JP7568365B2 - Data synchronization management device, communication system, data synchronization method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to technology for synchronizing data between devices.

In recent years, with the spread of broadband, advances in cloud computing, and the evolution of IoT technology, there has been an increase in applications for interactive communication of large volumes of data, such as xR (AR/VR), eSports/gaming, and MaaS, with low latency via networks.

As a result, problems have arisen in which processing delays occur due to distance delays in the cloud or Internet lines, resource shortages, etc. As a result, MEC (Multi-Access Edge Computing), which places computer resources closer to the user, has been proposed as a method to achieve low latency.

JP 2020-123101 A

With advances in mobile technology such as 5G, there are an increasing number of situations where people want to enjoy xR (AR/VR) and eSports/gaming while on the move.

In this case, the movement of the terminal will result in a change of connected MEC server, and in order to continue using the service, data related to the service used by the terminal must be transferred from the MEC server before the movement to the MEC server at the destination. In other words, data synchronization between MEC servers must be performed.

However, when synchronizing terminal data between MEC servers, there is an issue that the delay time between the terminal and the MEC server increases, degrading the quality of experience for users using services such as interactive services. This issue can occur in other areas besides MEC.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide a technology that enables a terminal to use a low-latency service even when the terminal moves in an environment where multiple servers that provide services to the terminal are installed.

According to the disclosed technology, there is provided a data synchronization management device that manages data synchronization between a plurality of servers in an environment in which a terminal and the plurality of servers are capable of performing data communication, the data synchronization management device comprising:
an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the location of the terminal connected to a first server;
a data synchronization instruction unit that identifies a second server that is a connection destination candidate of the terminal at a destination of the terminal based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, and instructs the first server to transfer differential data to the second server;
A database that manages a base station, a server to which the terminal is connected when the terminal is connected to the base station, and a server to which the terminal is synchronized when the terminal is connected to the base station,
The data synchronization instruction unit identifies the second server by referring to the database.
A data synchronization management device is provided.

The disclosed technology makes it possible for a terminal to use low-latency services even when the terminal moves in an environment where multiple servers that provide services to the terminal are installed.

1 is a diagram illustrating an example of an overall configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a synchronization method between MECs. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of a synchronization method between MECs. FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining an overview of an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of an MEC dynamic synchronization management server. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a terminal location management server. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an environment for explaining detailed operations. FIG. 13 illustrates an example of a database. FIG. 11 is a sequence diagram for explaining an operation example. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a hardware configuration of the apparatus.

The following describes an embodiment of the present invention (the present embodiment) with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is merely an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applicable is not limited to the following embodiment.

(System configuration example)
Fig. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the communication system according to the present embodiment includes a terminal UE, a base station AP, and an MEC server 20. The base station AP is connected to a network 30. Although Fig. 1 shows one each of the terminal UE, base station AP, and MEC server 20, in reality, there are multiple each of them.

The base station AP is a base station that wirelessly communicates with the terminal UE using a wireless communication method such as 5G, LTE, or wireless LAN. The terminal UE is a mobile terminal such as a smartphone or an IoT terminal.

The MEC server 20 is the MEC server described above, and in the example of FIG. 1, it is shown to be installed near the base station AP, which is close to the user side. The MEC server 20 provides services such as interactive communication to the terminal UE.

The network 30 is, for example, a network consisting of a core network of a mobile network and the Internet. Other terminals and servers capable of communicating with the terminal UE via the base station AP exist on the network 30. In addition, the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 and the terminal location management server 200 described later may be provided on the network 30.

The MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 is a server that manages data synchronization between MEC servers, and the terminal location management server 200 is a server that manages the location of the terminal UE. The detailed functions of these servers will be described later.

For ease of explanation, the terminal will be referred to as "UE", the base station as "AP", and the MEC server as "MEC".

(Operation Overview)
As described above, when a UE uses a service while moving, the MEC to which the UE is connected changes as the UE moves, and at that time, data synchronization between the MECs is performed.

