JP5713236B2 - Relay server with management function and relay communication system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention mainly relates to a relay communication system that performs work such as remote maintenance via a network.

  Patent document 1 discloses the equipment management system via a network. This equipment management system is constructed so as to straddle customers (building owners), equipment maintenance companies, and electrical equipment manufacturers. A customer installs a maintenance target system such as an air conditioner in a building owned by the customer, and further has a maintenance target terminal (operation control management device) connected to the maintenance target system. This maintenance target terminal is configured to be accessible via a network such as the Internet. An equipment maintenance company can access a maintenance target terminal from a remote location via a network such as the Internet and manage (remote maintenance) a maintenance target system.

JP 2003-223521 A

  In the equipment management system as described above, when a problem occurs in the maintenance target system, a service person (operator) of the equipment maintenance company accesses the maintenance target terminal via the network and performs maintenance work from a remote location. Perform (remote maintenance). Since the service person also has a field in charge and a specialty field, it is preferable that an appropriate service person is in charge of maintenance work. Therefore, when a situation requiring maintenance work occurs in the maintenance target system, a service person in charge of the maintenance work is selected at the call center of the equipment maintenance company, and the service person performs the maintenance work.

  As described above, since which service person is in charge of which remote maintenance work is determined in a fluid manner, the maintenance work to be performed by the service person itself is not necessarily clear. Therefore, in the equipment management system as described above, it is desired that information indicating “which service person should be in charge of which remote maintenance work” can be managed by the system.

  In this regard, a configuration has been proposed in which each remote maintenance work handled by a serviceman is managed in units of “job information”. The service person can acquire job information of the remote maintenance work that he / she should be in charge of by making an inquiry to the system. This job information is deleted from the system when the remote maintenance work by the service person is completed.

  By the way, as described above, selection of a service person in charge of maintenance work is performed at a call center. In order to select an appropriate service person, it is necessary to decide in consideration of the contents of the maintenance work, the field of each service person, the place of work, and various other factors. For this reason, the call center operator is currently selecting service personnel manually. Since the selection of the service person is performed every time the job information is newly created, there is a problem that the burden on the operator of the call center increases if the job information is frequently created.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and a main object of the present invention is to provide a relay communication system that reduces the burden of creating job information.

Means and effects for solving the problems

  The problems to be solved by the present invention are as described above. Next, means for solving the problems and the effects thereof will be described.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a relay server with a management function having the following configuration is provided. That is, this relay server with a management function includes a connection job information storage unit and a connection job information management unit. The connection job information storage unit stores connection job information. The connection job information can specify a work-side relay server to which an operator should connect and work, and can specify that the work is either a one-time job or an any-time job. The connection job information management unit stores the connection job information in the connection job information when the worker completes the work related to the connection job information and a one-time job is specified in the connection job information. Delete from the department. The connection job information management unit does not delete the connection job information when the worker completes the operation related to the connection job information and the anytime job is specified in the connection job information. When the connection job information management unit receives a notification of completion of maintenance work for the connection job information of the anytime job, the connection job information management unit updates the status of the connection job information, Described in the status.

  That is, if a one-time job is specified in the connection job information, the connection job information that is no longer needed upon completion of the work can be automatically deleted. On the other hand, if an anytime job is specified in the connection job information, the connection job information is not deleted even after the work is completed, so that the connection job information can be reused later. Therefore, for example, when it is known that the work is repeated many times, such as regular maintenance, by specifying the anytime job and reusing the connection job information, the trouble of creating the connection job information every time is reduced. be able to.

  The relay server with management function is preferably configured as follows. That is, in this relay server with a management function, when an anytime job is specified by the connection job information, an expiration date of the connection job information can be specified. The connection job information management unit deletes the connection job information whose expiration date has passed from the connection job information storage unit.

  By specifying the expiration date of the connection job information in this way, it is possible to prevent the connection job information from remaining indefinitely, so that security can be strengthened.

  The relay server with management function is preferably configured as follows. That is, in this relay server with management function, when an anytime job is specified by the connection job information, it can be specified that the connection job information is validated only when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

  For example, when it is known that work is performed at specific intervals as in regular maintenance, a condition such as “effective only on Mondays” can be designated.

According to another aspect of the present invention, a worker-side relay server to which an operation terminal operated by a worker is connected, and a worker-side relay server to which a worker-side system that is a target of the worker's work is connected And a relay server with a management function, the following configuration is provided. That is, the relay server with a management function includes a connection job information storage unit and a connection job information management unit. The connection job information storage unit stores connection job information. The connection job information can specify a work-side relay server to which an operator should connect and work, and can specify that the work is either a one-time job or an any-time job. The connection job information management unit stores the connection job information in the connection job information when the worker completes the work related to the connection job information and a one-time job is specified in the connection job information. Delete from the department. The connection job information management unit does not delete the connection job information when the worker completes the operation related to the connection job information and the anytime job is specified in the connection job information. When the connection job information management unit receives a notification of completion of maintenance work for the connection job information of the anytime job, the connection job information management unit updates the status of the connection job information, and determines the execution date and the executor of the connection job information. Described in the status.

