JPH1028136A - Exchange - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To execute set-up at high speed by providing a control signal channel for transmitting a set-up request in a port being the same as the one where a communication channel is set and using an internet protocol in transmitting a request. SOLUTION: When a switch controller 34 inside an IP exchange 31 receives a signaling IP packet 42, the channel 44 having a channel number #1 which is described in the packet 42 within the unused channels existing inside the received port is recognized as an input side channel. The controller 34 decides the transfer destination port of the packet 42 by IP procedure. The controller 34 selects an optional channel within the unsed channels existing in the port 38 and it is recognized as an output side channel. The controller 34 rewrites the channel number inside the IP packet into an output side channel number and transfers it to a control signal line 41 in the port 38 as the IP packet 43. In addition to it, the recognized input side channel 44 is connected to the output side channel 45.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a communication network that supports high-speed computer-to-computer communication. The present invention particularly relates to processing for a communication channel setup request in a switch of a communication network supporting an Internet protocol.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art To transfer data in a communication network for performing inter-computer communication, an Internet protocol (hereinafter referred to as IP) is used.
) Is widely used. In a communication network using IP, an IP address is used to identify an interface of a destination communication device. On the other hand, in a communication network composed of exchanges (hereinafter, referred to as an exchange network), conventionally, a connection method of a communication channel is controlled by a signaling method suitable for telephone communication, which is independent of IP, and an interface of a destination communication device is used. Telephone numbers were used for identification. That is, two destination information of the IP address information and the telephone number are used as a network.

[0003]

Therefore, it is possible to utilize the routing function (automatic updating of routing information, tracing of a route, setting of a multicast channel, etc.) of an IP system useful for inter-computer communication as it is in a switching network. There was a problem that could not be done. Further, in order to send an IP datagram from a certain communication device to a destination communication device via an exchange network, the destination IP address must be set to the IP address.
In spite of being described in the IP header of the datagram, the originating communication device needs to retrieve the telephone number of the destination communication device and notify the telephone number to the network side. Needed to set up based on phone number. For this reason, there has been a problem that the setup time of the communication channel becomes long as the whole network.

An object of the present invention is to provide a switching network which can utilize a routing function of an IP system useful for inter-computer communication and requires a short time for setting up a communication channel. In addition, when setting up a communication channel, the life of the communication channel is adjusted to enable quick release of unnecessary communication channels, and the communication channels that are not in use but have not been terminated are properly maintained, so that the communication channels can be properly maintained. It is an object of the present invention to provide a switching network capable of minimizing a setup processing amount. It is another object of the present invention to provide a switching network that can guarantee a certain communication quality to a communication terminal device by allocating a capacity when setting up a communication channel.

[0005]

According to the present invention, a control signal channel for transmitting a setup request for a communication channel is provided in the same port where a communication channel is set, and an Internet protocol is used for transmitting the setup request. It is characterized by.

That is, according to the present invention, in a switch which connects a channel in response to a setup request for a communication channel, the setup request is received through an incoming port in the form of an Internet protocol packet, and is described in the Internet protocol packet. Reading means for reading the channel number of the Internet protocol and recognizing it as an incoming channel; and router means for supporting the Internet protocol and reading the header of the Internet protocol packet to determine an outgoing port to be transferred according to the Internet routing procedure. Outgoing channel selecting means for selecting an unused outgoing channel from the outgoing port; channel connection controlling means for connecting the outgoing channel to the read ingoing channel; After rewriting the channel number described in the protocol packet to the number of the outgoing channel, means for transmitting the Internet Protocol packet to the outgoing port to be forwarded, and a switch for connecting and releasing the channel It is characterized by having.

[0007] Of the already connected channels,
It is preferable to include a release control unit for releasing a connection if there is a channel that has not been used for a predetermined time.

The information area of the Internet Protocol packet includes a channel number and channel life information, and the release control means releases the connection if there is a channel which has not been used for a time determined by the channel life information. Means can be included.

[0009] The information area of the Internet protocol packet includes a channel number, and information of an uplink capacity and a downlink capacity.
Means may be included for reading the uplink capacity and the downlink capacity during setup, determining whether or not the outgoing port of the outgoing channel overflows, and discarding the Internet protocol packet if the outgoing port overflows.

