JP7463458B2 - Setting information providing device, setting information providing method, and program - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to technology for configuring IoT devices.

IoT devices such as sensors, trackers, and M2M routers are becoming widespread. IoT devices, for example, periodically acquire information (e.g., video, sensor information) and transmit the acquired information to a server.

To make an IoT device perform the desired operation, it is necessary to configure the IoT device correctly in advance. A configuration file is generally used to configure an IoT device, and the IoT device is configured by storing the configuration file in the IoT device. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, "configuration" includes not only the initial configuration, but also changing settings that have already been configured.

JP 2018-124660 A

It is desirable to be able to perform configuration work remotely on a large number of IoT devices placed in various locations. One technology that makes it possible to remotely configure IoT devices is one that uses standardized device management protocols such as OMA LwM2M (Open Mobile Alliance Lightweight Machine to Machine).

However, to use a device management protocol such as LwM2M, it is necessary to install client software for the device management protocol on the IoT device. Installing client software on a large number of IoT devices is a significant effort.

It is also possible to remotely access and configure individual IoT devices without using a device management protocol. In that case, however, differences in the format of configuration files between IoT devices must be addressed, and configuring a large number of IoT devices becomes an enormous task.

In other words, the conventional technology has the problem that it is not easy to configure IoT devices. Note that this problem is not limited to IoT devices, but can occur with devices in general.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and aims to provide technology that makes it possible to easily configure devices.

According to the disclosed technology, there is provided a setting information providing device that provides a setting file to a device, comprising:
a setting information generating unit that generates a setting file from the template and the parameter values and stores the generated setting file in a storage unit;
a setting information acquisition unit that, when receiving from the device a first URL representing a setting file storage area that is a common access destination for a plurality of devices , creates a second URL by adding a file name detected based on identification information of the device to the first URL , acquires a specific setting file for the device from the memory unit using the second URL, and transmits the specific setting file to the device.

The disclosed technology provides technology that allows devices to be easily configured.

1 is an overall configuration diagram of a setting information providing system according to an embodiment of the present invention; 1 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the system. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a hardware configuration of the device.

Below, an embodiment of the present invention (the present embodiment) will be described with reference to the drawings. The embodiment described below is merely an example, and the embodiment to which the present invention is applied is not limited to the following embodiment. For example, in the following description, an IoT device is used as the device to be configured, but the device to be configured is not limited to an IoT device, and devices such as PCs and smartphones may be the device to be configured. Also, in the following, a "configuration file" is used as an example of "configuration information", but the "configuration information" may be information in a format other than a "configuration file".

(Regarding the issues)
In order to facilitate understanding of the advantages of the technique according to the present embodiment, first, problems (1) to (3) relating to the technique according to the present embodiment will be described in detail.

(1) Issues when using a device management protocol When using a device management protocol such as OMA LwM2M, it is necessary to install client software for the device management protocol in the IoT device.

In other words, when using a device management protocol for IoT devices, it is necessary to install client software on the IoT device and develop it using an SDK. This requires testing and maintenance of the client software itself, which increases costs.

(2) Problems with the Format of the Configuration File When a large number of IoT devices are used in a company or the like, the IoT devices are selected according to the individual purpose, and therefore the large number of IoT devices includes IoT devices from multiple vendors. In general, the formats of the configuration files of IoT devices differ between vendors, and therefore the configuration work for a large number of IoT devices from multiple vendors becomes very cumbersome.

(3) Issues Regarding Acquisition of Configuration Files As a technique for configuring an IoT device, there is a technique in which a configuration file is stored in a server and the IoT device, for example, periodically accesses the server to acquire the configuration file.

The server side stores a configuration file for each IoT device (or for each group of IoT devices). For an IoT device to obtain a configuration file using this technology, the IoT device needs to access the desired configuration file on the server.

To perform the above access automatically, it is necessary to set the access destination for the IoT device in advance, but setting different access destinations (specifically, character strings such as URLs) for a large number of IoT devices imposes a large load.

The configuration and operation of the system that solves the above problems are described in detail below.

