order. However, if complicated and advanced processing is performed, There is a problem that it leads to a decrease in effective throughput.

Further, complicated policy management is required to connect a plurality of VLANs / VPNs. Conventionally, there has been a problem that policy management is complicated and it is difficult to set an appropriate policy to a large number of configuration nodes in a network environment in which a plurality of VLANs / VPNs are connected. In addition, as a quality control method in Ethernet, IEEE
E802.1Q / p Tag VLAN has been standardized and compatible products are widely available on the market, but since this standard only provides a 3-bit priority field and a 12-bit VLAN-ID field, the maximum and minimum bandwidths are set. There was a problem that it was not possible to provide detailed priorities and advanced quality services such as guarantee specification and security level / cookie filtering.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a VLAN and an IP based on a wide area Ethernet network are provided.
-An object of the present invention is to provide a network quality control method, a network system and a management device capable of realizing a high quality service in a network system interconnecting a VPN.

[0012]

The present invention is directed to a VLAN (12) and IP-V over a wide area Ethernet network (1 in FIG. 1).
A quality control method in a network system for interconnecting with a PN (2), comprising: firstly managing a quality control policy of the network system from a management device (4) to a terminal device (11) connected to the VLAN. The quality control information of the
Quality control information distribution procedure for distributing the second quality control information to the transfer node (3, 13) of the LAN, and the first quality control information in which the quality control policy corresponding to the transmission frame is preset in the terminal device. A transmission procedure of adding label information corresponding to the determined quality control policy to the transmission frame, and the quality control policy corresponding to the label information of the arriving frame in the transfer node, the preset quality control policy being preset. And a traffic control procedure for controlling traffic according to the determined quality control policy.
In the quality control information distribution procedure, the connection gateway (3) that connects the VLAN and the IP-VPN among the transfer nodes applies the independent quality control policy to each of the VLAN and the VPN so that the connection gateway applies the independent quality control policy to each of the VLAN and the VPN. The second quality control information is distributed. Further, one configuration example of the network quality control method of the present invention is such that a specific field of a frame header defined by IEEE802.1Q is used as the label information.

Further, in the network system of the present invention, the management device (4) distributes the first quality control information to the terminal device and the second quality control information to the forwarding node. Information distribution means (40
1), the terminal device (11) determines a quality control policy corresponding to a transmission frame based on the preset first quality control information, and label information corresponding to the determined quality control policy. Is added to the transmission frame, the transfer node determines a quality control policy corresponding to the label information of the arrival frame based on the second quality control information set in advance. , A traffic control unit (301) for controlling traffic according to the determined quality control policy, wherein the quality control information distribution unit of the management device is a connection gateway that connects the VLAN and the IP-VPN among the transfer nodes. The second quality is applied to the connection gateway so as to apply an independent quality control policy for each VLAN and VPN. It is intended to distribute your information. Further, one configuration example of the network system of the present invention is IE
A specific field of a frame header defined by EE802.1Q is used as the label information.

Further, the management device of the present invention is based on the VLAN.
So that the terminal device connected to the terminal determines a quality control policy corresponding to the transmission frame based on preset first quality control information, and adds label information corresponding to the determined quality control policy to the transmission frame. A first quality control information distribution means for distributing the first quality control information to the terminal device; and a transfer node of the VLAN in which a quality control policy corresponding to the label information of the arrival frame is preset. 2 based on the quality control information,
Second quality control information distribution means for distributing the second quality control information to the forwarding node so as to control traffic according to the determined quality control policy, and the second quality control information distribution means comprises: Distributing the second quality control information to the connection gateway so that a connection gateway connecting the VLAN and the IP-VPN among the transfer nodes applies an independent quality control policy for each VLAN and VPN. Is.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION [First Embodiment] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a network system according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is a wide area Ethernet network, 2 is IP-VPN, 3 is a connection gateway connecting the wide area Ethernet network 1 and IP-VPN 2, 4 is a management device for managing a quality control policy of a network system, and 5 is management. Quality control information distributed from the device 4 to each node of the network system, 11 (11-1, 11-2, ... 11-n) is a terminal device connected to the wide area Ethernet network 1, 12 (12
-1, 12-2, ... 12-n) is a VLAN, 13
(13-1, 13-2, ... 13-n) are switches,
21 (21-1, 21-2, 21-3) is VPN, 22
(22-1, 22-2, 22-3) are terminal devices connected to the IP-VPN 2.

