JPH11110089A - Computer system and network controller used by same computer system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve power-saving effect by restoring a power source state only when a packet addressed to this system is received. SOLUTION: In a LAN card 1, it is decided whether or not a received packet is addressed to this computer and only when so, an interruption signal to a CPU 211 is generated to restore the power source state from a low power-source ON state to a normal power-source ON state. Therefore, it can be decided whether the packet is a packet that this computer should process in a standby state without actuating a network driver 311, and consequently while environment wherein packet reception addressed to this computer is always responded to is maintained, sufficient power-saving effect can be obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a computer system and a network control device used in the computer system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in computer systems such as personal computers and workstations,
A power saving mechanism called a standby mode (or a suspend mode) for power saving is provided. In a typical standby mode, power is not supplied to devices other than a specific peripheral device such as a network card, and the contents of memories and registers are retained, but the CPU clock operates at a low speed or Stopped.

For this reason, in the standby mode, only a minimum amount of power is supplied to the motherboard and its power consumption is less than in a normal power-on state, but interrupts are controlled normally. Therefore, when a packet is received from the network and an interrupt from the LSI of the network card to the CPU occurs, the power is restored from the standby mode to the normal power-on state.

That is, if the CPU clock is stopped, the OS is restored by restoring the clock, and the processing is transferred to the network device driver.
Then, for the first time, it is determined whether or not the packet needs to be processed by the own computer system.

Thus, in the conventional standby state,
Although it is possible to recover the power supply state and operate the system by using a packet received from the network as a trigger, for example, an address resolution protocol (AR
Even when a packet that the computer system does not need to process, such as a broadcast packet for P) or a packet addressed to another system, is received, it is necessary to restore the power supply state and activate the network driver.

[0006]

As described above, in the prior art, it is impossible to determine whether or not the packet needs to be processed by the own computer system unless the network driver is activated. The power status is restored even if
There is a problem that a large amount of wasteful power is consumed depending on the network environment.

In particular, in the case of constructing a switching system in which a telephone number is assigned to each computer on a computer network and the telephone number is used as an extension telephone, it is possible to always respond to packet reception addressed to the own computer system. Since it is necessary to realize a simple environment on each computer, the above-described wasteful power consumption is an unavoidable problem.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and enables a system to determine whether or not a packet needs to be processed by its own system in a standby state without activating a network driver. While maintaining an environment that can always respond to packet reception,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a computer system capable of obtaining a sufficient power saving effect and a network control device used in the computer system.

[0009]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention has a network controller for transmitting and receiving packets via a network, and responds to an interrupt signal issued from the network controller. In the computer system that is returned from the standby state of low power consumption to the power-on state in which normal operation can be performed, the received packet addressed to the computer system is transmitted to the network control device in response to reception of the packet from the network. Receiving packet discriminating means for discriminating whether the received packet is a packet, and means for issuing the interrupt signal when the received packet discriminating means discriminates that the received packet is a packet addressed to the computer system. It is characterized by doing.

In this computer system, it is determined whether the received packet is a packet addressed to the own computer system in a network control device such as a LAN card, and the received packet is a packet addressed to the own computer system. Only when the determination is made, an interrupt signal is generated from the network control device, whereby the power supply state is restored to the power-on state where normal operation is possible.

Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the packet needs to be processed by the own computer system in the standby state without activating the network driver, and can always respond to the reception of the packet addressed to the own computer system. A sufficient power saving effect can be obtained while maintaining the environment.

[0012] Further, a means for determining whether the state of the computer system is the standby state or the power-on state when receiving a packet from the network is further provided in the network control device, and the computer system is normally provided with It is preferable that, when in an operable power-on state, the interrupt signal is generated unconditionally in response to reception of a packet from the network.

Thus, when the computer system is in a normal power-on state, normal packet processing can be performed by the network driver, and compatibility with the conventional system can be maintained.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a configuration example of a private branch exchange system using a computer system of the present invention. This private branch exchange system assigns telephone numbers to computers on a computer network, and performs outgoing / incoming processing for these computers in the same manner as a normal telephone, and a communication control device 10 functioning as a PBX.
Has a telephone interface card (I
F) 20, PHS private base station interface card (IF) 21, office line interface card (IF) 2
2, an exchange unit 23, a central control unit 24, and a LAN interface card (LAN-IF) 25.

The telephone interface card 20 is for accommodating an extension telephone, to which a number of telephones 30 such as a standard telephone and a digital function telephone are connected. The PHS private base station interface card 21 is for accommodating a PHS private base station device, and includes several PHS private wireless base stations 3.
1 is connected. Each PHS private radio base station 31 forms a radio zone, and a PHS terminal (PS) 3 in the zone.
2 and communicates wirelessly. In the present embodiment, the private branch exchange system is premised, so that the PHS terminal and the PHS radio base station are for private use only.

