JP2003333105A - Ip telephony system and program for server thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an IP telephony system and a program for a server thereof in which high-priority communication such as emergency call, significant communication, and the like is guaranteed. <P>SOLUTION: A server (i) detects a communication path status of a server (vi) which is the next destination from additional information of inputted data. When the communication path status is congested, the server (i) determines the presence/absence of another path to the next connection destination. When there is the other path, it is determined whether a communication path (a) to a server (ii) located on the path is congested or not and when it is determined that the communication path is not congested, data are transferred. When the communication path (a) is congested and it is determined that the priority of the communication is high from priority communication information, the server (i) limits a flow of data which impart a load to the communication path to the target server to keep a quality in the priority communication, and transfers data to be used for the priority communication to the next server. <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 an IP telephony system and its server program, and more particularly to an IP for real-time voice communication using a network based on the Internet Protocol (IP) (hereinafter referred to as "Internet communication network"). The present invention relates to a telephony system and its server program.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 shows a system configuration of an example of a conventional IP telephony system. The IP telephony system shown in the figure (phone-to-phone type I
When making a call from the telephone terminal 1 to the telephone terminal 9, the P telephone system makes a call from the telephone terminal 1 to the telephone network 3 via the communication path 2. Here, by installing the gateway server 4 at the access point of the Internet, the data transmitted from the telephone terminal 1 to the telephone network 3 can be transmitted from the telephone network 3 to the internet communication network 5.

Data is transmitted from the Internet communication network 5 to the gateway server 6 installed in the telephone network 7 closest to the receiving telephone terminal 9, and thereafter the data is transmitted to the communication path 8 via the ordinary telephone network 7. And is received by the telephone terminal 9.

The greatest feature of this IP telephony system is that most of the communication path uses the Internet communication network 5, so that the user bears the communication charge between the telephone terminal 1 and the telephone network 3. Since it is limited to the communication path 2 and the communication path 8 between the telephone terminal 9 and the telephone network 7, it is very cheap compared to the conventional telephone system especially in the case of a long distance call. .

[0005]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional IP telephony system, quality control of the Internet communication network 5 is not generally performed, and the data sent from the previously connected communication is always transmitted. Since it continues to flow in the communication path, there is a drawback that a stable communication speed cannot be maintained. Also, because communication priority cannot be set,
There is also a drawback that it is not possible to prioritize emergency communication.

It is to be noted that the voice quality in the route from the originating side switching device through the IP network to the terminating side switching device is judged, and if the voice quality is good, the originating terminal and the terminating terminal are connected via the route. , If the voice quality is not good, the telephone connection method that controls the telephone connection according to the caller's instruction, or automatically selects the route other than the above route at the system's judgment to control the telephone connection is known. (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-144854).

[0007] Further, a system has been conventionally known in which a label switching (MPLS) method is used to realize a telephone service by VoIP and a load can be reduced at the time of setting a communication path (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-2001). -274
833). However, in these conventional methods, the route is selected based on the voice quality, and the connection of the communication with high priority cannot be guaranteed.

Further, there is also known a system in which IP traffic is transmitted via a transmission line in a wideband communication system in order to provide a guaranteed minimum bandwidth on a virtual dedicated IP line (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-242242). 2001-230819). However, this one requires a dedicated IP line,
In addition, the connection for high priority communication cannot be guaranteed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
It is an object of the present invention to provide an IP telephony system and a server program for the IP telephony system, which are capable of sufficiently satisfactory commercial communication.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an IP telephony system and a server program therefor capable of guaranteeing high priority communications such as emergency calls and important communications.

