JP7709979B2 - management device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a management device.

Quality of Service (QoS) control is known as a technology for ensuring the communication quality of a network that provides communication services. Examples of QoS control include guaranteed QoS control, which guarantees communication quality, and best-effort QoS control, which maximizes communication quality. In a network that performs guaranteed QoS control, for example, a method is known in which a portion of the network bandwidth is pre-allocated to a bandwidth for communication with guaranteed communication quality (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2010-283552 A

Focusing on the target of QoS control, there is QoS control that targets communications based on a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) possessed by a terminal device, and QoS control that targets specific communications among communications based on the SIM. A specific communication is, for example, communication of an application program installed in the terminal device.

The network performs various QoS controls according to, for example, the combination of the form of communication quality guarantee and the target of QoS control. Note that QoS control uses finite network resources. For this reason, it is desirable to realize a network that effectively uses finite network resources to perform appropriate QoS control in response to various QoS control requests from multiple information processing devices such as terminal devices.

In order to solve the above problems, a management device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention is a management device that executes multiple quality controls to control communication quality of a network, and includes an acquisition unit that acquires an execution request to request the execution of one of the multiple quality controls, and a quality control unit that executes the quality control of the start candidate when there is no shortage of resources to execute the quality control of the start candidate indicated by the execution request, and decides whether to execute the quality control of the start candidate based on the execution priority of the quality control of the start candidate and the execution priority of the quality control currently being executed when some or all of the resources are insufficient due to the execution of one or more quality controls other than the quality control of the start candidate among the multiple quality controls.

According to the present invention, it is possible to effectively use finite network resources to perform appropriate QoS control in response to various QoS control requirements.

1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a network system including a management device according to an embodiment; 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a management device shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of QoS control. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the waiting queue shown in FIG. 2 . 2 is a sequence chart showing an example of an operation of the network system shown in FIG. 1 . 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of a management device when a request to execute QoS control is received. 10 is a flowchart showing an example of an operation of a management device for standby QoS control; FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of QoS control according to a first modified example.

1. Embodiment
1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a network system 10 including a management device 100 according to an embodiment. The network system 10 includes a network NW that provides communication services, and information processing devices such as a terminal device 200 and an application server 300 that are connected to the network NW. The terminal device 200 and the application server 300 are examples of "devices connected to a network."

In addition, the term "apparatus" in this specification may be interpreted as other terms such as circuit, device, or unit. Furthermore, the connection between the network NW and the terminal device 200 may be, for example, a connection that enables communication between multiple elements, and may be a connection using either a wired or wireless connection, or a connection using both a wired and wireless connection. For example, the application server 300 may be connected to the network NW via the Internet (not shown).

The network NW is, for example, a telecommunications line such as a mobile communication network managed by a telecommunications carrier that provides communication services, and includes one or both of a wired network and a wireless network. For example, the network NW has a management device 100 that executes quality control to control the quality of communication (communication quality) provided by the communication service. In FIG. 1, in order to make the figure easier to understand, among the multiple nodes (devices) included in the network NW, the nodes other than the management device 100 (for example, a base station, etc.) are omitted. Hereinafter, quality control is also referred to as QoS (Quality of Service) control.

The management device 100 can execute multiple QoS controls to control the communication quality of the network NW, for example. Specifically, the management device 100 can execute multiple QoS controls corresponding to multiple modes such as low latency, high speed/large capacity, and low speed. Each of the multiple QoS controls is previously associated with an execution priority as a priority order for execution. An example of the multiple QoS controls is described later in FIG. 3. An example of the configuration of the management device 100 is described later in FIG. 2.

QoS control may be performed for each line based on a communication service contract, or for each application program PRap. The line based on a communication service contract may be, for example, a communication line corresponding to one line contract, or a communication line associated with a SIM (Subscriber Identity Module). The SIM is, for example, a module in which identification information for identifying a subscriber of a communication service is recorded. Also, for example, the line based on a communication service contract may be a communication line used by the terminal device 200.

In other words, the QoS control performed for each line based on a communication service contract may be QoS control performed for each line contract, or QoS control performed for each SIM, or QoS control performed for each terminal device 200.

When multiple SIMs correspond to one line contract, the QoS control may be performed for each line contract or may be performed for each SIM. When the QoS control is performed for each SIM, a priority may be assigned among the multiple QoS controls corresponding to the multiple SIMs. That is, at least two of the multiple QoS controls corresponding to the multiple SIMs may be assigned different execution priorities. Also, when one line contract and one SIM correspond one-to-one, the QoS control performed for each line contract may be distinguished from the QoS control performed for each SIM, for example, or may not be distinguished from the QoS control performed for each SIM.

In addition, when one terminal device 200 includes multiple SIMs, the QoS control may be performed for each terminal device 200 or may be performed for each SIM. When the QoS control is performed for each SIM, a priority order may be set among the multiple QoS controls corresponding to the multiple SIMs. Note that when one terminal device 200 and one SIM correspond one-to-one, the QoS control performed for each terminal device 200 may be distinguished from the QoS control performed for each SIM, for example, or may not be distinguished from the QoS control performed for each SIM.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the management device 100 is capable of executing multiple QoS controls, including QoS control executed for each line contract, QoS control executed for each SIM, QoS control executed for each terminal device 200, and QoS control executed for each application program PRap. The application program PRap that is subject to QoS control is, for example, an application program PRap that is permitted to use QoS control among the application programs PRap available in the terminal device 200.

In this embodiment, unless otherwise specified, the application program PRap refers to an application program PRap that is permitted to use QoS control. In addition, in this embodiment, it is assumed that the application program PRap is installed in the terminal device 200, but the application program PRap does not have to be installed in the terminal device 200. For example, the terminal device 200 may use the application program PRap that is being executed in another device by SaaS (Software as a Service) or the like.

The QoS control may be requested by the terminal device 200 or by the application server 300. Alternatively, the QoS control may be requested by a device included in the network NW. In addition, the management device 100 may request the QoS control to itself.

Of the multiple QoS controls, the management device 100 executes the QoS control requested by the terminal device 200, the application server 300, etc. Note that, since finite network resources are used to execute the QoS control, the QoS control requested by the terminal device 200, the application server 300, etc. may not be executed.

Here, the network resources are, for example, the resources of the network NW. For example, the network resources include the bandwidth of the network NW, the resources of the network devices such as base stations and relay devices included in the network NW, and communication paths. The relay devices are, for example, network devices such as L2 switches, L3 switches, and routers, and determine the communication paths within the network NW. Furthermore, the resources of the network devices may be, for example, the utilization rate of a processor or the like included in the network devices.

In this embodiment, for example, the management device 100 determines the QoS control to be executed based on the execution priority of multiple QoS controls and network resources, etc. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to effectively use finite network resources and execute appropriate QoS control in response to various QoS control requests from multiple information processing devices such as terminal device 200. An example of the operation of the management device 100 will be described later in FIG. 5, etc.

The terminal device 200 may be, for example, any information processing device, and may be a stationary information device such as a personal computer, or a portable information terminal such as a smartphone, a notebook computer, a wearable terminal, or a tablet terminal. In the following description, a smartphone is assumed to be the terminal device 200.

The terminal device 200 is realized, for example, by a computer system including a processing device 210, a storage device 260, a communication device 270, an input device 280, and an output device 290. The multiple elements of the terminal device 200 are connected to each other by a single or multiple buses for communicating information. Furthermore, each of the multiple elements of the terminal device 200 may be composed of a single device or multiple devices. Furthermore, some of the elements of the terminal device 200 may be omitted.

The processing device 210 is a processor that controls the entire terminal device 200, and is composed of, for example, a single or multiple chips. The processing device 210 is composed of, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) including an interface with peripheral devices, an arithmetic unit, and a register. Some or all of the functions of the processing device 210 may be realized by hardware such as a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a PLD (Programmable Logic Device), and an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array). The processing device 210 executes various processes in parallel or sequentially.

The processing device 210 functions as a request unit 240, etc., by, for example, reading the application program PRap from the storage device 260 and executing the read application program PRap. Note that in FIG. 1, the functional blocks realized by the execution of the application program PRap, other than the request unit 240 related to the request for QoS control, are omitted. The application program PRap may be transmitted from another device.

The request unit 240, for example, requests the management device 100 to execute or terminate QoS control. For example, when requesting the execution of QoS control, the request unit 240 may transmit an execution request REQS requesting the execution of QoS control to the management device 100, as shown in FIG. 5 described later. Furthermore, when requesting the termination of QoS control, the request unit 240 may transmit an termination request REQE requesting the termination of QoS control to the management device 100, as shown in FIG. 5 described later.

Note that requests for QoS control processing are not limited to being realized by sending processing requests such as an execution request REQS and a termination request REQE. For example, requests for QoS control processing may be realized by calling an API (Application Programming Interface) related to the processing. Specifically, a request for execution of QoS control may be made by the request unit 240 calling an API for starting QoS control to the management device 100. Also, a request for ending QoS control may be made by the request unit 240 calling an API for ending QoS control to the management device 100. In this embodiment, sending an execution request REQS includes calling an API for starting QoS control, and sending a termination request REQE includes calling an API for ending QoS control.

The storage device 260 is a recording medium readable by the processing device 210, and stores various data such as a plurality of programs including the application program PRap executed by the processing device 210. The storage device 260 may be composed of at least one of, for example, a ROM (Read Only Memory), an EPROM (Erasable Programmable ROM), an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM), and a RAM (Random Access Memory). The storage device 260 may also be called a register, a cache, a main memory, or the like.

