JPH09289531A - Device and method for automatic selection of communication protocol of network - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To automatically select the best communication protocol in environment wherein computers are connected to a network without paying attention to applications. SOLUTION: The network 70 is constituted by connecting the computers 10a and 10b which have communication protocols 1-3 with characteristics of different network loads, CPU loads, and reliability and a load monitor device 60 which monitors the load on the network. In this case, each computer has various tables such as a CPU load monitor table 32a for monitoring the CPU load of the computer and a network load monitor table 31a for monitoring the network load from the load monitor device and is equipped with an automatic protocol selecting device 30a which selects the best communication protocol under selection conditions of a user-settable selection condition table 36a according to load information from those tables. Consequently, there is no need to pay attention to applications and even when computers in the network increase in number, network load problems are prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a network environment in which a plurality of computers are connected, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for automatically selecting a communication protocol between a plurality of computers in such a network.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an environment in which a plurality of computers are connected to a network, all computer devices are provided with a plurality of communication protocols, and communication protocols are switched depending on the communication protocol of the computer on the other end of the transmission and the network environment. The communication protocol selection device has already been devised. That is, according to the communication protocol selection device according to the related art, even if the communication protocol used in the application program is not specified, automatic selection is performed based on information such as the transmission message length and the communication protocol of the partner computer. Is.

Regarding such a communication protocol selection method, it is general to improve the interoperability between the systems. As such a method for improving the communication efficiency, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. As shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-200136, a method for automatically selecting a communication protocol based on the communication data length is already known. Further, for example, according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 6-85872, as a method and system for automatically selecting a modem protocol in a cellular communication system, the quality of a route (channel) in the communication system is automatically determined. It is already known to make a decision and select an optimum protocol for the current channel state according to the analysis of the factor obtained by this.

Further, according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-143762, the monitoring of the network load (that is, the amount of communication on the network) by the monitoring means controls the compression of the data to be transmitted although it is not a communication protocol. It has been known. In addition, for example, JP-A-2-11865
According to Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2 (1994), the communication protocol is not selected, but in a communication system in which the terminal device is prosperous by a plurality of lines, a line load state management unit for monitoring the line load state It is already known that a line schedule is provided so that the load is shared for each line efficiently by providing a load factor for each line.

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] As described above,
In the above-mentioned conventional technique, the automatic selection of the communication protocol in the network aims at improving the communication efficiency by equalizing the load on the network line.

By the way, for example, network load and CP
In a bursty network system such as U-load, an application that performs communication must verify the high load state of these networks and CPUs, and work to suppress the load in the high load state. However, in recent years, as the sophistication and scale-up of the system have progressed remarkably, such load control by these applications is complicated and difficult.

Therefore, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, that is, in the application for communication or even in the user, the CPU
An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus and method for automatically selecting a communication protocol most suitable for the current system environment without being aware of the system environment such as load, network load, and communication protocol.

[0008]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, first, a plurality of computers each having at least two communication protocols having different characteristics are connected to a network. Furthermore, in a network in which a load monitoring device for monitoring a network load is connected to the network, each of the computers monitors network load information between the computers that are trying to communicate with each other. The network load monitoring means, the CPU load monitoring means for monitoring the CPU load of the computer that communicates with each other, and the network load information and the CPU load from the network load monitoring means and the CPU load means are predetermined. One communication protocol is automatically selected from the plurality of communication protocols based on the conditions. Communication protocol automatic selection device in a network has a protocol automatic selection means for is proposed.

Further, according to the present invention, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a plurality of computers having at least two or more communication protocols having different characteristics on the network and a load for monitoring the network load are also provided. When a communication is performed between the computers in a network in which a monitoring device is connected, one of the plurality of communication protocols is used.
A method for automatically selecting a communication protocol in a network for automatically selecting one communication protocol, wherein at least network load information between the computers that perform communication and CPU load information of each computer are input, and the input network load information is input. According to the CPU load information and the CPU load information, there is proposed a communication protocol automatic selection method in a network for automatically selecting one communication protocol from the plurality of communication protocols based on a predetermined condition.

