JP2001134428A - Method and device for updating operation program - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and device for updating an operation program for preventing a slave device from being turned into an operation stop state in a long term even when a new operation program is down-loaded from a host device to the slave device, and the start of the slave device by the new operation program fails. SOLUTION: The new operation program of a slave device 102 is down-loaded from a host device 101 to the slave device 102, and then whether the start-up of the slave device 102 by the program succeeds or fails is judged by communication from the slave device 102, and even when the start-up of the slave device 102 fails, an old operation program is designated to the slave device 102 so that the slave device 102 can be re-started by the old operation program.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an operation program updating method and apparatus for updating an operation program of a lower device by downloading an operation program from a higher device to a lower device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a mobile communication system, at least one higher-level device that controls the entire base station constitutes a base station.
When updating the operation program for one lower device,
A new operation program is downloaded from a higher-level device. In this case, since it takes time to download the operation program, a new operation program is downloaded in advance, and when the lower apparatus is started by an update instruction from the upper apparatus, the operation program is switched to the new operation program in the lower apparatus. Like that. By the way, when a new operation program is started for the first time, it is not guaranteed 100% whether or not the lower-level device starts normally. If the first-time start fails, the lower-level device cannot be operated until it starts again. is there.

As an operation program update method disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-219822, "File Update Method", a method for storing two file systems in a storage means provided in a subordinate device is disclosed. An area is secured and the file is updated based on the setting of the dip switch that sets whether to start with the new or old version when the system starts.

[0004]

However, in the conventional operation program updating method, since the operation program at the next start is set by the dip switch, if the start by the new operation program fails, the maintenance person is required. Switches the setting of the dip switch, but there is a problem that the operation of the lower-level device is stopped until the startup by another operation program (mainly the old operation program) is completed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and provides an operation program updating method and apparatus that do not remain in an operation stop state for a long time when an operation program of a lower-level device is updated. With the goal.

[0006]

According to a method for updating an operation program according to the present invention, after a new operation program for a lower device is downloaded from a higher device to a lower device, it is determined whether the activation of the lower device by the program has succeeded or failed. Judge,
If unsuccessful, an operation program other than the new operation program is designated for the lower-level device, and restarted by the designated operation program.

According to this method, after the new operation program is downloaded to the lower-level device, if the lower-level device fails to start with the new operation program, the upper-level device side starts the appropriate start program for the lower-level device. Is specified, the lower-level device does not enter the operation stop state for a long time even if the startup by the new operation program fails. Note that the appropriate startup program is mainly an operation program used before the new operation program.

Further, in the operation program updating method of the present invention, in the operation program updating method, the lower device notifies the upper device of whether the activation was successful or failed when the activation by the new operation program was performed. However, the upper-level device specifies the old operation program previously used by the lower-level device if there is a notification of startup failure within a predetermined time after starting the lower-level device using the new operation program, and Restarted by the operation program and restarted by the old operation program. Notification of startup failure within a predetermined time period, or startup succeeded or failed beyond the predetermined time after starting by the new operation program Operation is stopped when there is no notification of.

According to this method, if the lower-level device fails to start with the new operation program, the lower-level device restarts with the previously used operation program. Since the operation is started by the used operation program, the operation stop of the lower-level device can be minimized.

Further, the mobile communication system of the present invention updates the operation program of the lower device from the upper device in the base station by using the operation program update method according to claim 1 or 2.

An operation program updating apparatus according to the present invention comprises: a program download unit for downloading an operation program of a lower device from a higher device to a lower device; a start instruction unit for instructing the lower device to start an operation program; A start success / failure notification unit for notifying the device of the success / failure of the start by the new operation program; and, after the start instruction unit instructs the lower-level device to start the operation program, An operation program designating means for designating an operation program other than the new operation program to the lower-level device upon receiving a notification from the lower-level device that the activation by the new operation program has failed according to an instruction of the failure notifying unit. take.

[0012] According to this configuration, after the new operation program is downloaded to the lower-level device, if the lower-level device fails to start using the new operation program, the upper-level device side starts an appropriate start program for the lower-level device. Is specified, even if the lower-level device fails to start with the new operation program, the lower-level device does not enter the operation stop state for a long time.