The communication device 270 is hardware (transmitting/receiving device) for communicating with other devices such as the management device 100 and the application server 300. The communication device 270 is also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, and a communication module. The communication device 270 may be configured to include, for example, a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, and a frequency synthesizer to realize one or both of Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD).

The input device 280 is an input device (e.g., a keyboard, a mouse, a microphone, a switch, a button, a sensor, etc.) that accepts input from the outside. For example, the input device 280 accepts an operation for inputting codes such as numbers and letters into the processing device 210, and an operation for selecting an icon to be displayed on the display surface of the terminal device 200. For example, a touch panel that detects contact with the display surface of the terminal device 200 is suitable as the input device 280. The input device 280 may include multiple operators that can be operated by the user.

The output device 290 is an output device such as a display that outputs to the outside. The output device 290 displays an image, for example, under the control of the processing device 210. For example, various display panels such as a liquid crystal display panel and an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) display panel are suitably used as the output device 290. The input device 280 and the output device 290 may be integrated (for example, a touch panel). The output device 290 may also be an output device having a speaker and an LED (Light Emitting Diode) lamp, etc.

For example, any information processing device can be adopted as the application server 300. The application server 300 provides, for example, a service based on the application program PRap to the terminal device 200 executing the application program PRap via the network NW. Similarly to the terminal device 200, the application server 300 may also request the management device 100 to execute or terminate QoS control.

Although the configuration of the application server 300 is not specifically shown in FIG. 1, the configuration of the application server 300 may be similar to the configuration of the management device 100 shown in FIG. 2 described below, for example. That is, the application server 300 may be realized by a computer system including a processing device that controls the entire application server 300, a storage device that stores various data, and a communication device for communicating with other devices. The application server 300 may also have an input device and an output device similar to the input device 280 and output device 290 of the terminal device 200, for example.

Note that the configuration of the network system 10 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 1. For example, multiple application servers 300 may be connected to the network NW. In this case, one of the multiple terminal devices 200 may have one or more application programs PRap of the multiple application programs PRap corresponding to the multiple application servers 300 installed in one terminal device 200. Note that the application program PRap installed in one terminal device 200 of the multiple terminal devices 200 may be the same as or different from the application program PRap installed in the other terminal devices 200 of the multiple terminal devices 200.

Furthermore, for example, the terminal device 200 may have an auxiliary storage device. The auxiliary storage device is a recording medium readable by the terminal device 200, and may be composed of, for example, at least one of an optical disk such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc ROM), a hard disk drive, a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, and a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory (e.g., a card, a stick, and a key drive), a floppy (registered trademark) disk, and a magnetic strip. Similarly, for example, the application server 300 may have an auxiliary storage device.

The network system 10 may also have multiple networks NWs connected to each other via the Internet (not shown). In this case, each of the multiple networks NWs may have a management device 100. Note that the management device 100 only needs to be able to perform QoS control in the corresponding network NW, and there is no particular limitation as to whether the network NW is defined without including the management device 100. In addition, when the network system 10 has multiple networks NWs, the terminal device 200 may be connected to two or more of the multiple networks NWs simultaneously.

Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the management device 100 shown in Figure 1.

Any information processing device can be used as the management device 100. For example, the management device 100 is realized by a computer system including a processing device 110, a storage device 160, and a communication device 170.

The processing device 110 is a processor that controls the entire management device 100, and is configured in the same manner as the processing device 210 of the terminal device 200 described in FIG. 1. For example, the processing device 110 reads the control program PRcl from the storage device 160, and executes the read control program PRcl to function as the acquisition unit 120 and the quality control unit 140, etc. The control program PRcl may be transmitted from another device via the network NW.

The acquisition unit 120 acquires an execution request REQS that requests the execution of one of multiple QoS controls that control the communication quality of the network NW. The quality control unit 140 executes the QoS control of the start candidate when there is no shortage of resources for executing the QoS control of the start candidate indicated by the execution request REQS. For example, when the QoS control is started, the resources required for executing the QoS control are assigned to the QoS control, and when the QoS control is terminated, the resources assigned to the QoS control are released. Hereinafter, the resources for executing the QoS control are also referred to as QoS control resources.

Some or all of the resources of the start candidate QoS control may be insufficient, for example, if one or more QoS controls that use some or all of the resources of the start candidate QoS control are already being executed among the multiple QoS controls. In other words, some or all of the resources of the start candidate QoS control may be insufficient because one or more QoS controls other than the start candidate QoS control are being executed among the multiple QoS controls. In this case, the quality control unit 140 determines whether or not to execute the start candidate QoS control based on the execution priority of the start candidate QoS control and the execution priority of the QoS control currently being executed.

The storage device 160 is a recording medium readable by the processing device 110, and stores a number of programs including the control program PRcl executed by the processing device 110, and various data such as the waiting queue QUE. The storage device 160 may be configured, for example, by at least one of a ROM, an EPROM, an EEPROM, and a RAM, similar to the storage device 260 of the terminal device 200 described in FIG. 1.

The communication device 170 is hardware (transmitting/receiving device) for communicating with other devices such as the terminal device 200 and the application server 300, and is configured in the same manner as the communication device 270 of the terminal device 200 described in Figure 1.

The management device 100 may be realized as a single device, or as a collection of multiple devices configured separately from each other (i.e., a system). For example, a function for accepting QoS control requests, etc. (e.g., the acquisition unit 120) and a function for executing QoS control (e.g., the quality control unit 140) may be realized as a single device. Alternatively, a function for accepting QoS control requests, etc. and a function for executing QoS control, etc. may be realized as a collection of two devices configured separately from each other. The management device 100 may also have multiple devices that execute QoS control.

Furthermore, the configuration of the management device 100 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 2. For example, the management device 100 may have an auxiliary storage device. Furthermore, the management device 100 may have, for example, an input device and an output device similar to the input device 280 and the output device 290 described in FIG. 1.

Also, for example, the processing device 110 may function as a request unit similar to the request unit 240 described in FIG. 1. In this case, the request unit of the functional block realized by the processing device 110 may request the quality control unit 140 to execute one of multiple QoS controls. Then, the acquisition unit 120 may acquire an execution request REQS from the request unit of the functional block realized by the processing device 110. In other words, the execution request REQS that the management device 100 requests itself to execute QoS control also corresponds to the execution request REQS acquired by the acquisition unit 120.

Figure 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of QoS control. In the example shown in Figure 3, an execution priority with a smaller numerical value indicates a higher priority than an execution priority with a larger numerical value.

The QoS control has a plurality of modes, such as a low-latency mode, a high-speed large-capacity mode, a low-speed mode, a multi-connection mode, a conversation mode, an interactive game mode, and a mission-critical mode. For example, the low-latency mode is a mode in which the communication delay is smaller than other modes, the high-speed large-capacity mode is a mode in which a large amount of data can be transferred at high speed compared to other modes, and the low-speed mode is a mode in which the communication speed is slower than other modes. The multi-connection mode is a mode for realizing communication quality suitable for communication of devices used in, for example, the Internet of Things (IoT). The conversation mode is a mode used for calls such as telephones. The interactive game mode is a mode for realizing communication quality suitable for executing interactive games. The mission-critical mode is a mode for realizing communication quality suitable for communication used to maintain a safe and secure environment. The communication used to maintain a safe and secure environment may be, for example, communication used for contact during an emergency such as a disaster.

In addition, QoS control has multiple types based on, for example, the combination of the form of communication quality assurance and the target of QoS control. Examples of the form of communication quality assurance include a guaranteed type that guarantees communication quality and a best-effort type that makes communication quality as high as possible. In this embodiment, it is assumed that communication in the network NW is classified into communication in which guaranteed QoS control is performed, communication in which best-effort QoS control is performed, and communication in which QoS control is not performed.

Communications that are subject to QoS control include, for example, SIM-based communications and, among SIM-based communications, communications of the application program PRap. When the subject of QoS control is SIM-based communications, the QoS control is performed, for example, for each SIM. Also, when the subject of QoS control is communications of the application program PRap, the QoS control is performed, for example, for each application program PRap.

Type SIM-GA shown in Figure 3 is executed for each SIM and indicates guaranteed QoS control on a SIM basis that guarantees communication quality. Type SIM-BE is executed for each SIM and indicates best-effort QoS control on a SIM basis that controls communication quality on a best-effort basis. Type AP-GA is executed for each application program PRap and indicates guaranteed QoS control on an application program basis that guarantees communication quality. Type AP-BE is executed for each application program PRap and indicates best-effort QoS control on an application program basis that controls communication quality on a best-effort basis.

The guaranteed QoS control on a per-SIM basis is an example of the "first quality control", and the best-effort QoS control on a per-SIM basis is an example of the "second quality control". The guaranteed QoS control on a per-application program basis is an example of the "third quality control", and the best-effort QoS control on a per-application program basis is an example of the "fourth quality control". In the example shown in FIG. 3, 28 QoS controls are shown, which are combinations of seven modes and four types. Each of the 28 QoS controls is associated with a QCI (QoS Class Identifier). Each of the 28 QoS controls is associated with an execution priority, as described in FIG. 1. The number of QoS controls is not limited to 28.

The management device 100 performs, for example, bandwidth control for controlling the bandwidth of communication in the network NW, low-latency control for controlling the delay of communication, and priority control for preferentially transferring packets related to a specific communication (data in units of transmission when performing communication) according to the QCI. For example, in guaranteed QoS control in low-latency mode, low-latency control with guaranteed delay in which an upper limit of delay is set may be performed. Also, for example, in guaranteed QoS control in high-speed large-capacity mode, bandwidth control with guaranteed bandwidth in which a lower limit of bandwidth is set may be performed. Note that, as low-latency control, for example, delay restriction in which a lower limit of delay is set may be performed. Similarly, as bandwidth control, bandwidth restriction in which an upper limit of bandwidth is set may be performed. For example, in QoS control in low-speed mode, bandwidth restriction in which an upper limit of bandwidth is set may be performed.