The office line interface card 22 is provided with a line / trunk device having an interface function for connecting to a public network or a dedicated line, and is connected to a public network 33 in this example. The LAN interface card 25 has an input / output interface function with a LAN 34 to which a number of personal computers 35 are connected.
Reference numeral 5 is used to use each personal computer 35 as a telephone terminal. As the LAN 34, for example, Ethernet is used, and as a communication protocol, TCP, UDP, or the like is used.

The central control unit 24 controls the switching unit 23 through the control highway to cause the switching unit 23 to execute a switch operation for switching connections between the interfaces. Here, in addition to the normal exchange control function,
A computer network control function for controlling communication with each personal computer 35 using the interface card 25 is also provided.

Each personal computer 35 is connected to the LAN 34 via the LAN card 1 provided therein. A predetermined extension telephone number is assigned to each of these personal computers 35, and the other telephones 3
Calls can be made to and from 0, the PHS terminal 32, etc., or to an outside line. Each of the personal computers 35 supplies power to the LAN card 1 even in the low power consumption standby state, and can restore the power supply state to the normal state in response to an interrupt signal from the LAN card 1. It is configured.

When the personal computer 35 is in the standby state, the LAN card 1 performs the following processing operation on the received packet. That is, when a packet is received from the LAN 34 in the standby state, LA
The N card 1 first checks whether the received packet is a packet addressed to its own computer. If the packet is addressed to the own computer, an interrupt signal is generated to restore the power state of the personal computer 35. If the packet is not addressed to the computer, such as a broadcast packet, an interrupt signal No signal is generated and the received packet is discarded. This allows
When receiving a packet that does not need to be processed by the own computer, the power state of the computer is not restored and is maintained in the standby state.

FIG. 2 shows a specific configuration example of the personal computer 35. As shown, the personal computer 35 includes a packet transmitting / receiving unit 111,
An LSI including a PU interrupt signal generating unit 112 and an Ethernet address (MAC address) reading unit 113
, A motherboard 2 on which a CPU 211 having an interrupt control mechanism, a power management unit 212, a main memory 213, an interrupt control register 214, and a system bus for interconnecting them, a network driver 311 and a network Protocol 31
2, an operating system (OS) 3 including an interrupt control unit 313, and a power supply circuit 4.

FIG. 3 shows the transition of the power state of the personal computer 35 by the power management unit 212. The power state of the personal computer 35 transitions between a normal power ON state, a power OFF state, and a low power ON state (standby state).

The normal power ON state is a power state in which normal operation is possible. In this state, the LAN card 1 and the motherboard 2 are sufficiently supplied with power, and the clock of the CPU 211 operates at the rated speed. The low power ON state is a standby state of low power consumption, in which the LAN card 1 is supplied with power, but the clock supplied to the CPU 211 is stopped, so that the power supplied to the motherboard 2 is low. Low power ON
When a packet reception event addressed to the own computer occurs in the state (standby state), the state shifts to the normal power ON state according to the method of the present embodiment. Also, when the resume button press event occurs in the low power ON state (standby state), the state is shifted to the normal power ON state by the existing technology.

In the normal power ON state, when the apparatus is not used for a predetermined time or when a suspend button pressing event occurs, the state shifts to a low power ON state (standby state). Normal power ON
When a power-off event occurs in the state, the state shifts to a power-off state, and when a power-on event occurs in the power-off state, the state shifts to a normal power-on state.

The operation of the personal computer shown in FIG. 2 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. FIG.
Shows the flow of processing when receiving a packet. That is, when receiving the packet, the network card 1
First, the current interrupt control state is determined (step S103) by referring to the interrupt control register 214 (steps S101 and S102). Interrupt control register 2
Reference numeral 14 is for controlling an interrupt to the CPU 211. In the low power ON state (standby state),
The interrupt is set to a conditional interrupt state in which only an interrupt under a specific condition is permitted, and is set to an unconditional interrupt state in which no interrupt condition is defined in a normal power-on state.

When the interrupt control register 214 is set to the conditional interrupt state, the LAN card 1
LAN card 1 by Ethernet address reading unit 113
An Ethernet address (MAC address ad1), which is a physical address of the other, is read out, and a destination Ethernet address (MAC address ad2) indicating the destination physical address from the received Ethernet packet having the data structure as shown in FIG.
Is read (steps S104, S105). And
The values of these addresses are compared (step S106).

Each of the read Ethernet addresses (M
If the received AC packets are equal, that is, if it is determined that the received packet is addressed to the own computer, the LAN card 1
1 is generated (step S108).
In response to the interrupt signal, the interrupt control mechanism on the CPU 211 causes the power management unit 212 to perform a process of restoring the power state to the normal power-on state, to operate the clock of the CPU 211 at the rated speed, and to operate the operating system 3.
Function (step S109).

The operating system 3 sets the interrupt control register 214 to a normal interrupt state (step S110), and processes the received packet by the network driver 311 and the network protocol 312 (step S111).

On the other hand, if the read Ethernet addresses are not equal, the LAN card 1 discards the received packet without interrupting the CPU 211 as described above (step S107).

