JP5459381B2 - Communications system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication system including an optical terminal device that terminates an optical line at a subscriber's home side, and a notification device that transmits meter reading data or occurrence of abnormality to a predetermined server via the optical terminal device.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for performing flow control for each priority class for a plurality of queues to which different priority classes are assigned. In this technology, flow control is realized using ONUs and routers each having a plurality of queues to which different priority classes are assigned. When the ONU determines that the data amount accumulated in each of the plurality of queues included in the ONU exceeds a predetermined stop threshold, the flow including the priority class and stop time of this queue Send a control message to the router. When a router receives a flow control message from an ONU, it receives a plurality of queues of its own router from when the flow control message is received until the stop time included in the flow control message elapses. Among them, reading of data stored in the queue to which the priority class included in the flow control message is assigned is stopped.

JP 2001-320755 A

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, when a failure or the like occurs in a router, all the devices on the subscriber's home side connected to the router cannot communicate with the network side. For this reason, it is not suitable for use in a device (for example, an emergency call device for intruders, gas leaks, etc.) that is required to be in a state where it can always communicate with a server on the network side.

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, a flow control message is exchanged between the ONU and the router. For this reason, the communication bandwidth between the ONU and the router is compressed by the flow control message, and the throughput of communication data is reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a technique capable of ensuring communication between a notification device and a meter-reading server even when a failure occurs in a router. .

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, in the present invention, an optical termination device that terminates an optical line at a subscriber's home side has a plurality of input / output ports for inputting / outputting data to / from the subscriber home device including a notification device and a router. In accordance with the priority level assigned to each of the data, the data input to the input / output port to which the high priority level is assigned is preferentially accumulated in the output queue. Also, the priority level assigned to the input / output port that inputs / outputs data to / from the reporting device is set higher than the priority level assigned to the input / output port that inputs / outputs data to / from the router.

For example, the present invention is a communication system comprising an optical termination device that terminates an optical line at a subscriber's home side, and a notification device that transmits meter reading data or occurrence of an abnormality to the meter reading server via the optical termination device. There,
The optical terminator is:
A plurality of input / output port means for inputting / outputting data to / from the subscriber premises device including the notification device and a router;
Optical connection port means for inputting and outputting data to and from the optical line;
Output queue means for storing data to be output from the optical connection port means to the optical line;
Band control means for taking out the data stored in the output queue means in order from the oldest and outputting them to the optical connection port means at a frequency specified by the band setting information;
Priority control means for preferentially storing the data input to the input / output port means to which a high priority level is assigned according to the priority level assigned to the plurality of input / output port means, and to store the data in the output queue means; Have
The reporting device is
Input / output data to / from the input / output port means to which a higher priority level is given than the input / output port means for inputting / outputting data to / from the router ,
The priority control means includes
For each of the input / output port means to which data has been input, if no address is specified as an option for the priority level assigned to the input / output port means, all data input to the input / output port means Is stored in the output queue means in preference to the input / output port means to which the priority level lower than the priority level assigned to the input / output port means is given, and is given to the input / output port means. If the address is specified as an option at a certain priority level, only the data whose destination address matches the address specified by the option among the data input to the corresponding input / output port means. The output is given priority over the input / output port means to which a priority level lower than the priority level assigned to the means is assigned. It performs a process of accumulating the-menu means,
Among the data input to the input / output port means to which the priority level that designates an address as an option is given, for the data whose destination address does not match the address designated by the option, the input / output port After completion of the processing for each means, the oldest ones are stored in the output queue means in order .