In addition, the management device 100 may combine multiple controls, such as bandwidth control, low latency control, and priority control, depending on the QCI. For example, low latency control and priority control may be combined. In priority control, for example, packets flowing on the network NW are assigned a priority, and packets with a higher priority than other packets are processed before the other packets.

In the example shown in Figure 3, an execution priority is associated with each of the 28 QoS controls based on the idea described below, but the execution priority associated with each of the 28 QoS controls is not limited to the example shown in Figure 3.

When focusing on guaranteed and best-effort QoS control, guaranteed QoS control should be prioritized over best-effort QoS control. For this reason, in the example shown in Figure 3, the execution priority of guaranteed QoS control is set higher than that of best-effort QoS control.

Also, when focusing on SIM units and application program units, in the application program units, the target of QoS control is limited to the communication of the application program PRap, but in the SIM units, the target of QoS control is not particularly limited. Therefore, when QoS control in the SIM unit is required, it is assumed that QoS control is always necessary. In this case, the necessity and importance of QoS control is considered to be higher in the SIM unit than in the application program unit. For this reason, in the example shown in Figure 3, in each mode, the execution priority of QoS control in the SIM unit is higher than that of QoS control in the application program unit.

In addition, by setting the execution priority of the QoS control on a per-SIM basis higher than that of the QoS control on a per-application program basis in each mode, the following effects can be obtained. In the QoS control on a per-SIM basis, charging is assumed from the user (individual or corporation) of the terminal device 200, and in the QoS control on a per-application program basis, charging is assumed from the application provider that provides the application program PRap to the terminal device 200, etc. For example, the user of the terminal device 200 charges for the QoS control for almost all communications of the terminal device 200, and the application provider charges for the QoS control for some communications of the terminal device 200. Therefore, the charge amount for the QoS control on a per-SIM basis is higher than the charge amount for the QoS control on a per-application program basis. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the QoS control on a per-SIM basis, which is charged a higher amount than the charge amount for the QoS control on a per-application program basis, is executed with priority, so that it is possible to suppress the charger from feeling dissatisfied with the charge amount.

Modes with clearly defined uses, such as conversation mode, interactive game mode, and mission-critical mode, are considered to require QoS control more than general-purpose modes, such as low-latency mode, high-speed large-capacity mode, low-speed mode, and multi-connection mode.

Specifically, the mission-critical mode should be prioritized over other modes because it is expected that communications used to maintain a safe and secure environment will be subject to QoS control. For this reason, in the example shown in Figure 3, the execution priority of the mission-critical mode is set higher than the execution priority of the other modes for each type.

In the conversation mode, since it is assumed that telephone calls and other communications are subject to QoS control, communications for realizing a safe and secure life may be subject to QoS control. For this reason, in the example shown in Figure 3, for each type, the execution priority of the conversation mode is set higher than the execution priority of the interactive game mode, low latency mode, high speed large capacity mode, low speed mode, and multi-connection mode.

The interactive game mode has a clear purpose. For this reason, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the execution priority of the interactive game mode is set higher than the execution priority of the low-latency mode, the high-speed large-capacity mode, the low-speed mode, and the multi-connection mode for each type.

In low-latency mode, it is assumed that the amount of communication subject to QoS control is small, so even if QoS control is executed, it is considered that the impact on other communications is small. For this reason, in the example shown in Figure 3, the execution priority of low-latency mode is higher than the execution priority of high-speed large-capacity mode, low-speed mode, and multi-connection mode for each type.

In the high-speed, large-capacity mode, the amount of communication subject to QoS control is expected to be greater than in the low-latency mode, but if QoS control is not executed, it is considered that users are more likely to experience a decrease in communication quality. For this reason, in the example shown in Figure 3, the execution priority of the high-speed, large-capacity mode is set higher than the execution priority of the low-speed mode and the multi-connection mode for each type.

In the low-speed mode, it is expected that the charge for QoS control will be reduced in exchange for slowing down the communication speed. Therefore, it is considered that in each type, the execution priority of the low-speed mode can basically be lower than the execution priority of the other modes without any problem. For this reason, in the example shown in Figure 3, the execution priority of the low-speed mode is set lower than the execution priority of the other modes in each type.

In the multi-connection mode, it is assumed that QoS control is performed on devices used in IoT, so even if QoS control is not performed on several devices, the overall impact is considered to be small. Therefore, it is considered to be no problem if the execution priority of the multi-connection mode is lower than the execution priority of the conversation mode, interactive game mode, mission critical mode, low latency mode, and high speed large capacity mode in each type. For this reason, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the execution priority of the multi-connection mode is lower than the execution priority of the conversation mode, interactive game mode, mission critical mode, low latency mode, and high speed large capacity mode in each type.

Note that the QoS control is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 3. For example, the QCI shown in FIG. 3 does not comply with the 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) standard, but a QCI that complies with the 3GPP standard may be used for the QoS control. In 3GPP, for example, the priority of resource allocation to packets, the packet loss rate, and the tuning method of the network NW are defined for each QCI. Note that the execution priority shown in FIG. 3 does not correspond to the priority of the QCI that complies with the 3GPP standard. Also, for example, the multiple QoS controls may be divided based on parameters corresponding to 5G, such as 5QI (5G QoS Identifier) and slices used in 5G (5th generation mobile communication system).

Also, for example, multiple types may be associated with one QCI. For example, two types, a best effort type per SIM (SIM-BE) and a best effort type per application program (AP-BE), may be associated with a low latency mode with a QCI of "2". And, for example, two types, a best effort type per SIM (SIM-BE) and a best effort type per application program (AP-BE), may be associated with a high speed, large capacity mode with a QCI of "6". In this case, the execution priority of the low latency mode in the best effort type per application program may be higher than the execution priority of the high speed, large capacity mode in the best effort type per SIM.

In addition, in the example shown in FIG. 3, the QoS control executed for each line contract and the QoS control executed for each terminal device 200 are not shown, but the QCI may be associated with the QoS control executed for each line contract and the QoS control executed for each terminal device 200. The execution priority of the QoS control executed for each line contract can be explained by, for example, replacing the above-mentioned "SIM unit" with "line contract unit". In this case, the guaranteed QoS control for each line contract is another example of the "first quality control", and the best-effort QoS control for each line contract is another example of the "second quality control". In addition, the execution priority of the QoS control executed for each terminal device 200 can be explained by replacing the above-mentioned "SIM unit" with "terminal device unit". In this case, the guaranteed QoS control for each terminal device is another example of the "first quality control", and the best-effort QoS control for each terminal device is another example of the "second quality control".

Figure 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of the waiting queue QUE shown in Figure 2.

The waiting queue QUE stores a control ID indicating a waiting QoS control, an execution priority of the QoS control indicated by the control ID, and control target information indicating a target of the QoS control indicated by the control ID in association with each other. The control ID may be, for example, identification information for identifying the QoS control indicated by the control ID from among multiple QoS controls. The control target information may be, for example, when the QoS control indicated by the control ID is SIM-based QoS control, information for identifying the SIM included in the information processing device that transmitted the execution request REQS for the QoS control indicated by the control ID from among multiple SIMs. Alternatively, the control target information may be the IP (Internet Protocol) address of the information processing device that transmitted the execution request REQS for the QoS control indicated by the control ID. Also, for example, when the QoS control indicated by the control ID is application program-based QoS control, the control target information may be identification information indicating the application program PRap that is the target of the QoS control indicated by the control ID.

Note that the waiting queue QUE is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 4. For example, the waiting queue QUE may store information included in a request REQS for executing the QoS control indicated by the control ID. Also, for example, the waiting queue QUE may store information indicating resources for executing the QoS control indicated by the control ID.

Figure 5 is a sequence chart showing an example of the operation of the network system 10 shown in Figure 1. In Figure 5, in order to distinguish between multiple terminal devices 200, the reference numerals of each terminal device 200 are suffixed with a lowercase alphabet (a, b, c, or d). The reference numerals of processes, etc. related to each terminal device 200 are also suffixed with the same lowercase alphabet (a, b, c, or d) as the corresponding terminal device 200.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that terminal devices 200a, 200b, 200c, and 200d transmit execution requests REQS. Hereinafter, QoS control based on the execution request REQSa from terminal device 200a is also referred to as QoSa, and QoS control based on the execution request REQSb from terminal device 200b is also referred to as QoSb. Similarly, QoS control based on the execution request REQSc from terminal device 200c is also referred to as QoSc, and QoS control based on the execution request REQSd from terminal device 200d is also referred to as QoSd.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, it is assumed that QoSa, QoSb, QoSc, and QoSd use common resources, and among QoSa, QoSb, QoSc, and QoSd, QoSd has the highest execution priority and QoSc has the lowest execution priority. For example, QoSa, QoSb, QoSc, and QoSd may be the low-latency mode described in FIG. 3. In this case, for example, the QCI of QoSd may be 1, the QCI of QoSa may be 3, the QCI of QoSb may be 2, and the QCI of QoSc may be 4. For example, in the operation shown in FIG. 5, in a network NW that is already executing multiple QoS controls (not shown) with the same QCI as that of QoSd, there may be a shortage of resources to simultaneously execute QoSa, QoSb, QoSc, and QoSd.