That is, according to the communication protocol automatic selection apparatus and method in the network according to the present invention, in addition to the network load monitoring means for monitoring the network load information between the computers to be communicated, further communication is performed. CP that monitors the CPU load of the computer
U load monitoring means is provided, and at least the CPU load information and the CPU load information from these means are used to select a communication protocol based on a predetermined condition. It is possible to automatically select the communication protocol while optimally suppressing the state, and the application automatically selects the communication protocol without being aware of the system environment such as the CPU load, network load, and communication protocol. Makes it possible.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a network system including a communication protocol automatic selection device according to the present invention. In FIG. 1, a plurality of computers (only two computers are shown in the figure for simplification of description), a computer 1 and a computer 2 are connected on a network 70, and further, each computer described below is connected. A network system is configured by connecting a load monitoring device 60 for transmitting network load information and CPU load information of another partner computer to the table maintenance device. In the following description, the computer 1
It is assumed that the internal configurations of (10a) and computer 2 (10b) are the same, and only computer 1 (10a) will be described as a representative, and description of computer 2 will be omitted for simplicity of description.

First, the computer 10a includes an application program 20a. This application program is a program that does not take communication means into consideration, as will be apparent from the following description. Furthermore, Calculator 1
0a is equipped with a communication protocol automatic selection device 30a for selecting a communication protocol in response to a communication request from the application program 20a, and various tables described below. Specifically, these tables will be described. A selection condition table 36a for defining conditions required for communication protocol selection, a network load monitoring table 31a for managing network load, a CPU load of the own computer, and other A CPU load monitoring table 32a for managing the CPU load of the partner computer, and a time schedule management table 33a that can be scheduled by the user setting a load that is predicted in time based on the network load information and the CPU load information. When,
A serial number management table 34a provided for giving a serial number to a telegram regardless of the communication protocol, and making the communication processing reliable by confirming the serial number, and a reliability for the case where it is desired to determine the communication means by the telegram. Sex management table 3
5a. Further, the computer 10a has a table maintenance device 50a for regularly updating the above table.
And a plurality of (three types in this example) communication protocol 1 (41a), communication protocol 2 (42a), and communication protocol 3 (43a), each having different characteristics in terms of network load, CPU load, and reliability, and further, It is provided with a message format conversion device 40a for converting the transmitted message into a format suitable for the communication protocol.

On the other hand, the load monitoring device 60 monitors the load information of the network and the CPU load information of each computer, and a load information table 61 for storing the obtained network load information / computer CPU load information.
a.

According to the system configuration described in detail with reference to FIG. 1 above, the CPU load information and the network load information of each computer are periodically provided between the table maintenance device 50a of each computer 10a and the load monitoring device 60. After the replacement, the table maintenance device 50a updates the network load monitoring table 31a and the CPU load monitoring table 32a in the computer 10a based on the result. As a result, the protocol automatic selection device 30a of the computer 10a causes the network load monitoring table 31a, the CPU load monitoring table 32a, and
A time schedule management table 33a, a reliability management table 35a, which can be set in advance by the user,
Based on the selection condition table 36a, when the transmission message is received from the application program, the optimum communication protocol is automatically selected from the plurality of communication protocols 41a, 42a, 43a, and further, the above-mentioned message format conversion device. It is converted into a message format suitable for the communication protocol selected by 40a and passed to the communication protocol.
Communication will be performed.

Here, the above-mentioned communication protocol 1 (41
The characteristics of a) to communication protocol 3 (43a) will be described with reference to FIGS. First, communication protocol 1
Explaining (41a), in FIG. 2, when the transmission side computer starts communication protocol 1 (step S100), it receives a transmission message (step S10).
1), after compressing the message (step S102), transmitting it (step S103), and thereafter ending (step S1)
04). On the other hand, when the communication protocol 1 is started (step S105), the receiving computer decompresses the received message (step S1) after receiving the message (step S106).
07), the received telegram is transferred (step S108), and the process ends (step S109). As described above, as a characteristic of the communication protocol 1, the CPU load of the receiving side computer and the CPU load of the transmitting side computer perform compression work and decompression work, respectively, so that the load increases. However, the network load between computers is reduced because the electronic text is compressed and sent.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, the communication protocol 2
The characteristics of (42a) will be described. In this communication protocol 2, when the communication protocol is started (step S11)
0), the transmission message is accepted (step S111), and the transmitting computer transmits the message as it is (step S11).
2) and ends (step S113). On the other hand, when the communication protocol 2 is started in the receiving computer (step S
114), after receiving the message (step S115), the receiving-side computer transfers it as it is to the upper layer process (message format conversion device) (step S116), and ends (step S11).
7). Thus, the characteristics of the communication protocol 2 are:
Compared with the communication protocol 1, the processing is simple and the CPU load is small. However, the network load between the computers is larger than that of the communication protocol 1 because the transmission size remains unchanged (not compressed).

