KR102643048B1 - Apparatus for Network redundancy electronic patch - Google Patents

Abstract

A network redundant electronic patch device is provided that prevents network failures for smart factories, maintains high reliability of the entire network line, and facilitates maintenance. A network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a port bank including a plurality of ports connected to different user terminals; A switching module including one or more switches individually connected to a plurality of ports to provide a master transmission line connected to the server through a main network or a slave transmission line connected to the server through a backup network; A communication module that communicates with an external control device to receive control commands and transmits monitoring data on the network connection status to the external control device; A control module that controls the switching module based on received control commands, detects the connection status for each port and the master transmission line and the slave transmission line, and provides monitoring data on the detected connection status; and Based on the monitoring data, when an operational failure of the master transmission line occurs, the role of the master transmission line is switched to the slave transmission line, and when recovery of the master transmission line is detected, the role of the master transmission line is switched to the restored master transmission line. Includes a bypass module that causes switching. As a result, traffic can be transmitted without interruption of data flow and without affecting network communication by performing a redundant automatic switching function for the network path and an automatic bypass function when its own power is turned off, and by modularizing each component, the network equipment In case of defects, we can respond quickly.

Description

Network redundancy electronic patch device {Apparatus for Network redundancy electronic patch}

The present invention relates to a network redundant electronic patch device, and more specifically, to a network redundant electronic patch device that prevents failures in the smart factory network, maintains high reliability of the entire network line, and facilitates maintenance.

The importance of networks is emerging as Internet technology expands from simple information transmission functions to enable not only real-time data transmission but also remote processing of complex and detailed tasks.

In particular, securing network stability is very important in securing industrial competitiveness such as security, accuracy, and high quality customer service in the financial, military, and production management systems.

To ensure the stability of these networks, network stabilization technologies are provided that seek to improve the performance of individual equipment such as routers and servers, and further adopt a structure with fault repair capabilities through additional peripheral equipment, and single-path network lines are provided. In this case, if a problem occurs in the configured network, the functions of all servers connected to the network are paralyzed.

Therefore, various network redundancy methods are being proposed to ensure the stability of the network itself.

Network redundancy technology is to deploy and operate spare equipment as a backup to ensure continued functionality even after a failure in case any failure occurs in the network equipment that occupies part of the system, or to activate and operate multiple equipment. Elimination of Single Point of Failure through duplication of equipment, separation of the service network and the network that manages each system, and duplication of the service network and storage network are possible.

These network redundancy methods have the problem of not being able to actively respond when each device constituting the network is powered off or a failure occurs in each device.

In addition, the existing network redundancy system can build a stable system by changing the active setting to another subsystem or counterpart processor when a failure occurs in one main system or management process, but increases the load on the system responding to the failure. There is a problem that system efficiency may decrease because the load is concentrated and the load is not distributed appropriately.

In particular, when network redundancy equipment is applied to a high-reliability production line for a smart factory, even if the redundancy configuration of the backbone and distribution switches is completed, the structure becomes vulnerable to failure if the terminal switch and main terminal are configured as a single device.

Therefore, there is a problem that production and service interruption may occur due to the absence of an alternative route in the event of a terminal switch failure or port failure.

Korean Patent Publication No. 2002-0017663 (Title of invention: Redundancy system on a network and fault-tolerant recovery method using the same)

The present invention was created to solve the above problems, and the purpose of the present invention is to affect network communication without interruption of data flow by performing a redundant automatic switching function for the network path and an automatic bypass function when the power is turned off. The goal is to provide a network redundant electronic patch device that can transmit traffic without damaging the network and can quickly respond to network equipment failure by modularizing each component.

According to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving the above object, a network redundant electronic patch device includes a port bank including a plurality of ports connected to different user terminals; A switching module including one or more switches individually connected to a plurality of ports to provide a master transmission line connected to the server through a main network or a slave transmission line connected to the server through a backup network; A communication module that communicates with an external control device to receive control commands and transmits monitoring data on the network connection status to the external control device; A control module that controls the switching module based on received control commands, detects the connection status for each port and the master transmission line and the slave transmission line, and provides monitoring data on the detected connection status; and Based on the monitoring data, when an operational failure of the master transmission line occurs, the role of the master transmission line is switched to the slave transmission line, and when recovery of the master transmission line is detected, the role of the master transmission line is switched to the restored master transmission line. Includes a bypass module that causes switching.

And the port bank includes: a switch port bank including one or more ports to which a switching module is connected; and a terminal output port bank including one or more ports so that a user terminal can be connected, wherein the switch port bank includes one or more input port modules, and the input port module is disposed at the top and connected to the master transmission line. It may include an input port of the main slot and an input port of a sub-slot disposed at the bottom to which a slave transmission line is connected.