(System configuration example)
Fig. 1 shows an example of the overall configuration of a setting information providing system according to the present embodiment. As shown in Fig. 1, the setting information providing system according to the present embodiment includes a setting information providing device 100 and a management device 300. Both the setting information providing device 100 and the management device 300 may be realized by a physical machine or a virtual machine on the cloud. The management device 300 is connected to an external device 400.

The setting information providing device 100 is connected to each IoT device 10 via an access network 200. A plurality of IoT devices 10 are connected to the access network 200.

Each IoT device 10 is, for example, a sensor, a tracker, etc. In this embodiment, each IoT device 10 can communicate with the setting information providing device 100 via the access network 200.

The access network 200 may be a mobile network or a fixed network. In addition, the access network 200 may be a public network or a private network.

The management device 300 holds information used for processing in the setting information providing device 100. The information held by the management device 300 is input from the external device 400, for example, in the form of an SO (service order) input.

The setting information providing device 100 is a device that provides setting information such as a setting file to the IoT device 10 based on information acquired from the management device 300. The setting information providing device 100 may be configured as one computer (such as a server) or multiple computers. As shown in FIG. 1, the setting information providing device 100 has a setting information acquiring unit 110, a setting information generating unit 120, and a storage unit 130. The storage unit 130 may be a database server provided outside the setting information providing device 100. An example of the operation of these functional units will be described later.

(Example of system operation)
An example of the operation of the setting information acquisition system according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. For the sake of convenience, the storage unit 130 is illustrated in two places in Fig. 2. These correspond to areas in the storage unit 130.

In the example of FIG. 2, there are three companies using the IoT device 10: company (1), company (2), and company (3). The companies may also be called tenants.

In addition, here, one or more IoT devices 10 that use the same configuration file (even if the file names are different, they are considered to be the same configuration file if the configuration contents are the same) will be called a "group." Depending on how the IoT devices 10 are used, the "group" can be any unit. As examples, there are the following cases 1 to 4 for the correspondence between IoT devices 10 and groups.

Case 1: One IoT device 10 corresponds to one group.

Case 2: All IoT devices 10 of one company correspond to one group.

Case 3: Of all IoT devices in a single company, multiple IoT devices 10 correspond to one group, and another multiple IoT devices correspond to another group.

Case 4: All IoT devices from multiple companies correspond to one group.

In the example of FIG. 2, Group 1-A (IoT devices 10A) and Group 1-B (IoT devices 10B) exist in company (1), Group 2 (IoT devices 10C) exists in company (2), and Group 3 (IoT devices 10D) exists in company (3).

The IoT device 10A in group 1-A uses Config_A as the configuration file, and the IoT device 10B in group 1-B uses Config_B as the configuration file. The IoT device 10C in group 2 uses Config_C as the configuration file. The IoT device 10D in group 2 uses Config_D as the configuration file.

As shown in Figure 2, the format of Config_A and Config_B is JSON, and the format of Config_C and Config_D is CSV.

In the example of FIG. 2, each IoT device 10 of company (1) is connected to the setting information providing device 100 via a fixed access network 201, and each IoT device 10 of companies (2) and (3) is connected to the setting information providing device 100 via a mobile access network 202.

<Configuration file generation operations>
In this embodiment, the setting information generating unit 120 creates a setting file by setting values (parameters) in a template, and stores the setting file in the storage unit 130 .

The template contains the names (definitions) of values (parameters) to be included in the configuration file, and the configuration information generator 120 creates the configuration file by inserting values at the positions of the names. For example, let us assume that the names of values in the template are "Parameter 1", "Parameter 2", "Parameter 3", and "Parameter 4", as shown below.

Parameter 1:
Parameter 2:
Parameter 3:
Parameter 4:
The same template can be used for the configuration files of the same group. Assuming that the above template is used as the template for group 2, for example, the value of parameter 1 for each IoT device 10C of group 2 is ABC.com, the value of parameter 2 is 60, the value of parameter 3 is 10, and the value of parameter 4 is $imei, the configuration information generating unit 120 generates a configuration file having the following contents as a configuration file for each IoT device 10C of group 2. The parameters can include a placeholder starting with $, such as parameter 4, and $imei is replaced with the identification information value input from the external device indicated by the placeholder when the configuration file is generated.