  According to the present invention, since the reporting device is connected to the input / output port means having a higher priority level than the input / output port means to which the router or the like is connected, even if a failure occurs in the router or the like, the reporting device and the meter reading Communication with the server can be ensured.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system including an ONU 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the ONU 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the registration contents of the priority level storage unit 134. FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the bandwidth control processing of the ONU 1. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the priority control processing of the ONU 1. FIG. 6A is a flowchart for explaining ONU1 command control processing, and FIG. 6B is a flowchart for explaining ONU1 status notification processing.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system including an ONU according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  In FIG. 1, OLT (Optical Line Terminal) 2 is an optical terminator that terminates an optical subscriber line 5 on the network side, and connects the optical subscriber line 5 to an IP network 6. The coupler 3 multiplexes signals input from a plurality of optical subscriber lines 4 and relays them to the optical subscriber line 5, and divides the signals input from the optical subscriber line 5 to divide each optical subscriber line 4. Relay to. The reporting device 8b notifies the meter reading server 7 of gas, electricity, and water meter reading data, monitors the occurrence of abnormalities such as gas leaks, electric leaks, and water leaks, and if an abnormality occurs, notifies the meter reading server. Report to 7.

  The ONU 1 according to the present embodiment is an optical termination device that terminates the optical subscriber line 4 on the subscriber's home side, and optically joins a plurality of subscriber home devices 8 including the router 8a and the notification device 8b. Connect to person line 4. Further, the ONU 1 performs bandwidth control of data to be transmitted to the OLT 2 according to the bandwidth setting information received from the OLT 2 (band control processing). Further, the ONU 1 performs priority control so that the data received from the notification device 8b is transmitted to the OLT 2 in preference to the other devices 8 including the router 8a as necessary (priority control processing). Further, the ONU 1 performs operation control according to a command received from the maintenance terminal 9 that is a remote operation terminal of the ONU 1 (command control processing). Further, when an abnormality such as a failure occurs, the ONU 1 notifies the maintenance terminal 9 of the operation state of the own ONU 1 (status notification process).

  FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the ONU 1.

  As illustrated, the ONU 1 includes a plurality of input / output port units 11, an optical connection port unit 12, an upstream relay unit 13, a downstream relay unit 14, a PON control unit 15, a notification unit 16, and a state collection unit. 17 and the main control unit 18.

  The input / output port unit 11 inputs and outputs data with the device 8 on the subscriber premises side. Here, the device 8 on the subscriber's home side includes a router 8a and a notification device 8b. For example, Ethernet (registered trademark) can be used for the input / output port unit 11 that inputs and outputs data to and from the router 8a. Further, the connector shape of the input / output port section 11 for inputting / outputting data to / from the router 8a is not limited to a structure that can be easily inserted and removed such as RJ-45. For example, it is good also as a structure which a user cannot remove | insert easily. For example, RS-232C, USB (Universal Serial Bus), and Ethernet (registered trademark) can be used as the input / output port unit 11 for inputting / outputting data to / from the reporting device 8b.

  The optical connection port unit 12 inputs and outputs data with the optical subscriber line 4.

  The upstream relay unit 13 relays the data input to each input / output port unit 11 to the PON control unit 15. As illustrated, the uplink relay unit 13 includes a plurality of input queue units 131, an output queue unit 132, a bandwidth control unit 133, a priority level storage unit 134, and a priority control unit 135.

  The input queue unit 131 is provided for each input / output port unit 11 and accumulates data input to the corresponding input / output port unit 11.

  The output queue unit 132 accumulates data output from the optical connection port unit 12 to the optical subscriber line 4.

  The bandwidth control unit 133 retrieves the data stored in the output queue unit 132 in order from the oldest one at the frequency (read cycle) specified by the communication bandwidth indicated by the bandwidth setting information set by the main control unit 18 PON. Output to the control unit 15.

  The priority level storage unit 134 stores the priority level assigned to each input / output port unit 11. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing the registration contents of the priority level storage unit 134. As illustrated, the priority level storage unit 134 stores a record 1340 for each input / output port unit 11. The record 1340 includes a field 1341 for registering identification information of the input / output port unit 11, a field 1342 for registering the priority level assigned to the input / output port unit 11, and data input to the input / output port unit 11. And a field 1343 for registering a destination address of data to be given priority. Here, the address registered in the field 1343 is optional, and when the field 1343 is “Null”, all data input to the input / output port unit 11 is handled as data to be prioritized.

