JP3288158B2 - Channel control method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a channel control system, and more particularly to a channel control system for controlling a plurality of channels in a time-division manner in order to control an input / output device from a processing unit in a data processing system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional data processing system, as shown in FIG. 5, a plurality of channel devices and a plurality of channel devices for controlling input / output devices (magnetic tape device, magnetic disk device, typewriter, etc.) from a processing device are controlled. It is common practice to use a channel control device to control the channel device.

The channel devices 41 a to 41 c and the channel control device 35 shown in FIG.
According to operation instruction information such as a channel program stored in the main storage device 20 and control data corresponding to the channel devices 41a to 41c, a data transfer operation performed between the input / output devices 51a to 51c and the main storage device 20 is performed. Is configured to be able to perform channel control.

In this case, a control circuit 325 is provided in the channel control device 35 as shown in FIG. 5, and the control circuit 325 controls a plurality of channel devices 41a to 41c in a time-division manner.

[0005] The operation of the conventional channel control device 35 will be described below with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 5, a channel control device 35 is a memory for controlling reception of an instruction signal from the processing device 10, transmission of a response signal to the processing device 10, and reading and writing of information from the main storage device 20. Access control circuit 31
6. A control circuit 32 for sending operation instruction signals to the channel devices 41a to 41c and controlling the channel devices 41a to 41c
5. An interrupt control circuit 355 for receiving the operation request signal from the channel devices 41a to 41c, selecting a channel device to be processed next according to the priority order, and notifying the control device 325 of the selection, the channel devices 41a to 41c and the input device. It comprises a control data memory 333 for storing control data which is data indicating the control state of the output devices 51a to 51c.

With such a configuration, when receiving an operation instruction signal from the processing device 10 or an operation request signal from the channel devices 41a to 41c, the channel control device 35 transmits control data corresponding to the channel device to be controlled. The control data is read from the main storage device 20 to the control data memory 333, and thereafter, the control data is
The corresponding channel device is controlled according to the channel program stored in the.

[0008]

In the conventional channel control system described above, a plurality of channel devices are controlled by a single control circuit. Therefore, depending on the operation state of the control circuit, processing for an operation request from the channel device is performed. A waiting time may occur before the start, but the waiting time of this processing becomes remarkable when there are many channel devices to be managed by the channel control device or when the channel device is frequently used. When the processing wait time occurs, the operation instruction from the channel control device to the channel device is delayed, and the operation instruction can follow the operation between the channel device and the input / output device connected to the channel device. This has the disadvantage of causing adverse effects such as command overrun and data overrun.

In order to cope with the above-mentioned problem, it is necessary to improve the performance of the channel controller more than necessary to reduce the processing delay, which causes the cost of the channel controller to be high. It has the disadvantage of becoming one.

An object of the present invention is to provide a channel control system which has a low waiting time and a high processing speed.

[0011]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a channel control system comprising: a plurality of channel devices connected between a processing device and a plurality of input / output devices controlled by the processing device; A channel control device between the device and the plurality of channel devices for controlling the plurality of channel devices in a time-division manner; and a channel connected to the processing device and the channel control device and describing the operation of the channel control device. In a channel control method including a main storage device for storing a program and control data indicating control states of the channel device and the input / output device, the channel control device is read from the main storage device. A first control data memory for storing control data; and (B) a second control data memory for storing control data read from the main storage device.
(C) a memory access control circuit that controls reading of the control data from the main storage device, and (D) a first activation signal that receives a first activation signal and the main storage device via the memory access control circuit. The control data is read from the first control data memory and stored in the first control data memory, and the control data stored in the first control data memory is used in the channel device according to a channel program stored in the main storage device. A first control circuit for controlling the first channel device selected from the group consisting of: (E) receiving a second activation signal and reading out the control data from the main storage device via the memory access control circuit; Channel stored in the main storage device using the control data stored in the second control data memory. A second control circuit for controlling a second channel device selected from the channel devices according to a program, and (F) monitoring whether the first control circuit is operating or not, the first control circuit A first monitoring circuit that outputs information indicating an operation state of the second control circuit; and (G) a first monitoring circuit that monitors whether the second control circuit is operating and outputs information indicating an operation state of the second control circuit. (H) receiving an operation request signal from the channel device, selecting the channel device to be processed next from a plurality of channel devices according to a predetermined priority, and selecting the selected channel device. So that the first control circuit and the second monitor circuit output from the first monitor circuit and the second monitor circuit indicate information indicating the operating states of the first control circuit and the second control circuit. And the second control cycle , An interrupt control circuit that selects a non-operating control circuit and sends the first start signal or the second start signal to the selected control circuit; (I) the first control circuit; Connecting the first channel device, connecting the second control circuit and the second channel device, and performing an operation instruction content from the first control circuit to the first channel device; A channel instruction circuit configured to relay operation instruction content from the second control circuit to the second channel device.

