JP3428779B2 - Switching network connection system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a switching network connection system for connecting LAN-to-LAN connecting devices connected to a network (for example, LAN) to each other via a switching network, and particularly to setting the LAN-to-LAN connecting device. The present invention relates to a switching network connection system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of system, in order to properly operate an inter-LAN connecting device such as a router existing in the system, it is necessary to first perform initial setting of a network address and the like. However, many LA
In a system in which N is connected by the LAN-to-LAN connecting device, if initial setting is individually performed for all LAN-to-LAN connecting devices in the system, it takes time and labor for setting.

Therefore, conventionally, a management device is provided in a certain LAN, and the management device creates and manages the setting information of each LAN inter-connection device, and the LA connected to the LAN.
The N-to-N connecting device automatically sets by acquiring the setting information from the management device. In this case, LA
As a method of setting the N-to-N connecting device, for example, DHCP (Dy
Namic Host Configuration Protocol) is used, and the packet relay method is used as the relay method. The management device specifies each LAN-to-LAN connection device by a hardware address that is device-specific information, and a MAC address is used in a general network.

An inter-LAN connection device (hereinafter, referred to as "device to be set") for acquiring setting information first broadcasts a first packet in order to find a management device.
At this time, the device to be set specifies its own MAC address in the packet and transmits it. Here, when the device to be set and the management device are not on the same LAN, the LAN-to-LAN connection device that receives this packet transfers this packet to the management device. When receiving this packet, the management device identifies the device to be set from the MAC address specified in the packet, searches for the corresponding setting information, and returns this setting information to the device to be set.

[0005]

However, some of the above systems include a switching network such as ISDN, and connect LANs via this switching network to relay data. When setting the target device with this system,
When the system becomes a large-scale system in which a large number of LANs existing in remote areas are connected by a switched network, the LAN connecting device may be installed in the wrong place, and the MA in the system may be installed.
There is a problem that it is difficult to manage the C address correctly.

When using a switching network, the other party who communicates via this network is a network number (for example, a telephone number).
It is necessary to manage the network number for each LAN when constructing a switching network. Therefore, there is a method of using the network number as the hardware address of the LAN-to-LAN connecting device. However, in this method, the device to be set does not know its own network number until it acquires the setting information, so that the packet to the management device is transmitted. You cannot specify your own network number. For this reason, the management device cannot identify the device to be set from the received packet, which makes it difficult to transmit the setting information.

Further, since the device to be set cannot recognize the network number of the LAN in which the management device exists before acquiring the setting information, the network connection for transmitting the first packet cannot be made to this management device. There was a problem. The present invention has been made in view of these problems, and an object thereof is to provide a switching network connection system that can easily recognize a network connection device to be set when setting the network connection device via a switching network. And

Another object of the present invention is to provide a switching network connection system which enables setting of network connection devices even when networks are connected via a switching network.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, a plurality of network connecting devices connected to a switching network use network numbers set corresponding to the respective network connecting devices. In a switched network connection system configured to connect to each other, at least one of the network connection devices is an inter-network connection device connected to a network, further a management device is connected to at least one network of the inter-network connection device, The management device creates and manages predetermined setting information of each network connection device according to the network number,
When registering setting information in a specific network connection device (device to be set) connected to the management device via a switching network, the network connection device to which the management device is connected receives from the device to be set. There is provided a switching network connection system in which a network number obtained at the time of connection with the switching network is set at a specific position in the data and relayed to the management device.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the management device manages the setting information of each of the network connecting devices for each network number set corresponding to each of the network connecting devices, and each of the set devices connects to each of the network connecting devices. Upon receiving the request for the setting information of the device, each network connecting device is recognized from the network number specified in the request data, and the corresponding setting information is returned to the requested setting device.

[0011]

The inter-network connecting device specifies the network number of the device to be set in the response data received from the device to be set and relays it to the management device, and the management device recognizes the device to be set from this network number. According to the second aspect, the setting information corresponding to the network number in the received response data is returned to the corresponding setting target device, and the automatic setting in the setting target device is enabled.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of a switching network connection system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings of FIGS. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a switching network connection system according to the present invention. In the figure, in this embodiment, a plurality of inter-LAN connecting devices (hereinafter, simply referred to as "connecting device") via ISDN1.
Say. , ..., n0 are connected, and each connection device 10, ..., n0 receives, for example, packet format data from the constructed LAN via another ISLAN1.
It has a relay function to relay to. In order to make the connection devices 10, ..., N0 existing in the system properly perform data communication with other connection devices via the ISDN 1, for example, the own network number, in this embodiment, the ISDN number (telephone number). Etc.), ISDN of the communication partner (other connection device)
It is necessary to have setting information consisting of a number (telephone number, etc.), its own network address, the network address of the communication partner, etc.