Figures 2 and 3 show examples of synchronization methods between MECs. In the example shown in Figure 2, multiple MECs #1 to #6 are connected in a mesh configuration, and when synchronizing data, data is transferred directly from the MEC that is the data source to the MEC that is the data destination. This method is called a mesh type method.

In the example shown in Figure 3, the aggregation server first aggregates the data sent from the MEC, and then distributes the aggregated data to the destination MEC. This method is called the star-type method.

In the case of the mesh type method shown in Figure 2, the amount of data (load) transferred between MECs increases. This increases the delay time related to the transfer, and also increases the delay time of communication related to the service provided to the UE, resulting in a decrease in the user's quality of experience. In addition, in the case of the star type method shown in Figure 3, the delay time related to the transfer increases because data goes through an aggregation server, resulting in a decrease in the user's quality of experience.

In this embodiment, to solve the above problem, the destination of the UE is estimated, and data synchronization is performed between the MEC before the UE connects to the MEC of the destination.

The operation will be outlined with reference to Figure 4. Note that Figure 4 shows a star topology, but this is just one example. The technology according to the present invention can be applied to both mesh and star topology.

In S1 (step 1) of FIG. 4, the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 estimates the UE's destination (the MEC to which the UE will connect at the destination). In estimating the UE's destination, the UE's location information acquired by the terminal location management server 200 is used.

At S2, based on instructions from the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100, the source MEC (the MEC to which the UE is currently connected) transfers the differential data directly to the destination MEC.

"Differential data" refers to data related to services to a UE that is held by the source MEC but not held by the destination MEC. While the UE is connected to the source MEC, the differential data is continuously sent from the source MEC to the destination MEC. By sending differential data from the source MEC to the destination MEC, data synchronization is achieved between the source MEC and the destination MEC.

In S3, the UE connects to the destination MEC and can continue to use the service. The destination MEC can immediately use the data held by the previous MEC from the moment the UE connects, so the UE can carry out interactive communication with low latency, avoiding the degradation of the user's quality of experience that was a problem in the past.

(Device functions and device configuration examples)
Next, the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 and the terminal location management server 200 will be described.

The terminal location management server 200 manages the AP to which the UE is connected. When the UE connects to another AP, it detects this and can notify the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 200 that the UE has changed its connection to another AP.

The MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 manages in a database (DB) the AP and MEC to which the UE is connected, and the MEC that is the target of data synchronization. The MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 updates the DB based on a terminal movement notification from the terminal location management server 200, and notifies the destination MEC of an instruction to transfer data from the destination MEC to the data synchronization target MEC.

Figure 5 shows a configuration diagram of the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100. As shown in Figure 5, the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 includes a connection information acquisition unit 110, a data synchronization instruction unit 120, and a data storage unit 130.

The connection information acquisition unit 110 acquires information on the AP to which the UE is connected from the terminal location management server 200. The data storage unit 130 is provided with the above DB, and the connection information acquired by the connection information acquisition unit 110 is stored in the DB.

The data synchronization instruction unit 120 identifies the destination MEC and data synchronization target MEC for the UE of interest based on the DB information, and instructs the identified destination MEC to transfer data from the destination MEC to the data synchronization target MEC.

Figure 6 shows a configuration diagram of the terminal location management server 200. As shown in Figure 6, the terminal location management server 200 has a terminal location acquisition unit 210, a location change notification unit 220, and a data storage unit 230.

The terminal position acquisition unit 210 acquires information about the AP to which the UE is connected from that AP. The acquired information is stored in the data storage unit 230. When the AP to which the UE is connected changes, the position change notification unit 220 notifies the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 of the changed AP.

The MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 may be called a data synchronization management device, and the terminal location management server 200 may be called a terminal location management device.