Further, a channel control method according to a second invention is as follows.
A plurality of channel devices respectively connected between a processing device and a plurality of input / output devices controlled by the processing device; and a plurality of time-divided channel devices between the processing device and the plurality of channel devices. And a channel control device connected to the processing device and the channel control device for controlling the operation of the channel control device, and a control program indicating control states of the channel device and the input / output device. And a main storage device, wherein the channel control device comprises:
(A) a control data memory that stores control data read from the main storage device; (B) a memory access control circuit that controls reading of the control data from the main storage device; and (C) first activation. Receiving a signal, reading out the control data from the main storage device via the memory access control circuit, storing the control data in the control data memory, and storing the control data in the main storage device using the control data stored in the control data memory A first control circuit for controlling a first channel device selected from the channel devices in accordance with the set channel program, and (D) receiving a second activation signal and receiving the main memory via the memory access control circuit. The control data is read from the device and stored in the control data memory, and the control data is stored in the control data memory. Second selected from among the channel device in accordance with the stored channel program 憶 the apparatus
A second control circuit that controls the channel device of (a), (E) a first monitor that monitors whether the first control circuit is operating, and outputs information indicating an operation state of the first control circuit. (F) a second monitoring circuit that monitors whether the second control circuit is operating and outputs information indicating an operation state of the second control circuit, and (G) a signal from the channel device. The first monitoring circuit receives an operation request signal, selects the next channel device to be processed next from a plurality of channel devices in accordance with a predetermined priority, and controls activation of the selected channel device. And the first control circuit and the second control circuit are not operating in accordance with the information indicating the operation states of the first control circuit and the second control circuit output from the second monitoring circuit. Select the control circuit and select the selected control Interrupt control circuit for delivering the first start signal or the second start signal to the circuit,
(H) connecting the first control circuit to the first channel device, connecting the second control circuit to the second channel device, and connecting the first control circuit to the first channel device; And a channel instruction circuit for relaying the operation instruction content to the second channel device from the second control circuit.

Further, a channel control method according to a third aspect of the present invention comprises:
In the channel control method according to a second aspect of the present invention, the channel control device monitors (I) whether or not the first control circuit is operating normally, and a failure of the first control circuit is detected. A first failure detection circuit that notifies the second control circuit of a failure in the first control circuit, and (J) monitors whether the second control circuit is operating normally. , wherein when a failure of the second control circuit has been detected, a second failure detection circuit, that notifies a failure in the second control circuit to said first control circuit, said first control Circuit and the second control circuit
The control circuit notified of the failure of the other control circuit
Stops the operation of the control circuit that generated the
It is configured to notify .

Further, a channel control method according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is as follows.
In the channel control method according to a second aspect of the present invention, the channel control device includes: (I) a first channel number register storing a channel number corresponding to the first channel device;
(J) a second channel number register storing a channel number corresponding to the second channel device; (K) a channel number corresponding to the first channel device stored in the first channel number register; A comparison circuit that compares a channel number corresponding to the second channel device stored in the second channel number register and notifies a comparison result to the first control circuit and the second control circuit;
It is configured with.

[0015]

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the channel control system according to the first invention.

The channel control system of the embodiment shown in FIG.
A plurality of channel devices 41a to 41c connected between the processing device 10 and a plurality of input / output devices 51a to 51c controlled by the processing device 10, a channel device between the processing device 10 and the channel devices 41a to 41c; Control device 31 for controlling the time division of the channel control device, the processing device 10 and the channel control device 31 connected to the channel control device 31
1 includes a main storage device 20 for storing a channel program describing the operation and control data indicating control states of the channel devices 41a to 41c and the input / output devices 51a to 51c.