In the example shown in Figure 5, for simplicity of explanation, it is assumed that the network NW does not have the resources to simultaneously execute three of QoSa, QoSb, QoSc and QoSd.

First, the request unit 240 of the terminal device 200a transmits an execution request REQSa requesting the execution of QoS control to the management device 100 (S200a). As a result, the acquisition unit 120 of the management device 100 receives the execution request REQSa from the terminal device 200a. That is, the acquisition unit 120 of the management device 100 acquires the execution request REQSa from the terminal device 200a (S100a). Then, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 determines whether there are insufficient resources to execute the QoS control (QoSa) of the start candidate indicated by the execution request REQSa (S120a).

In the example shown in Figure 5, it is assumed that there is no shortage of resources. Therefore, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 executes QoSa (S140a). Then, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 transmits an acknowledgment ACKSa indicating that QoSa will be executed to the terminal device 200a as response information to the execution request REQSa (S150a). As a result, the terminal device 200a receives the acknowledgment ACKSa as response information to the execution request REQSa (S202a).

Next, the request unit 240 of the terminal device 200b transmits an execution request REQSb requesting the execution of QoS control to the management device 100 (S200b). The management device 100 executes the same process for the execution request REQSa from the terminal device 200a as for the execution request REQSb from the terminal device 200b (S100b, S120b, S140b, and S150b). As a result, the terminal device 200b receives an acknowledgment ACKSb indicating that QoSb will be executed as response information for the execution request REQSb (S202b).

Next, the request unit 240 of the terminal device 200c transmits an execution request REQSc requesting the execution of QoS control to the management device 100 (S200c). As a result, the acquisition unit 120 of the management device 100 acquires the execution request REQSc from the terminal device 200c (S100c). Then, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 determines whether there are insufficient resources to execute the QoS control (QoS) of the start candidate indicated by the execution request REQSc (S120c).

In the example shown in FIG. 5, QoSa and QoSb are being executed, and therefore there are insufficient resources to execute QoSc. Therefore, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 determines whether the executing QoS controls (QoSa and QoSb) include a QoS control that is a candidate for termination and has an execution priority lower than QoSc (S122c). The execution priority of the executing QoSa and QoSb is higher than the execution priority of QoSc. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 5, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 determines that there is no QoS control that is a candidate for termination. Therefore, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 waits for the execution of QoSc (S130c).

Then, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 transmits a negative acknowledgement NACKSc indicating that QoS is not executed to the terminal device 200c as response information to the execution request REQSc (S150c). As a result, the terminal device 200c receives the negative acknowledgement NACKSc as response information to the execution request REQSc (S202c). Note that the negative acknowledgement NACSc may include information indicating that the execution of QoS is waiting. The negative acknowledgement NACKS is an example of "negative information".

In the example shown in Fig. 5, it is assumed that the communication that is the subject of the not-executed QoS is not disconnected and is executed as a communication in which QoS is not executed, but the communication that is the subject of QoS may be disconnected. Also, in the example shown in Fig. 5, it is assumed that the not-executed QoS is put on hold, but the not-executed QoS may be discarded without being put on hold.

Next, the request unit 240 of the terminal device 200b transmits a termination request REQEb requesting the termination of QoSb to the management device 100 (S220b). As a result, the acquisition unit 120 of the management device 100 receives the termination request REQEb from the terminal device 200b. That is, the acquisition unit 120 of the management device 100 acquires the termination request REQEb from the terminal device 200b (S160b). Then, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 terminates the QoS control (QoSb) indicated by the termination request REQEb (S162b). In addition, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 transmits an acknowledgment ACKEb indicating the termination of QoSb to the terminal device 200b as response information to the termination request REQEb (S164b). As a result, the terminal device 200b receives an acknowledgment ACKEb as response information to the termination request REQEb (S222b).

In addition, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 determines whether or not the waiting QoSc can be executed since the QoSb has been terminated (S182c). For example, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 determines whether or not there is a shortage of resources to execute the waiting QoSc.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, since QoSb out of QoSa and QoSb has ended, there is no shortage of resources to execute the waiting QoSc. Therefore, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 determines that the waiting QoSc can be executed. Therefore, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 executes the waiting QoSc (S184c). Then, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 transmits execution information SINFc indicating that the waiting QoSc has been executed to the terminal device 200c that transmitted the execution request REQSc (S186c). As a result, the terminal device 200c receives the execution information SINFc (S210c).

In this way, in this embodiment, even QoS control with a low execution priority is executed when network resources become available.

Next, the request unit 240 of the terminal device 200d transmits an execution request REQSd requesting the execution of QoS control to the management device 100 (S200d). As a result, the acquisition unit 120 of the management device 100 acquires the execution request REQSd from the terminal device 200d (S100d). Then, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 determines whether there are insufficient resources to execute the QoS control (QoSd) of the start candidate indicated by the execution request REQSd (S120d).

In the example shown in FIG. 5, QoSa and QoSc are being executed, so there are insufficient resources to execute QoSd. Therefore, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 determines whether the currently executing QoS control (QoSa and QoSc) includes a QoS control candidate for termination whose execution priority is lower than that of QoSd (S122d). The execution priority of the currently executing QoSa and QoSc is lower than that of QoSd. Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 5, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 determines that the currently executing QoS control includes the QoS control candidate for termination. For example, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 selects QoSc, which has a lower execution priority, from QoSa and QoSc, as the QoS control candidate for termination.

Then, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 determines whether or not resources for executing the QoSd of the start candidate can be secured by terminating the QoSc of the termination candidate (S124d). When the QoSc is terminated, the resources used for the QoSc are released, and resources for executing the QoSd are secured. Therefore, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 determines that resources for the QoSd of the start candidate can be secured by terminating the QoSc of the termination candidate.

Therefore, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 terminates QoS and manages the terminated QoS as a standby QoS control (S126d and S128d). Furthermore, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 executes QoSd because the resources for QoSd have been secured by terminating QoS (S140d). Then, the quality control unit 140 of the management device 100 transmits termination information EINFc indicating that QoS has been terminated to the terminal device 200c that transmitted the execution request REQSc of QoS, and transmits an acknowledgment ACKSd of the execution request REQSd to the terminal device 200d (S150d). As a result, the terminal device 200c receives the termination information EINFc (S212c). Furthermore, the terminal device 200d receives an acknowledgment ACKSd indicating that QoSd will be executed, as response information to the execution request REQSd (S202d).

In the example shown in Fig. 5, it is assumed that the communication subject to the terminated QoS is not disconnected and continues as a communication in which QoS is not executed, but the communication subject to QoS may be disconnected. Also, in the example shown in Fig. 5, it is assumed that the terminated QoS is put on hold, but the terminated QoS may be discarded without being put on hold.

In this way, when the management device 100 has insufficient resources for QoS control with a high execution priority, it determines whether or not resources for QoS control with a high execution priority can be secured by terminating the running QoS control with a low execution priority. Then, when the management device 100 can secure resources for QoS control with a high execution priority by terminating the running QoS control with a low execution priority, it terminates the running QoS control with a low execution priority and executes QoS control with a high execution priority. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to effectively use finite network resources and execute appropriate QoS control in response to various QoS control requests from multiple information processing devices such as the terminal device 200. For example, in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent QoS control from being suspended for truly important communications such as calls made by the Prime Minister's mobile phone.

Note that the operation of the network system 10 is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 5. For example, the management device 100 may transmit an acknowledgment ACKS to the terminal device 200 before executing the QoS control indicated by the execution request REQS, or may transmit an acknowledgment ACKE to the terminal device 200 before terminating the QoS control indicated by the termination request REQE. Also, for example, the transmission of response information such as an acknowledgment ACKS to the execution request REQS may be omitted. That is, the acknowledgment ACKS to the execution request REQS may not be transmitted to the device that transmitted the execution request REQS. Also, for example, the application server 300 may transmit the execution request REQS. Also, for example, some of the resources used may be common in QoSa, QoSb, QoSc, and QoSd. Note that, for example, the fact that a QoS control with a high execution priority can invade the resources of a QoS control with a low execution priority also corresponds to a part of the resources being common in multiple QoS controls.

Also, for example, a terminal device 200 that has already been subjected to any one of the multiple QoS controls may request the execution of a QoS control different from the QoS control. Specifically, for example, assume that the terminal device 200a is executing the first application program PRap and the second application program PRap. In this case, the terminal device 200a may request the execution of QoS control for the communication of the second application program PRap in a state in which QoS control for the communication of the first application program PRap is already being executed. In other words, among the multiple QoS controls, one or more QoS controls other than the QoS control of the start candidate may be executed on the device that requested the QoS control of the start candidate.

Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the management device 100 when an execution request REQS for QoS control is received. The operation shown in Figure 6 is executed, for example, when an execution request REQS is sent to the management device 100 from an information processing device (e.g., a terminal device 200 and an application server 300, etc.) connected to the network NW and a device included in the network NW.

First, in step S100, the acquisition unit 120 acquires an execution request REQS. Then, the acquisition unit 120 proceeds to step S120.

In step S120, the quality control unit 140 determines whether or not some or all of the resources for executing the QoS control of the start candidate indicated by the execution request REQS acquired in step S100 are insufficient. For example, the quality control unit 140 determines whether or not the resources of the QoS control of the start candidate are insufficient because one or more QoS controls other than the QoS control of the start candidate among the multiple QoS controls are being executed on at least one device connected to the network NW.

If the result of the judgment in step S120 is negative, the quality control unit 140 advances the process to step S140. On the other hand, if the result of the judgment in step S120 is positive, the quality control unit 140 advances the process to step S122.

