Session QoS control apparatus

A session QoS control apparatus which relays control information for a communication session between user communication terminals, comprising:

• a session management database in which management information for sessions between user communication terminals is stored;
• a user communication terminal and router management database in which mapping between a user communication terminal and a network node to which the terminal is connected is stored;
• a user preference database in which-user preference information representing a user requirement associated with the identifier of a user communication terminal is stored;
• a session information analysis means which analyses the session state of a user terminal by referring to said session management database and said user preference database;
• and
• a session QoS control means which determines a Quality of Service (QoS) policy for a user session, based on the result of session analysis performed by said session information analysis means, identifies a router on which the QoS policy should be set from said user communication terminal and router management database, and generates a session QoS command addressed to the router;
• wherein for every occurrence of user session information indicating a change of user state and/or a change of session condition from a user communication terminal:
• said session information analysis means analyses the session state of the user terminal in real-time by referring to said session management database and said user preference database;
• and, said session QoS control means determines the QoS policy for the user session in real-time, based on the result of session analysis performed by said session information analysis means.