JP2002185484A - Information network control method and information processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To quickly locate a fault or structure-changed part in an FC-AL system and recover from a loop fault or restructure a loop. SOLUTION: In a constitution having a plurality of host units A (B) and a plurality of subsidiary units 2-1 to 4 connected with a loop 100 (200) such as multiplex FC-AL through port bypass circuits 5-1a to 4a (5-1b to 4b), each unit on the loop has functions for periodically transmitting a fault test signal T-x-y including address information of own port to following-stage units and monitoring the structure change on the loop and the unit fault, based on the existence of the detection of the fault test signal T-x-y or the contents change at the following stage units. If a fault occurs in any unit with transmission and reception of the fault test signal, the monitoring following stage unit cuts off the fault unit from the loop according to a reverse portion bypass instruction signal B-x-y-z, thereby realizing lessening the load on the host unit and reducing the fault recovery time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an information network control technology and an information processing technology, and more particularly, to an FC-A.
L (Fibre Channel Arbitrate)
d Loop) causes a fault on a loop that occurs in an information processing system having a configuration in which a plurality of devices are connected via a loop-shaped information transmission path, such as an abnormality in a signal transmission / reception unit of the device or a malfunction of the device. The present invention relates to a technique that is effective when applied to loop failure recovery, loop reconfiguration, and the like for a change in configuration information caused by transmission of a nonstandard signal to another device and addition or removal of a device on a loop.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art At the present time, in an interface of a storage device or the like, it is desired to increase the speed of data transfer, increase the number of connected devices per initiator, and increase the connection distance with the increase in the volume of data to be handled. To meet these demands, in recent years, FC-AL (Fibre Channel)
2. Description of the Related Art There is an increasing number of systems including devices that serially transfer data at a high speed using an interface called Arbitrated Loop.

FIG. 9 shows a configuration example of a system using an FC-AL interface as a reference technology. FC-AL
Indicates that the host device 1 and each of the devices 2-1 to n receive a signal from the transmitting unit 3 (Tx) and a receiving unit 4 of the subsequent device.
By connecting to (Rx), one loop 100 is connected.

[0004] The devices on the loop perform a process of loop initialization when the power is turned on. In this process, in order to enable communication between ports, each device has a unique address (AL_PA: Arbitrated Loop Ph) on a loop.
This is a process for obtaining the “Address Initialize” (hereinafter referred to as “AL_PA”), which is transmitted from each device when the power is turned on.
on Primitive "(hereinafter referred to as LIP). The port receiving the LIP signal suspends the current processing temporarily and participates in loop initialization in any case (during command processing from the host). There must be.

However, in this configuration, if a failure occurs in the signal transmission unit and reception unit of each device on the loop, or a failure of the device itself, all devices on the loop cannot communicate with the host, and the entire system There is a technical problem that it becomes unusable.

FIG. 10 shows, as a reference technique, a host device A1- in order to improve the fault tolerance of the system.
1, the host device B1-2 and the devices 2-1 to n are connected by a double loop 100 and a loop 200, and a port bypass circuit 5-
1a-na, (port bypass circuit control signals 6-1a-na from the device), and the loop 200 via the port bypass circuits 5-1b-nb (port bypass circuit control signals 6-1b-nb from the device). 1 shows an example of a system configuration of an FC-AL interface connected on a loop.
Note that 0a to 0n and ob to nb described beside or below the port symbols A and B of each device in FIG.
It shall represent PA.

[0007] As shown in FIG.
Either an input signal R received from a previous port or an output signal T from the own port by a bypass primitive signal (hereinafter, LPB) defined by the FC-AL standard and a port bypass circuit control signal 6 from the device. Can be selected as the input signal To to the subsequent port. When the device is not connected to the port bypass circuit, the port bypass circuit control signal 6 selects the signal R transmitted by the previous port as the output signal To to the subsequent stage.