In the present invention, the processing for realizing the QoS function is distributed to each node of the network system of FIG.
That is, a node that generates traffic (the terminal device 1
1) identifies a frame sent from an application, determines a quality control policy corresponding to this frame, and adds label information corresponding to the determined quality control policy to the frame.

A forwarding node that forwards a frame, such as the switch 13, controls traffic by looking only at the label information of the arriving frame. Also, the connection gateway 3, which is also a forwarding node, applies an independent quality control policy for each VLAN / VPN to prevent traffic interference between a plurality of VPNs 21, and toS (Type of Servic).
es) / DSCP (Diffserv Code Point) and the like, and the quality control policy and the IP-V of the wide area Ethernet network 1 are used.
The quality control policies of PN2 are converted to each other. further,
The connection gateway 3 is connected to the wide area Ethernet network 1 and the IP-
Buffering is performed to complement the service level of VPN2.

However, since QoS cannot be provided unless each node necessarily uses the network according to the quality control policy of the network system, a mechanism for adapting the quality control policy to all nodes is required. Therefore, in the present invention, an agent is placed in each node,
Execute traffic control according to the quality control policy. The agent shares and executes each function of QoS control.

A management agent (quality control information distribution means) arranged in the management device 4 manages a quality control policy including a plurality of VPNs of the entire network system,
The node (the terminal device 11 and the switch 13) attempting to join the LAN is authenticated, and the quality control information 5 necessary for the agent of each authenticated node is automatically distributed.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the management agent 401 arranged in the management device 4. The function of the management agent 401 is mainly management of a quality control policy as shown in FIG. 2, and distributes the quality control information 5 to each node of the network system. The management agent 401 automatically executes distribution of the quality control information 5 and node authentication.

The management agent 401 is the terminal device 11
The authentication system unit 402 for authenticating the terminal device 11 (network user) using the MAC (Media Access Control) address and password of the terminal device 11 and the M of the terminal device 11
An address management unit 403 that manages the correspondence relationship between the AC address and the quality control policy applied to this terminal device 11.
And a policy management unit 404 that determines and distributes the quality control information 5 suitable for the node authenticated by the authentication system unit 402 based on the address management unit 403.

The authentication system unit 402 includes the terminal device 11
The authentication information 405 necessary for the authentication is set in advance for each VLAN 12. In the address management unit 403, the MA
An address correspondence table 406 that associates the C address with the number indicating the quality control policy is preset for each VLAN 12.

In the policy management unit 404, a policy table 407 is set in advance for each VLAN 12 by a network manager (carrier or user).
The policy table 407 is composed of label information and a pattern that matches flow information. A part of the policy table 407 is distributed to the node as appropriate quality control information 5.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the terminal agent 111 arranged in the terminal device 11. The terminal agent (sending means) 111 sends the frame FRM sent from the application 110 in the terminal device 11.
, The label information LAB is added to the frame FRM, and the frame FRM is transmitted.

The terminal agent 111 identifies the frame FRM sent from the application 110 and retrieves the quality control policy corresponding to this frame FRM, and the quality control policy retrieved by this flow identification unit 112. Label information LAB corresponding to the frame FRM is added to the inside or the outside of the frame FRM, and the frame FRM to which the label information LAB is added is VLAN1
2 and the label providing unit 115 for sending the data to the second unit.

The flow identification unit 112 includes a frame analysis unit 113 that analyzes and reads information such as a source address, a destination address, and a belonging VLAN of the frame FRM, and information obtained as a result of frame analysis by the frame analysis unit 113. , A class search unit 114 for checking which class in the policy table 407 set by the management agent 401 matches.