(Detailed operation example)
Next, an example of the operation of the system will be described based on the configuration example shown in Fig. 7. In the configuration example shown in Fig. 7, AP#A1, AP#A2, AP#A3, AP#A4, AP#B1, AP#B2, AP#B3 are provided. Also, MEC#A and MEC#B are provided.

The correspondence between the AP to which the UE is connected and the MEC corresponding to that AP is determined in advance. Alternatively, the correspondence between the AP to which the UE is connected and the MEC corresponding to that AP may be changed dynamically.

In the example of Figure 7, a UE that connects to any of AP#A1, AP#A2, AP#A3, and AP#A4 connects to MEC#A. A UE that connects to any of AP#B1, AP#B2, and AP#B3 connects to MEC#B. Here, AP#A1, AP#A2, AP#A3, and AP#A4 are referred to as the AP#A group, and AP#B1, AP#B2, and AP#B3 are referred to as the AP#B group.

In addition, a data synchronization target MEC is defined for each MEC. In this example, the focus is on UE#A, and Figure 7 shows the movement of UE#A.

Information such as the above correspondence relationships is stored in a DB in the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100. Figure 8 shows an example of information stored in the DB. The information shown in Figure 8 corresponds to the configuration shown in Figure 7. As shown in Figure 8, the DB stores information on the connected AP, the connected MEC, the MEC to which data is synchronized, and information on the UEs connected to the AP and MEC. Also, in Figure 8, data for when UE#A exists under AP#A4 is surrounded by a thick frame.

In the example of Figure 8, when the connection destination APs are AP#A2, AP#AP3, and AP#A4, the connection destination MEC is MEC#A, and the data synchronization target MEC is MEC#B. The reason for this setting is as follows.

In the example shown in FIG. 8, the destination of a UE connected to any of APs AP#A2, AP#AP3, and AP#A4 is assumed to be an AP in the AP#A group adjacent to the AP, or an AP in the AP#B group adjacent to the AP. If the destination of a UE connected to any of APs AP#A2, AP#AP3, and AP#A4 is an AP in the AP#A group, no MEC switching occurs. If the destination of a UE connected to any of APs AP#A2, AP#AP3, and AP#A4 is an AP in the AP#B group, the MEC to which the UE is connected switches from MEC#A to MEC#B.

Therefore, assuming that the destination of a UE connected to any of APs AP#A2, AP#AP3, and AP#A4 is an AP in the AP#B group, if the destination AP is AP#A2, AP#AP3, or AP#A4, the data synchronization target MEC is MEC#B.

<Sequence>
An example of an operation sequence based on the configuration of Fig. 7 and the DB configuration of Fig. 8 is shown in Fig. 9. The operation sequence will be described with reference to Fig. 9. Here, as shown in Fig. 7, it is assumed that as UE#A moves, the AP to which UE#A is connected is switched in the order AP#A1 → AP#A4 → AP#B2.

In the initial state, UE#A is connected to AP#A1, so information indicating that the AP to which UE#A is connected is AP#A1 is notified to the terminal location management server 200 (S101, S102). The terminal location acquisition unit 210 of the terminal location management server 200 acquires the above information and stores it in the data storage unit 230.

When UE#A is connected to AP#A1, UE#A performs data communication with MEC#A (S103).

When UE#A moves and the AP to which UE#A is connected is switched from AP#A1 to AP#A4, information indicating that the AP to which UE#A is connected is AP#A4 is notified to the terminal location management server 200 (S104, S105).

When the location change notification unit 220 in the terminal location management server 200 detects that the AP to which UE#A is connected has changed from AP#A1 to AP#A4 by referring to the data storage unit 230, it notifies the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 of information indicating that the AP to which UE#A is connected has changed from AP#A1 to AP#A4 (S106). The connection information acquisition unit 110 in the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 acquires this information, and updates the information of UE#A in the DB based on this information. As a result, the data synchronization target MEC corresponding to UE#A in the DB becomes MEC#B.