  That is, if a one-time job is specified in the connection job information, the connection job information that is no longer needed upon completion of the work can be automatically deleted. On the other hand, if an anytime job is specified in the connection job information, the connection job information is not deleted even after the work is completed, so that the connection job information can be reused later. Therefore, for example, when it is known that the work is repeated many times, such as regular maintenance, by specifying the anytime job and reusing the connection job information, the trouble of creating the connection job information every time is reduced. be able to.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Explanatory drawing which shows the whole structure of the relay communication system which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The functional block diagram which shows the structure of a center terminal. The figure which shows the content of an operator list. The figure which shows the content of the maintenance terminal list. The figure which shows the content of a to-be-maintained terminal list. The figure which shows the content of a connection job list. The functional block diagram which shows the structure of a 1st maintenance terminal. The functional block diagram which shows the structure of a 2nd maintenance terminal. The sequence diagram of the remote maintenance work performed using the connection job information designated as a one-time job. The sequence diagram of the remote maintenance work performed using the connection job information designated as the anytime job. The figure which shows the content of the connection job list which concerns on a modification.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the overall configuration of a relay communication system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a relay communication system 1 is connected to a plurality of relay servers connected via a wide area network (WAN) 3 such as the Internet, and these relay servers via a LAN. And a client terminal. The relay server can communicate with other relay servers and client terminals connected to the other relay servers. The client terminal can communicate with other relay servers and client terminals connected to other relay servers via a relay server connected via a LAN.

  In the present embodiment, remote maintenance and management are performed using the relay communication system 1. In the relay communication system 1, the terminals functioning as the relay server are a center terminal (relay server with management function) 5, a first serviced terminal (worked-side relay server) 7A, and a second serviced terminal (worked-side relay). A server) 7B, a first maintenance terminal (worker-side relay server) 9A, and a second maintenance terminal (worker-side relay server) 9B.

  The center terminal (relay server with management function) 5 is provided in the call center. The call center is a base where an operator Op2 who responds to an inquiry from an owner of a maintenance target device is registered. The center terminal 5 manages the access right to the maintenance target terminal of the operator who performs maintenance. A center terminal operating terminal 11 as the client terminal is connected to the center terminal 5 via a LAN 13. The ID of the center terminal 5 is “Center@relaysystem.net”.

  The first maintenance target terminal 7A is provided at an installation destination of a device to be remotely maintained. A first maintenance target system (worked side system) 15A and a second maintenance target system (worked side system) 15B as the client terminals are connected to the first maintenance target terminal 7A via the LAN 17. Yes. The first maintenance target system 15A and the second maintenance target system 15B are a file server, a Web server, or the like that is a target of remote maintenance. The ID of the first maintenance target terminal 7A is “Target1@relaysystem.net”.

  The second maintenance target terminal 7B is provided at an installation destination of a device to be subjected to remote maintenance. A third maintenance target system (worked side system) 19A and a fourth maintenance target system (worked side system) 19B as the client terminals are connected to the second maintenance target terminal 7B via the LAN 21. Yes. The third maintenance target system 19A and the fourth maintenance target system 19B are a file server, a Web server, or the like that is a target of remote maintenance. The ID of the second maintenance target terminal 7B is “Target2@relaysystem.net”.

  The first maintenance terminal 9A is provided at a maintenance base where an operator (operator) who performs remote maintenance work is present. A first maintenance operation terminal (operation terminal) 23A and a second maintenance operation terminal (operation terminal) 23B as the client terminals are connected to the first maintenance terminal 9A via the LAN 25. The ID of the first maintenance terminal 9A is “Maintenance2@relaysystem.net”.

  The second maintenance terminal 9B is provided at a maintenance base where an operator (operator) who performs remote maintenance work is present. A third maintenance operation terminal (operation terminal) 27A and a fourth maintenance operation terminal (operation terminal) 27B as the client terminals are connected to the second maintenance terminal 9B via the LAN 29. The ID of the second maintenance terminal 9B is “Maintenance1@relaysystem.net”.

  In order for an operator at the maintenance base to perform maintenance work, it is necessary to log in to the relay communication system 1. The operator can log in to the relay communication system 1 by operating the maintenance operation terminal and inputting the ID and password assigned to each operator. In the relay communication system 1 of this embodiment, the operator is not tied to a specific maintenance operation terminal, and can log in to the relay communication system 1 even when any maintenance operation terminal is used. After logging in to the relay communication system 1, the operator uses the maintenance operation terminal to perform remote maintenance of the maintenance target system within the range of access rights managed by the center terminal 5.