An exchange supporting an IP receiving an Internet Protocol datagram (hereinafter, referred to as a signaling IP packet) of a setup request determines an outgoing port to which the signaling IP packet is to be transferred according to the IP procedure and transfers it. At the same time, the signaling IP
The incoming channel of the incoming port that has received the packet is connected to the outgoing channel of the outgoing port that transmits the signaling IP packet. Therefore, in a switching network using the present invention, a communication channel is set up along a path along which signaling IP packets are transferred according to the IP procedure. Exchanges that support IP can utilize all of the routing functions (automatic updating of routing information, trace of routes, setting of multicast channels, etc.) of the IP system useful for inter-computer communication in the switching network. Become. Since it is not necessary to use a telephone number in such a switching network, a telephone number search is not required, and the communication channel setup is speeded up.

[0011] Further, the life span information of the packet is mounted on the signaling IP packet, and the exchange reads this life span information, monitors the connection channel, and when the connection channel is not used for a time determined by the life span, disconnects the connection of the channel. Since the communication channel is released, the communication channel can be quickly released, and it is possible to cope with information transmission from various communication terminals. In addition, information on the uplink capacity and the downlink capacity is mounted on the signaling IP packet, and the uplink capacity,
Since the exchange can allocate the capacity at the time of the setup based on the information of the downlink capacity, it is possible to guarantee a certain communication quality.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0013]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining a first embodiment of the present invention.

The IP switch 1 according to the first embodiment has input ports 2 and 3 and output ports 4 and 5 and has a switch 12 for connecting or releasing a channel and a switch control device 17.

Here, the switch control device 17
A number reading unit 6 that receives a setup request signaling IP packet through the input ports 2 and 3 and reads a channel number described in the signaling IP packet and recognizes this as an input channel; and supports an Internet protocol; Reads the IP header of the signaling IP packet and sets the outgoing port to be forwarded to IP
An IP router unit 7 determined in accordance with a routing procedure, an outgoing channel selecting unit 8 for selecting an unused outgoing channel from the outgoing port, and connecting the outgoing channel and the read ingoing channel. And a means for transmitting the signaling IP packet to the outgoing port to be transferred after rewriting the channel number described in the signaling IP packet to the number of the outgoing channel. A number rewriting unit 9 and a channel release control unit 11 which is a means for releasing a connection when there is a channel which has not been used for a predetermined time among channels which have already been connected. Is provided.

In FIG. 1, reference numerals 13 and 14 denote control signal lines that carry setup requests set in incoming ports, and reference numerals 15 and 16 denote control signal lines that carry setup requests set in outgoing ports. Is shown.

FIG. 2 shows an example of information transmitted by a signaling IP packet having an IP header used in the first embodiment. The information area has a channel number.

FIG. 3 shows an example of an exchange network constituted by using the IP exchange of the first embodiment, and shows an exchange network in which IP exchanges 30, 31, 32 and 33 are connected. Here, the IP exchange 31 represents a switch control device 34 and a switch 35, and the IP exchange 31
Is connected to the adjacent IP exchange 30 and port 36,
The exchange 32 is connected to the IP exchange 33 by a port 37, and the IP exchange 33 is connected to the IP exchange 33 by a port 38. Reference numeral 44
Denotes a communication channel between the IP switches 30 and 31, and reference numeral 45 denotes a communication channel between the IP switches 31 and 33. Reference numerals 39, 40, and 41 indicate control signal lines.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

Switch control unit 34 in IP exchange 31
Receives the signaling IP packet 42, it recognizes the channel 44 having the channel number # 1 described in the signaling IP packet 42 from the unused channels existing in the received port as the incoming channel. I do. The switch control device 34 determines the transfer destination port of the signaling IP packet 42 according to the IP procedure. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the port 38 is selected by the IP procedure. Switch control device 34
Selects an arbitrary channel from the unused channels existing in the port 38 and recognizes this as an outgoing channel. FIG. 3 shows an example in which the channel 45 having the channel number # 3 is selected by this IP procedure. The switch control device 34 rewrites the channel number in the signaling IP packet to this outgoing channel number, and sends the signaling IP signal to the control signal line 41 in the port 38.
The packet is transferred as a packet 43 and the recognized incoming channel 44 and outgoing channel 45 are connected.