As described above, by using the port bypass circuit, the port where the electrical failure has occurred is separated from the loop, that is, the loop is reconstructed by directly transmitting the output signal of the previous port to the subsequent port. Thus, the entire system can be prevented from becoming unusable.

[0009]

In a system using the current port bypass circuit control and the FC_AL interface, (1) when a device on the loop fails and does not respond, or adversely affects other signals on the loop; To recover from a failed host. (2) A means by which the host quickly recognizes that the loop configuration information has changed due to insertion or removal of a device on or from the loop. (3) When the signal receiving circuit fails, the port (AL
Bypass control is performed by the host from the LIP [F8, x] signal from _PA = x). During this time, the performance of the system is degraded due to the command interruption time of another device on the loop. Has the following technical problems.

[0010] Details of the technical problem (1) Although the signal transmission / reception circuit of the device is not out of order, an internal malfunction of the device occurs, and a signal on a loop with which another device is communicating is interrupted or changed. In such a case, since the host has information only on the output of the preceding device, there is no effective means for quickly identifying which device on the direct loop has an internal malfunction. In general, the host presumes that the device being communicated is operating normally and resets the device even if the device that is communicating is operating normally. If it still does not recover, a method is considered in which all ports on the loop are separated from the loop by a bypass circuit, and then the bypass is released one by one to identify which port is the faulty device. When the number of connected devices on the loop is large, there is a technical problem that the performance of the system deteriorates.

[0011] Details of the technical problem (2) Generally, in a system using the current FC-AL interface, when a device is removed from a loop, a port bypass circuit automatically enters a bypass state, so that a loop is formed. There is no concern that the system will no longer be used and the system will be unusable. However, the host device has no means of immediately knowing which device has been removed, and in fact, when the I / O is issued to the removed device, the device is removed from the loop only when there is no response from the target device. You can recognize that. This only needs to be able to identify the time when the host device is removed and the location of the device in advance, but in reality, each device suddenly sets itself to the port bypass circuit due to an input signal abnormality, or the operator suddenly It is impossible to cope with the case where is removed. As a result, the performance of the entire system is degraded.

When a device is inserted on a loop, the insertion device transmits a LIP signal to initialize the loop as described above. However, when the device is operating in a mode in which no LIP is issued, In the case of a device that cannot transmit a signal, the host cannot quickly recognize the device.

Details of the technical problem (3) In the configuration diagram of the reference technology of FIG. 12, when an abnormality of the receiving circuit is detected at the port A of the device 2-3, as shown in FIG. Transmits a loop initialization signal (LIP [F8, 3a]). All devices on the loop 100 receiving this signal must temporarily suspend the current command processing and participate in loop initialization. However, at this point, since the loop has not been formed yet, the loop initialization is not completed. Host A
1-1 receives the LIP [F8, 3a], determines that an abnormality has occurred in the port A transmission circuit unit of the device 2-2 based on the map information of the loop 100, and disconnects this port from the loop 100. Therefore, LPB [2a, 0a] is transmitted as shown in FIG. Port A of device 2-2 that has received this signal is bypassed, and loop 100 is reconstructed as shown in FIG. As described above, in the related art, as a means for notifying the host that the reception circuit abnormality of the port has occurred, the L which is also the signal of the loop initialization is used.
There is no other way to transmit IP [F8, x]. Therefore, after receiving the LIP [F8, x], the devices on the loop restart the command processing until the reestablishment of the loop by the host recovery process, the subsequent execution of the loop initialization, and the completion of the device authentication process by the host. There is a technical problem that can not be done.

An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for performing recovery processing in the event of a failure such as a failure of a device on a loop-shaped information transmission path resulting in a non-response or the generation of a signal that adversely affects other signals on the loop. It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique which can be realized quickly without any relation to the number and without bothering the host device.

Another object of the present invention is to quickly change a loop configuration information due to insertion or removal of a device into or from a loop-shaped information transmission path without causing overhead such as loop initialization processing to a host device. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a technology for making a person aware.

Another object of the present invention is to perform a recovery process in the event of a failure such as a partial failure of a device on a loop-shaped information transmission path, regardless of the number of devices and without disturbing the host device. It is to provide a technology that can be realized quickly.

[0017]

According to the present invention, (a) a function of periodically transmitting a failure test signal including position information (AL_PA) of its own device on a loop to each device on the loop;
(B) a function of detecting a device abnormality and a change in configuration information from a failure test signal transmitted from a preceding device, and (c) a different port from a different port to a preceding device when a failure of the preceding device is detected. A function of transmitting a reverse port bypass instruction signal for disconnecting the reverse port from the loop, a function of bypassing the reverse port when this signal is received, (d) LIP [F
[8, x] A port abnormality detection signal to be transmitted when a transmission trigger is detected, and (e) a fiber channel signal used in (a) to (e) described above and a function of reporting the result to the host are prepared.

Each device executes the AL_P of the device on each loop by performing a loop initialization process executed in each loop.
A is stored as a loop map. This loop map also manages whether each port is in a bypass state.

According to the present invention, each port of each device transmits the signal (a) to a subsequent drive at predetermined intervals or periodically at intervals specified by the host device.
The device that has received the signal (a) determines whether the signal is from the device at the preceding stage based on the loop map, and monitors device failures in the entire loop and changes in configuration information.

As a result, as described in (b), each device has a function of transmitting a failure test signal from a preceding port within a predetermined time and having a function of comparing position information with a loop map. It is possible to recognize that a failure has not occurred in the port.

However, if a failure test signal is not received within a predetermined time, it is considered that an internal abnormality has occurred in the port at the preceding stage. In this case, if no fault has occurred in the reverse port of the preceding stage and no fault has occurred in the reverse port of the own port, the reverse port bypass instruction signal described in (c) and (e) is sent to the reverse port of the device. , The faulty port can be separated from the loop by the instruction from the reverse port of the previous faulty port, and the loop can be reconstructed. Further, even when a single loop configuration or a bypass instruction from a reverse port cannot be issued, the host computer may be notified of the failure timeout result of the failure test signal and request the host to bypass.

When a port is disconnected due to the occurrence of a bypass, a change in configuration information is circulated to a device on a loop including the host from the port for which the bypass instruction has been issued, so that the host device determines which device is abnormal. Can be quickly identified, and each device can update the loop map on the loop without performing loop initialization.

Although the failure test signal is received within a predetermined time, the comparison with the loop map indicates
If not PA, the previous device was removed from the loop,
Or, it can be easily recognized whether or not a new loop has been inserted. Also in this case, by circulating this result to the devices on the loop including the host, each device can update the loop map without performing loop initialization, and the host can quickly know the change in the system configuration information. be able to.

Next, the port that has detected an abnormality in the signal receiving circuit transmits a port abnormality detection signal described in (d) to a subsequent port, and the port that has received this signal determines the port in which an internal abnormality has occurred. The faulty port can be separated from the loop by the instruction from the reverse port in the same procedure as the disconnection, and the loop can be reconstructed.

As a result, the LIP [F8,
x], it is possible to reduce the time (overhead) for interrupting and resuming a command of another device, which is generated by the failure recovery processing according to the related art performed by the conventional technique.

[0026]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the configuration of an information processing system for implementing an information network control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

The information processing system shown in FIG.
1-1 is an example of an FC-AL system including a host device B1-2, devices 2-1 to -4, and port bypass circuits 5-1a to 4a and 5-1b to 4b.

A plurality of host devices A1-1 and host devices B
Each of the devices 1-2 and the subordinate devices 2-1 to 4 has two ports (A / B) each including a signal receiving circuit unit (Rx) and a signal transmitting circuit (Tx). Are connected on the loop via the port bypass circuits 5-1a to 4a and the port bypass circuits 5-1b to 4b, so that the multiplex loop 100 including FC-AL and the loop 2
At 00, they are mutually connected to form an information processing system.

Port bypass circuits 5-1a to 4a, 5-
1b to 4b can be controlled by the port bypass circuit control signals 6-1a to 4a and 6-1b to 4b of each of the devices 2-1 to -4.
It is possible to separate from zero. The AL_PAs of the host devices A and B are 0a and 0b, respectively, and the AL_PAs of the ports A and B of each device are 1a to 4a, respectively.
And 1b to 4b.

In this embodiment, the following fiber channel signals are defined and used. Failure test signal (symbol: T_x_y, x represents port information, y represents own port AL_PA) A fiber channel signal transmitted from each port at regular intervals, and includes AL_PA of the transmission port and port information. This signal has the characteristic that it is not retransmitted to the subsequent port by the receiving port. -Port abnormality detection signal (symbol: F_x_y, x represents port information, y represents the own port AL_PA) A fiber channel signal transmitted when the receiving circuit cannot recognize the input signal for a certain period of time, and the transmission port AL_PA and port information. This signal has the characteristic that it is not retransmitted to the subsequent port by the receiving port. Reverse port bypass instruction signal (symbol: B_x_y_z, x represents port information, y represents own port AL_PA, z represents other port AL_PA) A fiber channel signal including source and destination AL_PAs and port information, and transmitted. When the previous port receives this signal, the bypass port of another port
The bypass state is set by the bypass control signal. The port that has received this signal indicates that the destination AL_PA
If it is different from _PA, it has the feature of being retransmitted to the next port. -Configuration information change report signal (symbol: L_x_y_map, x represents port information, y represents its own port AL_PA, map represents a loop map) When the configuration on the loop changes, reports that the configuration information has changed to each device. And contains loop map information. Each port receiving this signal updates its own loop map. Port error report signal (symbol: R_x_y_z, x is port information, y is own port AL_PA, z is AL in expected failure test signal)
_PA) A fiber channel signal transmitted when a timeout is detected upon reception of a failure test signal and a bypass instruction is requested to the host device by a hot line (directly driving a port bypass circuit instead of a bypass control signal). is there.

In the information processing system shown in FIG. 1, after the power is turned on, loop initialization processing is performed in each of the loops 100 and 200, and the host devices A and B and the device 2-1 are executed.
4 create loop maps 0 and 1 as shown in Tables 1 and 2. Note that the loop map is created from the Position Map acquired in the loop initialization process, and the AL_PA of each port on the loop is set in the opposite direction to the direction in which the fiber channel signal flows (Rx → T
(x direction).

Then, as shown in FIG. 2, each port on the loop starts transmitting the above-described failure test signal T_x_y, which is a feature of the present embodiment. The host devices A and B and the fault test signal T_x expected by each device when no fault has occurred or the configuration information has not changed
_Y are shown in Tables 3 and 4.

(Operation Example 1) In the configuration of FIG.
Although the signal transmission / reception circuit is not out of order at the port A of the device 2-2 of the loop 100, a device internal malfunction occurs,
When a signal on a loop with which another device is communicating is interrupted or changed, a recovery process is performed as follows.

The abnormality of the device 2-2 is recognized by the fact that the device 2-3 does not receive the failure test signal T_0_2a from the device 2-2, which is expected at the port A, within a predetermined time. be able to. In this case, since the device 2-3 refers to the loop map shown in Table 2, the reverse port of the own device is operable, and the port B of the preceding device 2-2 is operable. As shown, the port B transmits the reverse port bypass instruction signal B_1_3b_2b to the device 2-2, and the port A (AL_PA = 2a) of the device 2-2 is disabled from the loop map 0. At this time, the loop map of the device 2-3 is as shown in Table 5.

Reverse port bypass instruction signal B_1_3b_
The device 2-2 that has received 2b disconnects from the loop 100 by putting the port bypass circuit 5-2a into the bypass state by the port bypass circuit control signal 6-2a. In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the device 2-3 includes the configuration information change report signals L_0_3a_map0 and L_1_3b_map1.
Are circulated to a loop 100 and a loop 200, respectively. Based on this information, the host devices A and B and the devices 2-1 to 4-2
Are updated as shown in Tables 6 and 7.
As a result, the failure test signal T_x_y expected by each device when no failure has occurred or the configuration information has not changed is also updated as shown in Tables 8 and 9.

In the above example, when the loop map is referred to, the port B of the device 2-3 is already in the bypass state,
When the port B of −2 is already in the bypass state or in a single loop configuration, the port A of the device 2-2 cannot be directly disconnected from the loop 100 from the device 2-3.
In such a case, the port abnormality report signal R is sent to the host device.
_0_3a_2a, and the host apparatus obtains the hot line (host apparatuses A and B, port bypass circuits 5-1a to 4a, and port bypass circuits 5-1b to 4b) from this information.
The port with AL_PA 2a can be disconnected from the loop 100 by directly controlling the control signal line (not shown).

(Operation Example 2) A case where the device 2-2 is removed as shown in FIG. 5, for example, in the information processing system having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 will be described.

The host devices A and B, the loop map of each device, and expected fault test signals are shown in Tables 1 to 4 described above.

When the device 2-2 is removed, as shown in FIG. 5, the port bypass circuits 5-2a and 5-2b automatically enter the bypass state, and the loops 100 and 200 are maintained. However, there is a technical problem that the host devices A and B cannot immediately recognize that the device 2-2 has been removed as described above.

In the present embodiment, when the device 2-2 is removed, the fault test signal received by the device 2-3 changes from T_0_2a to T_0_1a at the port A and from T_1_2b to T_1_1b at the port B. ,
It is possible to immediately recognize that a change has occurred in the configuration of the loops 100 and 200.

The device 2-3 receives the AL_PA of the fault test signal.
By referring to the loop map shown in Table 2 above, it is possible to immediately recognize that the preceding device 2-2 has been removed and the fault test signal of the device 2-1 has been received. As a result, the device 2-3 obtains the port A (AL_PA = 2a) and the port B (AL_PA =
2b) is set to the invalid state. The loop map of the device 2-3 is updated as shown in Table 10.

As shown in FIG. 6, this update result is transmitted to the configuration information change report signals L_0_3a_map0, L_1_3.
As b_map1, loop 100, loop 2 respectively
By circulating at 00 and reporting to the host devices A and B, the host devices A and B can quickly recognize that the device 2-3 on the loops 100 and 200 has been removed.

The loop maps of the host devices A and B and each device are updated as shown in Tables 11 and 12. Further, when no failure occurs or the configuration information does not change, the failure test signals T_x_y expected by the host devices A and B and each device are also updated as shown in Tables 13 and 14.

(Operation Example 3) A description will be given of a case where an abnormality is detected in the receiving circuit at, for example, port A of device 2-2 in the information processing system having the configuration shown in FIG. At this time, the port A of the device 2-2 transmits a port abnormality detection signal F_0_2a to the port A of the device 2-3 as shown in FIG.
The subsequent operation is the same as the operation example 1 described above.

Conventionally, the device 2-2 is a LIP [F8, 2a]
Was transmitted to the host device A, so that a loop initialization with a large overhead occurred. However, the failure recovery means of the present embodiment provided a loop initialization time for recovery of a failure that has conventionally occurred, The processing time of the authentication process can be omitted, and the performance of the information processing system is prevented from deteriorating due to the occurrence of a failure of each device and the recovery process thereof, so that the failure of the device is not affected. It becomes possible to.

An example of the operation of the control functions of the individual devices 2-1 to -4 in the above-described operation examples 1 to 3 is summarized in the flowchart of FIG.

As described above, according to the information network control method and information processing system of the present embodiment, in the FC-AL system, individual devices fail and become unresponsive, or other devices on the loop When a failure occurs, such as generating a signal that adversely affects the signal, or when a failure occurs due to a partial failure, such as an error in the receiving circuit of the device, the device near the failed device quickly detects the failure and places the failed port on the loop. Since it is separated from the system, the adverse effect on other devices can be quickly suppressed without the overhead (increases in proportion to the number of devices) of the loop initialization processing by the host device, and the fault tolerance of the system can be improved. The performance can be maintained and improved.

When a change in the system configuration such as removal of a device from the loop or addition of a device to the loop occurs, execution of an initialization process accompanied by a large overhead that increases in proportion to the number of devices. Without performing this, the host device can quickly recognize the configuration change, so that it is possible to avoid performance degradation due to the system configuration change.

As a result, for example, a redundant storage device such as a plurality of subordinate disk devices is connected to an array controller as a host device by a loop 100, 2 of FC_AL or the like.
In an information processing system such as a disk array subsystem connected via a hard disk drive 00, it is possible to suppress the system performance from deteriorating when an individual storage device fails or is replaced or added, thereby improving the reliability of the disk array subsystem. In addition, it is possible to improve the performance.

The invention described in the claims of the present application is expressed in another way as follows.

<1> “Fibre Channel”
Arbitrated Loop "(hereinafter FC-A
L), including a plurality of devices using an interface, and a bypass circuit capable of separating each device from a loop, and each device having two ports in a loop configuration having two ports. An FC-AL-compatible device, which comprises: transmitting, to a subsequent port, a fault test signal that includes address information on the loop of the own device and is transmitted to the next port at regular intervals.

<2> “Fibre Channel”
Arbitrated Loop "(hereinafter FC-A
L), a plurality of devices using an interface, and a bypass circuit capable of separating each device from a loop, and each device has an item <1 in a loop configuration having two ports. Each device on the loop transmits and receives the fault test signal described in>, and the configuration information of the device on the loop given in advance is compared with the received fault test signal. An FC-AL-compatible device, which detects a change in the configuration at the preceding stage of the device and reports configuration change information to a device on a loop including a host device.

<3> “Fibre Channel”
Arbitrated Loop "(hereinafter FC-A
L), a plurality of devices using an interface, and a bypass circuit capable of separating each device from a loop, and each device has an item <1 in a loop configuration having two ports. Each device on the loop transmits and receives the failure test signal described in>, so that the failure test signal is not received within a preset time,
Report to the host device when an error inside the previous device is detected,
Alternatively, an FC-AL-compatible device characterized in that a reverse port bypass control signal is transmitted to a device upstream of another port to disconnect from the loop and report configuration change information to a device on the loop including the host device. .

<4> “Fibre Channel”
Arbitrated Loop "(hereinafter FC-A
L) A plurality of devices using an interface, and a bypass circuit that can disconnect each device from the loop, and each device has an abnormality in a receiving circuit in a loop configuration having two ports. Is a fiber channel signal for port abnormality detection notification, which indicates a receiving circuit abnormality and is transmitted to the next port.

<5> “Fibre Channel”
Arbitrated Loop "(hereinafter FC-A
Item L) In a loop configuration including a plurality of devices using an interface, and a bypass circuit capable of separating each device from a loop, and each device having two ports, When receiving the signal of
By transmitting a reverse port bypass control signal to a device upstream of another port, a port having an abnormal reception circuit in the previous stage is disconnected from the loop and configuration change information is reported to a device on the loop including the host. FC-AL compatible device.

<6> “Fibre Channel”
Arbitrated Loop "(hereinafter FC-A
L) comprising a plurality of devices using an interface and a bypass circuit capable of separating each device from the loop, and wherein each device has two ports, wherein item <2>, or Item <3> or Item <
In the case where the port disconnection by the reverse port bypass signal described in 5> is impossible, the host device that has received the reverse port bypass signal instructs the host device of the loop in which the failure has occurred to perform bypass control or the failure. A system that reports content.

<7> “Fibre Channel”
Arbitrated Loop "(hereinafter FC-A
L), including a plurality of devices using an interface, and a bypass circuit capable of separating each device from the loop, and each device described in item <1> in a loop configuration having two ports. Fiber Channel signal for failed test.

<8> “Fibre Channel”
Arbitrated Loop "(hereinafter FC-A
L) comprising a plurality of devices using an interface and a bypass circuit capable of separating each device from the loop, and wherein each device has two ports, wherein item <2>, or Item <3> or Item <
Fiber channel signal indicating reverse port bypass control used to bypass the reverse port described in 5>.

<9> “Fibre Channel”
Arbitrated Loop "(hereinafter FC-A
L) comprising a plurality of devices using an interface and a bypass circuit capable of separating each device from the loop, and wherein each device has two ports, wherein item <2>, or Item <3> or Item <
5> A fiber channel signal for reporting a change in configuration information to a device on a loop including a host device when a fault or change in configuration information on a loop is detected by the transmission and reception processing of the fault test signal described in 5>.

<10> “Fibre Channel”
l Arbitrated Loop "(FC-
Item <2>, in a loop configuration including a plurality of devices using an interface and a bypass circuit capable of separating each device from the loop, and each device having two ports. A system for reducing the number of loop initialization processes due to a failure by analyzing a change in configuration information from an FC_AL-compatible device described in item <3> or <5>.

<11> “Fibre Channel”
l Arbitrated Loop "(FC-
Item <2>, in a loop configuration including a plurality of devices using an interface and a bypass circuit capable of separating each device from the loop, and each device having two ports. An FC-AL-compatible device that can set a test interval arbitrarily by an instruction from a host in order to improve the throughput of the entire system using the failure test signal described in the item <3>.

<12> “Fibre Channel”
l Arbitrated Loop "(FC-
(Referred to as <5>) in a loop configuration including a plurality of devices using an interface, and a bypass circuit capable of separating each device from a loop, and each device having two ports. An FC-AL-compatible device capable of recognizing a configuration change on a loop without performing a loop initialization process based on the configuration change information.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be variously modified without departing from the gist thereof. Needless to say, there is.

For example, although FC_AL has been described as an example of a loop-shaped information transmission line, it can be widely applied to a connection interface using a general loop-shaped information transmission line.

[0066]

According to the present invention, a recovery process in the event of a failure such as a failure of a device on a loop-shaped information transmission path resulting in no response or generation of a signal that adversely affects other signals on the loop is performed. Thus, the effect can be obtained quickly, regardless of the number of devices, and without bothering the host device.

According to the present invention, a change in loop configuration information due to insertion or removal of a device on a loop-shaped information transmission path can be quickly recognized by the host device without generating overhead such as loop initialization processing. Can be
The effect is obtained.

According to the present invention, recovery processing at the time of failure such as partial failure of a device on a loop-shaped information transmission path
The effect is obtained that it can be realized promptly regardless of the number of devices and without bothering the host device.

[0069]

[Table 1]

[0070]

[Table 2]

[0071]

[Table 3]

[0072]

[Table 4]

[0073]

[Table 5]

[0074]

[Table 6]

[0075]

[Table 7]

[0076]

[Table 8]

[0077]

[Table 9]

[0078]

[Table 10]

[0079]

[Table 11]

[0080]

[Table 12]

[0081]

[Table 13]

[0082]