  Next, the configuration of the center terminal 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the center terminal 5. FIGS. 3 to 6 are diagrams showing the contents stored in the database storage unit 33 of the center terminal 5.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the center terminal 5 includes an interface 35, a database storage unit 33, and a control unit 31.

  The interface 35 can communicate with a device connected to the LAN 13 using a private IP address. The interface 35 can perform communication via the WAN 3 using a global IP address.

  The database storage unit 33 includes an operator list storage unit 53, a maintenance terminal list storage unit 55, a maintenance target terminal list storage unit 57, and a connection job list storage unit 59.

  In the operator list storage unit 53, for example, an operator list 53a as shown in FIG. 3 is stored. As shown in FIG. 3, the operator list 53a is composed of “ID”, “password”, and “login relay server”. In the “ID” column, an ID of an operator who can log in to the relay communication system 1 is described. In the “password” column, a password necessary for logging in to the relay communication system 1 using the ID described in the same row is described. In the “login relay server” column, when the operator has logged in to the relay communication system 1 using the ID described in the same row, the operator ID and the relay server used by the operator ( ID of the center terminal or maintenance terminal) is described. If the operator has not logged in to the relay communication system 1, the “login relay server” is blank.

  The maintenance terminal list storage unit 55 stores a maintenance terminal list 55a as shown in FIG. The maintenance terminal list 55a is composed of “name” and “terminal ID” describing the maintenance terminals constituting the relay communication system 1. In “Name”, a name given to the maintenance terminal is described. An appropriate name that is easy to understand, such as the installation location of the maintenance terminal (name of the maintenance base), can be given to this name. “Terminal ID” describes the ID of the maintenance terminal.

  The maintained terminal list storage unit 57 stores a maintained terminal list 57a as shown in FIG. 5, for example. The to-be-maintained terminal list 57a includes “name” and “terminal ID” that describe the to-be-maintained terminals constituting the relay communication system 1. In “Name”, a name given to the maintenance target terminal is described. This name can be given an easy-to-understand appropriate name such as the location (company name) of the terminal to be maintained. “Terminal ID” describes the ID of the maintenance target terminal.

  The connection job list storage unit (connection job information storage unit) 59 stores information related to connection jobs (connection job information). The connection job indicates a unit of maintenance work. The connection job information is created by the center terminal 5 every time maintenance work is required for the maintenance target system, and is stored in the connection job list storage unit 59. The connection job list storage unit 59 stores a connection job list 59a including one or more pieces of connection job information.

  As shown in FIG. 6, each connection job information includes items such as “name”, “maintenance terminal ID”, “person in charge ID”, “status”, and “attribute”. “Name” describes the name of the maintenance target terminal connected to the same LAN as the maintenance target system requiring maintenance work. “Maintenance terminal ID” describes the ID of the maintenance target terminal. The “person in charge ID” describes the ID of an operator selected to connect to the maintenance target terminal and take charge of maintenance work. It should be noted that the “person in charge ID” can describe the IDs of one or more operators. “Status” describes the state of the current connection job (for example, which operator is executing the connection job).

  In addition, an attribute of maintenance work can be designated in “attribute”. In the present embodiment, as an attribute of maintenance work, either “anytime (always) job” or “onetime (temporary) job” can be designated. The connection job information for which “one-time job” is designated is deleted when the maintenance work is completed, and the connection job information for which “anytime job” is designated is not deleted even when the maintenance work is completed.

  The database storage unit 33 includes a log information storage unit (not shown), and stores information such as the time when the connection job was performed and the operator in charge.

  The control unit 31 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and can execute various processes by a program read from the ROM or the like. 2, the control unit 31 includes a login authentication unit 43, a connection job creation unit 45, a connection job list management unit (connection job information management unit) 49, and a responsible connection destination list transmission unit 51. I have.

  The connection job creation unit 45 creates the connection job information when it becomes necessary to perform remote maintenance. The connection job list management unit 49 manages the connection job list 59a stored in the connection job list storage unit 59. Specifically, the connection job information created by the connection job creation unit 45 is registered in the connection job list 59a, the connection job information in the connection job list 59a is updated, or the connection job information is deleted from the connection job list 59a. Or

  The login authentication unit 43 collates the operator list 53a with the operator ID and password received from the maintenance terminal or the like, and determines whether or not the operator can log in. Further, the login authentication unit 43 determines whether or not login is possible based on whether or not the ID of the maintenance terminal that transmitted the operator ID or the like is included in the maintenance terminal list 55a.

  In response to a request from an operator who performs maintenance, the responsible connection destination list transmission unit 51 displays a list of names of maintenance target terminals (responsible connection destination list) to which the operator can connect as a person in charge of remote maintenance work. Extracted from the connection job list 59a and transmitted to the maintenance operation terminal operated by the operator.