By operating in this manner, a communication channel is set up on a path defined by the IP procedure in the switching network. Once the communication channel is set up,
The usage status is monitored by the channel release control unit 11 in the switch control device 34, and the connection is released when the device is not used for a predetermined length of time.

As described above, since the IP router unit 7 in the switch control device supports the IP system, a routing function (automatic updating of routing information, trace of a route, Multicast channel setting, etc.) can be utilized as it is in the switching network. Further, since it is not necessary to use a telephone number, it is not necessary to search for a telephone number, and the communication channel can be set up at high speed. (Second Embodiment) Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a second embodiment of the present invention. The configuration of the IP exchange 101 is not different from the configuration of the IP exchange of the first embodiment shown in FIG. That is, it includes input ports 102 and 103, output ports 104 and 105, a switch 112, and a switch control device 117. The switch control device 117 includes a number reading unit 106, an IP router unit 107, an output channel selection unit 108, A number rewriting unit 109, a channel connection control unit 110, and a channel release control unit 111 are provided. Reference numerals 113 and 114 denote control signal lines that carry setup requests set in incoming ports, and reference numerals 115 and 116 denote control signal lines that carry setup requests set in outgoing ports.

FIG. 5 shows the IP used in the second embodiment.
4 shows an example of information carried by a signaling IP packet having a header, and has a channel number and a channel lifetime in an information area.

The transfer operation of the signaling IP packet of the second embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment. The differences from the first embodiment are as follows. The number reading unit 106 that reads the channel number in the signaling IP packet reads the lifetime of the channel in the signaling IP packet, and stores the lifetime information in the channel connection unit 11.
Notify 0. The channel connection control unit 110 notifies the channel release control unit 111 of the lifetime of the set up channel, and the channel release control unit 111 monitors the use status of the set up channel and has not been used for a time determined by the lifetime. Only if
Release the connection of the channel.

According to the second embodiment, since the IP router 107 in the switch control device 117 supports the IP system, the routing function (automatic updating of routing information) of the IP system useful for inter-computer communication is provided. , Trace of the route, setting of the multicast channel, etc.) can be utilized as they are in the switching network.

Further, since it is not necessary to use a telephone number, it is not necessary to search for a telephone number, and the speed of setting up a communication channel can be increased. Furthermore, according to the second embodiment, the life of the communication channel can be adjusted at the time of setting up the communication channel for various communication terminals having different information transmission methods, so that unnecessary communication channels can be quickly released. It is possible to reduce the useless reservation state of channels, and to accurately hold communication channels that are not in use but not terminated. The amount of processing required can be minimized.

Third Embodiment Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 6 shows the configuration of the IP switch 201 of the third embodiment of the present invention, which is not different from the configuration of the IP switch of the first embodiment shown in FIG. That is, that is, the input ports 202 and 203, the output port 204,
205, a switch 212, and a switch control device 217. The switch control device 217
6. IP router 207, egress channel selector 208,
A number rewriting unit 209, a channel connection control unit 210, and a channel release control unit 211 are provided. Note that reference numeral 213,
Reference numeral 214 denotes a control signal line that carries a setup request set in an incoming port, and reference numerals 215 and 216 denote control signal lines that carry a setup request set in an outgoing port.

FIG. 7 shows an example of information carried by a signaling IP packet having an IP header used in the third embodiment. In the third embodiment, the information area includes a channel number, an uplink capacity, and a downlink capacity. It has information on the capacity and lifetime of the channel.

Next, the operation of the third embodiment will be described.
In the operation, the transfer operation of the signaling IP packet is the same as that of the second embodiment, and the difference from the second embodiment is as follows. The number reading unit 206 that reads the channel number in the signaling IP packet reads information on the uplink capacity and the downlink capacity in the signaling IP packet and notifies the channel connection control unit 210 of the information. The channel connection control unit 210 determines that the outgoing port 204 does not overflow even if the uplink capacity and the downlink capacity of the outgoing channel notified from the outgoing channel selecting unit 208 are set to the values notified from the number reading unit 206. Set up this channel only if you do. In other cases, the channel connection control unit 210 notifies the number rewriting unit 209 via the outgoing channel selection unit 208 that the channel cannot be set. The number rewriting unit 209, which has been notified that the channel cannot be set, does not rewrite the channel number of the signaling IP packet, discards this signaling IP packet without transferring it, and gives up the communication channel setup (call loss).