In the operating program updating apparatus according to the present invention, in the operating program updating apparatus, the operating program designating means may notify the successor / failure notifying means that the activation by the new operating program has failed from the lower apparatus according to the instruction from the success / failure notifying means. When the lower device specifies the old operation program that the lower device used previously, restarts with the old operation program, restarts with this old operation program, and receives a notification of boot failure again within a predetermined time. The operation is stopped, and the operation is stopped if there is no notification of the success or failure of the start more than a predetermined time after the start of the lower apparatus by the new operation program.

According to this configuration, if the lower-level device fails to start with the new operation program, the lower-level device fails to start with the new operation program because the old operation program used previously by the lower-level device is specified. Also, the lower-level device does not enter the operation stop state for a long time.

Further, the operation program updating system of the present invention is provided in a higher-level device, and has a reset flag used for determining whether or not to reset the lower-level device, and an operation plane indicating an operation program in which the lower-level device is operating. First storage means for storing a display area; second storage means provided in the lower-level device for storing a switching flag for switching an operation program used by the lower-level device and at least two operation programs; A timer means for measuring time provided in the upper-level device, and a state provided in the lower-level device for notifying the upper-level device whether or not the activation of the lower-level device by the new operation program has been normally performed. Notifying means, provided in the higher-level device, wherein the higher-level device has downloaded the new operation program to the lower-level device. Setting the reset flag of the first storage means to ON and setting the timer means, and further resetting the lower-level device with the switching flag of the second storage means ON; In the case of receiving notification from the lower-level device that the start is successful within a predetermined time, resetting the timer means and turning off the switching flag, and receiving the notification of the start failure, The timer means is reset, and then the timer means is set again, the lower-level device is reset, and the new operation program is started by an old operation program different from the new operation program. Reset the timer means and turn off the switching flag, and the old operation program does not start normally In this case, the reset flag is turned off to terminate the process, and if there is no notification of success / failure of activation from the lower device within the predetermined time, the reset flag is turned off and the process is terminated. Means, provided in the lower-level device, after starting the operation, check the switching flag, if the switching flag is on, start with the new operation program,
If the activation in the new operation program is successful, the successful activation is notified to the higher-level device control means, and if the activation fails, the activation failure is notified to the higher-level device control means, and the switching flag is set. If it is off, it starts with the old operation program, and if the start with this old operation program succeeds, it notifies the upper device side control means of the success of the start, and if the start fails, the start failure is notified. And a lower-level device control unit that notifies the higher-level device side control unit.

According to this configuration, after the new operation program is downloaded to the lower-level device, if the lower-level device fails to start with the new operation program, the upper-level device is notified by the status notification means of the lower-level device or times out. The failure of the lower device is detected, and the old operation program is designated by using the switching flag of the lower device, and the lower device is restarted. Also, if the startup by the new operation program fails and the startup by the old operation program is not necessary, the reset flag should be turned off in advance to prevent the lower device from being started by the old operation program. Can be.

A mobile communication system according to the present invention comprises: a base station;
The base station includes at least two terminals that are communication-controlled by the base station, and the base station adopts a configuration including the operation program updating device.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The gist of the present invention is that when a lower-level device fails to start after downloading a new operation program, the old operation program used until the new operation program was downloaded without the intervention of maintenance items. In order for the upper device to recognize the failure of starting the lower device so that the lower device can be restarted, the old operation program is designated for the lower device and the lower device is restarted.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an operation program updating device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The operation program updating device 103 according to the present embodiment includes a portion provided in the upper device 101 and a portion provided in the lower device 102. Upper device 101 and lower device 1
02 is connected by a communication path 110 through which information during a call, program download information, and the like flow. The higher-level device 101 and the lower-level device 102 are provided, for example, in a base station or a base station control device of a mobile radio communication system, or other nodes of an infrastructure portion.
Has a function of downloading an operation program to the lower-level device 102. The lower-level device 102
The number is not limited to one, and usually a plurality of devices are provided in one device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a portion related to the operation program updating device 103 in the configuration of the upper position device 101. In this figure, the operation program updating device 103 on the host device 101 side
1, storage means 114, timer means 115 and central control means 116.

The communication control means 111 controls communication when communicating with the lower-level device 102. Storage means 1
14 is a reset flag 112 and an operation surface display area 113
To provide the storage space required for operation of the central control means 116. The reset flag 112 is a flag used to determine whether or not to send a reset instruction to the lower-level device 102. When the operation program for operating the lower-level device 102 is downloaded, "1 (O
N) ". Then, after a reset instruction is sent to the lower-level device 102, the lower-level device 102 is reset, and when it starts normally, the value is returned to “0 (OFF)”.