  Next, the configuration of the maintenance terminal will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram showing the configuration of the first maintenance terminal 9A. Since the configuration of the first maintenance terminal 9A and the second maintenance terminal 9B is the same, the configuration of the first maintenance terminal 9A will be described as a representative. As shown in FIG. 7, the first maintenance terminal 9A includes an interface 65, a control unit 61, and a database storage unit 63.

  The interface 65 can communicate with a device connected to the LAN 25 using a private IP address. The interface 65 can perform communication via the WAN 3 using a global IP address.

  The control unit 61 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and can execute various processes by a program read from the ROM or the like. As shown in FIG. 7, the control unit 61 includes a routing session establishment unit 71, a routing control unit 73, a login information transmission unit 75, and a selected job transmission unit 77.

  The routing session establishment unit 71 establishes a routing session between the first maintenance terminal 9A and the first maintenance target terminal 7A or the second maintenance target terminal 7B. The routing session is a media session used for routing communication packets transferred between a device connected to the LAN 25 and a device connected to a LAN (LAN 17 or LAN 21) where the maintenance target system is installed. . The routing control unit 73 uses this routing session to perform routing control of communication packets with devices connected to other LANs.

  The login information transmission unit 75 transmits the operator ID and password (hereinafter referred to as login information) received from the first maintenance target terminal 7A or the second maintenance target terminal 7B to the center terminal 5. The selected job transmission unit 77 transmits the connection job selected from the candidate job list by the operator to the center terminal 5.

  The database storage unit 63 includes a center terminal information storage unit 81. The center terminal information storage unit 81 stores the name and ID of the center terminal 5. The first maintenance terminal 9A can access the center terminal 5 by notifying the connection job selected from the candidate job list by referring to the stored contents of the center terminal information storage unit 81, for example.

  Next, the configuration of the maintenance target terminal will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram showing a configuration of the first maintenance target terminal 7A. Since the configuration of the first serviced terminal 7A and the second serviced terminal 7B is the same, the configuration of the first serviced terminal 7A will be described as a representative. As shown in FIG. 8, the first maintenance target terminal 7A includes an interface 95, a control unit 91, and a database storage unit 93.

  The interface 95 can communicate with a device connected to the LAN 17 using a private IP address. Further, the interface 95 can perform communication via the WAN 3 by using a global IP address.

  The control unit 91 includes a CPU, a RAM, a ROM, and the like, and can execute various processes by a program read from the ROM or the like. As shown in FIG. 8, the control unit 91 includes a routing session establishment unit 101 and a routing control unit 103.

  The routing session establishing unit 101 establishes a routing session between the first maintenance target terminal 7A and the first maintenance terminal 9A or the second maintenance terminal 9B. The routing control unit 103 performs routing control of communication packets with devices connected to other LANs using this routing session.

  The database storage unit 93 includes a center terminal information storage unit 105. The center terminal information storage unit 105 stores the name and ID of the center terminal 5. The first maintenance target terminal 7A can access the center terminal 5 by referring to the stored contents of the center terminal information storage unit 105, for example, to notify that maintenance work is necessary.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 9, the flow of processing when performing remote maintenance using the relay communication system 1 of the present embodiment will be described.

  In the following, a case where maintenance work is required for the first maintenance target system 15A will be considered. For example, when a failure occurs in the first maintenance target system 15A, the first maintenance target terminal 7A notifies the center terminal 5 that a failure has occurred (sequence number 1).

  The center terminal 5 transfers this notification to the center terminal operation terminal 11 to notify the call center operator Op2. The operator Op2 of the call center selects an operator who is preferable to perform maintenance as a person in charge of maintenance work based on the contents of the failure and the name of the maintenance target terminal. Here, it is assumed that the first operator Op1 is selected. As a result, the center terminal 5 (connection job creation unit 45) creates connection job information (sequence number 2).

  The created connection job information is added to the connection job list 59a stored in the connection job list storage unit 59. That is, the ID of the first serviced terminal 7A is described in the “maintenance terminal ID” of the connection job list 59a, and the ID of the first operator Op1 is described in the “person in charge ID”. Since the connection job is not executed at this time, “not executed” or the like is described in “status” at this time. For convenience of explanation, the connection job information created as described above is referred to as first job information.

  By the way, when the maintenance target system is recovered from the failure by the maintenance work performed by the operator, it is no longer necessary to perform the maintenance work thereafter. That is, when some kind of failure occurs in the maintenance target system, the maintenance work performed by the operator is usually one-time. In this way, when creating connection job information for maintenance work that is performed once, such as when a failure occurs in the maintenance target system, “one-time job” is specified as the “attribute” of the maintenance work. The

  Further, before or after adding the first job information to the connection job list 59a, the center terminal 5 transmits the first job information to the first maintenance target terminal 7A (sequence number 3). First maintenance target terminal 7A registers the received first job information (sequence number 4). Since the first job information includes an operator ID in charge of maintenance work (the ID of the first operator Op1), the first maintenance target terminal 7A knows in advance the operator who accesses the operator. be able to.

