JP3569864B2 - Media transfer method and device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for media transfer, and more particularly, to multimedia transfer between terminals connected to a closed or wide area network by performing dynamic address translation so that uninterrupted multimedia transfer. The present invention relates to an information communication technology capable of performing control.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In recent years, the number of terminals connected to the Internet has been increasing. Multimedia communication using the H.323 protocol or the like is widely used. In this regard, for example,
ITU-T H450-2
Series H: AUDIOVISUAL AND MULTIMEDIA SYSTEMS
Supplementary services for multimedia
CALL transfer supplementary services for H.C. 323
Can be referred to.
[0003]
As shown in FIG. 5, a conventional service image includes terminals connected by a plurality of users using a local address in a small-scale closed network, or a plurality of services prepared by a single user for each purpose in a closed network. When the transfer is realized between the terminals, a transfer that is specialized for one application between the terminals in the closed network can be given.
FIG. 6 shows a specific configuration example in an environment where local addresses are allocated to the same closed network and FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of the transfer control operation in this case.
[0004]
6, 100, 101, and 102 are terminals or servers, 200, 201, and 202 are network interfaces, 510 is a storage unit that holds a management table of service IDs and local addresses, and 600 is a service ID from a terminal. A request processing unit 700 performs a response process to the IP address request according to the above. A transfer control unit 700 performs communication channel control.
[0005]
In this method, when the communication performed by the terminal C100 and the terminal A101 is transferred from the terminal A101 to the terminal B102, the request processing unit 600 of the transfer device receives the transfer start request from the terminal A101, and receives the transfer start request from the terminal B102. Of the transfer request and the address information are transferred to the transfer control unit 700.
[0006]
When the terminal B102 notified of the transfer start from the transfer control unit 700 responds, the transfer control unit 700 sends a disconnection notification to the transfer source terminal A101 and simultaneously sends a standby start notification to the transfer destination terminal B102. Upon receiving the standby notification from the terminal B102, the transfer control unit 700 disconnects the communication between the terminal C100 and the terminal A101. Thereafter, the transfer control unit 700 notifies the terminal C100 and the terminal B102 of the communication start, and when the communication is established, the transfer is completed.
[0007]
Next, as shown in FIG. 8, a specific example of realizing transfer between a terminal C100 assigned a wide area address and a terminal connected to a closed network through an address translator and assigned a local address will be described. FIG. 8 shows a simple configuration example, and FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the transfer control operation here.
In FIG. 8, reference numeral 300 denotes a translation processing unit that performs a global address, a local address, and port conversion; 400, a route control unit that performs routing; and 500, a storage unit that holds a management table of the global address and the local address. Others have the same functions as those shown in FIG.
[0008]
In this method, in communication between the terminal C100 to which the global address is assigned and the terminals A101 and B102 in the closed network, the communication between the global address managed by the storage unit 500 and the local address in the closed network is performed. According to the association, the conversion processing unit 300 converts the address and the port. Operations other than the conversion between the global address and the local address are the same as those in the above-described example.
[0009]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
When performing the above-described conventional processing, it is necessary to start and use the same application at the transfer source and the transfer destination. In addition, transfer by multimedia communication in which a plurality of types of applications cooperate cannot be supported. In addition, a device that manages transfer between terminals in a closed network is required.However, conventionally, only a transfer device specialized for some applications is prepared. Could not use the transfer function.
[0010]
In the conventional transfer control, as described above, since the communication with the transfer destination is established after the terminal communication is once reset, the address and port are dynamically converted and transferred without interrupting the multimedia communication. I couldn't do that.
Also, when a terminal using a wide area address communicates with a terminal to which a local address is allocated in a closed network with address conversion, multimedia communication using a fixed special port is dynamic. Transfer could not be performed by performing the necessary address translation.
[0011]
As described above, the conventional method is versatile for various applications, and the user can easily transfer data between terminals without interrupting the multimedia communication without being aware of the address conversion setting method. No consideration was given to execution, and the function for that was lacking.