The channel control device 31 includes control data memories 331a and 331b for storing control data read from the main storage device 20, and a memory access control circuit 315 for controlling reading of control data from the main storage device 20. Read control data from the main storage device 20 via the memory access control circuit 315,
31a and 331b, and the control data memory 331
control circuits 321a and 321b for controlling one channel device selected from the channel devices 41a to 41c in accordance with the channel program stored in the main storage device 20 using the control data stored in the main memory device 331a and 331b; Monitoring circuits 300a and 300b for monitoring whether or not 321a and 321b are operating, and outputting information indicating the operating state of control circuits 321a and 321b;
The monitoring circuit 300a receives an operation request signal from the communication device 1c, selects a channel device to be processed next from the channel devices 41a to 41c in accordance with a predetermined priority, and controls activation of the selected channel device. , 3
The control circuits 321a, 321b are output in accordance with the information indicating the operating states of the control circuits 321a, 321b.
b selects an inactive control circuit and sends an activation signal to the selected control circuit.
0, control circuits 321a, 321b and channel device 41a
41c, and a channel instruction circuit 340 for relaying the operation instruction contents from the control circuits 321a and 321b to the respectively connected channel devices.

The processing device 10, main storage device 20, channel devices 41a to 41c, and input / output devices 51a to 51 in FIG.
1c is the same as that shown in FIG.

Next, the operation will be described.

In FIG. 1, the memory access control circuit 315 of the channel control device 31 has two control circuits 321.
a, 321b, but has the same function as the memory access control circuit 316 in FIG.

Next, the monitoring circuits 300a and 300b monitor the operation status of the connected control circuits 321a and 321b, respectively, and indicate to the interrupt control circuit 350 whether or not the corresponding control circuit is operating. The interrupt control circuit 350 receives the operation request signals from the channel devices 41a to 41c, determines the priority of the channel device that has requested the operation, selects an interrupt from the channel device with the highest priority, and then monitors the monitoring circuit. With reference to the operation states of the control circuits 321a and 321b displayed by the control circuits 300a and 300b, the control circuit 321a and 321b select an inactive control circuit and send an activation signal to the control circuit. The control circuit activated by the activation signal sent from the interrupt control circuit 350 is, for example, the control circuit 3
21a, the control circuit 321a sends control data corresponding to the channel device selected by the interrupt control circuit 350, that is, data indicating the control states of the channel devices 41a to 41c and the input / output devices 51a to 51c to the main storage device 20. From the corresponding control data memory 33
1a, and uses the control data stored in the control data memory 331a to control the corresponding channel device according to the channel program stored in the main storage device 20. If the control circuit activated by the activation signal sent from the interrupt control circuit 350 is the control circuit 321b, the control circuit 321b transmits the channel device 41a
To 41c and the data indicating the control state of the input / output devices 51a to 51c are read from the main storage device 20 and stored in the corresponding control data memory 331b, and the control data stored in the control data memory as in the case of the control circuit 321a. To control the corresponding channel device according to the channel program stored in the main storage device 20. The channel instruction circuit 340 is a crossbar switch, and is selected from the channel devices 41a to 41c.
The channel devices controlled by 21a and 321b are connected to control circuits that control the respective channel devices.
Then, the channel instruction circuit 340 includes the control circuit 321a,
321b has a function of relaying an operation instruction signal to each of the channel devices connected thereto. Thus, even when one of the control circuits 321a and 321b is operating, the other unoccupied control circuit can perform the processing operation of the activation request.

When both the control circuits 321a and 321b are operating, the connection processing for the operation request from the channel device is not performed and a waiting time occurs. However, in general, it is assumed that both the control circuits 321a and 321b are operating at the same time. Since the probability is small and the duration is short, the waiting time is greatly improved as compared with the prior art.

As described above, according to the channel control method of the present invention, a plurality of control circuits are provided in the channel control device corresponding to the plurality of channel devices, and the operation requests from the channel devices are shared by the plurality of control circuits. By doing so, it is possible to realize a channel control method in which the load on each control circuit is distributed and the waiting time is short and the processing speed is high.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the channel control system according to the second invention.