[0011]

In order to achieve the above object, the IP telephony system of the present invention constitutes a network in an IP telephony system for performing voice communication in real time using a network based on the Internet protocol. In each of the plurality of servers, the data transmitted from the caller side terminal is transferred and input from the caller side gateway server or another server constituting the same network, and the data is transmitted depending on the communication path to the callee side terminal. First determining means for determining whether or not the communication path to the next connection destination server is in a congestion state, and transferring the input data to the next connection destination server only when not in a congestion state; When it is determined by the determination means of 1. that there is a congestion state, it is determined whether there is another connection destination server in place of the next connection destination. When there is another connection destination server, the second connection means transfers the input data to the other connection destination server, and the next connection destination among the plurality of servers forming the network is the receiving side gateway. When the server, which is the server, determines by the first determination means that the communication path with the receiving gateway server is not congested, the input data is transferred to the receiving terminal via the receiving gateway server. Is characterized by.

According to the present invention, when data is input to the server forming the network from the gateway server on the originating side or another server forming the same network, the communication path to the next connection destination server becomes congested. If it is not congested, transfer the input data to the next connection destination server, and if it is congested, whether there is another connection destination server that replaces the next connection destination. Judge,
When there is another connection destination server, the input data is transferred to the other connection destination server, so that the data can be transferred through a communication path which is not always in a congestion state.

Here, when the response time from the next connection destination server when the transmission request is made to the next connection destination server is a predetermined time or more, It is characterized in that the communication path to the next connection destination server is determined to be in a congested state.

In order to achieve the above object, in the IP telephony system of the present invention, the originating gateway server adds priority information indicating the priority to the data transmitted from the originating terminal. Each of the plurality of servers that has a means for transferring to the network and configures the network has a priority when the second determination means determines that there is no other connection destination server in place of the next connection destination server. When information is detected and high priority is detected, input data with high priority is cut by cutting a part of the communication band with low priority among the data transferred to the next connection destination server. Is further provided with a control means for transferring to the next connection destination server.

According to the present invention, when it is determined that the communication path is in the congestion state, the next connection destination which is not in the congestion state is searched, but when the next connection destination cannot be searched, the priority of the input data is set. When it is high, a part of the bandwidth of the communication with low priority among the data transferred to the next connected server in the congestion state is partially cut, and the input data with high priority is transferred to the next connected server. Since this is done, it is possible to secure the transfer of high-priority data.

The control means detects the priority information when the second determining means determines that there is no other connection destination server in place of the next connection destination server, and the priority is low. When this is detected, the data transfer is stopped as a busy state. According to the present invention, when all the communication paths to the target server that transfers low-priority data are in a congestion state (overloaded state), it is determined that the quality of the communication speed cannot be maintained, and communication is disabled. .

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the IP telephony system of the present invention has a routing among a plurality of servers constituting a network for each of a predetermined number of servers in a predetermined area or a predetermined IP address unit. It has a gatekeeper server that manages information, and the gatekeeper server receives the data sent from the terminal on the sending side from the gateway server on the sending side or another server forming the same network and inputs the data. Depending on the communication path to the terminal, determine whether the communication path to the next connection destination server under jurisdiction is in a congestion state, and transfer the input data to the next connection destination server only when it is not in a congestion status If the first determination unit determines that the first connection unit is in the congestion state, the server of another connection destination replaces the next connection destination. Has a second judging means for judging whether or not the server is under the jurisdiction and transferring the input data to the other connecting destination server when there is another connecting destination server. .

According to the present invention, the plurality of servers forming the network do not perform the determination operation by each of the first and second determination means, but the servers are collectively grouped by a certain area (or IP address) by the gatekeeper server. It manages and determines whether the communication path to the next connected server managed by itself is congested by that gatekeeper server, and when it is not congested, the input data is transferred to the next connected server However, when it is in a congested state, it is determined whether there is another connection destination server in place of the next connection destination,
When there is another connection destination server, the input data is transferred to the other connection destination server, so that the data can be efficiently transferred through the communication path which is not always in the congestion state.