Parameter 1: ABC.com
Parameter 2: 60
Parameter 3: 10
Parameter 4: 123456789012345
For example, if a change occurs in the setting contents, and the value of parameter 1 for each IoT device 10C in group 2 becomes XYZ.com, the value of parameter 2 becomes 50, and the value of parameter 3 becomes 10, the setting information generating unit 120 generates a setting file having the following contents as a setting file for each IoT device 10C in group 2.

Parameter 1: XYZ.com
Parameter 2: 50
Parameter 3: 10
Parameter 4: 123456789012345
The contents of the configuration file are not particularly limited, and any parameter value can be set in the configuration file. For example, the information transmission destination address of the IoT device 10, the information acquisition period, and the like are set as parameter values.

An example of the operation will be described following the steps S1 to S3 in FIG. 2. This procedure also includes preparation processing for obtaining configuration information, which will be described later. Here, as an example, the operation for company (2) (i.e., group 2 using the same configuration file) will be described. The operation for other companies will basically be similar.

In S1, the management device 300 acquires, from an external device 400 (e.g., a terminal of a system administrator), identification information of each IoT device 10C in group 2 and identification information for identifying group 2. The acquired information is stored in the storage unit 130 for each group.

The identification information of the IoT device 10C is information that the setting information providing device 100 can acquire when the IoT device 10C accesses the setting information providing device 100, and that can thereby identify the source of the access (source of the request).

The identification information of the IoT device 10C is, for example, one or more of the following: the telephone number of the IoT device 10C, the SIM information (e.g., IMSI) of the IoT device 10C, the IP address of the IoT device 10C, and the hardware information (e.g., IMEI) of the IoT device 10C. All of this information can be acquired from communication information (e.g., packet header, control signal, etc.) when the IoT device 10C connects to the setting information providing device 100 via the access network 200. The telephone number, SIM information, and IP address are examples of information used for communication.

The identification information of the IoT device 10C does not have to be obtained from communication information, in which case it can be obtained, for example, from a subscriber management device in the access network 200.

The identification information for identifying group 2 may be, for example, one or more of the following: company ID, tenant ID, type of IoT device used in group 2 (e.g., smart meter), etc.

The storage unit 130 stores templates for each group (e.g., each tenant). Here, it is assumed that a template (template file) for the format for group 2 is already stored in the storage unit 130, and that new parameter values are to be set in the template, or that parameter values are to be changed.

Therefore, in S1, in addition to the received information, the management device 300 obtains parameter values for group 2 from the external device 400.

In S2, the management device 300 stores the parameter values for group 2 (tenant 2) in an area for tenant 2 in the storage unit 130. In the example of FIG. 2, the parameter values (parameters) and group information (Group Info) are shown. Note that the group information may not be used.

It is also assumed that templates will be updated sequentially. However, multiple generations of templates can be stored in the storage unit 130, and if a problem occurs when using a new template, it is possible to roll back by specifying the previous generation template and regenerating the configuration file.

In addition, the template may be configured so that identification information of the IoT device 10C can be set as a parameter value. In that case, the identification information of the IoT device 10C is included as a parameter value in the configuration file.

In S3, the configuration information generation unit 120 generates a configuration file using the template and parameter values for group 2 (tenant 2) and stores the generated configuration file in the configuration file storage area in the memory unit 130.

In this embodiment, the IoT device 10C in group 2 can obtain the configuration file of group 2 without directly specifying the file name of the configuration file. As a preparatory operation to make this possible, the following operation is performed when generating the configuration file.

In S3, in addition to the above-mentioned parameter values, the management device 300 stores in the storage unit 130 the identification information of each IoT device 10C in group 2 and the identification information for identifying group 2 in association with each other. The setting information generating unit 120 uses this identification information to perform the following operation example 1 or operation example 2. Note that operations other than operation examples 1 and 2 may also be performed.