The channel control method of the embodiment shown in FIG.
A plurality of channel devices 41a to 41c connected between the processing device 10 and a plurality of input / output devices 51a to 51c controlled by the processing device 10, a channel device between the processing device 10 and the channel devices 41a to 41c; Channel control device 32, which is connected to the processing device 10 and the channel control device 32,
1 includes a main storage device 20 for storing a channel program describing the operation and control data indicating control states of the channel devices 41a to 41c and the input / output devices 51a to 51c.

The channel control device 32 includes a control data memory 332 for storing control data read from the main storage device 20, a memory access control circuit 315 for controlling reading of control data from the main storage device 20, and a memory. The control data is read out from the main storage device 20 via the access control circuit 315 and stored in the control data memory 332, and the control data stored in the control data memory 332 is used in accordance with the channel program stored in the main storage device 20. Control circuits 322a, 322 for controlling one channel device selected from the devices 41a to 41c
22b, monitoring whether the control circuits 322a, 322b are operating, and receiving operation request signals from the monitoring circuits 300a, 300b, which output information indicating the operation state of the control circuits 322a, 322b, and the channel devices 41a to 41c. The control circuit 322 output from the monitoring circuits 300a and 300b selects a channel device to be processed next from the channel devices 41a to 41c in accordance with a predetermined priority and controls the activation of the selected channel device.
a, 322b, according to the information indicating the operating states of the control circuits 322a, 322b, and selects an inactive control circuit, and sends an activation signal to the selected control circuit. And a channel device selected from the channel devices 41a to 41c, and a channel instruction circuit 340 for relaying operation instruction contents from the control circuits 322a and 322b to the respectively connected channel devices.

The channel control device 32 of FIG. 2 corresponds to the control data memory 331 in the channel control device 31 of FIG.
A difference is that a control data memory 332 is provided in place of a and 331b. The function of the control data memory 332 is basically the same as that of the control data memories 331a and 331b, except that the control data memory 332 is accessed from both the control circuits 322a and 322b. And
The basic functions of the control circuits 322a and 322b are the same as the functions of the control circuits 321a and 321b of the channel control device 31 in FIG. Therefore, the operation will be described focusing on the operation of the control data memory 332 which is different from the embodiment of FIG. Also,
The description of the operations common to the configuration of the channel control device 31 of FIG. 1 will be omitted.

The control circuit 32 in FIG. 1 described above
When controlling the channel devices 41a to 41c, the control data memories 331a and 331b provided for the channel devices 1a and 321b read control data corresponding to the channel device from the main storage device 20, store the read control data, and thereafter However, since the control circuit that processes the operation request from the channel devices 41a to 41c is selected each time the operation request is made, the control data stored in the control data memories 331a and 331b is used for the control circuit. It is necessary to read out from the main storage device 20 each time it is selected.

On the other hand, the control data memory 33 shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 2 denotes a memory that can be accessed from both the control circuits 322a and 322b. With such a configuration, the control data read from the main storage device 20 continues even if the control circuit changes. The main memory 20 can be used whenever the control circuit is changed.
There is no need to read out control data from.

According to the second aspect of the invention, by providing the storage means that can be shared by a plurality of control circuits, the number of control memories can be reduced as compared with the first aspect, and the channel control device can be constructed at a low cost.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the channel control system according to the third invention.

The channel control system of the embodiment shown in FIG.
A plurality of channel devices 41a to 41c connected between the processing device 10 and a plurality of input / output devices 51a to 51c controlled by the processing device 10, a channel device between the processing device 10 and the channel devices 41a to 41c; Channel control device 33 that controls time-divisionally, and is connected to the processing device 10 and the channel control device 33 so that the channel control device 3
The main storage device 20 stores a channel program describing the operation of No. 3 and control data indicating control states of the channel devices 41a to 41c and the input / output devices 51a to 51c.