Further, the characteristics of the communication protocol 3 (43a) will be described with reference to FIG. This communication protocol 3
Then, when the protocol is started (step S120),
The transmission message is accepted (step S121), the message is transmitted (step S122), and then the reception is confirmed by receiving a response from the receiving computer (step S125) and the process is terminated (step S126). If there is no response, the message is transmitted again (step S12).
3) and wait for a response (step S124). On the other hand, in the receiving computer, when the communication protocol 3 is started (step S127), the electronic message is received (step S12).
8) After that, the received message is passed (step S129), and further, the response is sent to the sending computer (step S129).
After 130), the process ends (step S131). As described above, in the communication protocol 3, response processing is added to the characteristics of the communication protocol 2,
After receiving the electronic message at the receiving computer, the response signal is returned, and the transmitting computer receives the response signal and confirms the communication result. The load on the CPUs of the transmitting computer and the receiving computer both increases due to the response processing. . Also, the network load between computers will increase as the above response signal flows,
However, the reliability is improved accordingly.

Communication protocols 1 to 1 described in detail above
The characteristics of the communication protocol 3 will be collectively described with reference to the table shown in FIG. As is clear from this table, the communication protocol 1 is a communication method that does not impose a network load,
The communication protocol 2 is a communication method that does not impose a CPU load. The communication protocol 3 can be said to be a highly reliable communication method.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7, the contents of the network load monitoring table 31a will be described with reference to an example of its configuration and its operation. As shown in FIG. 6, this network load monitoring table has two fields, “network” 80 indicating a network name and “usage rate” 81 displaying the usage rate of each network. Here, the usage rate of each network is expressed as a percentage, and the value is transmitted from the load monitoring device 60 to each computer 10a as indicated by the dotted arrow in FIG. The table maintenance device 50a is configured to be updated.

Next, with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9, the contents of the CPU load monitoring table 32a will be described with reference to an example of its configuration and its operation. As shown in FIG. 8, the CPU load monitoring table 32a includes a "computer name" 82 for displaying each computer name and the CPUs of those computers.
It has two fields of "CPU load" 83 for displaying the load of. Again, the CPU load is 100
The value is expressed as a fraction, and as shown by the dotted arrow in FIG. 9, each computer 10a directly calculates its own CPU load by the table maintenance device 50a of the computer, and other computers (here, The CPU load of the computer 10b) is
It is sent from the table maintenance device of another computer (here, the table maintenance device 50b) via the load monitoring device 60, and updated by the table maintenance device 50a.

Furthermore, the contents of the time schedule management table 33a will be described with reference to FIG. As is clear from the figure, the time schedule management table 33a includes a "time" 84 that represents time, a "network load" 85 that displays the load status of each network (1 to 5) at each time, and each computer. Display the CPU load of (1-5) "CP
It has three fields of "U load" 86. In addition,
These items "Network load" 85 and "C
In “PU load” 86, the CPU load of each network and each computer at each time is represented by 5 levels from 1 to 5, and the larger the value, the higher the load.
Further, according to the present invention, the time schedule management table 33a allows the user to set the respective load values expected at a certain time in advance, thereby making it possible to cope with a system in a high load state. Becomes