FIG. 4 shows a transfer agent 30 arranged in a transfer node such as the switch 13 or the connection gateway 3.
2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of No. 1. The transfer agent (traffic control means) 301 uses the arrival frame FR.
Traffic control is performed based on the quality control policy corresponding to the label information LAB added to M. VP
By applying different quality control information to each N21,
Hierarchical control is performed so that traffic does not interfere with each other.

The transfer agent 301 identifies the class of the quality control policy corresponding to the label information LAB added to the arrival frame FRM according to the quality control information set by the management agent 401, and the queue corresponding to the identified class. A label identification unit 302 that selects a buffer and stores the arrival frame FRM in the selected queue buffer, and a queue buffer 303 that is provided for each class of the quality control policy.

The queue buffer 303 is a widely used WRR (Weighted Round Robin) or CBQ (Cl
Flexible hierarchical frame transmission scheduling using ass Based Queueing). For example, VLAN
Or limit the maximum bandwidth used for each class group, guarantee the minimum bandwidth for each class, or perform priority control between classes.

Further, the queue buffer 303 of the transfer agent 301 in the connection gateway 3 shows a difference in level between the wide area Ethernet network 1 and the IP-VPN 2 when converting policies of different quality classes. The frame FRM is buffered to complement as much as possible to reduce frame loss.

[Second Embodiment] Next, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The embodiment will be described. Also in this embodiment, the configuration of the network system is similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 4 of the first embodiment, and therefore the description will be given using the reference numerals of FIGS. This embodiment is the same as the first embodiment.
As a method of specifying a finer quality control policy than IEEE802.1Q / p TagVLAN, MAC
It shows an example of reassigning an address uniquely.

In this embodiment, in order to specify a finer quality control policy, the NIC (Networ) of each node is specified.
k Interface Card) MAC address (physical address)
Is uniquely assigned and the label information corresponding to the class of the quality control policy is mapped to a specific field of the MAC address. Below, this specific field,
It is described as an L2Q field.

FIG. 5 shows the L2Q field and IEEE.
It is the figure which illustrated the structure at the time of setting label information in the Ethernet extension header defined by 802.1Q / p. The Ethernet header has an 8-byte preamble, a 6-byte destination address (destination address), a 6-byte source address (source address), a 4-byte VLAN tag, a 2-byte length / type, and 0 to 1500 bytes. Data padding of 4 bytes and a field for storing 4-byte FCS (Frame Check Sequence).

In the present embodiment, using the L2Q field, for example, a 2-byte class group, 2-byte usage band, 1-byte weight / security level is added to the frame as label information.

The extension header VLAN tag field defined by IEEE802.1Q / p stores a 2-byte TPID (Tag Protocol IDentifier) field and a 2-byte tag control information (TIF) field. The field is divided into Further, the tag control information field includes a field storing a 3-bit priority and a 1-bit CFI.
It is divided into a field for storing (Canonical Format Indicator) and a field for storing a 12-bit VLAN-ID. In this embodiment, the priority and VLA
The N-ID is used as label information.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing a distribution process of quality control information in the network system of this embodiment. First, when the terminal device 11 is newly connected in the VLAN, the terminal agent 11 in the terminal device 11
1 is activated (step S1). The activated terminal agent 111 notifies the preset management agent 401 that the node itself (terminal device 11) will participate in the VLAN (step S2).

The authentication system unit 402 of the management agent 401, which has received the notification from the terminal agent 111,
The terminal agent 111 is authenticated. Authentication is performed by using the MAC address sent from the terminal agent 111 or exchanging a password with the terminal agent 111 if necessary.

Then, the address management unit 403 of the management agent 401 additionally registers the MAC address of the terminal agent 111 authenticated by the authentication system unit 402 and the number indicating the quality control policy corresponding thereto in the address correspondence table ( Step S3). After that, the authenticated terminal agent 111 (terminal device 11) becomes a target of VLAN quality control.