The LAN 1 is constructed from a connection device 10 having an ISDN number N1, a management device 11, a terminal device (not shown), and a transmission line 12 to which these devices are connected. The other LAN2 to LANn have the same configuration. For example, the LAN2 is constructed from a connection device 20 having an ISDN number N2, a terminal device (not shown), and a transmission line 21 to which these devices are connected. It is constructed from a connection device n0 whose ISDN number is NX, a terminal device (not shown), and a transmission line n1 to which these devices are connected.

The management device 11 creates and manages the setting information of each connection device existing in the system, and the connection device installed in the system is managed by this management device 11.
Setting can be automatically performed by acquiring the above setting information from. The management device 11 of the present embodiment uses ISDN numbers instead of MAC addresses as hardware addresses for identifying connected devices, manages the setting information of each connected device for each ISDN number, and responds from the above ISDN number. The setting information of the connected device to be used can be searched. Therefore, the management device 11 is
When a new LAN is connected via SDN1, its L
The setting information of the connection device of the AN is created, and the setting information is managed in association with the ISDN number of the connection device. Also, when setting is made for the connection device (device to be set) in the system, the management device 11 transmits a line connection request specifying the data of the ISDN number of the device to be set to the connection device 10.

A connection device (hereinafter, referred to as a "relay network connection device" in order to distinguish it from other connection devices) 10 manages when a device to be set is set in association with the relay function. In response to a connection request from the device 11, the ISDN1 line is connected to the device to be set, and
When the management device detection packet shown in FIG. 2 responded from the setting target device is received, the management device 11 specifies the ISDN number data of the setting target device in the packet.
It has a function to transfer to.

The packet in FIG. 2 is a packet type area for designating whether it is a packet for detecting a management device or a packet for responding in the case of data communication, and the network address of the device to be set. And a management device network address area that specifies the network address of the management device, and a setting device hardware address area that specifies the ISDN number of the setting device. There is.

Next, the setting operation when a new LANX is added to the system of FIG. 1 will be described with reference to the drawing of FIG. LANX is a connection device (device to be set) X0
, A terminal device (not shown), and a transmission path X1 to which these devices are connected. After correctly initializing the device to be set X0, the other devices LAN1 to LANn are operated to operate ISDN1. Via LANX
It becomes possible to perform data communication with. Further, in the present embodiment, the setting method of the setting target apparatus uses the DHCP method, and the setting target apparatus acquires the network address of itself from the management apparatus 11 and then transfers the management apparatus 11 by file transfer or the like. All configuration information should be obtained from.

In FIG. 3, when a new LANX whose ISDN number (network number) is Nx is added to the system, first, the device to be set X0, which is a connection device, is installed, and ISDN1
To connect to ISDN1 and wait for an incoming call from ISDN1.
The management device 11 creates the setting information of the device X0 to be newly set and manages the setting information in association with the ISDN number Nx. Next, the management device 11 uses this IS
By specifying the DN number Nx, ISD is set to the trunk network connection device 10.
A connection request is transmitted so as to connect the line to the partner of N number Nx (device X0 to be set).

The relay network connection device 1 that has received this connection request
0 connects the line with the partner of the specified ISDN number Nx. When the line is connected, the set device X0 confirms that the management device exists in the connected LAN of the other side,
First, the packet type shown in FIG. 2 is designated as a management device detection packet, and a packet for relay is created and transmitted. At this time, the device to be set X0 does not store the management device network address, its own network address, and the hardware address. Therefore, without specifying these, the management device detection packet is sent to the ISDN.
Send to 1.

When the relay network connecting device 10 receives this packet, it recognizes from the packet type in the packet that this packet is a management device detecting packet, and sets it in the hardware address area of the device to be set in the packet. The transmission source ISDN number Nx is set and transferred to the management device 11. The management device 11 creates and manages the setting information of all connected devices in the system. Therefore, when the management device detecting packet is received, the setting information corresponding to the device hardware address (ISDN number Nx) specified in the packet is searched.

In this case, for example, in the management device 11, I when the line connection request is made to the relay network connection device 10.
It is conceivable to use a method of storing the SDN number and retrieving the setting information from the stored ISDN number when the packet is responded, but this method is not so preferable. The reason is that, for example, when a plurality of setting target devices are set at one time, the management device detection packet may be received after making a plurality of ISDN line connection requests. This is because, in this case, it may not be possible to determine from which device to be set the received packet for management device detection.

Further, when the set network address is changed after the connecting device has been operated once, this connecting device already recognizes the ISDN number (N1 in the embodiment) on the management device 11 side. Therefore, it becomes possible to connect a line from this connection device (device to be set) and transmit the management device detection packet. Therefore, the management device 11 needs to be set so that information corresponding to the ISDN number of the setting target device can be searched from the information in the received management device detection packet.