  The priority control unit 135 preferentially outputs data input to the input / output port unit 11 to which a high priority level is assigned according to the priority level of each input / output port unit 11 stored in the priority level storage unit 134. Accumulate in the queue unit 132. Specifically, when data is accumulated in at least two input queue units 131, data is sequentially extracted from the input queue unit 131 corresponding to the input / output port unit 11 to which a high priority level is assigned, and the output queue is extracted. Stored in the unit 132.

  The downlink relay unit 14 outputs the data received from the PON control unit 15 to each input / output port unit 11.

  The PON control unit 15 modulates the data output from the uplink relay unit 13 and the notification unit 16 into an optical signal of the optical subscriber line 4 and transmits the optical signal from the optical connection port unit 12 to the optical subscriber line 4. Further, the PON control unit 15 demodulates the optical signal received from the optical subscriber line 4 via the optical connection port unit 12 into data, and outputs the data to the downlink relay unit 14.

  The notification unit 16 outputs various messages (data) to the PON control unit 15 in accordance with instructions from the main control unit 18.

  The state collection unit 17 monitors the state (normal, abnormal, throughput, etc.) of each input / output port unit 11 and the optical connection port unit 12. Then, the monitoring result is notified to the main control unit 18.

  The main control unit 18 comprehensively controls each unit 11 to 17 of the ONU 1.

  Next, the operation of the ONU 1 will be described.

  First, the bandwidth control process of the ONU 1 will be described.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the bandwidth control processing of the ONU 1.

  When the read timing specified by the read cycle set by the main control unit 18 comes (YES in S101), the bandwidth control unit 133 checks whether data is accumulated in the output queue unit 132 (S102). If data has been accumulated (YES in S102), a predetermined amount of data (for example, a read unit data amount) is read from the output queue unit 132 in order from the oldest, and the data is output to the PON control unit 15. To do. The PON control unit 15 modulates the data received from the band control unit 133 into an optical signal and outputs the optical signal to the optical subscriber line 4 from the optical connection port unit 12 (S103).

  Further, the bandwidth control unit 133 constantly monitors the input throughput of the output queue unit 132 (data amount per unit time input to the output queue unit 132), and when it comes to the periodic bandwidth reset determination timing. (YES in S104), it is determined whether or not the input throughput is equal to or greater than the designated bandwidth set by the main control unit 18 (S105).

  When the input throughput of the output queue unit 132 is equal to or greater than the designated bandwidth set by the main control unit 18 (YES in S105), the bandwidth control unit 133 notifies the priority control unit 135 of the priority control start instruction and gives priority. The operation mode of the control unit 135 is changed from normal control to priority control (S106).

  In addition, the bandwidth control unit 133 notifies the main control unit 18 of this input throughput and requests bandwidth resetting. In response to this, the main control unit 18 obtains a communication band necessary for the input throughput notified from the band control unit 133. Then, the notification unit 16 is notified of the communication bandwidth obtained at this time, and a bandwidth request is indicated. The notification unit 16 generates a band allocation request message addressed to the OLT 2 including the designation of the communication band notified from the main control unit 18, and outputs this band allocation request message to the PON control unit 15. The PON control unit 15 modulates the bandwidth allocation request message received from the notification unit 16 into an optical signal, and outputs the optical signal from the optical connection port unit 12 to the optical subscriber line 4 (S107). The PON control unit 15 gives priority to the processing of the bandwidth allocation request message when the reception of the bandwidth allocation request message from the notification unit 16 overlaps with the reception of data from the bandwidth control unit 133.

  On the other hand, when the input throughput of the output queue unit 132 is less than the designated band set by the main control unit 18 (NO in S105), the band control unit 133 determines that the operation mode of the priority control unit 135 is priority control. If (YES in S108), the priority control unit 135 is notified of the priority control end instruction, and the operation mode of the priority control unit 135 is changed from the priority control to the normal control (S109).