  Subsequently, the center terminal 5 of the call center notifies the first operator Op1 that a remote maintenance should be urgently performed when a failure occurs (sequence number 5). The notification can be performed by various methods. For example, when an instant message service is operated on the relay communication system 1, the notification can be performed using the instant message service. However, this notification is not necessarily performed by the center terminal 5, and an operator of the call center may notify by an appropriate means such as a telephone.

  The first operator Op1 that has received the notification logs in to the relay communication system 1 by operating the first maintenance operation terminal 23A (sequence number 6). Note that the maintenance operation terminal used by the first operator Op1 for login may be a maintenance operation terminal connected to the maintenance terminal, and is not limited to the first maintenance operation terminal 23A. That is, the first operator Op1 can log in to the relay communication system 1 from the first maintenance terminal 9A by operating the second maintenance operation terminal 23B, or can perform the third maintenance operation terminal 27A or the fourth maintenance operation. It is also possible to log in to the relay communication system 1 from the second maintenance terminal 9B by operating the terminal 27B.

  In the login, the first operator Op1 is requested to input login information (ID and password). When the first operator Op1 operates the first maintenance operation terminal 23A to input the ID (Op1) and the password (abc) and confirms the input contents, the login information is sent to the center terminal via the first maintenance terminal 9A. 5 is transmitted.

  The center terminal 5 (login authentication unit 43) that has received this login information determines whether or not login is possible. Specifically, the login authentication unit 43 has the input ID and password registered in the operator list 53a, and the first maintenance terminal 9A that has transmitted the login information is registered in the maintenance terminal list 55a. The login is authenticated only (sequence number 7). If the operator login is successful, the center terminal 5 updates the contents of the operator list 53a. Specifically, the ID of the first operator Op1 and the ID of the first maintenance terminal 9A are described in the “login relay server” corresponding to the first operator Op1 in the operator list 53a.

  When the first operator Op1 logs in, the center terminal 5 transmits the first job information to the first maintenance terminal 9A (sequence number 8). Accordingly, the first maintenance terminal 9A can acquire the ID of the maintenance target terminal (first maintenance target terminal 7A) to be connected, and can start communication with the maintenance target terminal. Specifically, the first maintenance terminal 9A (routing session establishment unit 71) makes a routing session establishment request to the first maintenance target terminal 7A (sequence number 9).

  Upon receiving this request, first maintained terminal 7A (routing session establishing unit 101) returns an OK response as access permission (sequence number 10). As a result, a media session is established between the first maintenance terminal 9A and the first maintenance target terminal 7A.

  After the media session is established, the first maintenance terminal 9A and the first maintenance target terminal 7A exchange the network addresses of the LAN 17 and the LAN 25 that are routing targets. This enables communication between the first maintenance operation terminal 23A and the first maintenance target system 15A or the second maintenance target system 15B via the routing session. First maintenance terminal 9A notifies center terminal 5 that a routing session has been established (sequence number 11). Upon receiving the notification, the center terminal 5 (connection job list management unit 49) writes “first operator Op1 being executed” or the like in the “status” column of the first job information (sequence number 12).

  The first maintenance terminal 9A performs maintenance work on a system (first maintenance target system 15A) requiring maintenance via the routing session established with the first maintenance target terminal 7A (sequence number 13). ). Specifically, the first operator Op1 can perform maintenance work such as remote maintenance and software update by operating the first maintenance operation terminal 23A. During the maintenance work, the first maintenance terminal 9A transmits the status of the maintenance work to the center terminal 5 as needed (sequence number 14). The center terminal 5 (connection job list management unit 49) updates the “status” column of the corresponding connection job information as necessary (sequence number 15).

  When the maintenance work is completed, the first maintenance terminal 9A notifies the first maintenance target terminal 7A of the end of the work (sequence number 16) and disconnects the communication (sequence number 17). Subsequently, the first maintenance terminal 9A notifies the center terminal 5 of the disconnection of communication (sequence number 18).

  When the center terminal 5 (connection job list management unit 49) receives notification of communication disconnection (ie, completion of maintenance work), the center terminal 5 determines the attribute of the maintenance work. The attribute of the maintenance work is described in the “attribute” column of the connection job information related to the maintenance work. In the case of the above example, the “attribute” column of the first job information describes wine time job. When the attribute of the completed maintenance work is designated as a one-time job, the center terminal 5 (connection job list management unit 49) displays the connection job information (first job information in the above case) related to the maintenance work. Delete from the connected job list 59a (sequence number 19).