In step S122, the quality control unit 140 determines whether the ongoing QoS control includes an end candidate QoS control whose execution priority is lower than the execution priority of the start candidate QoS control. If the result of the determination in step S122 is negative, the quality control unit 140 proceeds to step S130. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S120 is positive, the quality control unit 140 proceeds to step S124.

In step S124, the quality control unit 140 determines whether or not resources for executing the QoS control of the start candidate can be secured by terminating the QoS control of the end candidate. In addition, when two or more QoS controls correspond to the QoS control of the end candidate, the quality control unit 140 may determine whether or not resources for executing the QoS control of the start candidate can be secured by terminating some or all of the QoS controls of the multiple end candidates. If the result of the determination in step S124 is negative, the quality control unit 140 proceeds to step S130. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S124 is positive, the quality control unit 140 proceeds to step S126.

In step S126, the quality control unit 140 ends the QoS control of the end candidate. This releases the resources used for the QoS control of the end candidate, and ensures resources for executing the QoS control of the start candidate. After executing the process of step S126, the quality control unit 140 proceeds to step S128.

In step S128, the quality control unit 140 manages the QoS control that was completed in step S126 as a waiting QoS control. For example, the quality control unit 140 registers the QoS control that was completed in step S126 in a waiting queue QUE. After executing the process of step S128, the quality control unit 140 proceeds to step S140.

In step S140, the quality control unit 140 executes QoS control of the starting candidate. After executing the processing of step S140, the quality control unit 140 advances the processing to step S150. Before explaining the processing of step S150, the processing of step S130 will be explained.

In step S130, the quality control unit 140 does not execute the QoS control of the start candidate, but manages the QoS control of the start candidate as a waiting QoS control. For example, the quality control unit 140 registers the QoS control of the start candidate in the waiting queue QUE. After executing the process of step S130, the quality control unit 140 proceeds to step S150.

In step S150, the quality control unit 140 transmits the response information to the execution request REQS acquired in step S100 to the device that transmitted the execution request REQS. For example, when the quality control unit 140 executes the QoS control of the start candidate (when the processing of step S140 is executed), it transmits an ACKS indicating that the QoS control of the start candidate is executed as the response information to the execution request REQS. Also, for example, when the quality control unit 140 does not execute the QoS control of the start candidate (when the processing of step S130 is executed), it transmits a NACKS indicating that the QoS control of the start candidate is not executed as the response information to the execution request REQS. Note that the NACK may include information indicating that the execution of the QoS control of the start candidate is waiting.

Furthermore, when the quality control unit 140 has terminated the QoS control of the termination candidate (when the processing of step S126 has been executed), the quality control unit 140 may transmit termination information EINF indicating that the QoS control based on the execution request REQS has been terminated to the device that transmitted the execution request REQS of the QoS control of the termination candidate. The termination information EINF may be transmitted in step S150, or in step S126 or S128. Furthermore, the termination information EINF may include information indicating that the execution of the QoS control is pending.

In this way, when the resources of the QoS control of the start candidate are insufficient, the management device 100 determines whether to execute the QoS control of the start candidate based on the execution priority of the QoS control of the start candidate and the execution priority of the QoS control currently being executed. For example, when the management device 100 can secure resources for the QoS control of the start candidate by terminating the QoS control of the end candidate whose execution priority is lower than that of the QoS control of the start candidate, it terminates the QoS control of the end candidate and executes the QoS control of the start candidate. In this way, in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent a QoS control with a high execution priority from being unable to be executed due to the execution of a QoS control with a low execution priority.

Note that the operation of the management device 100 when receiving a request REQS to execute QoS control is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 6. For example, in steps S128 and S130, etc., it may be possible to select whether or not to register the QoS control that is not executed in the standby queue QUE. In this case, for example, the execution request REQS may include information on whether or not to register the QoS control in the standby queue QUE when not executed. Alternatively, whether or not to register the QoS control in the standby queue QUE when not executed may be set in advance for each QoS control.

Also, for example, one or both of steps S128 and S130 may be omitted. When step S128 is omitted, the communication that is the target of the terminated QoS control (the communication that is the target of the QoS control of the termination candidate) may be continued as a communication in which QoS control is not performed, or may be disconnected. Similarly, when step S130 is omitted, the communication that is the target of the QoS control of the start candidate that is not executed may be executed as a communication in which QoS control is not performed, or may be disconnected, without being disconnected. Also, when both steps S128 and S130 are omitted, that is, when the execution of QoS control is not waited, the management device 100 may not have a waiting queue QUE. Note that when one or both of steps S128 and S130 are omitted, the terminal device 200 or the application server 300, etc. may again transmit an execution request REQS to the management device 100 when QoS control is required.

Figure 7 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the management device 100 for standby QoS control. The operation shown in Figure 7 is executed, for example, when a termination request REQE is sent to the management device 100 from an information processing device (e.g., a terminal device 200 and an application server 300, etc.) connected to the network NW and from a device included in the network NW.

First, in step S160, the acquisition unit 120 acquires a termination request REQE. Then, the acquisition unit 120 proceeds to step S162.

In step S162, the quality control unit 140 terminates the QoS control indicated by the termination request REQE acquired in step S160. This releases the resources used for the QoS control indicated by the termination request REQE, thereby increasing the availability of network resources. After executing the process of step S162, the quality control unit 140 proceeds to step S164.

In step S164, the quality control unit 140 transmits response information to the termination request REQE acquired in step S160 to the device that transmitted the termination request REQE. For example, the quality control unit 140 transmits an acknowledgment ACK indicating that the QoS control indicated by the termination request REQE is to be terminated as response information to the termination request REQE. After executing the process of step S164, the quality control unit 140 advances the process to step S170.

In step S170, the quality control unit 140 determines whether or not there is a waiting QoS control. For example, the quality control unit 140 determines whether or not the waiting QoS control is registered in the waiting queue QUE. If the result of the determination in step S170 is negative, the operation shown in FIG. 7 ends. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S170 is positive, the quality control unit 140 advances the process to step S180.

In step S180, the quality control unit 140 selects a QoS control to be judged from among the QoS controls on hold. For example, the quality control unit 140 selects the QoS control with the highest execution priority among the QoS controls to be selected and registered in the waiting queue QUE as the QoS control to be judged. The QoS control to be selected and registered in the waiting queue QUE is a QoS control registered in the waiting queue QUE for which the judgment in step S182 described below has not been executed.

In addition, if the QoS control to be selected includes multiple QoS controls with the highest execution priority, the quality control unit 140 may select the QoS control that was registered earliest in the waiting queue QUE among the multiple QoS controls with the highest execution priority as the QoS control to be determined. In this case, it is possible to prevent the waiting time from becoming unnecessarily long. After executing the process of step S180, the quality control unit 140 proceeds to the process of step S182.

In step S182, the quality control unit 140 determines whether or not the QoS control of the object selected in step S180 can be executed. For example, the quality control unit 140 determines whether or not there is a shortage of resources to execute the QoS control of the object. If the result of the determination in step S182 is negative, the quality control unit 140 proceeds to step S188. On the other hand, if the result of the determination in step S182 is positive, the quality control unit 140 proceeds to step S184.

In step S184, the quality control unit 140 executes QoS control for the target. Then, the quality control unit 140 advances the process to step S186.

In step S186, the quality control unit 140 transmits execution information SINF indicating that the QoS control to be determined has been performed to the device that transmitted the execution request REQS for the QoS control to be determined. Then, the quality control unit 140 proceeds to step S188.

In step S188, the quality control unit 140 determines whether the determination in step S182 has been performed for all of the standby QoS controls. If the result of the determination in step S188 is negative, the quality control unit 140 returns the process to step S180. As a result, when the quality control unit 140 manages, for example, two or more QoS controls among the multiple QoS controls as standby QoS controls, it determines whether to execute each of the two or more QoS controls managed as standby QoS controls in descending order of execution priority. Note that, if the result of the determination in step S170 is positive, the operation shown in FIG. 7 ends.

In this way, when any of the running QoS controls is terminated, the management device 100 determines whether to execute the waiting QoS control based on the execution priority of the waiting QoS control and the execution priority of the running QoS control. For example, when the management device 100 can secure resources for one of the waiting QoS controls due to the termination of one of the running QoS controls, it executes one of the waiting QoS controls. As a result, in this embodiment, when network resources become available, one of the waiting QoS controls can be executed, thereby making it possible to use network resources effectively.

Note that the operation of the management device 100 for standby QoS control is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 7. For example, or alternatively, the processing of step S164 may be executed before the processing of step S162, or may be executed in parallel with the processing of step S162. Alternatively, the processing of step S164 may be executed after the series of processing from step S170 to step S188 has been completed, or may be executed in parallel with the series of processing from step S170 to step S188.

For example, the series of processes from step S170 to step S188 may be executed in response to a trigger other than the transmission of the termination request REQE to the management device 100. Alternatively, the series of processes from step S170 to step S188 may be executed repeatedly at a predetermined interval, or may be executed after a predetermined time has elapsed from the timing at which the QoS control is newly registered in the waiting queue QUE.

Another trigger as mentioned above may be, for example, an increase in available network resources. Although available network resources increase when QoS control ends, as shown below, available network resources may increase regardless of the end of QoS control. For example, if network resources have decreased compared to the normal state due to maintenance of devices in the network NW, the available network resources will increase when the maintenance ends. Also, for example, if equipment is added to the network NW, the available network resources will increase.