Further, in order to achieve the above object, the IP telephony system of the present invention is not included in the above-mentioned gatekeeper server and in a server under the jurisdiction of another connection destination server in place of the next connection destination server. When it is determined that the priority information is high, and when it is detected that the priority is high, a part of the communication band of the low priority of the data transferred to the next connection destination server is cut off. Then, the control means for transferring the input data having a high priority to the next connection destination server is provided. In this invention, when the gatekeeper server determines that the communication path with the connection destination server that it manages is in a congestion state, it searches for the next connection destination that it manages and is not in a congestion state. When it is not possible to search the connection destination of, and the priority of the input data is high, part of the bandwidth of the communication with low priority among the data transferred to the next connection destination server in the congestion state is cut off, Since the input data with high priority is transferred to the next connection destination server, the transfer of data with high priority can be efficiently secured.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the program of the present invention is provided for each of a plurality of servers constituting the network of the IP telephony system for performing voice communication in real time using the network based on the Internet protocol. The data sent from the calling terminal is transferred to the computer and input from the calling gateway server or another server that configures the same network, and the next connection is made according to the communication path of the input data to the called terminal. First determining means for determining whether or not the communication path to the destination server is in a congestion state and transferring the input data to the next connection destination server only when not in the congestion state;
When it is judged by the judgment means of above that it is in a crowded state,
A second determining means for determining whether or not there is another connection destination server in place of the next connection destination and transferring the input data to the other connection destination server when there is another connection destination server It is characterized by

[0021]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an IP telephony system according to the present invention. In the figure, the same components as those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals.
In FIG. 1, the Internet communication network 10 has servers (i) to (vi) on the Internet. Each of these servers (i) to (vi) stores the connection destination of its own server and the current communication status (load status) information with the connection destination.

The general Internet communication network 10 does not continue to occupy the line itself like the telephone network, but the information (packet) flowing from the previously connected communication continues to flow on the communication path, so the gateway on the receiving side When the load of the communication path 12 to the server (v) connected to the server 6 is high, it is not possible to send sufficient information (packet) to the communication path 12 in the communication that is transmitted later, and the communication necessary for the call. I cannot secure the speed.

However, since there is not one communication path to the server (v), if a communication path (d in the example of FIG. 1) in which the load does not exceed a predetermined value can be found, a path using this communication path ( In the example of FIG. 1, by searching and establishing a → b → c → d), a call with a guaranteed communication speed can be realized.

Further, when communication with high urgency occurs, the amount of information (packet) flowing through the communication path having a load of a predetermined value or more is limited, and communication information with high urgency is given priority. Emergency communication can always be realized with.
The idea is to ensure the response time and throughput required for each communication by allocating the optimum bandwidth according to the purpose of communication.
based on the idea of "ity of Services".

Next, regarding the operation of the embodiment of FIG.
Description will be made with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In addition,
Each processing operation of the flowchart of FIG. 2 is performed by the server (i)-
(vi) Individually when inputting data to its own server. In FIG. 1, data (packet) transmitted from a telephone terminal (not shown) on the transmitting side is transmitted to a gateway 4 on the transmitting side installed at an access point of the Internet via a first telephone network (not shown). It is input, and here, predetermined information such as priority communication information indicating whether or not the urgency of communication is high is added and input to the server (i) of the Internet communication network 10.

The server (i) identifies the next destination server on the communication path to the destination telephone terminal (reception side telephone terminal) from the additional information of the input data, and the communication path to the server. It is determined whether the state is crowded (Fig. 2
Step S1). Here, the next destination server is the server (vi), and the server (i) to the server (vi)
Assuming that the communication path 11 to the communication path is busy (in the overloaded state), the server (i) determines whether there is another path to the next connection destination (step in FIG. 2). S
2).

Here, whether or not the communication path condition is congested, a transmission request is made before data is transmitted to a server (in this case (vi)) to a transfer destination by a protocol such as ftp. Judgment is based on the time until the response from the transfer destination server is returned after the transmission request is made. When the response time is equal to or longer than the predetermined time, it is determined that the communication path is busy.

When the server (i) determines that there is a → b → c → d as another route to the next connection destination, the server (ii) is connected to the next destination server (ii) on the route. It is determined whether the communication path a is congested (step S in FIG. 2).
1). When the server (i) determines that the communication path a is not congested, it transfers the data to the next server (ii) (step S3 in FIG. 2).