Next, with reference to FIGS. 11 and 12, the contents of the serial number management table 34a will be described by showing an example of its configuration and its operation. First, in this serial number management table, as shown in FIG. 11, an item 87 of "partner computer name" indicating the computer name of the communication partner side, and
It has three fields consisting of an item of "serial number" including a "transmission serial number" 88 and a "reception serial number" 89.
Then, as shown in FIG. 12, for example, when the transmission sequence number to the computer 2 on the communication partner side is “0010” in the contents of the sequence number management table 34a of the computer 1, when transmitting to the computer 2, the computer 1 Adds the incremented value "0011" to the message to be transmitted and transmits it to update this table. On the other hand, the computer 2 on the other side checks the received serial number in 34b of the serial number management table when receiving the electronic message. That is, in the computer 2, the serial number information "0011"
When the received serial number is “0010” in the serial number management table 34b, the received serial number is incremented (“0011”) to update this table and then passed to the application program. In addition, this computer 2
However, for example, when the message of the serial number information "0011" is received and the received serial number of the serial number management table 34b is other than "0010", the serial number abnormal message which notifies that an abnormality has occurred in the serial number is transmitted, It is possible to improve the reliability of communication.

Next, an example of the configuration of the contents of the reliability management table 35a will be described with reference to FIG. As is clear from the figure, this reliability management table is a “message type” 9 that displays the type of message to be transmitted.
It has two fields of "0" and "used protocol" 91 for displaying the used protocol. Here, for example, when the application program requests transmission of the A telegram registered in the reliability management table, the reliability management table 35a defines the protocol to be used, that is, communication is performed according to the communication protocol 1. Thus, this reliability management table 35a
The communication protocol used can be restricted for the message type defined in.

Further, with reference to FIG. 14, an example of the configuration of the contents of the load information table 61 of the load monitoring device 60 will be described. As shown in the figure, the load information table 60 is a “collection time” indicating the collection time of the load information.
92, each network (1-5) at the time of collection
“Network load” 93 indicating the load of each computer, and “CPU indicating the load of each computer (1 to 5) at the collection time.
It has a field of "load" 94. As for these pieces of load information, the load monitoring device 60 acquires the respective CPU load information from each computer, further acquires other network load information from another load monitoring device (not shown), and stores them in this table. Obtained by recording. The load of the network 70 connected to the load monitoring device 60 is measured and calculated by the load monitoring device 60 itself and recorded in this table.

Next, various tables whose configuration and operation have been described in detail above, that is, the network load monitoring table 31a (FIG. 6) and the CPU load monitoring table 32, are shown.
a (FIG. 8), time schedule management table 33a
The operation of the table maintenance device 50a that maintains the contents of FIG. 10 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

The table maintenance device 50a is
It has the following three major functions. (1) A process of receiving the network load from the load monitoring device 60 and the load information such as the CPU load from another computer and updating the network load monitoring table 31a and the CPU load monitoring table 32a (see FIG. 15A). Shown). (2) The CPU load of the computer itself is calculated by the method shown in (Equation 1) below, the CPU load monitoring table 32a is updated with the calculated CPU load, and the calculated CPU load information is transmitted to the load monitoring device 60. Processing (Fig. 15)
(Shown in (b)).

[Equation 1] (3) This is the function of user table maintenance processing for the user to refer to and change the table (FIG. 15).
(Shown in (c)).

First, in the processing of (1) above, FIG.
As shown in (a), the table maintenance device 50a
Starts processing (step S140), load monitoring information is received from the load monitoring device 60 (step S14).
1) update the contents of the network load monitoring table 31a based on the received information (step S14)
2) Furthermore, the CPU load monitoring table 32a is updated based on the load information of the other computer that is also received via the load monitoring device 60 (step S143), and then the processing is terminated (step S144).

Next, in the processing of (2) above, FIG.
As shown in (b), the process starts (step S15).
0) Then, according to the above (Equation 1), the CP of the computer itself
The U load is detected (step S151), the contents of the CPU load monitoring table 32a are updated based on the detected information (step S152), and the detected CPU load information is further transmitted via the load monitoring device 60. The data is transmitted to another computer (step S153), and then the process ends (step S154).

Further, the user table maintenance process will be described. In this user table maintenance process, as shown in FIG. 15C, when the process is started (step S160), the user table maintenance process is activated (step S161). At this time, the transition of the user display screen displayed on the display device of the computer is shown in FIG. 16 attached.

First, screen 1 in the figure is a table maintenance process selection screen. That is, the user selects a reference / update table, a table read, a table save, etc. from this screen 1. Note that the table that can be maintained by the user here is the selection condition table 36a, the reliability management table 35a, and the time schedule management table 33a among the plurality of tables shown in FIG.
It is.