The end of any of the QoS controls being executed is an example of a "predetermined trigger", and an increase in the availability of network resources is another example of a "predetermined trigger". In addition, when a series of processes from step S170 to step S188 are repeated at a predetermined interval, the passage of a time corresponding to the predetermined interval from the previous execution timing of the series of processes from step S170 to step S188 is another example of a "predetermined trigger". In this case, the first trigger of the repeated process may be the passage of a time corresponding to the predetermined interval from the timing when the first QoS control is registered in a waiting queue QUE in which no QoS control is registered. In addition, when a series of processes from step S170 to step S188 are executed after a predetermined time has elapsed from the registration timing when a new QoS control is registered in the waiting queue QUE, the passage of a predetermined time from the registration timing is another example of a "predetermined trigger".

In addition, for example, in step S182, the management device 100 may execute a process similar to the series of processes from step S122 to step S128 shown in FIG. 6. In this case, the QoS control with the higher execution priority among the running QoS control and the waiting QoS control can be executed preferentially. For example, assume that a QoS with an execution priority higher than the execution priority of QoSc shown in FIG. 5 and lower than the execution priority of QoSb is waiting, and the resource of QoSb can be secured when both QoSb and QoSc are not being executed. During the period when both QoSb and QoSc are being executed, QoS is not executed and waits. The resource of the waiting QoS is secured, for example, by terminating QoS with an execution priority lower than the execution priority of QoSSe when QoSb of the running QoSb and QoSc is terminated. Therefore, for example, when QoSb of the currently executing QoSb and QoSc is terminated, the management device 100 can execute the waiting QoS by terminating QoSc, which has an execution priority lower than the execution priority of QoS.

Note that the same processing as the series of processing from step S122 to step S128 shown in Fig. 6 can be explained by replacing "start candidate QoS control" with "target QoS control" in the explanation of the series of processing from step S122 to step S128 in Fig. 6. For example, if the result of the judgment similar to the judgment of step S122 or S124 in Fig. 6 is negative, the processing of step S188 is executed, the same processing as the processing of step S128 is executed, and then the processing of step S184 is executed.

Also, for example, the management device 100 may not terminate the QoS control indicated by the termination request REQE acquired in step S160. In this case, the management device 100 may transmit a negative response indicating that the QoS control indicated by the termination request REQE will not be terminated in step S164. Also, if the QoS control indicated by the termination request REQE is not to be terminated, the series of processes from step S170 to step S188 may not be executed.

As described above, in this embodiment, the management device 100 has an acquisition unit 120 that acquires an execution request REQS that requests the execution of one of the multiple QoS controls, and a quality control unit 140. The quality control unit 140 executes the QoS control of the start candidate when there is a shortage of resources to execute the QoS control of the start candidate indicated by the execution request REQS. Note that, among the multiple QoS controls, one or more QoS controls other than the QoS control of the start candidate may be executed, resulting in a shortage of some or all of the resources of the QoS control of the start candidate. In this case, the quality control unit 140 determines whether to execute the QoS control of the start candidate based on the execution priority of the QoS control of the start candidate and the execution priority of the QoS control being executed.

In this way, when resources for the QoS control of the start candidate are insufficient, the management device 100 determines whether or not to execute the QoS control of the start candidate based on the execution priority of the QoS control of the start candidate and the execution priority of the QoS control currently being executed. As a result, in this embodiment, QoS control with a high execution priority can be executed preferentially. As a result, in this embodiment, appropriate QoS control can be executed by effectively using finite network resources in response to various QoS control requests.

In addition, in this embodiment, the quality control unit 140 may terminate the QoS control of the termination candidate when the resources of the QoS control of the start candidate can be secured by terminating the QoS control of the termination candidate whose execution priority is lower than the execution priority of the QoS control of the start candidate among the QoS controls being executed. Then, the quality control unit 140 may execute the QoS control of the start candidate. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the QoS control of the high execution priority from being unable to be executed due to the execution of the QoS control of the low execution priority. In addition, if the resources of the QoS control of the start candidate cannot be secured even if the QoS control of the termination candidate is terminated, the quality control unit 140 may continue the execution of the QoS control of the termination candidate without executing the QoS control of the start candidate. As a result, in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent the QoS control of the low execution priority from being terminated unnecessarily.

In addition, in this embodiment, when the quality control unit 140 terminates the QoS control of the termination candidate, it may transmit termination information EINF indicating that the QoS control based on the execution request REQS has been terminated to the device that transmitted the execution request REQS of the QoS control of the termination candidate. In this way, in this embodiment, it is possible to make the device that transmitted the execution request REQS of the QoS control of the termination candidate recognize the termination of the QoS control. In addition, when the quality control unit 140 continues the execution of the QoS control of the termination candidate without executing the QoS control of the start candidate, it may transmit a negative response NACKS indicating that the QoS control based on the execution request REQS will not be executed to the device that transmitted the execution request REQS of the QoS control of the start candidate. In this way, in this embodiment, it is possible to make the device that transmitted the execution request REQS of the QoS control of the start candidate recognize that the QoS control will not be executed.

In addition, in this embodiment, when the quality control unit 140 terminates the QoS control of the termination candidate, the terminated QoS control may be managed as a standby QoS control that is waiting to be executed. In addition, when the quality control unit 140 continues the execution of the QoS control of the termination candidate without executing the QoS control of the start candidate, the quality control unit 140 may manage the QoS control of the start candidate as a standby QoS control. Then, the quality control unit 140 may determine whether to execute the standby QoS control based on the execution priority of the standby QoS control and the execution priority of the active QoS control at a predetermined opportunity. As a result, in this embodiment, when a vacancy is created in the network resource due to, for example, the termination of any of the active QoS controls, any of the standby QoS controls can be executed. As a result, in this embodiment, the network resource can be used effectively.

In addition, in this embodiment, when it is determined that one of the waiting QoS controls is to be executed, execution information SINF indicating that QoS control based on the execution request REQS will be executed may be transmitted to a device that has transmitted an execution request REQS for the QoS control to be executed among the waiting QoS controls. This allows the device that has transmitted the execution request REQS for the QoS control to be executed to recognize that QoS control will be executed.

In addition, in this embodiment, the multiple QoS controls may include a first QoS control, a second QoS control, a third QoS control, and a fourth QoS control. The first QoS control is performed for each line based on a contract for a communication service provided by the network NW, and guarantees communication quality. The second QoS control is performed for each line, and controls communication quality on a best-effort basis. The third QoS control is performed for each application program PRap available in the terminal device 200 connected to the network NW, and guarantees communication quality. The fourth QoS control is performed for each application program PRap, and controls communication quality on a best-effort basis.

In addition, in this embodiment, the execution priority of the first QoS control and the execution priority of the third QoS control are higher than both the execution priority of the second QoS control and the execution priority of the third QoS control. Furthermore, the execution priority of the first QoS control is higher than the execution priority of the third QoS control. And, the execution priority of the second QoS control is higher than the execution priority of the fourth QoS control.

In this way, in this embodiment, it is possible to effectively use finite network resources to execute appropriate QoS control for various QoS control requests such as the first QoS control, the second QoS control, the third QoS control, and the fourth QoS control. In addition, it is considered that the QoS control executed for each line requires more resources than the QoS control executed for each application program PRap. For this reason, it is assumed that the telecommunications carrier will charge a higher amount for the QoS control executed for each line than the amount for the QoS control executed for each application program PRap. In this case, for example, it is assumed that the amount for the second QoS control will be higher than the amount for the fourth QoS control, but since the second QoS control is executed with priority over the fourth QoS control, it is possible to suppress the biller from feeling dissatisfied with the amount charged.

2. Modifications
The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. Specific modified aspects are exemplified below. Two or more aspects selected from the following examples may be combined.

[First Modification]
In the above embodiment, the execution priority when QoS control is being executed is the same as the execution priority when QoS control is not being executed, but the present invention is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the execution priority when QoS control is being executed may be different from the execution priority when QoS control is not being executed.

Specifically, the execution priority of a QoS control before execution among the multiple QoS controls may indicate a priority regarding the start of the QoS control before execution, and the execution priority of a QoS control currently being executed among the multiple QoS controls may indicate a priority regarding the continuation of the currently being executed QoS control. Note that, in each of the multiple QoS controls, the execution priority of the currently being executed QoS control is the same priority as the execution priority of the QoS control before execution, or a higher priority than the execution priority of the QoS control before execution. As a result, in the first modified example, it is possible to provide QoS control in which the start of QoS control is likely to be postponed, but the possibility of terminating midway once QoS control has been started is low.

Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of QoS control related to the first modified example. Note that in Figure 8, the QoS control related to the first modified example is explained using a part (low latency mode) of the multiple QoS controls shown in Figure 3 as an example.

The start priority shown in FIG. 8 is the execution priority of the QoS control before execution, and indicates the priority regarding the start of the QoS control before execution. The continuation priority shown in FIG. 8 is the execution priority of the QoS control during execution, and indicates the priority regarding the continuation of the QoS control during execution.

As shown in FIG. 8, for example, in each QoS control with a QCI of "1", "2", and "3", the start priority before the execution of the QoS control and the continue priority during the execution of the QoS control are the same priority. For example, in a QoS control with a QCI of "2", both the start priority and the continue priority are "18". In contrast, in a QoS control with a QCI of "4", the start priority before the execution of the QoS control and the continue priority during the execution of the QoS control are different priorities. For example, in a QoS control with a QCI of "4", the start priority is "25" and the continue priority is "17". In other words, in a QoS control with a QCI of "4", the continue priority is higher than the start priority. As a result, in the case of QoS control with a QCI of "4", the start of QoS control is given priority over QoS control with a QCI of "2", but the possibility of it being terminated midway through execution is lower than in the case of QoS control with a QCI of "2".