Example 1:
The setting information generating unit 120 creates a setting file for group 2 with the identification information of each IoT device 10C as the file name. For example, a setting file with the file name "1234" is created for an IoT device 10C with identification information of 1234. In the case of the operation example 1, setting files with the same content but different file names are generated for group 2 for the number of IoT devices 10C. Note that, regarding the determination that the identification information of the IoT device 10C is the identification information of an IoT device in group 2, the identification information of group 2 is stored in the storage unit 130 in association with the identification information of the IoT device 10C, and therefore the determination can be made using the identification information.

In addition, in operation example 1, a configuration file is generated for each IoT device with its identification information as the file name, so it is possible to make the contents of the configuration file different for each IoT device.

Example 2:
The setting information generating unit 120 generates one setting file for group 2. The file name in this case may be any name, and it is assumed here that a setting file with the file name "Config_C" is generated and stored.

The setting information generating unit 120 generates information that associates the file name "Config_C" with the identification information of each IoT device 10C as correspondence information, and stores the correspondence information in the storage unit 130. Note that the setting information acquiring unit 110 may generate the correspondence information.

In other words, in operation example 2, the identification information of multiple IoT devices belonging to group 2 is associated with one configuration file "Config_C" for group 2.

<Operations related to provision of configuration files>
Assuming that the above-mentioned operations have been performed, next, an example of an operation in which the setting information providing device 100 provides a setting file of group 2 to each IoT device 10C in group 2 will be described.

In S4 of FIG. 2, the IoT device 10C in group 2 transmits a request to acquire a configuration file. In the example of FIG. 2, the request transmitted from the IoT device 10C reaches the setting information providing device 100 via the mobile access network 202.

In this embodiment, the acquisition request sent by the IoT device 10C includes information that identifies the setting information providing device 100 that is the destination (access destination) (or information that identifies the setting file storage area in the setting information providing device 100), but does not include information that identifies the setting file that the IoT device 10C should acquire.

Alternatively, the acquisition request sent by the IoT device 10C is sent to the setting information providing device 100 (or the setting file storage area in the setting information providing device 100) as the destination, but the destination does not specify the setting file that the IoT device 10C should acquire.

The setting information acquisition unit 110, which has received the acquisition request, acquires the identification information of the IoT device 10C that sent the acquisition request. As described above, the identification information of the IoT device 10C is, for example, one or more of the telephone number of the IoT device 10C, the SIM information (e.g., IMSI) of the IoT device 10C, the IP address of the IoT device 10C, and the hardware information (e.g., IMEI) of the IoT device 1010C.

When a setting file has been prepared by the operation of the above-described operation example 1, the setting information acquisition unit 110 acquires a setting file having the identification information of the IoT device 10C as the file name from the storage unit 130, and transmits the acquired setting file to the IoT device 10C that sent the acquisition request.

When a configuration file has been prepared by the operation of the above-mentioned operation example 2, the configuration information acquisition unit 110 acquires a configuration file with the file name "Config_C" from the storage unit 130 based on the correspondence information that associates the file name "Config_C" with the identification information of each IoT device 1010C, and transmits the acquired configuration file to the IoT device 10C that sent the acquisition request.

A specific example will be described in which the IoT device 10C uses HTTP GET as an acquisition request. For example, it is assumed that the setting file storage area in the setting information providing device 100 is identified by "http://xxx.yy.jp/conf/". It is assumed that this setting file storage area is common to all IoT devices 10, that each setting file is stored in this setting file storage area, and that the desired setting file can be identified by its file name. Here, it is assumed that the file name of the setting file that the IoT device 10C should acquire is "Config_C".

When the setting information acquisition unit 110 receives "http://xxx.yy.jp/conf/" from the IoT device 10C as the target resource in the acquisition request and detects from the identification information of the IoT device 10C that the file name of the setting file that the IoT device 10C should acquire is "Config_C", it adds "Config_C" to "http://xxx.yy.jp/conf/" to create "http://xxx.yy.jp/conf/Config_C". It then acquires the setting file with the file name "Config_C" using "http://xxx.yy.jp/conf/Config_C" and transmits the acquired setting file to the IoT device 10C that sent the acquisition request.