Then, for example, when (1 :: reference / update selection condition table) is selected on screen 1, the selection condition table work screen shown on screen 2 is displayed. On this selection condition table work screen, the user corrects the changed part (in this example, (5: Protocol network load index) is modified) and selects (Update) at the bottom of the screen. The contents of the selection condition table 36a are updated according to the correction. If the user wishes to cancel the correction, select (Cancel) on the screen or select (End) to return to the table maintenance process selection screen of screen 1.

Next, when (2 :: reference reliability management table / update) is selected on screen 1, the reliability management table work screen shown on screen 3 is displayed, in the same manner as the processing on screen 2 described above. The contents of the reliability management table 35a are updated or the table is referenced.

Further, when (3: Reference / update time schedule management table) is selected on the screen 1, the time schedule management table work screen shown in screen 4 is displayed, again in the same manner as the process on screen 2. The contents of the time schedule management table 33a are updated or the table is referenced.

On the screen 1 (4: read table)
When is selected, a table reading work screen shown in screen 5 is displayed, and table information is read from the standard medium to change the table. For example, by selecting (1: read selection condition table), the selection condition table 36a is read and updated. Next, by selecting (2: Read reliability management table), the reliability management table 35a is read and updated.
Further, the time schedule management table 33a is read by selecting (3: read time schedule management table) and updated. If you select (Q: Cancel) on screen 1, you will return to screen 1 above.

Finally, when (5: Save table) is selected on the screen 1, the table save screen shown in screen 6 is displayed, and the table information is saved to the standard medium. For example,
The selection condition table 36a is selected by selecting (1: Save selection condition table), the reliability management table 35a is selected by selecting (2: reliability management table), and the time schedule is selected by selecting (3: time schedule management table). The management table 33a is saved.
Further, by selecting (Q: Cancel) on the screen 6 to return to the screen 1, and by selecting (E: End) on the screen, the table maintenance process is terminated.

Next, the operation of the load monitoring device 60 having the function of maintaining the contents of the load information table 61 whose contents are shown in FIG. 14 will be described with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. To do. The load monitoring device 60 has the following four major functions. (A) A function of receiving network information from a monitoring device of another network and recording it in the load monitoring table 61 (shown in FIG. 17A). (B) A function of calculating the network load by the method shown in (Equation 2) and recording it in the load monitoring table 61 (FIG. 17).
(Shown in (b)).

[Equation 2] (C) Function of receiving the CPU load information from the computer and recording it in the load monitoring table 61 (shown in FIG. 17C). (D) A function of transmitting the information in the load monitoring table 61 to a computer or another load monitoring device 60 on the network (FIG. 17).
(Shown in (d)).

Specifically, in FIG. 17A, the load monitoring device 60 first starts its operation (step S170), and then receives the network information from the monitoring device 60 of another network (step S171). ), Records the received information in the load monitoring table 61 (step S172), and then ends the operation (step S17).
3).

In FIG. 17B, first, when the operation is started (step S175), the network load is detected by the method shown in the above (Equation 2) (step S176), and the detected network load is detected. Is recorded in the load monitoring table 61 (step S177), and thereafter, the process ends (step S178).

In FIG. 17C, first, when the operation is started (step S180), the CPU load information from the CPU load monitoring table 32a of the computer is received (step S181), and the received CPU load information is stored. It records in the load monitoring table 61 (step S182),
Then, the process ends (step S183).

Finally, in FIG. 17 (d), the load monitoring apparatus 60 starts its operation (step S18).
5) Referring to the load information in the load monitoring table 61 (step S186), first, the referred load information is transmitted to the computer connected to the network (step 18).
7). Further, thereafter, the load information which is also referred to is transmitted to the other load monitoring device 60 (step 188), and the operation is finished (step 189).