When the management device 11 retrieves the ISDN number information of the device to be set from the management device detection packet, the management device 11 determines the network address of the device to be set and the management device itself from the setting information of the connection device corresponding to this ISDN number. A network packet, a hardware address of the device to be set, a packet type, etc. are designated to create a response packet (see FIG. 2), and the packet is transmitted to the relay network connection device 10.

Upon receipt of this response packet, the relay network connecting device 10 transfers this response packet to the partner having the ISDN number NX in the hardware address area of the device to be set specified in the packet. When the device to be set X0 receives the response packet, the device to be set can acquire the network address of itself and the management device 11 from the information in this packet. Can be obtained from.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the management device creates and manages the setting information of each connected device in association with the network number, and from the network number specified in the response of the set device at the time of line connection, Since this device to be set is recognized and the setting information of the device to be set is transmitted via the relay network connection device, no connection is required in advance for the newly added connection device on the network. The device can dynamically and automatically perform the settings necessary for the operation based on the setting information transmitted to itself.

As a result, in the present embodiment, even in a large-scale switching network connection system in which a large number of LANs existing at remote locations are connected by a switching network, the setting information for all the connection devices in the system is set. Created and managed in a batch, for connecting devices existing at remote locations via this switching network,
While it is possible to set dynamically,
There is no information preset in the connection device, and simple automatic setting can be performed.

Further, in this embodiment, since the network number is used to specify the connection device, not the MAC address, the management device does not need to correctly manage the MAC address of the set device in the system. Regardless of which connection device is installed in the network, the setting operation is performed without any trouble, and the data communication between the networks after the setting can be reliably performed.

Further, in this embodiment, since the network number of the device to be set is designated in the packet by the relay network connecting device, the management device can identify the device to be set from the received packet and easily obtain the corresponding setting information. You can search. In the present embodiment, the device to be set is the network connection device (L
In the case of the inter-AN connection device), ISDN
A terminal device, for example, a personal computer (hereinafter, referred to as “personal computer”) may be directly connected to the exchange network such as, and the personal computer may need to register the setting information. In this case, the personal computer is the device to be set, but in the present invention, as in the above embodiment, the management device can manage the setting information of the personal computer for each corresponding network number. Upon receiving the request for the setting information from the management device, the management device can recognize the personal computer from the network number designated by the relay network connection device and return the corresponding setting information.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even when the device to be set is a terminal device such as a personal computer, the setting information can be easily retrieved and returned. Furthermore, since the management device of the present invention is connected to the exchange network and manages the setting information for each network number corresponding to the device, the device directly connected to the exchange network is either an inter-network connection device or a terminal device. However, each device can be easily recognized.

[0030]

As described above, according to the present invention, a plurality of network connecting devices connected to the switching network are connected to each other using the network numbers set corresponding to the respective network connecting devices. In the switching network connection system described above, at least one of the network connection devices is an inter-network connection device connected to a network, and a management device is connected to at least one network of the inter-network connection device, and the management device is The management device is used when creating and managing predetermined setting information of each network connection device according to a network number and registering the setting information in a specific network connection device connected to the management device via a switching network. Is connected to the network connecting device, the network number obtained at the time of connection with the switching network is set at a specific location in the data received from the specific network connecting device, and the management device Since relays, when performing the setting of the network connection device via the switched network, the management device can easily recognize the network connection device to set.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the management device manages the setting information of each network connecting device for each network number set corresponding to each network connecting device, and the network connecting device connects each network connecting device. When a request for device setting information is received, each network connecting device is recognized from the network number specified in the request data and the corresponding setting information is returned to the requesting network connecting device. Even if is connected, the network connection device can be set.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a switching network connection system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a schematic configuration of a packet to be relayed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a setting operation when a new network is added to the system shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

10, 20, n0, X0 Connection device 11 Management device 12, 21, n1, X1 Transmission line ISDN1 Switching network N1, N2, Nn, NX Network number LAN1, LAN2, LANn, LANX network

Front page continued (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) H04L 12/56 H04L 12/46 H04L 12/66

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A switching network connection system in which a plurality of network connection devices connected to a switching network are connected to each other using a network number set corresponding to each of the network connection devices. At least one of the devices is an inter-network connection device connected to a network, and a management device is further connected to at least one network of the inter-network connection device, and the management device is connected to each network connection device according to the network number. When creating and managing the predetermined setting information of, and registering the setting information in a specific network connection device connected to the management device via an exchange network, the network connection device to which the management device is connected, A switching network characterized by setting a network number obtained at the time of connection with the switching network at a specific location in data received from a specific network connection device and relaying the network number to the management device. Connected system. 2. The management device manages the setting information of each network connection device for each network number set corresponding to each network connection device, and the management device manages the setting information of each network connection device from each network connection device. 2. When receiving a request for setting information, each network connecting device is recognized from the network number specified in the request data, and corresponding setting information is returned to the requesting network connecting device.
The switched network connection system described in.