As described above, when the IoT device 10 makes a request to acquire a configuration file, the IoT device 10 does not need to specify a configuration file, but can simply specify a common location (access destination) for multiple IoT devices 10. Therefore, simply by setting a common access destination for each IoT device 10, each IoT device 10 can acquire the specific configuration file that it needs to acquire.

For example, by implementing an operation in the IoT device 10 to periodically acquire a configuration file, even if the configuration file is changed, the IoT device 10 can acquire the changed configuration file without operating the IoT device 10.

(Hardware configuration example)
The setting information providing device 100 can be realized, for example, by causing a computer to execute a program. This computer may be a physical computer or a virtual machine on the cloud.

That is, the setting information providing device 100 can be realized by executing a program corresponding to the processing performed by the setting information providing device 100 using hardware resources such as a CPU and memory built into a computer. The program can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium (such as a portable memory) and stored or distributed. The program can also be provided via a network such as the Internet or email.

Figure 3 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of the computer. The computer in Figure 3 has a drive device 1000, an auxiliary storage device 1002, a memory device 1003, a CPU 1004, an interface device 1005, a display device 1006, an input device 1007, an output device 1008, etc., all of which are connected to each other via a bus B. Note that some of these devices may not be included. For example, if no display is performed, the display device 1006 may not be included.

The program that realizes the processing on the computer is provided by a recording medium 1001, such as a CD-ROM or a memory card. When the recording medium 1001 storing the program is set in the drive device 1000, the program is installed from the recording medium 1001 via the drive device 1000 into the auxiliary storage device 1002. However, the program does not necessarily have to be installed from the recording medium 1001, but may be downloaded from another computer via a network. The auxiliary storage device 1002 stores the installed program as well as necessary files, data, etc.

When an instruction to start a program is received, the memory device 1003 reads out and stores the program from the auxiliary storage device 1002. The CPU 1004 realizes functions related to the setting information providing device 100 in accordance with the program stored in the memory device 1003. The interface device 1005 is used as an interface for connecting to a network, and functions as a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The display device 1006 displays a GUI (Graphical User Interface) or the like according to a program. The input device 1007 is composed of a keyboard and mouse, buttons, a touch panel, or the like, and is used to input various operational instructions. The output device 1008 outputs the results of calculations.

(Summary and Effects of the Embodiments)
As described above, the technology according to the present embodiment makes it possible to easily configure an IoT device. More specifically, it is as follows. Below, the features and effects of the technology according to the present embodiment will be described in relation to the above-mentioned problems (1) to (3).

Note that, although several effects are described below, these are examples of effects that can be obtained with the technology according to the present embodiment, and it is possible that one or more of the effects described below cannot be obtained with the technology according to the present invention.

(1) Issues when using a device management protocol The technology according to the present embodiment makes it possible to transmit a text-based configuration file using the commonly used HTTP, eliminating the need to use a device management protocol such as LwM2M.

In addition, configuration files can be generated in any format using templates, so there is no need for client software or SDKs such as LwM2M on the IoT device side.

(2) Problems related to the format of the setting file In this embodiment, since the format of any setting file can be defined by the template, differences in the format of the setting file for each IoT device vendor can be absorbed. In addition, by grouping IoT devices that use the same setting file, setting files can be stored for each purpose and type of IoT device. In addition, since the content of the setting file can be changed only by changing the template, the IoT devices can be managed centrally.

In addition, if you need to change the configuration files in a group, you can generate a configuration file using a template associated with that group, making it possible to change the configuration files in the target group without affecting the configuration files in other groups.