Next, the management agent 401 issues the node address to the authenticated terminal device 11. A normal MAC address has a length of 6 bytes, but a small address space is designated for the management agent 401 in advance within the same Ethernet so as not to collide. When the terminal agent 111 requests a node address, the management agent 401 dispenses one from this address space.

In this embodiment, the address space is set to 1
I have a bite. As a result, the 6-byte destination address and the source address each become 1 byte, as shown in FIG. 5, and only 2 bytes of the L2Q field, which is normally the destination address field and the source address field, are used as the address field. Then, the remaining 10 bytes can be allocated to label information or the like.

Further, by utilizing the protocol transparency characteristic of the wide area Ethernet network, it is possible to encrypt information of layer 3 or higher. For example, at the time of authentication, the public key can be encrypted by exchanging the public key using the 3-byte encryption information shown in FIG. 5 (steps S4 and S5). Further, by compressing the information of layer 3 and above, it is possible to improve the transmission efficiency.

Next, the policy management unit 404 of the management agent 401, based on the address correspondence table 406 of the address management unit 403, sets the appropriate quality control information for the authenticated terminal agent 111 to the preset quality. The control information (policy table 407) is searched (step S6). The quality control information here is composed of a pattern that matches flow information and label information.

Next, the policy management unit 404 of the management agent 401 sends the retrieved quality control information to the authenticated terminal agent 111 (step S).
7). Flow identification unit 112 of the terminal agent 111
Stores the received quality control information in the class search unit 114 (step S8).

After or at the same time as the distribution of the quality control information to the terminal agent 111, the policy management unit 404 of the management agent 401 causes the new terminal agent 111 to participate to increase the used bandwidth and the traffic of high priority. In consideration of the above, the quality control policy in the transfer node (switch 13 or connection gateway 3) is updated.

That is, the policy management unit 404 selects and determines a transfer node in the network system in which the quality control policy needs to be updated, and generates updated quality control information of this transfer node (step S9). Then, the policy management unit 404 transmits the generated quality control information to the transfer agent 301 of the selected / determined transfer node (step S10). At this time, if the selected / determined transfer node is the connection gateway 3 and encryption is enabled at the time of authentication, the key for decryption at the connection gateway 3 is also transmitted.

Upon receiving the quality control information, the transfer agent 301 updates the quality control information stored in the label identifying unit 302 of its own node to the received quality control information (step S11).

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the operation of the network system after the quality control information is distributed. The terminal agent 111 of the terminal device 11 to which the quality control information is set detects all frames transmitted by the application 110 by the frame analysis unit 113 of the flow identification unit 112,
Perform frame analysis.

The class search unit 114 of the flow identification unit 112
Searches for which class of the quality control policy set by the management agent 401 the information obtained as a result of the frame analysis by the frame analysis unit 113 matches. Then, the label assigning unit 115 of the terminal agent 111 adds the label information corresponding to the class of the quality control policy searched by the class searching unit 114 to the frame, and the frame to which the label information is added is the VLAN.
Send to 12.

At this time, if necessary, information of layers 3 and above is encrypted and compressed, and the frame is transmitted. As described above, in the present embodiment, the label group LAB includes the class group, the bandwidth used, the weight / security level in the L2Q field of the Ethernet header to be transmitted, the priority and the VLAN-ID in the Ethernet extension header.

The transfer agent 301 of the transfer node
The label information described in the L2Q field of the arrival frame and the extension header is analyzed, and traffic control according to the label information is performed. The traffic control at this time uses the control method implemented in each forwarding node.
For example, the high-priority traffic is preferentially transferred up to the maximum transfer rate, and the low-priority traffic is controlled so that the usage bandwidth is fair among the terminal devices 11.