  When the main control unit 18 receives the band setting information from the OLT 2 via the optical connection port unit 12, the PON control unit 15, and the downlink relay unit 14 (YES in S110), the main control unit 18 outputs based on the band setting information. A data read cycle from the queue unit 132 is calculated. For example, the read cycle is obtained so that the communication band obtained by dividing the data read amount from the output queue unit 132 by the read cycle substantially matches the communication band specified by the band setting information. Then, the main control unit 18 resets this read cycle in the band control unit 133 (S111). Further, the main control unit 18 resets the communication band specified by the band setting information to the band control unit 133 as the specified band (S112).

  Next, priority control processing of the ONU 1 will be described.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the priority control processing of the ONU 1.

  First, the priority control unit 135 investigates the data accumulation state of each of the input queue units 131 (S201). If there is an input queue unit 131 in which data is stored (YES in S202), the priority control unit 135 determines that if there is only one input queue unit 131 in which data is stored (NO in S203), The data stored in the input queue unit 131 is read out from the oldest and stored in the output queue unit 132 (S204).

  On the other hand, if there are a plurality of input queue units 131 in which data is stored (YES in S203), the priority control unit 135 initializes the priority level n to the highest level (S205). Next, the priority control unit 135 retrieves the record 1340 from the priority level storage unit 134 using the priority level n as a key, and the input / output port unit 11 having identification information registered in the field 1341 of the record 1340 ( It is checked whether data subject to priority control is stored in the input queue unit 131 corresponding to the input / output port unit 11) of the priority level n (S206). When an address is registered in the field 1343 of the record 1340, data having the address as a transmission destination corresponds to data subject to priority control. When no address is registered, all data is prioritized. Corresponds to control target data.

  When the priority control target data is stored in the priority level n input queue unit 131 (YES in S206), the priority control unit 135 sorts the priority control target data from the priority level n input queue unit 131 in chronological order. The data is read and stored in the output queue unit 132 (S207).

  On the other hand, when the priority control target data is not accumulated in the input queue unit 131 of the priority level n (NO in S206), the priority control unit 135 is the lowest level in which the priority level n is stored in the priority level storage unit 134. It is determined whether or not it matches the priority level of the level (S208). If the priority level n does not match the lowest level (NO in S208), the priority control unit 135 ranks down the priority level n by one (S209), and returns to S206. On the other hand, when the priority level n matches the lowest level (YES in S208), the priority control unit 135 reads the data from the input queue unit 131 in which the oldest data is stored in the oldest order and stores the data in the output queue unit 132. (S210).

  Next, normal control processing of the ONU 1 will be described.

  For the normal control of the ONU 1, the relay technology of the existing relay device can be used. That is, when the operation mode is normal control, the priority control unit 135 reads out the data stored in the plurality of input queue units 131 from the oldest and stores the data in the output queue unit 132.

  Next, command control processing of the ONU 1 will be described.

  FIG. 6A is a flowchart for explaining the command control processing of the ONU 1.

  When receiving a command addressed to the own ONU 1 from the maintenance terminal 9 via the optical connection port unit 12, the PON control unit 15, and the downlink relay unit 14 (YES in S301), the main control unit 18 analyzes the received command ( S302).

  If the received command is a control command (“control command” in S302), the main control unit 18 designates the operation mode of the input / output port unit 11 designated by this control command by this control command. The operation mode is changed to a normal operation mode (normal mode, power saving mode, stop mode, etc.) (S303). When the input / output port unit 11 has a power supply function for a device connected to the input / output port unit 11 (for example, USB), the control command can be used to control the validity / invalidity of the power supply function. May be.

  On the other hand, if the received command is a status collection command (“status collection command” in S303), the main control unit 18 sends each port unit notified by the status collection unit 17 (input / output port unit 11, optical connection port). The notification unit 16 is notified of the latest operation state of the unit 12). In response to this, the notification unit 16 notifies the maintenance terminal 9 of the latest operation states of the port units 11 and 12 notified from the main control unit 18 via the PON control unit 15 and the optical connection port unit 12. Transmit (S304).

  Next, the status notification process of the ONU 1 will be described.

  FIG. 6B is a flowchart for explaining the ONU 1 status notification process.