The channel control device 33 includes a control data memory 332 for storing control data read from the main storage device 20, a memory access control circuit 315 for controlling reading of control data from the main storage device 20, and a memory. The control data is read out from the main storage device 20 via the access control circuit 315 and stored in the control data memory 332, and the control data stored in the control data memory 332 is used in accordance with the channel program stored in the main storage device 20. Control circuits 323a, 323 for controlling one channel device selected from the devices 41a to 41c
23b, monitor whether the control circuits 323a, 323b are operating, monitor circuits 300a, 300b that output information indicating the operation state of the control circuits 323a, 323b, and receive operation request signals from the channel devices 41a to 41c. The control circuit 323 output from the monitoring circuits 300a and 300b selects a channel device to be processed next from the channel devices 41a to 41c in accordance with a predetermined priority and controls the activation of the selected channel device.
a, 323b, according to the information indicating the operating states of the control circuits 323a, 323b, and selects an inactive control circuit, and sends an activation signal to the selected control circuit. And a channel device selected from the channel devices 41a to 41c, and channel control circuits 340 and 323a and 323b for relaying operation instruction contents from the control circuits 323a and 323b to the respectively connected channel devices.
Monitor whether the device is operating normally,
When a fault is detected in one of the control circuits 3a and 323b, the fault detecting circuit 360a and 360b notify the other control circuit of the detected fault.

The channel control device 33 shown in FIG. 3 is different from the channel control system shown in FIG.
The difference is that 60a and 360b are added. The basic functions of the control circuits 323a and 323b are the same as those of the control circuits 322a and 322b of the channel control device 32 in FIG. 2, but the failure detection circuits 360a and 360b
The operation based on the transmission and reception of the signal is different. Therefore, the operation will be described focusing on the operation of the failure detection circuits 360a and 360b different from the embodiment of FIG. The description of the operations common to the configuration of the channel control device 31 in FIG. 2 is omitted.

In FIG. 3, fault detection circuits 360a, 360a
Reference numeral 60b denotes a circuit for monitoring whether or not the corresponding control circuits 323a, 323b are operating normally. If a failure is detected in any of the control circuits 323a, 323b, the control circuit 323a, 323b determines whether the failure has been detected. The corresponding fault detection circuit notifies the control circuit on which no fault has occurred of the occurrence of the fault detected by another control circuit. The control circuit notified of the failure of the other control circuit stops the operation of the failed control circuit by this notification, and notifies the processing device 10 that the transfer operation being executed has failed. Accordingly, processing can be performed when a failure occurs in the control circuit without burdening the processing device 10.

In the third invention, a failure detection circuit is provided, and when a failure occurs in one control circuit, the occurrence of the failure is notified to the processing device by the remaining control circuits. It is possible to realize a channel control method with less burden.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the channel control system according to the fourth invention.

The channel control system of the embodiment shown in FIG.
A plurality of channel devices 41a to 41c connected between the processing device 10 and a plurality of input / output devices 51a to 51c controlled by the processing device 10, a channel device between the processing device 10 and the channel devices 41a to 41c; Channel control device 34, which is connected to the processing device 10 and the channel control device 33 and controls the channel control device 3
4 includes a main storage device 20 for storing a channel program describing the operation and control data indicating control states of the channel devices 41a to 41c and the input / output devices 51a to 51c.

The channel control device 34 includes a control data memory 332 for storing control data read from the main storage device 20, a memory access control circuit 315 for controlling reading of control data from the main storage device 20, The control data is read out from the main storage device 20 via the access control circuit 315 and stored in the control data memory 332, and the control data stored in the control data memory 332 is used in accordance with the channel program stored in the main storage device 20. Control circuits 324a, 324 for controlling one channel device selected from the devices 41a to 41c
24b, monitor whether the control circuits 324a, 324b are operating, and receive operation request signals from the monitoring circuits 300a, 300b, which output information indicating the operation state of the control circuits 324a, 324b, and the channel devices 41a to 41c. The control circuit 324 output from the monitoring circuits 300a and 300b selects a channel device to be processed next from the channel devices 41a to 41c in accordance with a predetermined priority and controls the activation of the selected channel device.
a, 324b, according to the information indicating the operating states of the control circuits 324a, 324b, select an inactive control circuit, and send an activation signal to the selected control circuit. And a channel device selected from the channel devices 41a to 41c, and channel control circuits 340 and 324a and 324b for relaying operation instruction contents from the control circuits 324a and 324b to the respectively connected channel devices.
The channel numbers stored in both the channel number registers 370a and 370b storing the channel numbers corresponding to the channel devices controlled by the channel numbers 370a and 370b are compared.
a and 324b.