Since the transfer agent 301 of the connection gateway 3 connecting the VLAN 12 and the IP-VPN 2 handles a plurality of VLANs / VPNs simultaneously, hierarchical scheduling is performed. When the frame arrives, the label identification unit 302 of the transfer agent 301 analyzes the label information in the L2Q field and the extension header, and sets the class of the quality control policy corresponding to this label information to the quality control set by the management agent 401. Queue buffer 3 corresponding to the determined class determined according to the information
The arrival frame is stored in 03. At this time, the label identifying unit 302 also performs decryption and decompression when encryption or compression is performed.

The queue buffer 303 performs frame transmission scheduling according to the class of the corresponding quality control policy. Here, hierarchical traffic control is performed in order to prevent interference between the VLAN / VPN. For example, the minimum bandwidth guarantee and the priority control of the class are performed in each VLAN 12, and the used bandwidth is effectively used by the WRR between the VLANs 12.

[Third Embodiment] Next, the third embodiment of the present invention will be described.
The embodiment will be described. Also in this embodiment, the configuration of the network system is similar to that of FIGS. 1 to 4 of the first embodiment, and therefore the description will be given using the reference numerals of FIGS. This embodiment realizes the subset-like quality control of the second embodiment, and has already been standardized.
Compatible products are also widely on the market IEEE802.1Q /
Wide-area Ethernet network 1 using p Tag VLAN
And the quality control function is realized in the connection gateway 3 of the IP-VPN 2.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the configuration when label information is set in the Ethernet extension header defined in IEEE802.1Q / p. IEEE802.1Q
/ P defines an Ethernet extension header in which a 3-bit priority field and a 12-bit VLAN-ID
There is a field. Therefore, the Ethernet frame has information for realizing the priority control function and the VLAN function. By using these two fields, it is possible to perform hierarchical traffic control in consideration of VLAN.

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing a distribution process of quality control information in the network system of this embodiment. First, when the terminal device 11 is newly connected in the VLAN, the terminal agent 11 in the terminal device 11
1 is activated (step S21). The activated terminal agent 111 notifies the preset management agent 401 that its own node (terminal device 11) will participate in the VLAN (step S22).

The authentication system unit 402 of the management agent 401, which has received the notification from the terminal agent 111,
The terminal agent 111 is authenticated. Authentication is performed by using the MAC address sent from the terminal agent 111 or exchanging a password with the terminal agent 111 if necessary.

Then, the address management unit 403 of the management agent 401 additionally registers the MAC address of the terminal agent 111 authenticated by the authentication system unit 402 and the number indicating the quality control policy corresponding thereto in the address correspondence table ( Step S23). After that, the authenticated terminal agent 111 is subjected to VLAN quality control.

Next, the policy management unit 404 of the management agent 401, based on the address correspondence table 406 of the address management unit 403, sets quality control information appropriate for the authenticated terminal agent 111 to a preset quality. The control information (policy table 407) is searched (step S24). The quality control information here is composed of a pattern that matches flow information and label information. In the present embodiment, IEEE802.1Q / p
Since Tag VLAN is used, the label information is the priority and VLAN-ID in the Ethernet extension header.

Next, the policy management unit 404 of the management agent 401 transmits the retrieved quality control information to the authenticated terminal agent 111 (step S2).
5). Flow identification unit 112 of the terminal agent 111
Stores the received quality control information in the class search unit 114 (step S26).

After or simultaneously with the distribution of the quality control information to the terminal agent 111, the policy management unit 404 of the management agent 401 considers the increase of high priority traffic due to the participation of the new terminal agent 111, The quality control policy in the transfer node (switch 13 or connection gateway 3) is updated.

That is, the policy management unit 404 selects and determines a transfer node in the network system in which the quality control policy needs to be updated, and generates updated quality control information of this transfer node (step S27). Then, the policy management unit 404 transmits the generated quality control information to the transfer agent 301 of the selected / determined transfer node (step S28).

Upon receiving the quality control information, the transfer agent 301 updates the quality control information stored in the label identifying unit 302 of its own node to the received quality control information (step S29).