Further, with reference to FIG. 17, the function of the communication protocol automatic selection device 30a will be described with reference to the selection condition table 36a provided therein. First, in the selection condition table 36a, the number of communication protocols having different characteristics possessed by a computer is set in the field "number of communication protocols" 95. Also, in the table below, the field "CPU load index" 96
Is a CPU load index of each communication protocol (communication protocol 1 to communication protocol 5), a field "Network load index" 97 is a network load index of each communication protocol, and a field "reliability number" 98.
In, the reliability numbers of the respective communication protocols are set for the communication protocols 1 to 5, respectively. Furthermore, below the above table, there are several other fields, namely, "Time Schedule Management Table (C
"PU load) importance" 99, "time schedule management table (network load) importance" 100, "C
The “PU load selection value” 101 and the “network load selection location” 102 are set by the respective values.

The setting values of the selection condition table 36a are set such that the "CPU load index" 96 and the "network load index" 97 are set to any numbers between 0 and 50. It means that a load is applied to the network during communication. Further, the “reliability number” 98 is also set to an arbitrary number between 0 and 50. In this case, the greater the number, the higher the reliability.

On the other hand, "time schedule management table (CPU load) importance" 99 and "time schedule management table (network load) importance" 1
00 is set to an arbitrary number between 0 and 10, whereby the importance of the time schedule management table 33a at the time of selecting a communication protocol is set, and the greater this value, the higher the importance. Further, “CPU load selection value” 101 and “Network load selection value” 10
2 is set to an arbitrary number between 0 and 200, and these are used when the communication protocol is selected.

The communication protocol automatic selection device 3 for automatically selecting a communication protocol based on the selection condition table 36a whose setting contents are described in FIG.
Details of the operation of 0a will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. The communication protocol automatic selection device 30a starts its operation upon receiving a transmission request from the application program (step S20).
0) to receive a message to be transmitted (step S201),
First, referring to the serial number management table 34a (see FIG. 11), a serial number is added to the transmission information (step S20).
2). Next, referring to the reliability management table 35a (see FIG. 13), the message to be transmitted is the reliability management table 3
It is determined whether or not the message corresponds to the message already set in 5a (step S203). If the result of this determination is that the message is of the relevant type, the communication protocol is selected as set (step S213), and the automatic selection of the communication protocol ends (step S214).

On the other hand, the message to be transmitted does not correspond to the message set in the reliability management table 35a (not applicable).
If it is determined that the CPU load monitoring table 31a (see FIG. 8), the network load monitoring table 32a (see FIG. 6), the time schedule management table 33a (see FIG. 10), Calculate various selectivities for each communication protocol (step S
205), and a determination is made based on the calculated selectivity of each communication protocol (step S206). Here, first, the communication protocol 1 is selected (specifically,
First, in step S204, i is set to 1 (i =
1) and then increment i by 1),
After performing the above steps S205 and S206, the communication protocol 2, the communication protocol 3, ... Are sequentially performed.

The various selectivities in step S206 are "selectivity (sending CPU)", which is the selectivity of the sending CPU, and "selectivity (receiving CPU)," which is the selectivity of the receiving CPU. Then, “selectivity (network)”, which is the degree of selectivity related to the network, is calculated, and the calculated value is the selected value of each condition table (that is, CPU load selection position, CPU load selection position, network load selection). It is determined whether or not it is smaller than In addition, these "selectivity (sending CP
U) ”,“ selectivity (receive CPU) ”, and“ selectivity (network) ”are calculated by the following (Equation 3) to (Equation 5).

(Equation 3) Here, Csc (): Selectivity (sending CPU), n: Communication protocol number, Fsc: Sending side CPU load (CPU load monitoring table), Ta () (): Time schedule management table value, time: Current time, cpus: CPU number of transmission side, Ntc: time schedule (CPU load) importance degree, P () (1): communication protocol n, CPU load index.

(Equation 4) Here, Crc (): Selectivity (reception CPU), n: Communication protocol number, Frc: Receiving side CPU load (CPU load monitoring table), Ta () (): Time schedule management table value, time: Current time, cpur: Receiving side CPU number Ntc: Time schedule (CPU load) importance degree, P () (1): Communication protocol n, CPU load index.

(Equation 5) Here, Cn (): Selectivity (network), n: Communication protocol number, Fn: Network load (network load monitoring table), Ta () (): Time schedule management table value, time: Current time, net: Network No., Ntn: Time schedule (network load)
Importance frequency, P () (2): Communication protocol n, network load index.