In the example shown in FIG. 8, if the start priority is a priority corresponding to a best-effort type that prioritizes start as much as possible, the continuation priority is a priority corresponding to a best-effort type that continues the executed QoS control as much as possible without terminating it midway. Also, if the start priority is a priority corresponding to a guaranteed type that guarantees the start of QoS control, the continuation priority is a priority corresponding to a guaranteed type that guarantees that it will not be terminated midway.

The QoS control according to the first modified example is not limited to the example shown in FIG. 8. For example, the start priority may be a priority corresponding to the best-effort type, and the continuation priority may be a priority corresponding to the guaranteed type. Also, the start priority may be a priority corresponding to the guaranteed type, and the continuation priority may be a priority corresponding to the best-effort type. In other words, the execution priority of the QoS control according to the first modified example may be one of a number of patterns based on a combination of a start priority corresponding to the guaranteed type or best-effort type and a continuation priority corresponding to the guaranteed type or best-effort type.

In the first modified example, the execution priority when QoS control is being executed can be set to the same priority as the execution priority when QoS control is not being executed, or to a higher priority than the execution priority when QoS control is not being executed. This makes it possible to improve the usability of QoS control in the first modified example.

[Second Modification]
In the above-described embodiment and the first modified example, the quality control unit 140 determines whether or not there is a shortage of resources for executing the start candidate QoS control each time the acquisition unit 120 acquires the execution request REQS, but the present invention is not limited to such an aspect. For example, when the quality control unit 140 has already managed a QoS control with an execution priority higher than that of the start candidate QoS control as a standby QoS control at the time when the acquisition unit 120 acquires the execution request REQS, the quality control unit 140 may not execute the determination of whether or not there is a shortage of resources.

Specifically, if the waiting QoS controls include a QoS control that uses resources common to the candidate QoS control to be started and has a higher execution priority than the execution priority of the candidate QoS control to be started, the management device 100 does not need to determine whether or not there is a resource shortage.

In addition, when the quality control unit 140 does not execute a determination of whether or not the resources of the start candidate QoS control are insufficient, the quality control unit 140 may manage the start candidate QoS control as a standby QoS control. In other words, when the quality control unit 140 is already managing a QoS control whose execution priority is higher than the execution priority of the start candidate QoS control as a standby QoS control, the quality control unit 140 may add the start candidate QoS control to the QoS controls managed as standby QoS controls.

In the second modification, it is possible to omit the determination of whether or not resources are insufficient for a candidate QoS control for initiation that has a lower execution priority than the execution priority of at least one waiting QoS control. As a result, in the second modification, it is possible to prevent the operation of the management device 100 from becoming complicated when a request REQS for execution of a QoS control is received.

[Third Modification]
In the above-described embodiment, the first modification, and the second modification, a termination condition may be determined for some or all of the multiple QoS controls. For example, as described in the above-described embodiment, the acquisition unit 120 acquires a termination request REQE that requests the termination of the QoS control being executed. Furthermore, when the acquisition unit 120 acquires the termination request REQE, the quality control unit 140 terminates the QoS control indicated by the termination request REQE among the QoS controls being executed. Then, in the third modification, when any of the QoS controls being executed satisfies the termination condition, the quality control unit 140 automatically terminates the QoS control that satisfies the termination condition among the QoS controls being executed, regardless of whether the acquisition unit 120 acquires the termination request REQE. That is, the QoS control that satisfies the termination condition is forcibly terminated.

The termination condition may be, for example, a transition of the state of the terminal device 200 or the application server 300 to a state in which communication is not required, or a predetermined QoS usage time, usage day, day of the week, or number of times. Examples of a state in which communication is not required include a state in which communication of the application program PRap has not occurred for a predetermined period of time, and a state in which an application program PRap that is not subject to QoS control has been executed. Note that the communication for which QoS control has been forcibly terminated may be disconnected, or may be continued as communication in which QoS control is not executed without being disconnected.

In the third modified example, since the QoS control that meets the termination condition can be forcibly terminated, it is possible to prevent unnecessary use of network resources. As a result, in the third modified example, it is possible to effectively use network resources.

[Fourth Modification]
In the above-described embodiment and the first to third modified examples, the execution priority of the QoS control on a per-SIM basis is higher than the execution priority of the QoS control on a per-application program basis in each mode of QoS control, but the present invention is not limited to such an embodiment. For example, in each mode of QoS control, the execution priority of the QoS control on a per-application program basis may be higher than the execution priority of the QoS control on a per-SIM basis.

Therefore, in the fourth modified example, when the above-mentioned first QoS control, second QoS control, third QoS control, and fourth QoS control are included in the multiple QoS controls, the execution priority of the third QoS control may be higher than the execution priority of the first QoS control. Also, the execution priority of the fourth QoS control may be higher than the execution priority of the second QoS control.

In the SIM-based QoS control, QoS control is performed on almost all communications of the terminal device 200, so that QoS control may be performed on communications of application programs PRap that have a low need for QoS control. In contrast, in the application program-based QoS control, the QoS control required for each application program PRap is selected. For this reason, for example, an application program PRap that has a low need for QoS control does not need to be set as an application program PRap that is permitted to use QoS control. Therefore, in each mode of QoS control, when the application program-based QoS control is executed with priority over the SIM-based QoS control, it is possible to suppress the execution of QoS control on communications of application programs PRap that have a low need for QoS control. That is, in the fourth modified example, the QoS control of a truly necessary use case can be executed with priority.

It is also considered that the resources used for QoS control on an application program basis are fewer than the resources used for QoS control on a SIM basis. Therefore, when QoS control on an application program basis is given priority over QoS control on a SIM basis, QoS control can be provided to more users than when QoS control on a SIM basis is given priority over QoS control on an application program basis. In this way, in the fourth variant, network resources can be used effectively to provide QoS control to more users.

[Fifth Modification]
In the above-described embodiment and the first to fourth variants, if the quality control unit 140 is already executing a QoS control other than the start candidate QoS control among multiple QoS controls for the device that requested the start candidate QoS control, the quality control unit 140 may operate as shown below.

For example, assume that resources for the start candidate QoS control are insufficient because a QoS control other than the start candidate QoS control is already being executed for the terminal device 200 that requested the start candidate QoS control. Furthermore, assume that both the start candidate QoS control and the other QoS control are best-effort QoS controls. In this case, the quality control unit 140 may execute the QoS control with a higher execution priority among the start candidate QoS control and the other QoS control, and not execute the QoS control with a lower execution priority. Note that the QoS control that is not executed (the QoS control with a lower execution priority) may not be registered in the waiting queue QUE.

In the fourth variant, it is possible to prevent multiple QoS controls from being executed for a specific terminal device 200, thereby making effective use of network resources and enabling QoS control to be executed for many terminal devices 200.

[Sixth Modification]
In the above-described embodiment and the first to fifth variants, no specific explanation is given for the case where guaranteed QoS control is not executed, but if guaranteed QoS control is not executed, the amount charged, etc. may be reduced.

[3. Other]
(1) In the above-described embodiment, the storage device (e.g., storage devices 160 and 260) is a recording medium readable by the processing device (e.g., processing devices 110 and 210). ROM and RAM are exemplified, but the storage device may be a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., a card, a stick, a key drive), a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-ROM), a register, a removable disk, a hard disk, a floppy (registered trademark) disk, a magnetic strip, a database, a server, or any other suitable storage medium. The program may also be transmitted from a network via a telecommunications line. The program may also be transmitted from a communication network via a telecommunications line.

(2) The above-described embodiments may be applied to at least one of systems using LTE (Long Term Evolution), LTE-A (LTE-Advanced), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4G (4th generation mobile communication system), 5G (5th generation mobile communication system), FRA (Future Radio Access), NR (new Radio), W-CDMA (registered trademark), GSM (registered trademark), CDMA2000, UMB (Ultra Mobile Broadband), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX (registered trademark)), IEEE 802.20, UWB (Ultra-WideBand), Bluetooth (registered trademark), and other appropriate systems, and next-generation systems extended based on these. In addition, multiple systems may be combined (for example, a combination of at least one of LTE and LTE-A with 5G, etc.).

(3) In the above-described embodiments, the described information, signals, etc. may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

(4) In the above-described embodiment, the input/output information, etc. may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or may be managed using a management table. The input/output information, etc. may be overwritten, updated, or added to. Output information, etc. may be deleted. Input information, etc. may be transmitted to another device.

(5) In the above-described embodiments, the determination may be made based on a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), a Boolean value (true or false), or a numerical comparison (e.g., comparison with a predetermined value).

(6) The processing procedures, sequences, flow charts, etc. illustrated in the above-described embodiments may be reordered as long as it is not inconsistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present elements of various steps using an example order and are not limited to the particular order presented.

(7) Each function illustrated in the drawings such as FIG. 1 is realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or may be realized using two or more devices that are physically or logically separated and connected directly or indirectly (e.g., using a wire, wirelessly, etc.) and these multiple devices. The functional block may be realized by combining the one device or the multiple devices with software.

Furthermore, the communication devices 170 and 270 are hardware (transmission/reception devices) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and are also called, for example, a network device, a network controller, a network card, a communication module, etc. The communication devices 170 and 270 may be configured to include, for example, a high-frequency switch, a duplexer, a filter, a frequency synthesizer, etc., in order to realize at least one of Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) and Time Division Duplex (TDD).

(8) The programs exemplified in the above-described embodiments should be interpreted broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, procedures, functions, etc., regardless of whether software is referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or by other name.