Thereafter, the processing of step S1 of FIG. 2 is first performed in each of the servers (ii), (iii), (iv) and (v), and in each of them, the communication path b to the next connection destination,
If it is determined that c, d, and 13 are not congested, the data is transferred to the next server and the data is transferred to the gateway server 6. The gateway server 6 is installed in the telephone network (not shown) closest to the receiving side telephone terminal (not shown), and receives the data input from the Internet communication network 10 through the ordinary telephone network. The incoming call is made to the side telephone terminal.

On the other hand, the next connection destination server of the server (i)
Also in (ii), when the communication path a is congested, the server (i)
Judges that there is no other route to the next connection destination in step S2, and judges whether or not the priority of communication is high from the priority communication information added to the input data (step S of FIG. 2).
4).

When the priority of communication is high, the target server (eg (vi)) is used so that the quality of the priority communication is maintained.
The flow of the data (packet) that is exerting a load on the communication path is restricted, and the data used in the priority communication is transferred to the next server (step S5 in FIG. 2).

Here, as a method of limiting the data flow described above, among the data (packets) flowing in the communication path, a part of the communication band of low priority is cut and the data of high priority is cut. There is a way to assign to. In this case, the throughput (communication efficiency) of the communication whose band has been cut usually decreases, but in the worst case, the communication itself may be disconnected.

When all the communication paths to the target server are in a heavy load state, the quality of the communication speed cannot be maintained. Therefore, in the case of the communication having the priority of normal or lower, the data is transferred. Instead, the line becomes busy and the call becomes impossible (step S6 in FIG. 2).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, in the Internet communication network 10, the state of the communication path to the target server is acquired, and if it is not overloaded, the data is transferred to the target server and overloaded. If it is in the status, search for other communication paths to the target server, and if other communication paths exist, acquire the communication path status to the next target server again, and make sure that there is no overload condition. For example, since the data is transferred to the target server, it is possible to perform communication with a quality that is sufficiently satisfactory for commercial use.

For data with a high priority, when the state of the communication path to the target server is overloaded, the overloaded data is limited and the data with a high priority is transferred. Therefore, emergency communication and important communication can be secured even in a congested communication path. Further, in the present embodiment, since the communication path in the internet communication network 10 having a light load is utilized, the use efficiency of the whole internet communication network 10 can be improved.

Further, in the present embodiment, it is possible to select whether or not to install the software program that causes the server to perform the operation of the flowchart shown in FIG. 2 at an arbitrary position on the network. LAN (local area network) inside the company
It can be applied to other systems as it is.

Since each server in the internet communication network 10 performs the processing of steps S1 and S2 of FIG. 2 when inputting data, there are innumerable servers in the internet communication network 10, and therefore the processing is performed. May become extremely redundant, but by installing a gatekeeper-like server in a certain area (or IP address) unit and managing the routing information within the jurisdiction of that server, the steps S1 and S2 described above are performed. The processing redundancy can be reduced sufficiently.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of another embodiment of the IP telephony system according to the present invention. In the figure, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. In FIG. 3, the Internet communication network 20 includes a large number of servers on the Internet, and servers (gatekeepers) 21 and 22 that manage the large number of servers in a plurality of units.
And have.

The gatekeeper 21 provided at the entrance of the Internet communication network 20 is a server that collectively manages a server group 23 including, for example, five servers including the servers (i) and (ii). The gatekeeper 22 provided at the exit of the Internet communication network 20 includes a server group 2 including, for example, five servers including the servers (iii) and (iv).
This is a server that manages all four. Gatekeeper 21
The roles of 22 and 22 are to control / organize the information of each server of the server groups 23 and 24 managed by themselves, and of course always monitor which route is crowded and which route is free.

In this embodiment, when data is transferred from the server (i) to the server (iv) via the servers (ii) and (iii), the gatekeeper 21 determines that the server (iv) is the gatekeeper 22. It is under the jurisdiction of the gatekeeper 22
The server under the jurisdiction determines that data should be transferred from the servers (i) to (ii) so that the data is transferred.