[0012]
It is an object of the present invention to provide a media transfer method and apparatus capable of solving the above-described problems in the related art and transmitting multimedia communication without interruption.
Another object of the present invention is to interrupt multimedia communication from a terminal using a wide area address to a terminal having a local address allocated in a closed network and communication performed with address conversion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a media transfer method and apparatus capable of transferring without media.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a media transfer method according to the present invention includes a step of responding to a transfer request using a service ID from a terminal, a transfer destination IP address and information for determining whether or not a transfer is possible, Controlling the communication channel for a terminal assigned a global address and a source terminal and a destination terminal connected to a closed network and assigned a local address, and managing processes operating on the terminal. And converting the address and port number assigned to the transfer source terminal to the address and port number assigned to the transfer destination terminal, and performing the above steps in the transfer source terminal and the transfer destination terminal. Synchronizes processes for handling data transferred between the source terminal and the destination terminal, Wherein the forwarding by the over preparative transformation.
[0014]
The media transfer device according to the present invention further includes a request processing unit that responds to the transfer request using the service ID from the terminal with a transfer destination IP address and information indicating whether the terminal is in a transferable state. A transfer control unit that controls a communication channel for a terminal to which an address is assigned, a source terminal and a destination terminal that are connected to a closed network and are assigned a local address, and manages processes operating on the terminal. A process management unit, a conversion processing unit that converts an address and a port number assigned to a transfer source terminal into an address and a port number assigned to a transfer destination terminal, an association table between a global address and a local address and a port, and a local table Storage section for storing an association table between a physical address and a service ID and transferable information, and a path for controlling a path of communication data Control unit, a media transfer device having a network interface, a terminal resident unit that cooperates with the above steps in the transfer source terminal and the transfer destination terminal, and a user terminal and a network. In this method, processes for handling data transmitted / received are synchronized, and addresses and ports of the transmitted / received data are converted and transferred.
[0015]
In the media transfer method and apparatus according to the present invention, when a plurality of terminals are connected to a closed network and a wide area address is shared, an address translation function (NAT) is used. In such an environment, when using a multimedia communication application having a feature of using a specific port, it is necessary to statically fix a local address and a port number of a terminal using the application by a NAT + function. . At this time, terminals that can use the application are limited, and when performing transfer, it is necessary to change static settings in response to a request from the user. Conventionally, there has been no function of changing the above-mentioned application while the application is being used. Therefore, the storage unit and the transfer control unit add this function.
[0016]
In addition, as shown in FIG. 1, when terminals connected to the same closed network are different, available applications may be different depending on the performance of the terminals. Furthermore, even if the terminals have the same performance, the application may not be installed in each terminal. If terminal # 0001 in FIG. 1 performs media communication with terminal # 0002, information about whether transfer is possible and information about whether a transfer destination is connected are required. Therefore, in the media transfer method and apparatus according to the present invention, the user can specify the service ID of the transfer destination as a key so that the transfer can be universally performed to various applications. A response function of transferable information in which a storage unit, a request processing unit, and a transfer control unit are linked is realized and added.
[0017]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail based on preferred embodiments shown in the drawings.
[0018]
FIG. 1 shows an image of a communication transfer service according to the present invention, FIG. 2 shows a system configuration according to one embodiment, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show flow charts of the transfer control operation. Although FIGS. 3 and 4 are originally a single sheet, they are divided into two sheets for the sake of space.
[0019]
In FIG. 2, reference numerals 100, 101, and 102 denote terminals or servers, reference numerals 200, 201, and 202 denote network interfaces, reference numeral 300 denotes a conversion processing unit having a wide area address and a local address and a port change function, and reference numeral 400 denotes routing control for performing routing. The unit 550 holds the functions of the storage units 500 and 510 and the transferable information table described above, and also cooperates with a transfer control unit 750 to be described later and a static correspondence table between the port and the address. 2 shows a storage unit having a function of changing the information.