(3) Problems related to acquiring a setting file In this embodiment, when an IoT device makes a request to acquire a setting file, the setting information providing device 100 uses identification information or the like used for communication with the IoT device to identify which IoT device the received request is from and to specify the setting file to be set in the IoT device. This allows the access destination (URL, etc.) for acquiring the setting file set on the IoT device side to be shared among multiple IoT devices, simplifying the initial setting (kitting) and operation of the IoT device.

In addition, by simply initially setting a common access destination for IoT devices to obtain configuration files and the time interval for obtaining the configuration files, it is possible to automatically update the configuration files for each IoT device.

The setting information generating unit 120 of the setting information providing device 100 may also assign a timestamp indicating the time of generation to the generated setting file. In this case, when the setting information acquiring unit 110 of the setting information providing device 100 receives an acquisition request from an IoT device, it checks the timestamp of the setting file for the IoT device, and transmits the setting file if the timestamp has been updated, but if the timestamp has not been updated, it determines that the setting file has already been transmitted and does not transmit the setting file. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of data communication.

(Additional Note)
This specification describes at least the setting information providing device, the setting information providing method, and the program described in the following sections.
(Additional Note 1)
A setting information providing device for providing setting information to a device,
a setting information generating unit that generates setting information from the template and the parameter values and stores the generated setting information in a storage unit;
and a setting information acquisition unit that, when receiving an acquisition request from the device for an access destination common to a plurality of devices, acquires specific setting information for the device from the storage unit based on identification information of the device, and transmits the specific setting information to the device.
(Additional Note 2)
2. The setting information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the storage unit holds a template for each group made up of one or more devices.
(Additional Note 3)
3. The setting information providing device according to claim 1, wherein the device identification information is information used for communication between the device and the setting information providing device.
(Additional Note 4)
The setting information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the setting information is stored in the memory unit in correspondence with identification information of each device, and the setting information acquisition unit acquires the setting information corresponding to the identification information of the device from the memory unit and transmits the setting information to the device.
(Additional Note 5)
A setting information providing method executed by a setting information providing device that provides setting information to a device, comprising:
generating setting information from the template and the parameter values, and storing the generated setting information in a storage unit;
and when an acquisition request for an access destination common to multiple devices is received from the device, acquiring specific setting information for the device from the memory unit based on identification information of the device, and transmitting the specific setting information to the device.
(Additional Note 6)
A program for causing a computer to function as the setting information generating unit and the setting information acquiring unit in the setting information providing device according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

Although the present embodiment has been described above, the present invention is not limited to this specific embodiment, and various modifications and variations are possible within the scope of the gist of the present invention as described in the claims.

10 IoT device 100 Setting information providing device 110 Setting information acquiring unit 120 Setting information generating unit 130 Storage unit 200 Access network 300 Management device 400 External device 1000 Drive device 1001 Recording medium 1002 Auxiliary storage device 1003 Memory device 1004 CPU
1005 Interface device 1006 Display device 1007 Input device 1008 Output device

Claims (5)

A setting information providing device for providing a setting file to a device,
a setting information generating unit that generates a setting file from the template and the parameter values and stores the generated setting file in a storage unit;
a setting information acquisition unit that, when receiving from the device a first URL representing a setting file storage area that is a common access destination for a plurality of devices , creates a second URL by adding a file name detected based on the identification information of the device to the first URL , acquires a specific setting file for the device from the memory unit using the second URL, and transmits the specific setting file to the device. The setting information providing device according to claim 1 , wherein the storage unit holds a template for each group made up of one or more devices. The setting information providing device according to claim 1 , wherein the device identification information is information used for communication between the device and the setting information providing device. A setting information providing method executed by a setting information providing device that provides a setting file to a device, comprising:
generating a configuration file from the template and the parameter values, and storing the generated configuration file in a storage unit;
a step of: when receiving from the device a first URL representing a configuration file storage area that is a common access destination for a plurality of devices , creating a second URL by adding a file name detected based on the identification information of the device to the first URL , obtaining a specific configuration file for the device from the memory unit using the second URL, and transmitting the specific configuration file to the device. A program for causing a computer to function as the setting information generating unit and the setting information acquiring unit in the setting information providing device according to claim 1 .

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