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing the operation of the network system after the quality control information is distributed. The terminal agent 111 of the terminal device 11 to which the quality control information is set uses the frame analysis unit 113 of the flow identification unit 112 to detect all the frames transmitted by the application 110 and perform frame analysis.

The class search unit 114 of the flow identification unit 112
Searches for which class of the quality control policy set by the management agent 401 the information obtained as a result of the frame analysis by the frame analysis unit 113 matches. Then, the label assigning unit 115 of the terminal agent 111 adds the label information corresponding to the class of the quality control policy searched by the class searching unit 114 to the frame, and the frame to which the label information is added is the VLAN.
Send to 12. As described above, in this embodiment, the priority and the VLAN-ID in the Ethernet extension header are used as the label information.

The transfer agent 301 of the transfer node
The label information described in the extension header of the arrival frame is analyzed, and traffic control is performed according to the label information.
The traffic control at this time uses the control method implemented in each forwarding node. For example, the high-priority traffic is preferentially transferred up to the maximum transfer rate, and the low-priority traffic is controlled so that the usage bandwidth is fair among the terminal devices 11.

Since the transfer agent 301 of the connection gateway 3 connecting the VLAN 12 and the IP-VPN 2 handles a plurality of VLANs / VPNs at the same time, hierarchical scheduling is performed. When the frame arrives from the VLAN 12, the label identifying unit 302 of the transfer agent 301 analyzes the label information in the extension header, and determines the quality control policy corresponding to this label information to the management agent 4
It is determined according to the quality control information set by 01. Then, the label identifying unit 302, among the queue buffers 303 provided for each VLAN 12 and each priority,
Queue buffer 3 corresponding to the determined quality control policy
The arrival frame is stored in 03.

The queue buffer 303 performs frame transmission scheduling according to the corresponding quality control policy. Here, hierarchical traffic control is performed in order to prevent interference between the VLAN / VPN. For example, in each VLAN 12, a HOL (Head of Lin
e) processing is performed, and WRR (WeightedR) is performed between the VLANs 12.
Sound Robin) to effectively use the bandwidth used.

[0068]

According to the present invention, the first quality control information is distributed from the management device which collectively manages the quality control policies of the network system to the terminal device, and the second quality control information is transferred from the management device to the forwarding node. And the second quality control information is distributed to the connection gateway so that the connection gateway connecting the VLAN and the IP-VPN among the forwarding nodes applies the independent quality control policy to each VLAN and VPN. Gateway is VLA
When interworking N and VPN, priority control and minimum bandwidth guarantee are performed by suppressing traffic interference between users and applications in each VLAN, and hierarchical priority control that does not cause traffic interference between VPNs. The minimum bandwidth can be guaranteed. As a result, a high quality service can be realized. In addition, the quality control policy is provided even in a complicated network environment in which a plurality of VPNs are multiplexed by providing the management device with the quality control information distribution means, the terminal device with the transmission means, and the forwarding node with the traffic control means. Management can be automated. Further, according to the present invention, since the QoS function is distributed to each node in the network, it is possible to avoid the bottleneck of the QoS processing of the router or the dedicated node as in the conventional case, and a large number of nodes and classes can be provided. Can be processed. Since the transfer node that becomes the bottleneck uses only the fixed-length label information provided by the terminal device, the delay at the transfer node can be suppressed to a small value.

Further, by using the specific field of the frame header defined by IEEE802.1Q as the label information, the IEEE802.1Q / p Tag is used.
It is possible to specify a finer quality control policy than that of the VLAN, and it is possible to realize advanced quality control.

