This application is a National Stage Entry of PCT/JP2018/037902 filed on Oct. 11, 2018, which claims priority from Japanese Patent Application 2018-006442 filed on Jan. 18, 2018, the contents of all of which are incorporated herein by reference, in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a communication apparatus, a traffic control method, and a control program.

BACKGROUND ART

A Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) has introduced a service for making popular network services such as YouTube (registered trademark) free of packet communication charges in order to increase the number of subscribers (e.g., Non-Patent Literature 1). This service is called a “count free service”.

The Mobile Virtual Network Operator grasps a Server Name Indicator (SNI) of a network service, which is the count free service, in advance and identifies that a packet for an access destination (e.g., a domain) indicated by the SNI of the count free service is a non-charging target.

Incidentally, in the count free service, popular network services tend to be selected from a business perspective such as topicality. In the count free service, however, since a target service is free of the packet communication charge, there is a concern about a volume of the packet communication of the count free service being increased as the number of subscribers increases. This causes the cost to increase, which may have an adverse influence on the business of the Mobile Virtual Network Operator. For example, since the Mobile Virtual Network Operator leases a wireless line from a Mobile Network Operator (MNO), an increase in the volume of the packet communication of the count free service causes an increase in the amount of payment for the Mobile Network Operator. On the other hand, the Mobile Virtual Network Operator cannot earn an income according to the volume of the packet communication in the count free service. The cost for the Mobile Virtual Network Operator can be reduced by setting the domain of the count free service as a “traffic control target access destination” and reducing an amount of communication traffic to the traffic control target access destination. Traffic control techniques that reduce the amount of communication traffic include, for example, a paging technique.

CITATION LIST

Non-Patent Literature

[Non-Patent Literature 1] Considerations and Best Practices for Zero-Rated Fraud Prevention (https://www.sandvine.com/downloads/general/whitepapers/considerations-and-best-practices-for-zero-rated-fraud-prevention.pdf)

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

However, the service provider may change or add the access destination without notifying the Mobile Virtual Network Operator of this change or addition in advance. Therefore, in the current state, it may be difficult for the Mobile Virtual Network Operator to rapidly and accurately specify and update the access destination that should be newly set as the traffic control target access destination. That is, in the current state, information regarding the access destination set in a network equipment is updated by an equipment vendor that delivers devices to the Mobile Network Operator. Therefore, it may take a long time for the Mobile Virtual Network Operator to grasp that the service provider has changed or added the access destination and for the equipment vendor to set information regarding the access destination in the network equipment.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide a communication apparatus, a traffic control method, and a control program capable of rapidly and accurately specifying an access destination that should be newly set as a traffic control target access destination.

Solution to Problem

A communication apparatus according to a first aspect includes: a storing unit configured to store a management table that holds a plurality of management access destinations including at least one traffic control target access destination and at least one traffic control non-target access destination; a communication relay unit configured to establish a session between an access source apparatus and an access destination of the access source apparatus and relay communication between the access source apparatus and the access destination; a traffic controller configured to execute traffic control on the communication between the access source apparatus and the access destination of the access source apparatus when the access destination of the access source apparatus is the traffic control target access destination held in the management table; a determination unit configured to determine whether or not there has been a change of trend in the communication volume based on a communication volume per session of a plurality of non-management access destination sessions established by the communication relay means in a first unit period and a transition trend of communication volume per session of a plurality of non-management access destination sessions in a first period including a plurality of unit periods prior to the first unit period each of the non-management access destination sessions being a session whose access destination is a non-management access destination that is not held in the management table; and a specifying unit configured to specify, when it is determined that there has been a change of trend in the communication volume, the access destination that is newly set as a traffic control target access destination among a plurality of non-management access destinations that correspond to the plurality of respective non-management access destination sessions based on increase rates of the communication volumes for the respective non-management access destination sessions in the first unit period and a second period including a plurality of unit periods prior to the first unit period.

A traffic control method according to a second aspect includes: establishing a session between an access source apparatus and an access destination of the access source apparatus to relay communication between the access source apparatus and the access destination, and executing, when the access destination of the access source apparatus is a traffic control target access destination held in a management table, traffic control on the communication between the access source apparatus and the access destination of the access source apparatus, the management table holding a plurality of management access destinations including at least one traffic control target access destination and at least one traffic control non-target access destination; determining whether or not there has been a change of trend in the communication volume based on a communication volume per session of a plurality of non-management access destination sessions established in a first unit period and a transition trend of communication volume per session of a plurality of non-management access destination sessions in a first period including a plurality of unit periods prior to the first unit period, each of the non-management access destination sessions being a session whose access destination is a non-management access destination that is not held in the management table; and specifying, when it is determined that there has been a change of trend in the communication volume, the access destination that is newly set as a traffic control target access destination among a plurality of non-management access destinations that correspond to the plurality of respective non-management access destination sessions based on increase rates of the communication volumes for the respective non-management access destination sessions in the first unit period and a second period including a plurality of unit periods prior to the first unit period.

A control program according to a third aspect causes a communication apparatus to execute the following processing of: establishing a session between an access source apparatus and an access destination of the access source apparatus to relay communication between the access source apparatus and the access destination, and executing, when the access destination of the access source apparatus is a traffic control target access destination held in a management table, traffic control on the communication between the access source apparatus and the access destination of the access source apparatus, the management table holding a plurality of management access destinations including at least one traffic control target access destination and at least one traffic control non-target access destination; determining whether or not there has been a change of trend in the communication volume based on a communication volume per session of a plurality of non-management access destination sessions established in a first unit period and a transition trend of communication volume per session of a plurality of non-management access destination sessions in a first period including a plurality of unit periods prior to the first unit period, each of the non-management access destination sessions being a session whose access destination is a non-management access destination that is not held in the management table; and specifying, when it is determined that there has been a change of trend in the communication volume, the access destination that is newly set as a traffic control target access destination among a plurality of non-management access destinations that correspond to the plurality of respective non-management access destination sessions based on increase rates of the communication volumes for the respective non-management access destination sessions in the first unit period and a second period including a plurality of unit periods prior to the first unit period.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a communication apparatus, a traffic control method, and a control program capable of rapidly and accurately specifying an access destination that should be newly set as a traffic control target access destination.