After the reset instruction is sent to the lower-level device 102, if the lower-level device 102 fails to start and enters an operation stop state, the reset instruction is sent to the lower-level device 102 again, and then the reset flag is set. Is returned to “0 (OFF)”. In the operation surface display area 113, the lower device 102
Stores the program version information, etc., when is started normally. That is, the operation surface display area 113
Is used to recognize which program version the lower-level device 102 is currently operating.

After the reset instruction has been sent from the higher-level device 101 to the lower-level device 102, the timer means 115 determines that the lower-level device 102 has failed to start up, has entered an operation stop state, and has not sent any notification to the higher-level device 101. , Lower-level device 10
2 is to set a timer for recognizing the failure of the start-up. The timer device 115 allows the host device 101
The central control means 116 recognizes that the activation of the lower-level device 102 has failed due to a timeout after a predetermined time has elapsed. The central control unit 116 controls the entire operation program updating apparatus 103, such as access to the storage unit 114 and control of the communication control unit 111.

Next, FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a portion related to the operation program updating device 103 in the configuration of the lower-level device 102. In this figure, the lower-level device 102
Comprises a communication control unit 111, a storage unit 123, a state notification unit 124, and a central control unit 125.

The storage means 123 stores the switching flag 121
And the program area 122, and the central control means 125
Provides the storage space needed for the operation of The switching flag 121 is a flag used to determine whether the lower-level device 102 is to be started up on the previously operated program side or to be started up on the opposite program side when the lower-level apparatus 102 is started, and is normally set to “OFF”. ing. In this case, if the switching flag 121 is set to “OFF”, the program is started on the previously operated program. The switching flag 121 can be rewritten from the higher-level device 101 via the communication channel 110, and the higher-level device 101 rewrites the switching flag 121 to “ON” when downloading a program. When the switching flag 121 is set to “ON”, the lower-level device 102 starts up on a program side opposite to the program side operated last time.

The program area 122 stores the lower-level device 102
Can store at least two programs for operation. The contents of the program area 122 and the switching flag 121 are not cleared even if a hard reset is performed. Status notification means 124
Is for notifying the higher-level device 101 of the state of the lower-level device 102 via the communication control means 111. Lower device 10
2 uses the status notification means 124 to determine whether the activation has succeeded or failed, and notifies the host device 101 of the result. The central control unit 125 accesses the storage unit 123, controls the communication control unit 111, and sends the status notification unit 124.
Control of the lower-level device 102 as a whole.

The storage means 114 corresponds to the first storage means, and the storage means 123 corresponds to the second storage means. The central control means 116 corresponds to the upper control means, and the central control means 125 corresponds to the lower control means. Also,
The central control means 116 corresponds to a program download means, a start instruction means, and an operation program designating means.
The status notifying unit 124 corresponds to the activation success / failure notifying unit.

Next, the operation of the operation program updating apparatus 103 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. (Operation of the Host Device 101) FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation from the start to the end of the download. Here, when the switching flag 122 stored in the storage unit 123 of the lower-level device 102 is “ON”, the program is started on the opposite one of the two program surfaces, and when the flag is “OFF”, It is assumed that the program is started with the same program as before.

First, the central control means 11 of the host device 101
No. 6 sets the reset flag 112 to “ON” in ST001. The reset flag 112 is used to determine whether or not the lower-level device 102 needs to be reset again when the lower-level device 102 has not been able to start normally as described above. "
In the case of, reset is not performed. After setting the reset flag 112 to “ON”, the switching flag 121 of the lower-level device 102 is set to “ON” in ST002.

The switching flag 121 indicates that the lower-level device 102
Is read at the time of activation, and is used as means for determining which of the two program surfaces to activate. When the switching flag 121 is “ON”, the lower-level device 102 starts up on the program side opposite to the previous time, and when it is “OFF”, starts up on the same program side as the previous time. Next, ST0
03, the central control means 116
Set the timer for 5. After resetting the lower-level device 102, this timer is used when there is no response from the lower-level device 102, such as completion of activation or failure in activation, at all.
The timer means 115 notifies the central control means 116 of the expiration of the timer when the timer expires.