Further, the gatekeeper 22 determines the shortest non-congested route to the server (iv) and transfers the data. The data thus transferred is transferred from the gateway server 6 on the receiving side to the telephone terminal on the receiving side via the telephone network.

In this embodiment, the search / establishment of the communication route largely depends on the routing information in the Internet communication network 20, but this routing information is made by the gatekeepers 21 and 22 into a plurality of server groups 23, 2.
Since it is managed collectively for each of the four, it is possible to efficiently search and establish the communication path, and to construct a system with higher accuracy.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and for example, authentication information or encrypted information may be used as the information added by the gateway server 4 in FIG. In this case, the gateway server 4, 6
It is possible to authenticate the transfer data between them and to encrypt the communication, and it is possible to enhance security against eavesdropping, spoofing, etc., which are problems when using the Internet communication networks 10 and 20.

The present invention can be applied to a terminal device other than the telephone terminal, and it goes without saying that the connection from the terminal device to the Internet communication network may be a wired line or a wireless line.

Further, since each of the servers (i) to (vi) constituting the Internet communication network 10 is operated by a computer according to the flowchart of FIG. 2, the present invention allows these server computers to operate according to the flowchart of FIG. It also includes a program for performing the above operation and a recording medium recording the program.

[0046]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When data is input to the server that configures the network from the gateway server on the originating side or another server that configures the same network, it is possible to transfer the data via a communication path that is not in a crowded state. Satisfactory communication quality can be established.

Further, according to the present invention, when it is determined that the communication path is in the congestion state, the next connection destination which is not in the congestion state is searched, but when the next connection destination cannot be searched, the input data When the priority of is high, the part of the communication band of the low priority of the data transferred to the next connected server in the congestion state is partially cut, and the input data of the high priority is transferred to the next connected destination. Since the transfer of the high-priority data is ensured by transferring the data to the server, it is possible to guarantee the connection of the high-priority communication such as emergency communication and important communication.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to utilize a communication path having a small load in the network.
The usage efficiency of the entire network can be improved.

Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to select whether or not the software program for performing the operation of the present invention is installed in any of the plurality of servers forming the network. LAN
It can be directly applied to the system such as.

Furthermore, according to the present invention, the servers are collectively managed by a gatekeeper server for each area (or IP address), and the originating gateway server or the same network is used as the server managed by the gatekeeper server. When data is input from other constituent servers, it is possible to always transfer data via a communication path that is not in a congested state, so it is possible to efficiently establish communication quality that is sufficiently satisfactory for commercial use. .

Further, according to the present invention, when the above-mentioned gatekeeper server that manages the routing information within the jurisdiction determines that the communication path is in the congestion state, the next connection destination that is not in the congestion state is searched. However, when the next connection destination cannot be searched and the priority of the input data is high,
Of the data being transferred to the next connection destination server in the congested state, part of the communication band with low priority is cut off,
Since the transfer of high priority data is ensured by transferring the input data with high priority to the next connection destination server, the connection of high priority communication such as emergency communication and important communication is guaranteed. It can be done efficiently.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an embodiment of an IP telephony system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic configuration diagram of another embodiment of the IP telephony system of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram of an example of a conventional IP telephony system.

[Explanation of symbols]

4 Originating side gateway server 6 Incoming gateway server 10, 20 Internet communication network 11, 12, 13, a-d communication path 21,22 Gateway Keeper 23, 24 server group (i) ~ (vi) server