The channel control device 34 in FIG. 4 differs from the block diagram of the channel control system in FIG. 2 in that channel number registers 370a and 370b and a comparison circuit 380 are added. Then, the control circuits 324a, 32
4b has the same basic functions as those of the control circuits 322a and 322b of the channel control device 32 of FIG. 2, except for the channel number registers 370a and 370b and the comparison circuit 380.
The operation based on the transmission and reception of the signal is different. Therefore, the operation will be described focusing on the operation of the channel number registers 370a and 370b and the comparison circuit 380. The description of the operations common to the configuration of the channel control device 31 in FIG. 2 is omitted.

Referring to FIG. 4, control circuits 324a, 324
When the control corresponding to the channel device is started according to the instruction of the interrupt control circuit 350, the channel number b stores the channel number corresponding to the channel device that processes the connection control in the corresponding channel number register. For example, the control circuit 324
When a starts the control corresponding to the channel device, the control circuit 324a sets the corresponding channel number register 37
A channel number corresponding to a channel device that processes connection control is stored in 0a. Then, the comparison circuit 380 compares the channel number stored in the channel number register 370a by the control circuit 324a with the control circuit 32
If 4b has already stored the channel number corresponding to the channel device that processes the connection control in channel number register 370b, the channel number is compared with that channel number, and if they match, they match. Control circuit 3
24a and 324b. For this reason, the control circuits 324a and 324b can know whether or not the channel number operating in the other control circuit is the same as the number of the channel device controlled by itself. That is, when each control circuit is started, it is determined whether or not the channel number of the control target and the channel number being operated by another control circuit match, and if they match, the operation is interrupted. Thus, it is possible to eliminate a state in which an operation instruction for the same channel is issued from both of the plurality of control circuits 324a and 324b. This makes it possible for a plurality of control circuits to perform operations that require order guarantee.

In the fourth invention, the order of the operation requests from the channel devices is guaranteed more than in the second invention by comparing the channel numbers being processed by the control circuits and notifying the two control circuits of this. A possible channel control method can be realized.

[0044]

As described above, according to the channel control method of the present invention, a plurality of control circuits are provided in a channel control device corresponding to a plurality of channel devices, and an operation request from the channel device is transmitted to the plurality of channel devices. By sharing and executing the control circuits, there is an effect that the load of each control circuit is distributed and a channel control method with a short processing time and a high processing speed can be realized.

Further, by providing storage means that can be shared by a plurality of control circuits, the number of control memories can be reduced and the channel control device can be constructed at low cost.

Further, a fault detection circuit is provided, and when a fault occurs in one of the control circuits, the occurrence of the fault is notified to the processing device by the remaining control circuits, whereby the load on the processing device can be reduced.

Further, by comparing the channel numbers being processed by the control circuits and notifying them to both control circuits,
The order of the operation requests from the channel devices can be guaranteed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a channel control system according to the first invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a channel control system according to the second invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a channel control system according to the third invention.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a channel control system according to the fourth invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a conventional channel control method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 processing device 20 main storage device 31-35 channel control device 41a-41c channel device 51a-51c channel device 315,316 memory access control circuit 321a, 321b control circuit 322a, 322b control circuit 323a, 323b control circuit 324a, 324b control circuit 325 control circuit 331a, 331b control data memory 332, 333 control data memory 300a, 300b monitoring circuit 340 channel instruction circuit 350, 355 interrupt control circuit 360a, 360b failure detection circuit 370a, 370b channel number register 380 comparison circuit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Naoki Uebayashi 3-20-4 Nishishinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo Japan Electric Engineering Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-4-81960 (JP, A) Kaihei 2-173855 (JP, A) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G06F 13/10-13/14