Next, in ST004, the central control means 116 resets the lower-level device 102. After the reset, the lower-level device 102 notifies the upper-level device 101 whether or not the lower-level device 102 has normally started.

Next, in ST005, the timer means 1
15 within a predetermined time defined by
Judge the notification status from. In this determination, if it is determined that there has been a notification from the lower-level device 102 that the startup has been successful within a predetermined time, the process proceeds to ST006, determines that the startup was normal, cancels the timer in ST007, and sets the timer in ST002 in ST002. The switching flag 121 of the lower-level device 102 to “OFF”
Set to. As a result, in the subsequent operation, even if the lower-level device 102 is reset due to a different factor from the download, the lower-level device 102 sets the switching flag 121 to “OF”.
Since it is set to "F", it is possible to start with the newly downloaded program.

On the other hand, the lower device 1
ST02 from ST02,
In step ST010, the timer set in step ST003 is canceled by the timer means 115. After canceling the timer, S
At T011, the set state of the reset flag 112 is determined. In this case, since the reset flag 112 has been set to “ON” in ST001, the process proceeds to ST012,
The reset flag 112 is set to “OFF” after sending the next reset instruction. After performing the process for the reset flag 112, the process returns to ST003 and returns to S003.
The timer that was canceled in T007 is reset.

Then, in ST004, the lower-level device 10
2 is sent a reset instruction. Since the switching flag 121 is “ON”, the lower-level device 102 is activated by a program that is opposite to the previous time, that is, by a program before downloading (hereinafter, referred to as an old operation program). If the old operation program normally starts, the above-described ST
006 to ST008 are performed. As described above, even when the operation program is downloaded and the activation is failed by the new operation program, the activation is performed by the old program, and the operation stop state of the lower-level device 102 can be avoided.

On the other hand, if the activation by the old operation program also fails, the timer is canceled in ST010,
Further, in ST011, the reset flag 112 is set to “OFF” after the reset instruction is sent in ST012, so that the reset flag 112 is set to “OF” at this time.
F ”, the processing is terminated. In other words, it is unavoidable that the operation of the lower-level device 102 is stopped when the activation of both the new and old devices fails. ST013
In the case where no response is received from the lower-level device 102 for more than a predetermined time after the start of downloading, the reset flag 112 is set to “OFF”, the process proceeds to ST011, the operation is stopped, and the process ends.

As described above, even if the start of the downloaded new operation program fails, it is possible to start the old operation program which has been operated so far.
Further, even if the activation in the old operation program fails, the reset flag 112 is set to “OFF”, so that the lower device 102 that cannot be activated can be prevented from being reset forever.

Next, FIG. 5 is a flow chart showing the operation from when the lower device 102 receives the reset instruction from the upper device 101 to when the activation is completed. First, in ST101, the central control unit 125 of the lower order device 102 checks the set state of the switching flag 121 of the upper order device 101. If the switching flag 121 is set to “ON”, ST1
In step 02, the lower-level device 102 is restarted by designating a program side opposite to the program side operated last time.
On the other hand, if the switching flag 121 is set to “OFF”, the process proceeds to ST103, where the same program surface as the previously operated program surface is designated and the lower-level device 102 is restarted.

After starting with one of the programs, ST
At 104, the state after startup is checked. If the activation is normal, the lower device 102
Is normally terminated, and the host device 101 is notified via the status notification unit 124 that the activation has been performed normally. On the other hand, if the startup is abnormal, ST
At 106, the host apparatus 101 is notified that the activation has not been performed normally. In this way, it is possible to start up from either program side in response to a reset instruction from the host device 101.

In the above embodiment, the lower-level device 10
Although the program area 122 of the second storage unit 123 is set to two planes, two or more planes are set, and each is set to the switching flag 1.
21.

