On network architecture for realizing group-based communication

In this paper, we propose a network architecture for realizing a group-based communication to solve issues of the Internet such as lack of security and low information S/N (Signal To Noise) ratio. We design a network architecture based on a multiple-association model. The proposed network architecture can realize high information S/N ratio by constructing multiple groups for different communication purposes, and can also realize security by logically separating those groups. An existing user terminal cannot be associated with multiple groups. Hence, in our network architecture, multiple groups are terminated at a gateway called SA (Security Agent), which realizes multiple association to several groups. A user terminal is directly connected to a Web concentrator running on SA. Similarly to a portal Web site, a Web concentrator aggregates contents from multiple groups, and transmits the aggregated contents to a user terminal. Several networking technologies for realizing group-based communications have been proposed. From the comparative evaluation of those networking technologies, we show that (1) SSL-VPN is suitable for access networks connecting a user terminal and SA, and that (2) MPLS-VPN is suitable for the backbone network connecting SAs. We also show that the proposed network architecture realizes security and high information S/N ratio for Web-based applications.