Additionally, software, instructions, information, etc. may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using wired technologies (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)), and/or wireless technologies (such as infrared, microwave), then these wired and/or wireless technologies are included within the definition of a transmission medium.

(9) In each of the above forms, the terms “system” and “network” are used interchangeably.

(10) The information, parameters, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using absolute values, relative values from a predetermined value, or other corresponding information. For example, radio resources may be indicated by an index. The names used for the above-mentioned parameters are not limiting in any respect. Furthermore, the mathematical expressions, etc. using these parameters may differ from those explicitly disclosed in this disclosure. The various channels (e.g., PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements may be identified by any suitable names, and therefore the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not limiting in any respect.

(11) In the above-described embodiment, the terminal device 200 may be a mobile station (MS). A mobile station may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other suitable term. In the present disclosure, the terms "mobile station", "user terminal", "user equipment (UE)", "terminal", etc. may be used interchangeably.

(12) In the above-mentioned embodiments, the terms "connected" and "coupled" or any variation thereof refer to any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are "connected" or "coupled" to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, "connected" may be read as "access". As used in this disclosure, two elements may be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using at least one of one or more wires, cables, and printed electrical connections, as well as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and light (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

(13) In the above embodiments, the term "based on" does not mean "based only on," unless otherwise specified. In other words, the term "based on" means both "based only on" and "based at least on."

(14) The terms "determining" and "determining" as used in this disclosure may encompass a wide variety of actions. "Determining" and "determining" may include, for example, judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, search, inquiry (e.g., searching in a table, database, or other data structure), and considering ascertaining as "judging" or "determining". Also, "determining" and "determining" may include considering receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, and accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory) as "judging" or "determining". In addition, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc., to be a "judgment" or "decision." In other words, "judgment" and "decision" can include considering some action to be a "judgment" or "decision." Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" can be interpreted as "assuming," "expecting," "considering," etc.

(15) In the above embodiments, when the terms "include," "including," and variations thereof are used, these terms are intended to be inclusive, similar to the term "comprising." Furthermore, the term "or" as used in this disclosure is not intended to be an exclusive or.

(16) In this disclosure, where articles have been added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, this disclosure may include that the nouns following these articles are plural.

(17) In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." In addition, the term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combined" may also be interpreted in the same way as "different."

(18) Each aspect/embodiment described in this disclosure may be used alone, in combination, or switched depending on the execution. In addition, notification of specific information (e.g., notification that "X is the case") is not limited to being done explicitly, but may be done implicitly (e.g., not notifying the specific information).

Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, it is clear to those skilled in the art that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The present disclosure can be implemented in modified and altered forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure as defined by the claims. Therefore, the description of the present disclosure is intended to be illustrative and does not have any limiting meaning on the present disclosure.

10...network system, 100...management device, 110...processing device, 140...quality control unit, 160...storage device, 170...communication device, 200...terminal device, 210...processing device, 240...request unit, 260...storage device, 270...communication device, 280...input device, 290...output device, 300...application server, NW...network.

Claims (10)

A management device that executes multiple quality control operations to control communication quality of a network,
an acquisition unit that acquires an execution request that requests execution of any one of the plurality of quality controls;
a quality control unit that, when there is sufficient resource for executing the quality control of the start candidate indicated by the execution request, executes the quality control of the start candidate, and, when there is a partial or total shortage of the resources due to one or more quality controls other than the quality control of the start candidate being executed among the multiple quality controls, determines whether or not to execute the quality control of the start candidate based on an execution priority of the quality control of the start candidate and an execution priority of a quality control currently being executed;
Equipped with
The quality control unit includes:
When the resource can be secured by terminating a quality control of an end candidate, the execution priority of which is lower than the execution priority of the quality control of the start candidate, among the quality controls being executed, the quality control of the end candidate is terminated, and the quality control of the start candidate is executed;
if the resource cannot be secured even after the quality control of the end candidate is terminated, the quality control of the start candidate is not executed and the execution of the quality control of the end candidate is continued;
When the quality control of the candidate for termination is terminated, the terminated quality control is managed as a waiting quality control waiting to be executed;
When continuing the execution of the quality control of the end candidate without executing the quality control of the start candidate, managing the quality control of the start candidate as the quality control on standby;
determining whether or not to execute the quality control on standby at a predetermined opportunity based on the execution priority of the quality control on standby and the execution priority of the quality control in execution;
A management device comprising: The quality control unit includes:
when a quality control having an execution priority higher than the execution priority of the quality control of the start candidate is already being managed as the standby quality control at the time when the acquisition unit acquires the execution request, the quality control of the start candidate is added to the quality controls managed as the standby quality controls;
2. The management device according to claim 1 . The quality control unit includes:
when it is determined that any one of the quality controls on standby is to be executed, transmitting execution information indicating that the quality control based on the execution request will be executed to a device that has transmitted the execution request for the quality control to be executed among the quality controls on standby;
3. The management device according to claim 1 or 2 . the execution priority order of a pre-execution quality control among the plurality of quality controls indicates a priority order regarding start of the pre-execution quality control,
the execution priority of the currently-executing quality control among the plurality of quality controls indicates a priority regarding continuation of the currently-executing quality control,
In each of the plurality of quality controls, the execution priority of the quality control being executed is equal to or higher than the execution priority of the quality control before execution.
4. The management device according to claim 1, wherein the management device is a computer. A termination condition is determined for some or all of the plurality of quality controls;
The acquisition unit is
Obtaining a termination request for requesting termination of the ongoing quality control;
The quality control unit includes:
When the acquisition unit acquires the termination request, the quality control indicated by the termination request is terminated among the quality controls being executed;
When any of the quality controls being executed satisfies the termination condition, the quality control that satisfies the termination condition among the quality controls being executed is automatically terminated regardless of whether the acquisition unit has acquired the termination request.
5. The management device according to claim 1, The quality control unit includes:
when the quality control of the termination candidate is terminated, transmitting termination information indicating that the quality control based on the execution request has been terminated to the device that transmitted the execution request for the quality control of the termination candidate;
if the quality control of the end candidate is to be continued without executing the quality control of the start candidate, transmitting, to the device that transmitted the execution request for the quality control of the start candidate, negative information indicating that the quality control based on the execution request will not be executed;
6. The management device according to claim 1 , A management device that executes multiple quality control operations to control communication quality of a network,
an acquisition unit that acquires an execution request that requests execution of any one of the plurality of quality controls;
a quality control unit that, when there is sufficient resource for executing the quality control of the start candidate indicated by the execution request, executes the quality control of the start candidate, and, when there is a partial or total shortage of the resources due to one or more quality controls other than the quality control of the start candidate being executed among the multiple quality controls, determines whether or not to execute the quality control of the start candidate based on an execution priority of the quality control of the start candidate and an execution priority of a quality control currently being executed;
Equipped with
the execution priority order of a pre-execution quality control among the plurality of quality controls indicates a priority order regarding start of the pre-execution quality control,
the execution priority of the currently-executing quality control among the plurality of quality controls indicates a priority regarding continuation of the currently-executing quality control,
In each of the plurality of quality controls, the execution priority of the quality control being executed is equal to or higher than the execution priority of the quality control before execution.
A management device comprising : A management device that executes multiple quality control operations to control communication quality of a network,
an acquisition unit that acquires an execution request that requests execution of any one of the plurality of quality controls;
a quality control unit that, when there is sufficient resource for executing the quality control of the start candidate indicated by the execution request, executes the quality control of the start candidate, and, when there is a partial or total shortage of the resources due to one or more quality controls other than the quality control of the start candidate being executed among the multiple quality controls, determines whether or not to execute the quality control of the start candidate based on an execution priority of the quality control of the start candidate and an execution priority of a quality control currently being executed;
Equipped with
A termination condition is determined for some or all of the plurality of quality controls;
The acquisition unit is
Obtaining a termination request for requesting termination of the ongoing quality control;
The quality control unit includes:
When the acquisition unit acquires the termination request, the quality control indicated by the termination request is terminated among the quality controls being executed;
When any of the quality controls being executed satisfies the termination condition, the quality control that satisfies the termination condition among the quality controls being executed is automatically terminated regardless of whether the acquisition unit has acquired the termination request.
A management device comprising : The plurality of quality controls include:
a first quality control that is executed for each line based on a contract for a communication service provided by the network and that guarantees the communication quality;
a second quality control that is executed for each line and controls the communication quality on a best-effort basis;
a third quality control that is executed for each application program available in a device connected to the network and that guarantees the communication quality;
a fourth quality control that is executed for each of the application programs and controls the communication quality on a best-effort basis;
Including,
the execution priority of the first quality control and the execution priority of the third quality control are higher than both of the execution priority of the second quality control and the execution priority of the fourth quality control;
the execution priority of the first quality control is higher than the execution priority of the third quality control;
The execution priority of the second quality control is higher than the execution priority of the fourth quality control.
9. The management device according to claim 1, The plurality of quality controls include:
a first quality control that is executed for each line based on a contract for a communication service provided by the network and that guarantees the communication quality;
a second quality control that is executed for each line and controls the communication quality on a best-effort basis;
a third quality control that is executed for each application program available in a device connected to the network and that guarantees the communication quality;
a fourth quality control that is executed for each of the application programs and controls the communication quality on a best-effort basis;
Including,
the execution priority of the first quality control and the execution priority of the third quality control are higher than both of the execution priority of the second quality control and the execution priority of the fourth quality control;
the execution priority of the third quality control is higher than the execution priority of the first quality control;
The execution priority of the fourth quality control is higher than the execution priority of the second quality control.
9. The management device according to claim 1,