Further, in the above embodiment, if the activation success / failure notification is not sent from the lower-level device 102 for more than a predetermined time, the process is terminated as it is. However, the activation success / failure notification is sent. Otherwise, it may be determined that the activation has failed, and the lower-level device may be activated by the old operation program. By doing so, it is possible to avoid a hang-up caused by the activation of the lower-level device 102 with the new operation program. In other words, the start failure notification cannot be made when a hang-up occurs because the possibility of normal operation with the old operation program is high by resetting and starting the old operation program at this time.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention, even if the activation of the downloaded program fails, the activation by the old program can be performed without manual operation. Can be avoided, and a highly reliable device (for example, a base station control device) can be provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of an operation program updating device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a higher-level device of the operation program updating device according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a lower-level device of the operation program updating device according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of a higher-level device of the operation program updating device according to the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing the operation of the lower-level device of the operation program updating device according to the embodiment of the present invention;

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Upper apparatus 102 Lower apparatus 103 Operation program update apparatus 110 Communication path 111 Communication control means 112 Reset flag 113 Operation surface display area 114, 123 Storage means 115 Timer means 116, 125 Central control means 121 Switching flag 122 Program area

Claims (7)

[Claims] After downloading a new operation program of a lower-level device from a higher-level device to a lower-level device, it is determined whether the activation of the lower-level device by the program has succeeded or failed. An operation program updating method, comprising specifying an operation program other than the new operation program and restarting the operation program with the specified operation program. 2. The lower-level device notifies the upper-level device whether the activation has succeeded or failed when the lower-level device is activated by the new operation program, and the upper-level device activates the lower-level device by the new operation program. If there is a notification of startup failure within a predetermined time after performing the above, specify the old operation program previously used by the lower device and restart it with the old operation program, and restart it with this old operation program The operation is stopped when there is a notification of startup failure within a predetermined time from the start of the operation, and when there is no notification of startup success / failure beyond the predetermined time after starting by the new operation program. The operation program updating method according to claim 1. 3. A mobile communication system wherein an operation program of a lower device is updated from a higher device in a base station by using the operation program update method according to claim 1 or 2. 4. A program download unit for downloading an operation program of the lower-level device from a higher-level device to a lower-level device, a start instruction unit for instructing the lower-level device to start an operation program, and a new operation program for the lower-level device Activation success / failure notifying means for notifying the success / failure of the activation by the computer; and after the activation instruction means instructs the lower-level device to activate the operation program, the activation / deactivation notification means issues an instruction from the success / failure notification means. Operating program designating means for receiving, from a lower-level device, a notification that activation by a new operating program has failed, and specifying an operating program other than the new operating program for the lower-level device. . 5. The operation program designating means, upon receiving a notification from the lower device that the activation by the new operation program has failed according to the instruction of the success / failure notification means, the old operation program previously used by the lower device. Specify and restart with the old operating program, stop the operation if it receives a notification of restart failure within a predetermined time after restarting with the old operating program, and stop the lower-level device using the new operating program. 5. The operation program updating device according to claim 4, wherein the operation is stopped if neither the notification of the success or the failure of the activation is made within a predetermined time from the start. 6. A first storage provided in a higher-level device and storing a reset flag used for determining whether to reset a lower-level device and an operation surface display area indicating an operation program in which the lower-level device is operating. Means, provided in the lower-level device, a second storage means for storing a switching flag for switching an operation program used by the lower-level device and at least two operation programs, and a time provided in the higher-level device Timer means for measurement, provided in the lower-level device, state notification means for notifying the upper-level device whether or not the activation of the lower-level device by the new operation program has been performed normally, and provided in the upper-level device After the new operation program is downloaded from the higher-level device to the lower-level device, the reset flag of the first storage unit is reset. And setting the timer means, further resetting the lower-level device in a state where the switching flag of the second storage means is turned on, starting the lower-level device with the new operation program, and setting the lower-level device within a predetermined time. When the notification that the start is successful is received, the timer means is reset and the switching flag is turned off. When the notification that the start is failed is received, the timer means is reset. To reset the lower-level device and start it with an old operation program different from the new operation program.If the old operation program starts normally, the timer means is reset and the switching flag is turned off. However, if the old operation program does not start normally, the reset flag is turned off and processing is performed. And a higher-level device-side control means for turning off a reset flag and terminating the process when there is no notification of success / failure of activation from the lower-level device within the predetermined time; After the start, the switching flag is checked, and if the switching flag is on, it is started by the new operation program. In the case where the activation has failed, the activation failure is notified to the higher-level device-side control means, and when the switching flag is off, the activation is performed in the old operation program, and the activation in the old operation program is not performed. If successful, the lower device side control means notifies the upper device side control means of a successful start, and if the start fails, the lower device side control means notifies the higher device side control means of a start failure. An operation program update system, comprising: 7. A base station, and at least two terminals controlled by the base station, wherein the base station includes the operation program updating device according to claim 4 or 5. Mobile communication system.