Of the selectivities thus calculated, the selectivities (sending CPU) and the selectivities (receiving CPU) are as follows:
CPU load selection value 10 in the selection condition table 36a (see FIG. 18) of the protocol automatic selection device 30a.
A communication protocol having a selectivity of a value less than 1
Further, as for the selectivity (network), a communication protocol having a selectivity smaller than the network load selection value 102 is selected.

As a result, when it is determined that the communication protocol is applicable ("YES"), the communication protocol is determined to be applicable (step S2).
07) Further, the number (i) of communication protocols is incremented (i ++) to determine that the number is larger than the preset number of communication protocols (step S209).
That is, the above determination is made for all of the plurality of communication protocols prepared in advance in the computer, and after this determination is made, it is further determined whether or not there is a protocol corresponding to the selection degree determination (step S210). After that, a communication protocol having a high reliability number is selected from the corresponding protocols in the above determination of the selectivity (step S211), and the automatic selection of the communication protocol ends (step S21).
4).

On the other hand, if the result of the determination of the selection degree of the communication protocol in step S206 described above does not satisfy the above condition ("NO"), it is determined that the communication protocol is not applicable, The problem level (Formula 6) is calculated (step S208), and the process proceeds to step S209. In addition, the above step S210
As a result of the determination of the presence or absence of the communication protocol corresponding to the selection degree determination by (1), if it is determined that the corresponding communication protocol is not present (“NO”), then according to the problem degree calculated in advance in step S208 as described above. The communication protocol with the smallest degree of problem is selected from all the communication protocols (step S212), and the automatic selection of the communication protocol ends (step S214).

(Equation 6)

Finally, the operation of the receiving computer will be described with reference to FIG. As already mentioned above,
Each communication protocol has an individual communication protocol identifier, and the transmission side transmits this communication protocol identifier (here, for example, communication protocol n
(4na)) is added and transmitted. On the other hand, each communication protocol of the receiving computer is in a reception waiting state, and at the time of receiving the sent message, the corresponding communication protocol is judged by the identifier of the communication protocol (here, the corresponding communication protocol n ( 4nb) is recognized), the reception process is started. That is, the received data received by the receiving side is the message format conversion device 4 of the receiving side computer.
0b converts the message into a message that can be passed to the application program, and after confirming the serial number by referring to the serial number management table 34b by the automatic protocol selection device 30b, if there is no problem, the application program 20b
Passed to

As described above, according to the network system provided with the communication protocol automatic selection device according to the embodiment of the present invention, another computer is connected to a network formed by connecting a plurality of computers. Automatic protocol selection device 30a when communicating with a computer
However, since the optimum communication protocol is automatically selected based on the current network load information and CPU load information obtained from the network load monitoring table 31a, the CPU load monitoring table 32a, etc., the user tries to communicate. It is possible to create an application program for communication without being aware of the system environment of the network including the communication protocol and the like with the computer. According to the communication protocol automatic selection method by the communication protocol automatic selection device according to the present invention, since the communication protocol is changed according to the system state, even if the transmission message is the same, the network The data passing through will be different each time.

Further, according to the network system provided with the communication protocol automatic selection device according to the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the application does not need to be aware of the CPU load, the network load, and the system environment such as the communication protocol. As shown by the following items, it is possible to automatically select a communication protocol based on flexible conditions that can be set by the user in advance. (1) When the network is heavily loaded, the communication reliability and CPU usage are inferior, but a communication protocol that does not impose a network load is selected. (2) Select a communication protocol that does not impose a CPU load, although the reliability of communication and the usage of the network are inferior when the sending computer CPU has a high load. (3) When the receiving computer CPU has a high load, the communication protocol and the usage of the network are inferior, but a communication protocol that does not impose a CPU load is selected.