  For example, when the state collection timing comes periodically (YES in S401), the state collection unit 17 acquires the operation state of each port unit (the input / output port unit 11, the optical connection port unit 12), and the main control unit 18 (S402). The main control unit 18 checks whether any of the operation states received from the state collection unit 17 indicates an abnormality such as a failure or a network disconnection (S403). If there is an abnormality (YES in S403), the operating state is notified to the notification unit 16 together with the identification information of the port part from which the operating state is acquired. In response to this, the notification unit 16 transmits the operating state and the port unit identification information notified from the main control unit 18 to the maintenance terminal 9 via the PON control unit 15 and the optical connection port unit 12 ( S404).

  The embodiment of the present invention has been described above.

  In the present embodiment, the priority control unit 135 is assigned a high priority level according to the priority level assigned to each of the plurality of input / output port units 11 for inputting / outputting data to / from the subscriber premises apparatus 8. The data input to the input / output port unit 11 is stored in the output queue unit 132 with priority. Further, the bandwidth control unit 133 extracts the data stored in the output queue unit 132 in order from the oldest data with the throughput (frequency) specified by the bandwidth setting information, and sends the data from the optical connection port unit 12 to the optical subscriber line 4. Output.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when a failure occurs in the router 8a by connecting the reporting device 8b to the input / output port unit 11 having a higher priority level than the input / output port unit 11 to which the router 8a is connected. However, communication between the reporting device 8b and the meter reading server 7 can be ensured. Further, according to the present embodiment, since ONU 1 does not exchange flow control messages with router 8a, it is possible to suppress a decrease in throughput of communication data between ONU 1 and router 8a.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the priority control unit 135, when data is accumulated in the plurality of input queue units 131, corresponds to the input queue unit corresponding to the input / output port unit 11 to which a higher priority level is assigned. The data stored in 131 is sequentially extracted, and the data is stored in the output queue unit 132.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the data input to the input / output port unit 11 having a higher priority level is not affected by the data input to the input / output port unit 11 having a lower priority level. It is relayed to the subscriber line 4. For this reason, data input to the input / output port unit 11 having a high priority level can be more reliably relayed.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the bandwidth control unit 133, when the input throughput of the data stored in the output queue unit 132 exceeds the designated bandwidth of the bandwidth setting information received from the OLT 2, Is instructed to perform priority control. The priority control unit 135 is an input / output port unit to which a higher priority level is assigned if priority control is instructed from the bandwidth control unit 133 when data is accumulated in a plurality of input queue units 131. 11 is extracted in order from the data stored in the input queue unit 131 corresponding to 11, and the data is stored in the output queue unit 132. If priority control is not instructed by the bandwidth control unit 133, the oldest data is stored. Data is taken out from the stored input queue unit 131 and stored in the output queue unit 132.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, when the input throughput of the output queue unit 132 is lower than the designated bandwidth of the bandwidth setting information received from the OLT 2, the oldest data regardless of the priority level of the input / output port unit 11 The data can be relayed to the optical subscriber line 4 in order.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the input throughput of the output queue unit 132 exceeds the designated bandwidth of the bandwidth setting information, the bandwidth control unit 133 sends a bandwidth allocation request determined according to this input throughput to the OLT 2. The new bandwidth setting information is acquired from the OLT 2 and updated.

  Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the priority control process is performed for a long time, and as a result, data input to the input / output port unit 11 having a low priority level is not relayed to the optical subscriber line 4 for a long time. A situation can be prevented from occurring.

  In this embodiment, an address can be optionally specified as a priority level. When an address is specified as an option for the priority level, data with the address specified as an option is sent to the priority among the data input to the input / output port unit 11 to which the priority level is assigned. The data input to the input / output port unit 11 lower than the level is prioritized and stored in the output queue unit 132. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, a part of the data input to the input / output port unit 11 can be the target of priority control.

  In the present embodiment, the main control unit 18 controls each of the input / output port units 11 in accordance with the control command received from the maintenance terminal 9. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the ONU 1 can be remotely controlled from the maintenance terminal 9.