  As described above, if the one-time job is specified as the attribute of the maintenance work, the connection job information related to the maintenance work is deleted at the same time as the maintenance work is completed. In this way, by configuring the connection job information for which maintenance work has been completed to be automatically deleted, it is possible to prevent connection job information that is no longer necessary from remaining in the connection job list. As a result, it is possible to prevent an operator from re-executing a connection job for which work has been completed by mistake (although it is not necessary). Further, if unnecessary connection job information is deleted as described above, it is not possible to connect unnecessarily to the connected terminal from the operator side, which is preferable in terms of security.

  However, if the connection job information is deleted every time as described above, the connection job information must be newly created each time maintenance work is required. When creating connection job information, the call center operator must select an operator in charge of the maintenance work. Therefore, if the connection job information needs to be recreated frequently, the burden on the call center operator is large.

  Therefore, in the relay communication system 1 of the present embodiment, “anytime job” can be designated as the attribute of the maintenance work. The connection job information related to the maintenance work in which the anytime job is specified as an attribute is not deleted from the connection job list even when the maintenance work is completed. Therefore, once the connection job information designated as the anytime job is created, it can be used later. This is effective when the same operator needs to connect to the same connected terminal many times, such as in periodic maintenance. By reusing connection job information, it is possible to reduce the trouble of creating connection job information each time in a call center.

  This will be specifically described below. For example, it is assumed that the first operator Op1 and the third operator Op3 are selected as persons in charge of regular maintenance of the third maintenance target system 19A. In this case, the first operator Op1 and the third operator Op3 must periodically connect to the second maintenance target terminal 7B. Accordingly, in such a case, as shown in FIG. 6, the ID of the second serviced terminal 7B is designated as the “maintenance terminal ID”, and the first operator Op1 and the third operator Op3 are designated as the “person in charge ID”. The second job information is created in advance, and “anytime job” is designated as the “attribute” of the second job information.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 10, a flow of processing when performing remote maintenance work based on connection job information in which an anytime job is designated will be described.

  Hereinafter, a case where the third operator Op3 performs regular maintenance of the third maintenance target system 19A will be considered.

  First, the third operator Op3 logs in to the relay communication system 1 by operating the third maintenance operation terminal 27A (sequence number 21). In the login, the third operator Op3 is requested to input login information (ID and password). When the third operator Op3 operates the third maintenance operation terminal 27A to input the ID (Op3) and the password (ghi) and confirm the input contents, the login information is sent to the center terminal via the second maintenance terminal 9B. 5 is transmitted.

  The center terminal 5 (login authentication unit 43) that has received this login information determines whether or not login is possible. Specifically, the login authentication unit 43 has the input ID and password registered in the operator list 53a, and the second maintenance terminal 9B that transmitted the login information is registered in the maintenance terminal list 55a. The login is authenticated only (sequence number 22).

  When the third operator Op3 logs in, the center terminal 5 (the responsible connection destination list transmission unit 51) creates a responsible connection destination list of the third operator Op3 and transmits it to the second maintenance terminal 9B (sequence number 23). ). For example, when the content of the connection job list is FIG. 6, the third operator Op3 is in charge of the second job information (the name of the terminal to be maintained is company B) and the third job information (the name of the terminal to be maintained is company C). Is specified as In this case, the responsible connection destination list transmission unit 51 creates a responsible connection destination list having “B company” and “C company” as elements, and transmits it to the second maintenance terminal 9B.

  The second maintenance terminal 9B transmits the received connection destination list to the third maintenance operation terminal 27A operated by the third operator Op3. The third maintenance operation terminal 27A displays on the screen a list of names of the maintenance target terminals included in the received responsible connection destination list. As a result, it is possible to notify the third operator Op3 of the name of the maintenance target terminal to be connected as the person in charge of the remote maintenance work (the company B and the company C in the case of FIG. 6).

  The third operator Op3 selects a name desired to be connected from the names of the maintenance target terminals displayed on the screen of the third maintenance operation terminal 27A (sequence number 24). At this time, since only the name of the maintenance target designated by the third operator Op3 as the person in charge of remote maintenance is displayed on the screen of the third maintenance operation terminal 27A, the maintenance target terminal outside the charge is erroneously displayed. There is no risk of being selected.

  Here, it is assumed that the third operator Op3 has selected “Company B” (name of the second maintenance target terminal 7B). When the third operator Op3 selects the name of the maintenance target terminal to be connected and confirms the selection, the second maintenance terminal 9B transmits the selected content (“Company B”) to the center terminal 5. The center terminal 5 extracts connection job information (second job information in the above case) corresponding to the content selected by the third operator Op3 from the connection job list 59a (sequence number 25).

  Subsequently, the center terminal 5 transmits the second job information to the second maintenance target terminal 7B (sequence number 26). The second maintained terminal 7B registers the received second job information (sequence number 27). Since the second job information includes the operator IDs (IDs of the first operator Op1 and the third operator Op3) in charge of maintenance work, the second maintenance target terminal 7B accesses itself. The operator who comes can be known in advance.