[0053]

As is apparent from the above detailed description of the present invention, according to the communication protocol automatic selection apparatus and method in a network according to the present invention, it is possible to realize a conventional network system in a time-varying network system. In addition to improving connectivity and communication efficiency between systems,
By allowing the user to automatically select the communication protocol while optimally suppressing the current network load and CPU load in the monitored network system, the user can perform the performance and communication protocol in the communication application. It has an excellent effect of enabling data communication in which the load state is optimized without being aware of.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing an overall configuration of a network system including a communication protocol automatic selection device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing a process in a sender / receiver computer according to a communication protocol 1 in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a process in a transmitting side / receiving side computer according to a communication protocol 2 in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a process in a transmitting side / receiving side computer according to a communication protocol 3 in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 5: Communication protocol 1 to communication protocol 3 described above
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing characteristics of the above with respect to various loads.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the content configuration for explaining the concept of a network load monitoring table in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing updating of network load information in a network load monitoring table in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 8 is a CP in the communication protocol automatic selection device.
It is a figure which shows an example of a content structure for demonstrating the concept of a U load monitoring table.

FIG. 9 is a CP in the communication protocol automatic selection device.
It is explanatory drawing which shows the update of CPU load information of a U load monitoring table.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a content configuration for explaining the concept of a time schedule management table in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of a content configuration for explaining the concept of a serial number management table in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 12 is a diagram conceptually illustrating the use of the serial number management table on the transmitting side and the receiving side in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of a content configuration for explaining the concept of a reliability management table in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a content configuration for explaining the concept of the concept of a load information table in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 15 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the table maintenance device in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an output screen of a user table maintenance process by the table maintenance device in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the load monitoring device in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of a content configuration for explaining the concept of a selection condition table in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 19 is a flowchart diagram for explaining the operation of the communication protocol automatic selection device in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

FIG. 20 is an operation outline explanatory diagram illustrating an operation of the receiving-side computer in the communication protocol automatic selection device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10a, b Computer 20a, b Application program 30a, b Communication protocol automatic selection device 31a, b Network load monitoring table 32a, b CPU load monitoring table 33a, b Time schedule management table 34a, b Serial number management table 35a, b Reliability management Table 36a, b Selection condition table 40a, b Telegram format converter 41a, b Communication protocol 1 42a, b Communication protocol 2 43a, b Communication protocol 3 50a, b Table maintenance device 60 Load monitoring device 61 Load information table 70 Network

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of computers each having at least two or more communication protocols having different characteristics are connected to the network, and a load monitoring device for monitoring a network load is connected to the network. In each network, each computer has a network load monitoring unit that monitors network load information between the computers that try to communicate with each other, and a CPU load monitoring unit that monitors the CPU load of the computers that communicate with each other. And a protocol automatic for automatically selecting one communication protocol from the plurality of communication protocols based on a predetermined condition based on the network load information and the CPU load from the network load monitoring means and the CPU load means. A network characterized by having selection means Automatic communication protocol selector. 2. The communication protocol automatic selection device for a network according to claim 1, wherein the protocol automatic selection means includes a setting condition table that allows the user to set the predetermined condition. Automatic communication protocol selection device in a characteristic network. 3. The communication protocol automatic selection device in the network according to claim 1, further comprising:
The network load information from the load monitoring device is input to the network load monitoring unit, and a maintenance unit is also provided that calculates the CPU load of the computer that performs the communication and inputs the CPU load information to the CPU load monitoring unit as CPU load information. A device for automatically selecting a communication protocol in a network characterized in that 4. The communication protocol automatic selection device in the network according to claim 1, further comprising:
An automatic communication protocol selection device in a network, comprising a time schedule management means for enabling the predetermined condition to be set in time. 5. In a network comprising a plurality of computers each having at least two or more communication protocols having different characteristics on the network and a load monitoring device for monitoring the network load, the computers communicate with each other. A method for automatically selecting a communication protocol in a network for automatically selecting one communication protocol from the plurality of communication protocols when performing
Network load information between the computers that perform communication and CPU load information of each computer are input, and one of the plurality of communication protocols is selected based on a predetermined condition by the input network load information and CPU load information. A method for automatically selecting a communication protocol in a network characterized by automatically selecting a communication protocol. 6. The method for automatically selecting a communication protocol in a network according to claim 5, wherein when automatically selecting one communication protocol based on the predetermined condition, calculation is performed based on the network load information. A method for automatically selecting a communication protocol in a network, characterized in that the communication protocol is selected based on the selected degree of the network and the selected degree of the sending side computer and the receiving side computer of the computer.