[0020]
In addition to the function of the request processing unit 600 shown in the conventional example, when information about the transfer destination terminal is insufficient in the storage unit 650, transferable information is linked with a transfer control unit 750 described later. A request processing unit that performs a transfer request notification process to the transfer control unit 750, a transfer control unit 750 that performs communication channel control and terminal resident unit control, and 800 performs a process synchronization control. Process management units 901 and 902 are terminal resident units that are resident in the terminal and perform transfer request processing and terminal-side process notification.
[0021]
In the present invention, it is possible to start an application that is the same as or equivalent to the communication application used in the transfer source terminal on the transfer destination terminal, and to perform the transfer dynamically without interrupting the session during the transfer. Therefore, the process information running on the terminal is synchronized between the transfer source terminal and the transfer destination terminal.
[0022]
When a request to acquire process information is made from the transfer control unit 750, the process management unit 800 acquires communication process information in cooperation with the terminal resident unit 901 (or 902) of the transfer source terminal 101 (or 102). Then, the process information is returned to the transfer control unit 750.
[0023]
Further, when the transfer control unit 750 requests the process synchronization processing of the transfer source terminal and the transfer destination terminal, the process management unit 800 communicates with the terminal resident unit 901 (or 902) of the transfer source terminal and the transfer destination terminal. Perform synchronous processing in cooperation. Then, when synchronization becomes possible, the terminal resident unit 902 notifies the process management unit 800 of synchronization confirmation.
[0024]
Hereinafter, based on FIGS. 3 and 4, the operation of the system according to the present embodiment configured as described above will be described by using a terminal C100 assigned a wide-area address and a local address connected to a closed network. An example in which the system is operated to transfer the media communication performed by the assigned terminal A101 from the terminal A101 to the terminal B102 which is connected to the same closed network as the terminal A and is assigned a local address. I will explain it.
[0025]
First, the user inputs a transfer request to the terminal resident unit 901 on the transfer source terminal A101.
The request processing unit 650 determines that the transfer request has been input, and obtains the address of the transfer destination terminal B 102 and information on whether transfer is possible (transferable information) in the management table held by the storage unit 550. (1).
[0026]
If the address of the terminal B102 cannot be obtained, the terminal resident unit 901 is notified of the end (2a). When only the address of the terminal B102 can be obtained, the confirmation request and the transfer destination terminal address are transmitted to the transfer control unit 750 (2b). The transfer control unit 750 issues a transfer destination confirmation request to the terminal resident unit 902 of the transfer destination terminal B 102 using the obtained transfer destination terminal address.
[0027]
Here, when a response is obtained from the terminal resident unit 902, the transfer control unit 750 notifies the storage unit 550 of the update of the transferable terminal information (3a), and sends the address and the transferable information to the request processing unit 650. (3b). If no response is obtained from the terminal resident unit 902, the terminal resident unit 901 is notified of the end (3c).
[0028]
When a response indicating that the transfer destination terminal 901 is transferable is obtained, the request processing unit 650 notifies the transfer control unit 750 of the transfer request and the transfer source and transfer destination terminal addresses. The transfer control unit 750 issues a transfer start request notification to the terminal resident units 901 and 902 of the transfer source terminal A101 and the transfer destination terminal B102 (4a and 4b).
[0029]
The terminal resident unit 901 that has received the notification starts monitoring a communication process performed with the terminal C100 that is performing communication. The terminal resident unit 902 starts an application equivalent to the transfer source terminal A101.
At the same time, the transfer control unit 750 makes a process information acquisition request to the process management unit 800 (4c).
[0030]
The process management unit 800 acquires the communication process information from the terminal resident unit 901 of the transfer source terminal A101, and returns the process information to the transfer control unit 750. When the transfer control unit 750 first obtains the process information from the transfer control unit 750, it requests the terminal resident unit 901 to establish communication between the transfer source terminals A101 and B102 (5, 6).
[0031]
The terminal resident unit 902 that has established communication with the transfer source terminal A101 notifies the transfer control unit 750 of the communication establishment (7). The transfer control unit 750 that has received the notification acquires the used port information from the storage unit 550, and requests the process management unit 800 to synchronize the terminal A101 and the terminal B102.