  In the present embodiment, the main control unit 18 notifies the maintenance terminal 9 of the status of the input / output port unit 11 and the optical connection port unit 12 in accordance with the status collection command received from the maintenance terminal 9. Further, when an abnormality occurs, the maintenance terminal 9 is notified of the state of the input / output port unit 11 or the optical connection port unit 12 where the abnormality has occurred. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, the ONU 1 can be remotely monitored by the maintenance terminal 9.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said embodiment, Many deformation | transformation are possible within the range of the summary.

  For example, in the above embodiment, the maintenance terminal 9 is installed on the IP network 6 side, but the present invention is not limited to this. The maintenance terminal 9 may be connected to any one of the ONUs 1 as the device 8 on the subscriber premises side. In this case, in the ONU 1 to which the maintenance terminal 9 is connected, the priority level of the input / output port unit 11 to which the maintenance terminal 9 is connected may be set highest.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the configuration of the ONU 1 shown in FIG. 2 may be implemented by hardware using an integrated logic IC such as ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit) or FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). Alternatively, it may be executed in software by a computer such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor). Alternatively, in a general-purpose computer such as a CPU (Personal Computer) equipped with an auxiliary storage device such as a CPU, memory, HDD, DVD-ROM, and a communication interface such as a NIC (Network Interface Card) or USB, the CPU executes a predetermined program. It may be realized by loading from an auxiliary storage device onto a memory and executing it.

  1: ONU, 2: OLT, 3: coupler, 4: optical subscriber line, 5: optical subscriber line, 6: IP network, 7: meter-reading server, 8: subscriber-side equipment, 8a: router, 8b : Notification device, 9: Maintenance terminal, 11: Input / output port unit, 12: Optical connection port unit, 13: Uplink relay unit, 14: Downlink relay unit, 15: PON control unit, 16: Notification unit, 17: Status collection , 18: main control unit, 131: input queue unit, 132: output queue unit, 133: bandwidth control unit, 134: priority level storage unit, 135: priority control unit

Claims (2)

A communication system comprising: an optical termination device that terminates an optical line at a subscriber premises; and a notification device that transmits meter reading data or occurrence of abnormality to the meter reading server via the optical termination device,
The optical terminator is:
A plurality of input / output port means for inputting / outputting data to / from the subscriber premises device including the notification device and a router;
Optical connection port means for inputting and outputting data to and from the optical line;
Output queue means for storing data to be output from the optical connection port means to the optical line;
Band control means for taking out the data stored in the output queue means in order from the oldest and outputting them to the optical connection port means at a frequency specified by the band setting information;
Priority control means for preferentially storing the data input to the input / output port means to which a high priority level is assigned according to the priority level assigned to the plurality of input / output port means, and to store the data in the output queue means; Have
The reporting device is
Input / output data to / from the input / output port means to which a higher priority level is given than the input / output port means for inputting / outputting data to / from the router ,
The priority control means includes
For each of the input / output port means to which data has been input, if no address is specified as an option for the priority level assigned to the input / output port means, all data input to the input / output port means Is stored in the output queue means in preference to the input / output port means to which the priority level lower than the priority level assigned to the input / output port means is given, and is given to the input / output port means. If the address is specified as an option at a certain priority level, only the data whose destination address matches the address specified by the option among the data input to the corresponding input / output port means. The output is given priority over the input / output port means to which a priority level lower than the priority level assigned to the means is assigned. It performs a process of accumulating the-menu means,
Among the data input to the input / output port means to which the priority level that designates an address as an option is given, for the data whose destination address does not match the address designated by the option, the input / output port A communication system , wherein after completion of the processing for each means, the output queue means stores the oldest ones in order . The communication system according to claim 1,
A maintenance terminal that is connected to the optical termination device via the optical line and transmits a command to the optical termination device, or connected to the optical termination device as a device on the subscriber's home side. A maintenance terminal that transmits
The optical terminator is:
An operation for controlling the input / output port means or notifying the maintenance terminal of the operation state of the input / output port means in accordance with a command received from the maintenance terminal via the optical connection port means or any of the input / output port means. A communication system, further comprising a state notification unit.

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