When the data synchronization instruction unit 120 of the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 detects by referring to the DB that the MEC to which UE#A is connected is MEC#A and the MEC to be synchronized with data is MEC#B, it instructs MEC#A to transfer differential data to MEC#B (data synchronization) (S107).

UE#A is connected to MEC#A and is performing data communication with MEC#A (S108). Having received an instruction to transfer differential data in S107, MEC#A transfers the differential data to MEC#B, which is the MEC with which data is synchronized (S109).

After that, as UE#A moves, UE#A connects to AP#B2, and the information of the connected AP is notified to the terminal location management server 200 (S110, S111). UE#A also changes the connected MEC from MEC#A to MEC#B, and performs data communication with MEC#B (S112).

Because data synchronization for UE#A was performed between MEC#A and MEC#B before the MEC to which UE#A was connected was changed from MEC#A to MEC#B, UE#A can start communication with MEC#B in a data-synchronized state. This allows interactive communication with low latency.

Note that the above example is just one example. For example, if the candidate destinations of a UE connected to a certain AP are multiple APs with different connection destination MECs, multiple data synchronization target MECs may exist as the data synchronization target MEC. In addition, the terminal location management server 200 may acquire the UE's movement direction and notify the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 of the movement direction together with the UE's connection destination AP, so that the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 may estimate the AP corresponding to the UE's movement direction as the movement destination AP and determine the MEC corresponding to the movement destination AP as the data synchronization target MEC.

In the above example, the location of the UE is identified by the connected AP, but this is just one example. For example, the terminal location management server 200 may acquire location information acquired by the GPS function of the UE, and the terminal location management server 200 may transmit the location information to the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100. In this case, the DB of the terminal location management server 200 stores location information such as latitude and longitude in association with the connected MEC and the data synchronization target MEC, and the MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100 can identify the connected MEC and data synchronization target MEC that correspond to the current location of the UE by referring to the DB. The processing after identifying the connected MEC and data synchronization target MEC is the same as that described above.

In addition, in the above example, the technology according to the present invention is applied to the MEC, and the MEC is the synchronization target, but the technology according to the present invention can be applied not only to the MEC, but also to any server that performs data communication with the UE.

(Hardware configuration example)
The MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100, the terminal location management server 200, and the MEC can be realized by, for example, having a computer execute a program. This computer may be a physical computer or a virtual machine on the cloud. The MEC dynamic synchronization management server 100, the terminal location management server 200, and the MEC are collectively referred to as "devices."

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

Figure 10 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the computer. The computer in Figure 10 has a drive device 1000, an auxiliary storage device 1002, a memory device 1003, a CPU 1004, an interface device 1005, a display device 1006, an input device 1007, an output device 1008, etc., all of which are connected to each other via a bus B. Note that some of these devices may not be included. For example, if no display is performed, the display device 1006 may not be included.

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

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

(Effects of the embodiment)
As described above, according to the technology of this embodiment, in an environment in which multiple MEC servers that provide services to a terminal are provided, even if the terminal moves, the terminal can use low-latency services.

(Summary of the embodiment)
This specification describes at least the data synchronization management device, communication system, data synchronization method, and program described in the following sections.
(Section 1)
A data synchronization management device that manages data synchronization between a plurality of servers in an environment in which the plurality of servers are capable of performing data communication with a terminal, comprising:
an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the location of the terminal connected to a first server;
and a data synchronization instruction unit that identifies a second server that is a candidate connection destination for the terminal at the destination of the movement of the terminal based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, and instructs the first server to transfer differential data to the second server.
(Section 2)
Further comprising a database for managing a base station, a server to which the terminal is connected when the terminal is connected to the base station, and a server to which the terminal is synchronized when the terminal is connected to the base station;
2. The data synchronization management device according to claim 1, wherein the data synchronization instruction unit identifies the second server by referring to the database.
(Section 3)
3. The data synchronization management device according to claim 1, wherein the acquisition unit acquires information on a base station to which the terminal is connected from a terminal position management device that manages a base station to which the terminal is connected as information on the location of the terminal.
(Section 4)
A communication system comprising the data synchronization management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, and the plurality of servers.
(Section 5)
A data synchronization method executed by a data synchronization management device that manages data synchronization between servers in an environment in which a plurality of servers capable of performing data communication with a terminal are provided, comprising:
An acquisition step of acquiring information regarding the location of the terminal connected to a first server;
and a data synchronization instruction step of identifying a second server that is a candidate connection destination for the terminal at the destination of the terminal based on the information acquired by the acquisition step, and instructing the first server to transfer differential data to the second server.
(Section 6)
A program for causing each unit in the data synchronization management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 to function as such.

Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this specific embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention described in the claims.

UE terminal AP base station 20 MEC server 30 network 100 MEC dynamic synchronization management server 110 connection information acquisition unit 120 data synchronization instruction unit 130 data storage unit 200 terminal location management server 210 terminal location acquisition unit 220 location change notification unit 230 data storage unit 1000 drive device 1001 recording medium 1002 auxiliary storage device 1003 memory device 1004 CPU
1005 Interface device 1006 Display device 1007 Input device 1008 Output device

Claims (6)

A data synchronization management device that manages data synchronization between a plurality of servers in an environment in which the plurality of servers are capable of performing data communication with a terminal, comprising:
an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the location of the terminal connected to a first server;
a data synchronization instruction unit that identifies a second server that is a connection destination candidate of the terminal at a destination of the terminal based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, and instructs the first server to transfer differential data to the second server;
A database that manages a base station, a server to which the terminal is connected when the terminal is connected to the base station, and a server to which the terminal is synchronized when the terminal is connected to the base station,
The data synchronization instruction unit identifies the second server by referring to the database.
Data synchronization management device. A data synchronization management device that manages data synchronization between a plurality of servers in an environment in which the plurality of servers are capable of performing data communication with a terminal, comprising:
an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding the location of the terminal connected to a first server;
a data synchronization instruction unit that identifies a second server that is a connection destination candidate of the terminal at a destination of the terminal based on the information acquired by the acquisition unit, and instructs the first server to transfer differential data to the second server;
The acquisition unit acquires information on a base station to which the terminal is connected from a terminal location management device that manages the base station to which the terminal is connected as information on the location of the terminal.
Data synchronization management device. 3. A communication system comprising: the data synchronization management device according to claim 1; and the plurality of servers. A data synchronization method executed by a data synchronization management device that manages data synchronization between servers in an environment in which a plurality of servers capable of performing data communication with a terminal are provided, comprising:
An acquisition step of acquiring information regarding the location of the terminal connected to a first server;
a data synchronization instruction step of identifying a second server that is a connection destination candidate of the terminal at a destination of the terminal based on the information acquired by the acquisition step, and instructing the first server to transfer differential data to the second server ,
The data synchronization management device includes a base station, a server to which the terminal is connected when the terminal is connected to the base station, and a database for managing a server to which the terminal is connected when the terminal is connected to the base station, and a server to which the terminal is synchronized when the terminal is connected to the base station;
In the data synchronization instruction step, the data synchronization management device identifies the second server by referring to the database.
Data synchronization methods . A data synchronization method executed by a data synchronization management device that manages data synchronization between servers in an environment in which a plurality of servers capable of performing data communication with a terminal are provided, comprising:
An acquisition step of acquiring information regarding the location of the terminal connected to a first server;
a data synchronization instruction step of identifying a second server that is a connection destination candidate of the terminal at a destination of the terminal based on the information acquired by the acquisition step, and instructing the first server to transfer differential data to the second server ,
In the acquiring step, the data synchronization management device acquires information on a base station to which the terminal is connected from a terminal location management device that manages a base station to which the terminal is connected as information on the location of the terminal.
Data synchronization methods . A program for causing each unit in the data synchronization management device according to claim 1 to function as the unit.

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