Signal transfer system, path control device, and signal transfer method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11909658-B2
Application number	US-201917634197-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 19, 2019
Priority date	Aug 19, 2019
Publication date	Feb 20, 2024
Grant date	Feb 20, 2024

Abstract

A path control device controls a plurality of paths for transmitting signals through a network including a plurality of signal transfer devices that transfer signals while switching a first transmission period during which high-priority traffic can be transmitted and a second transmission period during which low-priority traffic can be transmitted. The path control device includes: a calculation unit that calculates a plurality of paths through which signals are transferred, based on network configuration information indicating a configuration of the network; an estimation unit that estimates paths for low-priority traffic so as to increase the number of low-priority traffic flows to be transferred during a predetermined period through the plurality of paths calculated by the calculation unit, in a case in which the plurality of signal transfer devices detect an end of high priority traffic in the first transmission period, in accordance with statistical values in the second transmission period based on a transmission schedule made to change the first transmission period after the end of high-priority traffic to the second transmission period; and a determination unit that determines, for each of the plurality of signal transfer devices, output destination setting information such that the paths estimated by the estimation unit are set to an output destination of low-priority traffic.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A signal transfer system comprising: a plurality of signal transfer devices configured to transfer a plurality of signals while switching a first transmission period during which high-priority traffic is transmitted and a second transmission period during which low-priority traffic is transmitted; and a path control device configured to control a plurality of paths through which the signals are transferred via the plurality of signal transfer devices, wherein the plurality of signal transfer devices each include: a processor; and a storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon, when executed by the processor, perform to: detect an end of the high-priority traffic in the first transmission period; in a case in which the end of the high-priority traffic is detected, make a transmission schedule to change the first transmission period after the end of the high-priority traffic to the second transmission period; measure a statistical value in the second transmission period based on the transmission schedule; send the statistical value to the path control device; and output the low-priority traffic based on output destination setting information, and the path control device includes: a processor; and a storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon, when executed by the processor, perform to: calculate the plurality of paths through which the signals are transferred, based on network configuration information indicating a configuration of a network to which the plurality of signal transfer devices and the path control device are connected; estimate the second transmission period in the plurality of paths, based on the statistical value sent from the signal transfer device, determine the number of low-priority traffic flow to be accommodated, and determine or change the plurality of paths for low-priority traffic at a shorter cycle than a cycle at which the number of low-priority traffic flows is determined; and determine, for each of the plurality of signal transfer devices, the output destination setting information such that the plurality of paths determined or changed are set to an output destination of low-priority traffic.

2. The signal transfer system according to claim 1 , wherein the computer program instructions of the path control device further perform to, in a case in which an amount of low-priority traffic to be transmitted during a predetermined period is smaller than an amount of low-priority traffic that can be transmitted in the second transmission period estimated for each of the plurality of paths, uses, for a different best effort-type low-priority traffic flow, a band obtained by subtracting the amount of low-priority traffic to be transmitted from a band of the second transmission period, after determining or changing each path for low-priority traffic, to determine the path to maximize a transmission available band per the different best effort-type low-priority traffic flow.

3. The signal transfer system according to claim 1 , wherein the computer program instructions of the path control device further perform to, in a case in which the amount of low-priority traffic to be transmitted during a predetermined period is larger than the amount of low-priority traffic that can be transmitted in the second transmission period estimated for each of the plurality of paths, calculates a probability density function with which each of the plurality of paths corresponds to the second transmission period, and determines, based on the probability density function, the path for the low-priority traffic to maximize a probability of accommodating the low-priority traffic.

4. A path control device configured to control a plurality of paths for transmitting a plurality of signals through a network including a plurality of signal transfer devices, each of which being configured to transfer the signals while switching a first transmission period during which high-priority traffic is transmitted and a second transmission period during which low-priority traffic is transmitted,
the path control device comprising:
a processor; and
a storage medium having computer program instructions stored thereon, when executed by the processor, perform to:
calculate the plurality of paths through which a plurality of signals are transferred, based on network configuration information indicating a configuration of the network;
in a case in which the signal transfer device detects an end of high-priority traffic in the first transmission period, in accordance with a statistical value in the second transmission period based on a transmission schedule made for changing the first transmission period after the end of the high-priority traffic to the second transmission period, estimate the second transmission period in the plurality of paths, determine the number of low-priority traffic flows to be accommodated, and determine or change the path for low-priority traffic at a shorter cycle than a cycle at which the number of low-priority traffic flow is determined; and
determine, for each of the plurality of signal transfer devices, output destination setting information such that the plurality of paths are set to an output destination of low-priority traffic.

5. The path control device according to claim 4 , wherein the computer program instructions further perform to,
in a case in which an amount of low-priority traffic to be transmitted during a predetermined period is smaller than an amount of low-priority traffic that can be transmitted during the second transmission period estimated for each of the plurality of paths, uses, for a different best effort-type low-priority traffic flow, a band obtained by subtracting the amount of low-priority traffic to be transmitted from a band of the second transmission period, after determining or changing the plurality of paths for low-priority traffic, to determine the plurality of paths to maximize a transmission available band per the different best effort-type low-priority traffic flow.

6. The path control device according to claim 4 , wherein the computer program instructions further perform to
in a case in which an amount of low-priority traffic to be transmitted during a predetermined period is larger than an amount of low-priority traffic that can be transmitted during the second transmission period estimated for each of the plurality of paths, calculates a probability density function with which each of the plurality of paths corresponds to the second transmission period, and determines the plurality of paths for low-priority traffic based on the probability density function to maximize a probability of accommodating the low-priority traffic.

7. A signal transfer method performed by a signal transfer system,
the signal transfer system comprising:
a plurality of signal transfer devices configured to transfer a plurality of signals while switching a first transmission period during which high-priority traffic is transmitted and a second transmission period during which low-priority traffic is transmitted; and
a path control device configured to control a plurality of paths that transfer the plurality of signals via the plurality of signal transfer devices, wherein
the method comprises:
detecting an end of high-priority traffic in the first transmission period;
in a case in which the end of high-priority traffic is detected, making a transmission schedule to change the first transmission period after the end of high-priority traffic to the second transmission period;
measuring a statistical value in the second transmission period based on the transmission schedule;
calculating the plurality of paths through which the signals are transferred, based on network configuration information indic

Assignees

• Nippon Telegraph & Telephone

Inventors

• Shibata Naotaka
• Uzawa Hiroyuki
• Terada Jun

Classifications

• H04L45/243

  using M+N parallel active paths · CPC title

• H04L47/283 Primary

  in response to processing delays, e.g. caused by jitter or round trip time [RTT] · CPC title

• H04L49/205 Primary

  Quality of Service based · CPC title

• H04L45/24

  Multipath · CPC title

• H04L47/24

  Traffic characterised by specific attributes, e.g. priority or QoS · CPC title