  Further, the center terminal 5 transmits the second job information to the second maintenance terminal 9B (sequence number 28). As a result, the second maintenance terminal 9B can acquire the ID of the maintenance target terminal (second maintenance target terminal 7B) to be connected, and thus can start communication with the maintenance target terminal. Specifically, the second maintenance terminal 9B (routing session establishment unit 71) makes a routing session establishment request to the second maintenance target terminal 7B (sequence number 29).

  Upon receiving this request, second maintained terminal 7B (routing session establishing unit 101) returns an OK response as access permission (sequence number 30). As a result, a media session is established between the second maintenance terminal 9B and the second maintenance target terminal 7B.

  After the media session is established, the second maintenance terminal 9B and the second maintenance target terminal 7B exchange network addresses of the LAN 21 and the LAN 29 that are routing targets. This enables communication between the third maintenance operation terminal 27A and the third maintenance target system 19A or the fourth maintenance target system 19B via the routing session. The second maintenance terminal 9B notifies the center terminal 5 that the routing session has been established (sequence number 31). When the center terminal 5 (connection job list management unit 49) receives the notification, the center terminal 5 (the connection job list management unit 49) describes in the “status” column of the second job information that “the third operator Op3 is being executed” or the like (sequence number 32).

  The second maintenance terminal 9B performs maintenance work on the system (third maintenance target system 19A) requiring maintenance via the routing session established with the second maintenance target terminal 7B (sequence number 33). ). Specifically, the third operator Op3 can perform maintenance operations such as remote maintenance and software update by operating the third maintenance operation terminal 27A. During the maintenance work, the second maintenance terminal 9B transmits the status of the maintenance work to the center terminal 5 as needed (sequence number 34). The center terminal 5 (connection job list management unit 49) updates the “status” column of the corresponding connection job information as necessary (sequence number 35).

  When the maintenance work is completed, the second maintenance terminal 9B notifies the second maintenance target terminal 7B of the work end (sequence number 36) and disconnects the communication (sequence number 37). Subsequently, the second maintenance terminal 9B notifies the center terminal 5 of the disconnection of communication (sequence number 38).

  When the center terminal 5 (connection job list management unit 49) receives notification of communication disconnection (ie, completion of maintenance work), the center terminal 5 determines the attribute of the maintenance work. The attribute of the maintenance work is described in the “attribute” column of the connection job information related to the maintenance work. In the case of the above example, “anytime job” is described in the “attribute” column of the second job information. When the attribute of the completed maintenance work is designated as an anytime job, the center terminal 5 (connection job list management unit 49), when the maintenance work is finished, the connection job information (second job information in the above case). ) Is updated (sequence number 39). For example, in the above case, if the maintenance work was performed on April 2, the status column of the second job information describes “third operator Op3 has been executed on April 2,” or the like.

  As described above, if the anytime job is specified as the attribute of the maintenance work, the connection job information remains without being deleted even after the maintenance work is completed. Thus, the connection job information can be reused when the next maintenance work is performed.

  As described above, the relay communication system 1 according to the present embodiment includes a maintenance terminal to which a maintenance operation terminal operated by an operator is connected and a maintenance target system to be a maintenance target of the operator. A terminal and a center terminal 5 are included. The center terminal 5 includes a connection job list storage unit 59 and a connection job list management unit 49. The connection job list storage unit 59 stores connection job information. The connection job information can specify a connected terminal to be connected by an operator and perform maintenance work, and can specify that the maintenance work is one of a one-time job and an any-time job. When the operator completes the maintenance work related to the connection job information and the one-time job is specified in the connection job information, the connection job list management unit 49 stores the connection job information in the connection job list storage unit 59. Delete from. The connection job list management unit 49 does not delete the connection job information when the operator completes the maintenance work related to the connection job information and the anytime job is specified by the connection job information.

  That is, if a one-time job is specified in the connection job information, the connection job information that is no longer needed upon completion of the work can be automatically deleted. On the other hand, if an anytime job is specified in the connection job information, the connection job information is not deleted even after the work is completed, so that the connection job information can be reused later. Therefore, for example, when it is known that the work is repeated many times, such as regular maintenance, by specifying the anytime job and reusing the connection job information, the trouble of creating the connection job information every time is reduced. be able to.

  Next, a modification of the above embodiment will be described. In the following description, the same or similar configurations as those of the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals as those of the above embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted.

  A connection job list 59b according to this modification is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 11, in this modified example, two items of “expiration date” and “validation condition” are added to the connection job list 59b.

  In the “expiration date”, the expiration date of the connection job information in which the anytime job is designated is designated. In other words, in the above embodiment, the connection job information in which the anytime job is designated continues to remain without being deleted. However, with this configuration, for example, even when the periodic maintenance is abolished, the connection job information remains indefinitely. Also, there is a security problem if the same connection job information is used forever. Therefore, when an anytime job is specified in the connection job information, an expiration date of the connection job information can be set. The connection job list management unit 49 deletes the connection job information from the connection job list 59a when the set expiration date has come.