[0032]
The process management unit 800 requests the terminal resident units 901 and 902 to perform synchronization processing (8, 9), and when synchronization is possible, the terminal resident unit 902 notifies the process management unit 800 of a synchronization confirmation. . Upon receiving the synchronization confirmation notification, the transfer control unit 750 updates the conversion table and the static port setting management table held in the storage unit 550 (10).
[0033]
When the request processing unit 650 identifies the packet arriving from the terminal C and sends it to the conversion processing unit 300, the conversion processing unit 300 converts the address and the port with reference to the conversion management table held in the storage unit 550. (11).
[0034]
Upon detecting that the communication between the terminal C100 and the terminal B102 has been established, the terminal resident unit 902 notifies the transfer control unit 750 of the transfer completion (12). Upon receiving this notification, the transfer control unit 750 performs proxy disconnection processing of the communication of the terminal A101 in the standby state (13).
[0035]
According to the above-described embodiment, when transferring multimedia communication performed by a user to another terminal, an instruction to start an application to a transfer destination terminal and the like can be automated. There is no need to prepare a dedicated terminal as a transfer destination terminal, and it is easy to provide a user with a low operational burden for communication in which multimedia applications are complicatedly linked. Can be
[0036]
In addition, communication data can be transmitted by synchronizing the process on each terminal, converting addresses and ports, and thereby, it is possible to transfer data without interrupting multimedia communication which has been disconnected once. It becomes possible.
In addition, since the process management corresponds to the application of the transfer source and transfer destination terminals, it is possible to provide a transfer function for general use.
[0037]
Note that the above embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.
[0038]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a media transfer method and apparatus capable of transferring multimedia communication without interruption, and use a wide-area address. A media transfer method and apparatus capable of transferring multimedia communication without interruption from a terminal to a terminal to which a local address is assigned in a closed network and performing communication with address conversion can be provided. Is played.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image of a communication transfer service according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a system configuration according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a flowchart (part 1) of a transfer control operation of the system according to the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart (part 2) of a transfer control operation of the system according to the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an image of a conventional communication transfer service.
FIG. 6 is a diagram (part 1) illustrating a system configuration example of a conventional technique.
7 is a flowchart illustrating a transfer control operation of the conventional example shown in FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a diagram (part 2) illustrating an example of a system configuration according to the related art.
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating a transfer control operation of the conventional example shown in FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
100, 101, 102 terminal or server 200, 201, 202 network interface 300 conversion processing unit 400 route control unit 500, 510, 550 storage unit 600, 650 request processing unit 700, 750 transfer control unit 800 process management unit 901 or 902 terminal Resident department

Claims (2)

Responding to a transfer request using a service ID from a terminal with a transfer destination IP address and information indicating whether or not the terminal is in a transferable state; and connecting to a terminal assigned a wide area address and a local area network connected to a closed network. Controlling the communication channel for the transfer source terminal and the transfer destination terminal to which the common address has been assigned, and changing the address and port number assigned to the transfer source terminal to the address and the port number assigned to the transfer destination terminal. Converting, and synchronizing processes for handling data transferred between the transfer source terminal and the transfer destination terminal, and converting and transferring the address and port of the transfer data, and transferring the data. Media transfer method. A request processing unit that responds to a transfer request using a service ID from a terminal with a transfer destination IP address and information indicating whether or not a transfer is possible, and connects to a terminal to which a global address is assigned and a closed network. A transfer control unit that controls a communication channel for a source terminal and a destination terminal to which a local address is assigned, a process management unit that manages a process operating on the terminal, and a transfer control unit that is assigned to the source terminal. A conversion unit for converting the received address and port number to an address and port number assigned to the transfer destination terminal; a table for associating a global address with a local address and port; a table for associating a local address with a service ID; A storage unit for storing transferable information, a route control unit for controlling a route of communication data, and a network interface The media transfer device comprises a terminal resident unit that cooperates with the above process in the transfer source terminal and the transfer destination terminal, a user terminal and a network, and handles data transferred between the transfer source terminal and the transfer destination terminal. A media transfer device for synchronizing processes, converting and transferring transfer / received data addresses and ports.

Images