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. Real-time voice communication using a network based on Internet Protocol I
In the P-telephony system, each of the plurality of servers forming the network receives the data transmitted from the transmission side terminal from the transmission side gateway server or another server forming the same network, and inputs the data. Depending on the communication path to the destination terminal of the, it is determined whether the communication path to the next connection destination server is in a congestion state, and input data to the next connection destination server only when it is not in a congestion state. When it is determined by the first determining means to transfer and the first determining means that there is congestion, it is determined whether or not there is another connection destination server in place of the next connection destination, and another When there is a connection-destination server, the second connection means transfers the input data to the other connection-destination server, and the next connection-destination among the plurality of servers constituting the network is received. When the server which is the gateway server on the receiving side determines that the communication path with the gateway server on the receiving side is not in a congested state by the first determining means, input data to the terminal on the receiving side via the gateway server on the receiving side. An IP telephony system, which is characterized in that 2. The first determination means, when a response time from the next connection destination server when a transmission request is made to the next connection destination server is a predetermined time or more,
2. The IP telephony system according to claim 1, wherein the communication path to the next connection destination server is determined to be in a congestion state. 3. The transmission side gateway server includes means for adding priority information indicating a priority to data transmitted from the transmission side terminal and transferring the data to the network, thereby configuring the network. Each of the plurality of servers to detect the priority information has a high priority when the second determination unit determines that there is no other connection destination server that replaces the next connection destination server. When this is detected, a part of the communication band of low priority among the data transferred to the server of the next connection destination is cut, and the input data of high priority is transferred to the server of the next connection destination. 3. The IP telephony system according to claim 1, further comprising control means for transferring to the IP telephony system. 4. The control unit detects the priority information when the second determination unit determines that there is no other connection destination server in place of the next connection destination server,
4. The IP telephony system according to claim 3, wherein when it is detected that the priority is low, the data transfer is stopped as a busy state. 5. Real-time voice communication using a network based on Internet Protocol I
In the P-telephony system, a gatekeeper server that manages routing information for each of a predetermined number of servers in a predetermined area or a predetermined IP address unit among a plurality of servers that configure the network, and the gatekeeper server, The data sent from the sender terminal is transferred and input from the sender gateway server or another server that composes the same network, and the next connection under jurisdiction according to the communication path of the input data to the receiver terminal. First determining means for determining whether or not the communication path to the destination server is in a congestion state and transferring the input data to the next connection destination server only when not in the congestion state; and the first determination When it is determined by the means that the server is in a congestion state, the server of another connection destination in place of the next connection destination is included in the servers under the jurisdiction. And a second determining means for transferring the input data to the other connecting destination server when there is another connecting destination server, and the next connecting destination is the receiving side gateway server. When a certain server determines that the communication path with the receiving-side gateway server is not congested, the first determining means transfers the input data to the receiving-side terminal via the receiving-side gateway server. IP telephony system characterized by. 6. The originating gateway server has means for adding priority information indicating a priority to data transmitted from the originating terminal and transferring the data to the network. , The priority information is detected when it is determined by the second determination means that another connection destination server in place of the next connection destination server is not in the server under its control, and the priority information is high. When it is detected, a part of the bandwidth of the communication with low priority among the data transferred to the next connection destination server is cut, and the input data with high priority is transferred to the next connection destination server. The IP telephony system according to claim 5, further comprising control means for controlling the IP telephony system. 7. Real-time voice communication using a network based on Internet Protocol I
In the P telephony system, the data transmitted from the caller terminal is transferred to and input from the caller terminal server or another server that composes the same network in each computer of the plurality of servers that compose the network. Determines whether the communication path to the next connection destination server is in a congestion state according to the communication path of the input data to the receiving side terminal, and inputs it to the next connection destination server only when it is not in a congestion state When it is determined that the first determination unit that transfers data and the first determination unit are in a congestion state, it is determined whether or not there is another connection destination server that replaces the next connection destination, A program for causing, when there is another connection destination server, a second determination means for transferring input data to the other connection destination server. 8. Each computer of the plurality of servers,
The priority information is detected when it is determined by the second determination unit that there is no other connection destination server that replaces the next connection destination server, and when it is detected that the priority is high, the Among the data transferred to the next connection destination server, a part of the communication band having a low priority is cut off, and the control means for transferring the input data having a high priority to the next connection destination server is executed. The program according to claim 7, characterized in that: