JP2003167771A - Data backup method, information processor, and facility monitoring system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and safely perform a data backup. <P>SOLUTION: A central monitoring device 3 of a facility monitoring system comprises a hard disk device 35 having a recording area divided to a basic area for storing software and a data backup area; and a backup means for storing an image file in which all the contents of the recording area are filed in the data backup area, and storing the data of the software in the data backup area every prescribed period. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a data backup method for backing up data in an information processing device, an information processing device having a data backup function, and an equipment monitoring system using the information processing device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, equipment monitoring systems for monitoring equipment installed in facilities such as buildings and plants have been operated with dedicated hardware, and manufacturers have been supporting maintenance and system expansion. However, due to the recent trend of openness, most of the platforms have been shifted to general-purpose personal computers (hereinafter referred to as PCs) in recent years. In a PC, data collected from equipment and data set by a user are generally stored in a storage device such as a hard disk device.

However, the life of the hard disk device is about 5 years, and the reliability is not high. Therefore, regular backup of data in case of a hard disk device failure is one of the essential work items. As a data backup method, a user or a maintenance person manually operates the PC to perform a data backup, or a method in which data stored in the hard disk device is stored in a CD-ROM at predetermined intervals.
There is a method of evacuating to another recording medium such as a ROM or a magneto-optical disk.

[0004]

However, in the method of manually backing up the data by the user or maintenance personnel,
There is a problem that data backup cannot be performed in a short cycle because the backup work takes time and effort. If not backed up, collected data and set data cannot be restored to the latest state. In addition, if a user or a maintenance person manually backs up data, there is a possibility that files necessary for system operation may be deleted by mistake. Further, the method of saving data to another recording medium has a problem that it takes time to manage the medium. Note that the above-mentioned problems occur not only in the equipment monitoring system but also in other systems using a PC.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and can easily and safely perform data backup, and easily restore the system even if a storage device such as a hard disk device fails. An object of the present invention is to provide a data backup method, an information processing device, and an equipment monitoring system that can perform the data backup.

[0006]

According to the data backup method of the present invention, a recording area of a data writable / readable storage device (35) is divided into a basic area for storing software and a data backup area. Procedure and
A procedure of saving an image file in which the entire contents of the recording area are filed in the data backup area;
And a procedure of storing the data of the software in the data backup area at predetermined intervals. Further, one configuration example of the data backup method of the present invention is one in which the authority of the user with respect to the storage device is set according to the user level.

In the information processing apparatus of the present invention, a storage device (35) whose recording area is divided into a basic area for storing software and a data backup area, and the entire contents of the recording area are filed. A backup means (355) is provided for saving the image file in the data backup area and saving the software data in the data backup area at predetermined intervals. Further, one configuration example of the information processing apparatus of the present invention includes means for setting the authority of the user to the storage device according to the user level. Further, the equipment monitoring system of the present invention uses the information processing device as a monitoring device (3) for managing and monitoring the equipment.

[0008]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an equipment monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The equipment monitoring system includes equipment equipment 1 (1-1 to 1-3) such as air conditioning equipment and lighting equipment in a facility, and a controller 2 (2-1, 2-2) that controls and manages the equipment equipment 1.
2) and the distributed equipment 1 and controller 2
Central monitoring device (Main
Controll Unit (hereinafter referred to as MCU) 3 and a network 4 connecting the controller 2 and the MCU 3.

The MCU 3 is composed of a computer system which is an information processing device, and this computer system
Computer body 3a, display device 3b, keyboard 3c
And mouse 3d. Further, the computer main body 3a includes a CPU 31, a ROM 32, and a RAM 33.
And an auxiliary storage device 34 such as a flexible disk device
A hard disk device 35, an interface device 36 serving as an interface with the display device 36, an interface device 37 serving as an interface with the keyboard 3c and the mouse 3d, and an interface device 38 for connecting to the network 4. .

The MCU 3 can be realized by the above hardware resources and a program for controlling these hardware resources. The program is provided in a state of being recorded in a recording medium such as a flexible disk, a CD-ROM, a memory card or the like. When this recording medium is inserted into the auxiliary storage device 34, the program written in the recording medium is read, and the read program is written in the hard disk device 35.

The storage area of the hard disk device 35 is divided into two areas, a basic partition and an extended partition, as shown in FIG. The extended partition is also divided into two logical disk areas. Less than,
The basic partition is called a C drive, one logical disk area of the extended partition is called a Y drive, and the other logical disk area is called a Z drive.

The C drive stores basic software (operating system) 351 and application software 352. For the application software 352, a computer system is an MCU.
The MCU system program 353 which is a program for operating as the above, a data file 354 including data set in the MCU by the user and data collected by the MCU from the equipment 1 and a backup program 355 that automatically backs up the data file 354. And are included.

The Y drive is an area for storing a temporary file 356 which is temporarily created by the basic software 351 and the application software 352. Z drive is the application software 35
This is an area for data backup of No. 2.

At the time of factory shipment, the backup program 35
In No. 5, the hard disk image file 357 in which the contents of the C, Y, and Z drives are directly converted into a file is compressed and saved in the Z drive. After being installed in a facility such as a building or a plant, the basic software 351 provides a basic environment indispensable for operating a computer system such as job management, data management, and input / output management. The application software 352 running under makes the computer system function as an MCU.

That is, the MCU system program 353 of the application software 352 (the CPU 31 which performs processing according to the MCU system program 353)
Stores the data set by the user through the keyboard 3c or the mouse 3d in the C drive as the data file 354, and stores the data of the equipment 1 in the controller 2
The data is collected at any time through, and the collected data is stored in the C drive as a data file 354. In addition, the MCU system program 353 displays the data on the screen of the display device 3b in response to the user's request, and updates the displayed data when the displayed data is newly collected.

On the other hand, the backup program 355 is
Data file 3 once a day at a predetermined time
A compressed data file 358 obtained by compressing 54 is automatically saved in the Z drive. The Z drive can store compressed data files 358 for a plurality of days. The backup program 355 rotates and uses an area in which the compressed data files 358 for a plurality of days can be stored. That is, the backup program 355 is
If the compressed data files 358 for the number of days that can be saved are saved, the oldest compressed data file 35 will start from the next day.
8 is rewritten to the latest compressed data file 358.

When a problem occurs in the hard disk device 35, if the system can be restored by re-installing the C drive, the maintenance personnel can change the C drive image file into a Z drive image file. Save in compressed form. Subsequently, the maintenance staff deletes the contents of the C drive of the hard disk device 35 once, and the compressed hard disk image file 3 is stored.
The contents of the C drive are restored by decompressing the C drive portion of 57 and writing it to the C drive.

Furthermore, the maintenance staff selects one of the plurality of compressed data files 358 (for example, the latest compressed data file 358 saved on the day before the failure) and decompresses it.
The decompressed file is written in the C drive as the data file 354.

As described above, in the present embodiment, the hard disk image file 357 is stored in the Z drive for data backup, so that the file of the C drive necessary for the operation of the MCU is damaged by the failure of the hard disk device 35. The MCU can be restored when it is destroyed or deleted by an erroneous operation by the user. In addition, by storing the compressed data file 358 in the Z drive every predetermined period (one day in this embodiment), the compressed data file 358 is saved until the state in which the compressed data file 358 is stored immediately before the failure of the hard disk device 35.
U can be restored.

Furthermore, by storing the compressed data file 358 continuously over a plurality of cycles, when a problem occurs in the equipment monitoring system, the cause can be analyzed retroactively, and the condition before the problem occurs can be analyzed. It is also possible to restore the system.

On the other hand, when the system cannot be restored by re-installing the C drive, the user or the maintenance staff uses the function provided in the backup program 355 to execute the copy function provided as standard in the basic software 351. The compressed data file 358 of the Z drive can be written to the recording medium (flexible disk or magneto-optical disk) of the auxiliary storage device 34 by a simpler operation than the case of using.

Thus, when the hard disk device 35 has to be replaced, the compressed data file 358 is decompressed from the recording medium and written in the C drive of the replaced hard disk device 35 so that the state before the problem occurs. You can restore the system to.

The backup program 355 is
The user's right to the MCU 3 can be set according to the level of the user or maintenance personnel. Table 1 shows user rights for each user level.

[0024]

[Table 1]

[0025] In Table 1, the mark "O" indicates that the right to view or change the file is given, and the mark "X" indicates that the user right is not permitted. For example, keyboard 3
In the case of a user level 1 user or maintenance personnel who wants to directly operate the MCU 3 using the c or mouse 3d, the backup program 355 gives the right to view or change the file only for the C drive, and to the Y or Z drive. No access is allowed. Therefore, the user at the user level 1 and maintenance personnel cannot browse the Y and Z drives.

Further, the backup program 355 does not permit access to the MCU 3 to the users of the user levels 1 and 2 and the maintenance staff who are going to remotely operate the MCU 3 using the terminal connected to the network 4. .
In the case of a user level 2 or 3 user or a maintenance person who directly operates the MCU 3, or a user level 3 user or a maintenance person who remotely operates the MCU 3, the backup program 355 controls all C, Y, and Z. Gives the right to view and change files on the drive.

It is possible to confirm at which user level the user or maintenance personnel who is trying to operate the MCU 3 is by a password preset for each user or maintenance personnel. The backup program 355 confirms the user level based on the password and gives appropriate rights to the user and maintenance personnel.

As described above, by setting the rights of the user and maintenance personnel for each user level, it is possible to prohibit the user of user level 1 from accessing the Y and Z drives,
It is possible to prevent the files in the Y and Z drives from being destroyed by a user's erroneous operation. Also, user levels 1 and 2
Since the remote operation is rejected for the user and maintenance personnel of (2), security can be secured. further,
For user level 3 maintenance personnel or maintenance systems,
Since the remote operation is permitted, a maintenance person or a maintenance system at a remote place can perform a service of receiving and storing the files of the Y and Z drives through the network.

Although the hard disk device 35 is one in this embodiment, the invention is not limited to this, and one hard disk device may be used for the basic partition and one hard disk device for the extended partition. Further, in the present embodiment, the facility monitoring system is described as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the present invention can be applied to other systems using a computer.

[0030]

According to the present invention, a recording area of a storage device such as a hard disk device is divided into a basic area and a data backup area, and an image file in which the entire contents of the recording area are filed is used as a data backup area. By saving and storing the software data in the data backup area every predetermined cycle, data backup can be performed easily and safely in a short cycle, and the file in the basic area is destroyed by the failure of the storage device. ,
Alternatively, even if the data is deleted due to an erroneous operation by the user, the system can be restored to the state where the data was saved immediately before the failure of the storage device. Further, since the data is stored in the data backup area of the storage device, the labor required for managing the medium can be saved as compared with the conventional method of saving the data in another recording medium.

By setting the authority of the user to the storage device according to the user level, it is possible to prohibit a user with a low user level from accessing the data backup area, and the data in the data backup area is erroneously operated by the user. Can be prevented from being destroyed by. In addition, maintenance personnel and maintenance systems with a high user level can be permitted to operate remotely via a communication line, and data in the data backup area can be transferred to a remote location while ensuring security. it can. As a result, a maintenance person or a maintenance system at a remote place can provide a service for receiving and storing the data in the data backup area through the communication line.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an equipment monitoring system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a storage area of the hard disk device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1-1, 1-2, 1-3 ... Equipment, 2-1, 2-2 ...
Controller, 3 ... Central monitoring device, 4 ... Network,
35 ... Hard disk device, 351 ... Basic software, 352 ... Application software, 353 ...
MCU system program, 354 ... data file,
355 ... Backup program, 357 ... Hard disk image file, 358 ... Compressed data file.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A procedure for dividing a recording area of a data writable / readable storage device into a basic area for storing software and a data backup area, and an image file in which the entire contents of the recording area are filed. Is stored in the data backup area, and a step of storing the software data in the data backup area at predetermined intervals is performed. 2. The data backup method according to claim 1, wherein the authority of the user with respect to the storage device is set according to the user level. 3. A storage device in which a recording area is divided into a basic area for storing software and a data backup area, and an image file in which the entire contents of the recording area are filed is stored in the data backup area. An information processing apparatus, comprising: backup means for storing the data of the software in the data backup area at predetermined intervals. 4. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising means for setting a user's authority to the storage device according to a user level. 5. The information processing apparatus according to claim 3 or 4,
An equipment monitoring system characterized by being used as a monitoring device for managing and monitoring equipment.