The third embodiment has the same effect as the second embodiment. Further, according to the third embodiment, it is possible to allocate a capacity at the time of setting up a communication channel, and when the communication channel is successfully set up (when a call is not lost), a fixed amount is set to the communication terminal. There is an advantage that the communication quality can be guaranteed.

[0033]

As described above, in a switching network using the present invention, a communication channel is set up along a path through which a signaling IP packet is transferred by an IP procedure. Since the IP router unit supports the Internet protocol, all the routing functions of the IP system, which are useful for inter-computer communication, can be utilized in the switching network. Further, since there is no need to use telephone numbers in such a switching network, there is no need to search for telephone numbers, and there is an advantage that the setup of a communication channel is speeded up.

In addition, when the service life information is carried in the signaling IP packet, the service life of the communication channel can be adjusted at the time of setting up the communication channel for communication terminals having various information transmission methods, and unnecessary communication can be performed. Since the channel can be quickly released and an erroneous communication channel is prevented from being released, there is an advantage that the processing amount for setting up the communication channel can be minimized.

Further, when information on the upstream capacity and the downstream capacity is mounted on the signaling IP packet,
Since the capacity can be allocated at the time of setting up the communication channel, there is an advantage that a certain communication quality can be guaranteed for the communication terminal.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an IP exchange according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of a signaling IP packet used in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an exchange network using the IP exchange according to the first embodiment;

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an IP exchange according to a second embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a signaling IP packet used in the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of an IP exchange according to a third embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a signaling IP packet used in the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 30, 31, 32, 101, 201 IP switch 2, 3, 102, 103, 202, 203 Incoming port 4, 5, 104, 105, 204, 205 Outgoing port 6, 106, 206 Number reading unit 7 , 107, 207 IP router section 8, 108, 208 Outgoing channel selection section 9, 109, 209 Number rewriting section 10, 110, 210 Channel connection control section 11, 111, 211 Channel release control section 12, 35, 112, 212 Switch 13, 14, 113, 114, 213, 214 Control signal line set in input port 15, 16, 115, 116, 215, 216 Control signal line set in output port 17, 34, 37 , 117, 217 Switch control devices 36, 37, 38 Ports 39, 40, 41 I connected to adjacent IP switches Signaling IP packets 44, 45 communication channels are rewritten by the transfer by the switch control device in the control signal line 42, 43 IP switch which connects the switch control device in the exchange

Claims (4)

[Claims] An exchange for connecting a channel in response to a setup request for a communication channel receives a setup request in the form of an Internet protocol packet through an incoming port, and determines a channel number described in the Internet protocol packet. Reading means for recognizing this as an incoming channel; router means for supporting the Internet protocol, reading the header of the Internet protocol packet and determining the outgoing port to be transferred according to the Internet routing procedure; Outgoing channel selecting means for selecting an unused outgoing channel from ports, channel connection controlling means for connecting the outgoing channel and the read incoming channel, and the Internet protocol packet After rewriting the channel number described in (1) to the number of the outgoing channel, transmitting the Internet protocol packet to the outgoing port to be forwarded, and a switch for connecting and releasing the channel. An exchange characterized by the following. 2. The exchange according to claim 1, further comprising release control means for releasing the connection when there is a channel which has not been used for a predetermined time among the already connected channels. 3. The information area of an Internet Protocol packet includes a channel number and channel life information, and the release control means releases a connection if there is a channel that has not been used for a time determined by the channel life information. 3. The switch of claim 2 including means. 4. An information area of an Internet protocol packet includes information of a channel number, an uplink capacity, and a downlink capacity. The channel connection control means reads the uplink capacity and the downlink capacity at the time of setup, and outputs information on an output channel. 4. The exchange according to claim 2, further comprising means for judging whether or not the side port overflows, and discarding the Internet protocol packet when the side port overflows.