  The “validation condition” can designate a condition for validating the connection job information in which the anytime job is designated. For example, if it is necessary to perform regular maintenance every Monday, if you specify an activation condition such as "Every Monday", the connection job information is enabled only on Mondays, otherwise it is disabled Is done. When creating a responsible connection list (sequence number 23 in FIG. 10), the responsible connection destination list transmitting unit 51 transmits only the name of the maintenance target terminal related to the activated connection job information to the maintenance operation terminal. . In other words, the operator is notified only of the enabled maintenance target terminals. For example, in the case of FIG. 11, “Company B” is notified to the third operator Op3 only when the third operator Op3 logs in on Monday. Thereby, the third operator Op3 never forgets the regular maintenance on Monday.

  As described above, in the center terminal 5 according to this modification, when an anytime job is specified by connection job information, the expiration date of the connection job information can be specified. Then, the connection job list management unit 49 deletes connection job information whose expiration date has passed from the connection job list storage unit 59.

  By specifying the expiration date of the connection job information in this way, it is possible to prevent the connection job information from remaining indefinitely, so that security can be strengthened.

  In the center terminal 5 according to this modification, when an anytime job is specified by connection job information, it can be specified that the connection job information is validated only when a predetermined condition is satisfied.

  For example, when it is known that work is performed at specific intervals as in regular maintenance, a condition such as “effective only on Mondays” can be designated.

  The preferred embodiments and modifications of the present invention have been described above, but the above configuration can be modified as follows, for example.

  The number of maintenance target terminals and maintenance terminals constituting the relay communication system 1 is not limited to the above embodiment, and may be one each, or may be three or more. In addition, the number of maintenance target systems connected to the maintenance target terminal and the number of maintenance operation terminals connected to the maintenance terminal are not limited to the above embodiment, and may be one each, or three or more. There may be.

  The first maintenance terminal 9A and the second maintenance terminal 9B may be a memory detachably attached to a personal computer and an application stored in the memory.

  The operator list 53a, maintenance terminal list 55a, maintenance target terminal list 57a, and connection job list 59a can be stored in an appropriate format (for example, XML format).

  Instead of the configuration of the above-described embodiment, an external server used for communication between each relay server may be installed on the Internet, and a communication may be performed by exhibiting a function as a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) server. .

1 Relay communication system 5 Center terminal (relay server with management function)
7A 1st maintenance target terminal (work side relay server)
7B Second maintenance target terminal (work side relay server)
9A 1st maintenance terminal (worker side relay server)
9B Second maintenance terminal (worker side relay server)
15A First maintenance target system (worked system)
15B Second maintenance target system (worked system)
23A First maintenance operation terminal (operation terminal)
23B Second maintenance operation terminal (operation terminal)
49 Connection Job List Management Unit (Connection Job Information Management Unit)
59 Connection job list storage (connection job information storage)

Claims (4)

Connection job information for storing connection job information for specifying a work-side relay server to which an operator should connect and work, and for specifying that the work is either a one-time job or an any-time job A storage unit;
When the worker completes the work related to the connection job information, if the one-time job is specified in the connection job information, the connection job information is deleted from the connection job information storage unit, and the connection job A connection job information management unit that does not delete the connection job information when an anytime job is specified in the information;
Equipped with a,
When the connection job information management unit receives a notification of completion of maintenance work for the connection job information of the anytime job, the connection job information management unit updates the status of the connection job information, A relay server with a management function described in the status . A relay server with a management function according to claim 1,
When specifying an anytime job in the connection job information, the expiration date of the connection job information can be specified,
The relay server with a management function, wherein the connection job information management unit deletes connection job information whose expiration date has passed from the connection job information storage unit. A relay server with a management function according to claim 1 or 2,
A relay server with a management function, wherein when specifying an anytime job with the connection job information, the connection job information can be specified to be validated only when a predetermined condition is satisfied. A relay server on the worker side to which an operation terminal operated by the worker is connected;
A work-side relay server to which the work-side system to be the work of the worker is connected;
A relay server with management functions;
A relay communication system comprising:
The relay server with management function is:
Connection job information for storing connection job information for specifying a work-side relay server to which an operator should connect and work, and for specifying that the work is either a one-time job or an any-time job A storage unit;
When the worker completes the work related to the connection job information, if the one-time job is specified in the connection job information, the connection job information is deleted from the connection job information storage unit, and the connection job A connection job information management unit that does not delete the connection job information when an anytime job is specified in the information;
Equipped with a,
When the connection job information management unit receives a notification of completion of the maintenance work for the connection job information of the anytime job, the connection job information management unit updates the status of the connection job information, and determines the execution date and the execution person of the connection job information. A relay communication system described in the status .

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