[Table 14]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a configuration of an information processing system that implements an information network control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an operation (transmission and reception of a failure test signal) of the information processing system that implements the information network control method according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an operation (a bypass instruction accompanying failure detection) of an information processing system that implements an information network control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an operation (distribution of changed configuration information accompanying failure detection) of an information processing system that implements an information network control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an operation (removal detection of a device) of the information processing system that implements the information network control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an operation (distribution of changed configuration information accompanying detection of removal of a device) of an information processing system that implements an information network control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of an operation (detection of a failure of a medical examination circuit) of the information processing system that implements the information network control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example of an operation of an information processing system that implements an information network control method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a conceptual diagram showing a configuration of a system using an FC-AL interface as a reference technology of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram showing an operation example of a system using an FC-AL interface as a reference technology of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a conceptual diagram showing an operation example of a port bypass circuit in a system configuration using an FC-AL interface as a reference technique of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a conceptual diagram showing an operation example of a system using an FC-AL interface as a reference technology of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a conceptual diagram showing an operation example of a system using an FC-AL interface as a reference technology of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a conceptual diagram showing an operation example of a system using an FC-AL interface as a reference technology of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a conceptual diagram showing an operation example of a system using an FC-AL interface as a reference technology of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1-1 Host device A, 1-2 Host device B, 2-1
-4, device, 3 ... transmission unit, 4 ... reception unit, 5-1a-4a
... port bypass circuit, 5-1b-4b port bypass circuit, 6-1a-4a ... port bypass circuit control signal, 100 ... loop (first FC_AL), 200 ... loop (second FC_AL), T_x_y ... failure test signal (first 1), R_x_y_z ... port abnormality report signal (second signal), L_x_y_map ... configuration information change report signal (third signal), B_x_y_z ... reverse port bypass instruction signal (fourth signal), F_x_y ... port abnormality Detection signal.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of devices are connected via a loop-shaped information transmission path, and information is exchanged between the plurality of devices via a signal flowing in one direction via the information transmission path. A method for controlling an information network, comprising: periodically transmitting, from each of the devices, a first signal including identification information of the device on the information network and transmitted to the subsequent device. Information network control method. 2. The information network control method according to claim 1, wherein each of the devices is generated upon occurrence of a signal reception error in the device, and includes identification information of the device on the information network. An operation of transmitting a second signal transmitted to the device of the plurality of devices connected to the information transmission path from a change in the identification information included in the first signal received from the device at the preceding stage An operation of detecting a change in the configuration information and transmitting the change in the configuration information as a third signal to another device; that the first signal from the preceding device is not received within a predetermined time; Or at least one operation of outputting a fourth signal for executing disconnection of the preceding device from the information transmission path upon reception of the second signal. Control method for an information network and performing. 3. An information network comprising a plurality of devices connected to each other via a loop-shaped information transmission path, and a plurality of devices connected via a signal flowing in one direction via the information transmission path. An information processing system in which information is exchanged between the devices, wherein each of the devices includes identification information of the device on the information network, and transmits a first signal transmitted to the subsequent device. An information processing system having a function of transmitting periodically. 4. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein each of the devices is generated upon occurrence of a signal reception error in the device, includes identification information of the device on the information network, and includes A function of transmitting a second signal transmitted to a device; configuration information of a plurality of the devices connected to the information transmission path based on a change in the identification information included in the first signal received from the device at the preceding stage; A function of detecting a change in the configuration information and transmitting the change in the configuration information to another device as a third signal, that the first signal from the device at the preceding stage is not received within a predetermined time, or A function of outputting a fourth signal for executing disconnection of the preceding device from the information transmission path in response to reception of the second signal. The information processing system according to claim. 5. The information processing system according to claim 3, wherein the plurality of devices include a host device and a storage device operating under the control of the host device, and the information transmission path includes a bypass unit. FC-A connected in a loop to the host device and the storage device
L (Fibre Channel Arbitrate)
d Loop), wherein the FC-AL is a multiplexed first and second FC-AL that connects between the host device and the storage device.
The bypass unit is connected to the host device via a dedicated interface provided separately from the FC-AL,
A second configuration in which the host device connects and disconnects the storage device to and from the FC-AL, wherein the disconnection operation by the fourth signal in the first and second FC-ALs An information processing system which is performed by mutually transmitting the fourth signal via another second FC-AL or the first FC-AL.