When the interrupt control register 214 referred to by the LAN card 1 is in a normal interrupt state at the time of packet reception, the CPU 211 is unconditionally used without performing the address comparison processing by using the interrupt signal generation unit 112.
Is generated (step S112). At this time, the interrupt control mechanism on the CPU 211 transfers control to the interrupt control unit 313 on the operating system 3 (step S112).

The interrupt control unit 313 on the operating system 3 to which control has been transferred calls a processing routine of the network driver 311. The received packet is sent to the network driver 311 and the network protocol 31
2 is processed as usual (step S114).

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a transition to the low power ON state (standby state). When an event such as a suspend button is pressed, the operating system 3 sets the interrupt control register 214 to a conditional interrupt state (step S202), and then stops the clock of the CPU 211 by using the power management unit 212 to transfer to the motherboard 2. The power to be supplied is reduced (step S203).

As described above, according to the present embodiment, LA
It is determined whether or not the received packet is a packet addressed to the own computer in the N card 1, and an interrupt signal to the CPU 211 is generated only when it is determined that the received packet is a packet addressed to the own computer. Thus, the power supply state is restored from the low power supply ON state to the normal power supply ON state. Therefore, it is possible to determine whether or not the packet needs to be processed by the own computer in the standby state without activating the network driver 311, and to maintain an environment that can always respond to packet reception addressed to the own computer. In addition, a sufficient power saving effect can be obtained.

Therefore, in the system in which the personal computer 35 is used as a telephone as shown in FIG. 1, by setting the power state of the personal computer 35 to the standby state, the communication environment with the personal computer 35 is maintained. The telephone 30 that receives power from the communication control device 10 for a computer that can save power and requires an external power supply.
The same operation environment as that described above can be provided.

In the present embodiment, an Ethernet has been described as an example of the LAN 34. However, other network environments can be used. Further, as a realization form of the LAN card 1, various forms such as an expansion board, a PC card, and an on-board LSI mounted on a motherboard can be used.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to determine whether or not a packet that needs to be processed by the own system in the standby state without starting the network driver, and can be addressed to the own system. A sufficient power saving effect can be obtained while maintaining an environment capable of always responding to packet reception.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration example of a private branch exchange system using a computer system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating an example of a specific configuration of the computer system according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an exemplary view showing transition of a power supply state of the computer system of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining a packet receiving operation in the computer system of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an exemplary flowchart for explaining a transition operation from a normal power ON state to a low power ON state in the computer system of the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exemplary view showing an example of a data structure of a packet transmitted on a network to which the computer system of the embodiment is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... LAN card 2 ... Motherboard 3 ... Operating system (OS) 4 ... Power supply circuit 10 ... Communication controller 20 ... Telephone interface card (IF) 21 ... PHS private base station interface card (I)
F) 22 office line interface card (IF) 23 exchange unit 24 central control unit 25 LAN interface card (LAN-IF) 31 PHS private wireless base station 32 PHS terminal (PS) 33 public network 34 ... LAN 35 ... Personal computer 111 ... Packet transmitting / receiving unit 112 ... CPU interrupt signal generating unit 113 ... Ether address reading unit 211 ... CPU 212 ... Power management unit 213 ... Main memory 214 ... Interrupt control register 311 ... Network driver 312 ... Network Protocol 313: Interrupt control unit

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A network controller for transmitting and receiving packets via a network, wherein the network controller switches from a low power consumption standby state to a normal power-on state in response to an interrupt signal issued from the network controller. In the restored computer system, the network control device, in response to receiving a packet from the network, determines whether or not the received packet is a packet addressed to the computer system. Means for issuing the interrupt signal when the received packet discriminating means determines that the received packet is a packet addressed to the computer system. 2. The network control apparatus further comprises: means for determining whether the state of the computer system is the standby state or the power-on state when receiving a packet from the network, When the computer system is in the power-on state,
2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein said interrupt signal is generated unconditionally in response to reception of a packet from said network. 3. In the standby state, the network control device is supplied with power, and the C of the computer system is
2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein the clock of the PU is stopped. 4. An interrupt control register for specifying an interrupt condition; and setting the interrupt control register to a conditional interrupt state when the computer system shifts from the power-on state to the standby state; Means for setting the interrupt control register to a normal interrupt state after shifting from a standby state to the power-on state, wherein the network control device refers to the interrupt control register when receiving a packet from the network. It is determined whether the current interrupt condition is the conditional interrupt state or the normal interrupt state.If the current interrupt condition is the conditional interrupt state, the received packet is determined by the received packet determining means. If there is, unconditionally 2. The computer system according to claim 1, wherein said computer system generates an embedded signal. 5. The received packet discriminating means compares the physical address of the destination contained in the received packet with the physical address of the network control device, so that the received packet is a packet addressed to the computer system. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising:
Computer system as described. 6. A network control device configured to be usable in a computer system that is returned from a standby state with low power consumption to a power-on state capable of normal operation in response to an interrupt signal, and that transmits and receives packets via a network. A reception packet discriminating means for responding to reception of a packet from the network to determine whether or not the received packet is a packet addressed to the computer system; and Means for issuing the interrupt signal when it is determined that the packet is addressed to the system.