Further, by using the specific field of the extension header defined by IEEE802.1Q / p as the label information, simple quality control can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a network system according to a first embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a management agent in the management device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a terminal agent in the terminal device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a transfer agent in the transfer node of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration when label information is set in an Ethernet header and an extension header in the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram showing a distribution process of quality control information in the network system according to the second embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an operation of the network system after quality control information distribution according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a configuration when label information is set in an extension header in the third exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a sequence diagram showing a distribution process of quality control information in the network system according to the third embodiment of this invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an operation of the network system after the quality control information is distributed in the third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of processing required for a conventional general QoS function.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Wide area Ethernet network, 2 ... IP-VPN, 3 ... Connection gateway, 4 ... Management device, 5 ... Quality control information, 1
1, 22 ... Terminal device, 12 ... VLAN, 13 ... Switch, 111 ... Terminal agent, 112 ... Flow identification unit, 113 ... Frame analysis unit, 114 ... Class search unit,
115 ... Labeling unit, 301 ... Transfer agent, 3
02 ... Label identification unit, 303 ... Queue buffer, 401
... management agent, 402 ... authentication system section, 403
... Address management unit, 404 ... Policy management unit.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Shinichi Kuribayashi             2-3-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo             Inside Telegraph and Telephone Corporation F term (reference) 5K030 GA11 HA08 HC13 HD03 HD08                       KA02 LC01 LC09

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A quality control method in a network system for interconnecting a VLAN (virtual LAN) by a wide area Ethernet (registered trademark) network and an IP-VPN (virtual private network), wherein a quality control policy of the network system is set. A quality control information distribution procedure for distributing first quality control information from a management device that collectively manages to a terminal device connected to the VLAN, and also distributing second quality control information from the management device to a transfer node of the VLAN. In the terminal device, a quality control policy corresponding to a transmission frame is determined based on the preset first quality control information, and label information corresponding to the determined quality control policy is added to the transmission frame. And a procedure for arriving frames at the forwarding node The second preset quality control policy corresponding to the label information
And a traffic control procedure for controlling traffic according to the determined quality control policy, wherein the quality control information distribution procedure connects the VLAN and the IP-VPN among the forwarding nodes. A network quality control method, characterized in that the second quality control information is distributed to the connection gateway so that the connection gateway to apply the independent quality control policy for each VLAN and VPN. 2. The network quality control method according to claim 1, wherein a specific field of a frame header defined by IEEE802.1Q is used as the label information. 3. A VLAN based on a wide area Ethernet network,
A network system that includes an IP-VPN, a terminal device connected to the VLAN, a transfer node of the VLAN, and a management device that collectively manages a quality control policy, and that interconnects the VLAN and the IP-VPN. There, the management device has quality control information distribution means for distributing the first quality control information to the terminal device and also distributing the second quality control information to the transfer node, and the terminal device, A quality control policy corresponding to the transmission frame is determined based on the preset first quality control information, and a transmission unit that adds label information corresponding to the determined quality control policy to the transmission frame, The forwarding node determines a quality control policy corresponding to the label information of the arriving frame on the basis of the preset second quality control information. And a traffic control means for controlling traffic according to the determined quality control policy, wherein the quality control information distribution means of the management device has a connection gateway that connects the VLAN and the IP-VPN among the transfer nodes to the VLAN and A network system, wherein the second quality control information is distributed to the connection gateway so that an independent quality control policy is applied to each VPN. 4. The network system according to claim 3, wherein a specific field of a frame header defined by IEEE802.1Q is used as the label information. 5. A VLAN and I based on a wide area Ethernet network.
A management device for collectively managing a quality control policy in a network system interconnecting a P-VPN, wherein the terminal device connected to the VLAN has a first quality preset with a quality control policy corresponding to a transmission frame. First quality control information distribution means for distributing the first quality control information to the terminal device so as to add label information corresponding to the determined quality control policy to the transmission frame, based on the control information. And a second transfer node of the VLAN in which a quality control policy corresponding to the label information of the arrival frame is preset.
Second quality control information distribution means for distributing the second quality control information to the forwarding node so as to control traffic according to the determined quality control policy. The second quality control information distribution means applies to the connection gateway the connection gateway connecting the VLAN and the IP-VPN among the transfer nodes so that an independent quality control policy is applied to each of the VLAN and the VPN. A management device characterized by distributing second quality control information.