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] A plurality of channel devices connected between a processing device and a plurality of input / output devices controlled by the processing device; and a plurality of channel devices connected between the processing device and the plurality of channel devices. A channel control device for controlling the channel device in a time-division manner, a channel program connected to the processing device and the channel control device and describing the operation of the channel control device, and a control state of the channel device and the input / output device; And a main storage device for storing control data, the channel control device comprising: (A) a first control data memory for storing control data read from the main storage device; )
A second control data memory for storing control data read from the main storage device, (C) a memory access control circuit for controlling reading of the control data from the main storage device, and (D) a first activation Receiving the signal, reading the control data from the main storage device via the memory access control circuit, and storing the read control data in the first control data memory;
A first control circuit for controlling a first channel device selected from the channel devices in accordance with a channel program stored in the main storage device using control data stored in the first control data memory; (E) receiving a second activation signal, reading out the control data from the main storage device via the memory access control circuit, storing the control data in the second control data memory, and storing the control data in the second control data memory A second control circuit for controlling a second channel device selected from among the channel devices according to a channel program stored in the main storage device using the obtained control data; (F) the first control A first monitoring circuit that monitors whether or not the circuit is operating and outputs information indicating an operation state of the first control circuit; and (G) determines whether or not the second control circuit is operating. And (H) receiving an operation request signal from the channel device and processing it next according to a predetermined priority. The first control circuit and the first control circuit output from the first monitoring circuit and the second monitoring circuit so as to select the channel device to be selected from among a plurality of channel devices and to control activation of the selected channel device. A non-operating control circuit among the first control circuit and the second control circuit is selected according to the information indicating the operation state of the second control circuit, and the selected start-up is performed by the selected control circuit. An interrupt control circuit for transmitting a signal or the second start signal, (I) connecting the first control circuit to the first channel device, and connecting the second control circuit to the second channel device Connect with A channel instruction circuit that relays an operation instruction content from the first control circuit to the first channel device and an operation instruction content from the second control circuit to the second channel device. A channel control method characterized by the following. 2. A plurality of channel devices respectively connected between a processing device and a plurality of input / output devices controlled by the processing device; and a plurality of channel devices between the processing device and the plurality of channel devices. A channel control device for controlling the channel device in a time-division manner, a channel program connected to the processing device and the channel control device and describing the operation of the channel control device, and a control state of the channel device and the input / output device; And a main storage device for storing control data, wherein the channel control device comprises: (A) a control data memory for storing control data read from the main storage device; A memory access control circuit for controlling reading of the control data from a storage device, and (C) receiving a first activation signal to access the memory The control data is read from the main storage device via a control circuit and stored in the control data memory, and the channel is stored in the main storage device using the control data stored in the control data memory according to a channel program stored in the main storage device. A first control circuit for controlling a first channel device selected from the devices, and (D) receiving the second start signal and reading the control data from the main storage device via the memory access control circuit A second channel device selected from the channel devices is controlled according to a channel program stored in the main storage device using the control data stored in the control data memory. A second control circuit, (E) for monitoring whether the first control circuit is operating or not and indicating an operation state of the first control circuit; A first monitoring circuit that outputs information, (F) a second monitoring circuit that monitors whether the second control circuit is operating, and outputs information indicating an operation state of the second control circuit; (G) receiving an operation request signal from the channel device, selecting the channel device to be processed next from a plurality of channel devices in accordance with a predetermined priority, and controlling activation of the selected channel device. The first control circuit and the second control circuit according to information indicating the operation states of the first control circuit and the second control circuit output from the first monitor circuit and the second monitor circuit. An interrupt control circuit that selects a non-operating control circuit in the circuit and sends the first start signal or the second start signal to the selected control circuit; (H) the first control circuit And the first channel And the second control circuit is connected to the second channel device, and the operation instruction content from the first control circuit to the first channel device is transmitted to the second channel device. A channel instruction circuit for relaying operation instruction contents from the control circuit to the second channel device. 3. The channel control system according to claim 2, wherein said channel control device monitors: (I) whether said first control circuit is operating normally; A first failure detection circuit that notifies the second control circuit of a failure of the first control circuit when a failure is detected; and (J) whether the second control circuit operates normally. A second failure detection circuit that monitors whether the second control circuit has a failure, and when the failure of the second control circuit is detected, notifies the first control circuit of the failure of the second control circuit . The first control circuit and the second control circuit
The control circuit notified of the failure of the other control circuit
Stops the operation of the control circuit that generated the
A channel control method for notifying . 4. The channel control method according to claim 2, wherein said channel control device comprises: (I) a first channel number register for storing a channel number corresponding to said first channel device; A second channel number register storing a channel number corresponding to the second channel device; (K) a channel number corresponding to the first channel device stored in the first channel number register and the second channel; A comparison circuit that compares a channel number corresponding to the second channel device stored in a number register with the first control circuit and the second control circuit and notifies a result of the comparison to the first control circuit and the second control circuit. Channel control method.