In addition, the input port module has the input ports of the main slot and the input ports of the sub slots modularized, so that it can be placed in the form of an external slot at the input terminal of the motherboard.

And according to an embodiment of the present invention, the network redundant electronic patch device, the bypass module, may be composed of one or more relay switches.

Additionally, the master transmission line and the slave transmission line may be connected to maintain the impedance of each transmission line the same.

And according to an embodiment of the present invention, the network redundant electronic patch device may further include a power supply unit provided with a plurality of power modules that provide redundant power necessary for driving the network redundant electronic patch device.

In addition, each switch of the switching module and each port of the port bank are connected one-to-one, and at this time, the control module may be equipped with at least one MCU (MicroController Unit) per port to independently control each switch of the switching module. .

And the control module is a monitoring MCU that monitors the operation status of each MCU, network connection status, and occurrence of events, including port change and recovery, when individual MCUs are applied to each minimum port of the master transmission line and slave transmission line. It can be included.

In addition, the plurality of power modules include a first power module and a second power module, and the monitoring MCU is modularized together with the first power module and the second power module and placed in the form of an external slot at the output terminal of the main board. It can be.

And according to an embodiment of the present invention, the network redundant electronic patch device monitors the power supply status of a plurality of power modules and performs a bypass function to connect the switching module and the user terminal when power supply is interrupted or power is re-supplied. It may further include a power monitoring module.

In addition, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the network redundant electronic patch device may further include a priority setting module for setting the network connection priority of each port in the port bank.

And the communication module can communicate with an external control device using a UART communication interface.

As described above, according to embodiments of the present invention, traffic can be delivered without interruption of data flow and without affecting network communication by performing a redundant automatic switching function for the network path and an automatic bypass function when the power is turned off. By modularizing each component, you can quickly respond to network equipment failures.

1 is a block diagram provided in the description of a network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention,
Figure 2 is an illustration provided in the description of the front and back of a network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 3 is an example provided in the description of the PCB configuration of a network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 4 is an example provided in the description of the switch port bank and PCB pattern of the network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 5 is a diagram provided to explain the redundant access process of the network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the monitoring results of a network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention;
Figure 7 is an illustration provided in the front and rear description of a network redundant electronic patch device according to another embodiment of the present invention, and
Figure 8 is an example diagram provided to explain the PCB configuration of a network redundant electronic patch device according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in more detail with reference to the drawings.

1 is a block diagram provided in the description of a network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention is provided to perform a redundant automatic switching function for a network path and an automatic bypass function when its own power is turned off.

Here, the network redundant electronic patch device includes at least one user terminal 300, at least one edge switch connected to the user terminal 300, a server 200, or a backbone switch that load balances traffic from the main network. , can be applied to network structures including firewalls connected to backbone switches, routers/metro switches connected to firewalls, and the Internet.

And when the network redundant electronic patch device is applied to a smart factory with a high-reliability production line, the user terminal 300 can be a plurality of production process terminals. In addition, the server 200 communicates with the network redundant electronic patch device and communicates with the network line failure status, and can check and remotely control the status of each network redundant electronic patch device in real time.

Referring to Figure 1, this network redundant electronic patch device includes a port bank 110, a switching module 120, a communication module 130, a control module 140, a bypass module 150, and a priority setting module ( 160), and includes a power supply unit and a power monitoring module 180.

The port bank 110 may include a plurality of ports connected to different user terminals.

That is, the port bank 110 includes a plurality of ports, and each port is connected to a different user terminal 300. At this time, the port bank 110 may include expansion ports so that the number of ports can be added.

The switching module 120 includes one or more switches that are individually connected to a plurality of ports and provide a master transmission line connected to the server through a main network or a slave transmission line connected to the server through a backup network. can do.

The communication module 130 may communicate with an external control device to receive control commands and transmit monitoring data on the network connection status to the external control device.

For example, the communication module 130 may communicate with an external control device using a UART communication interface to receive control commands and transmit monitoring data about the network connection status to the external control device.

The control module 140 can control the switching module based on the received control command, detect the connection status for each port, the master transmission line, and the slave transmission line, and provide monitoring data about the detected connection status. there is.

The bypass module 150 switches the role of the master transmission line to a slave transmission line when an operation failure of the master transmission line occurs based on monitoring data, and when recovery of the master transmission line is detected, the role of the master transmission line is changed. This can be switched to the restored master transmission line.

This bypass module 150 may include at least one relay switch. That is, the bypass module 150 uses a relay switch to switch to the slave transmission line when a failure occurs in the master transmission line, and to switch to the master transmission line when recovery after a failure of the slave transmission line is detected.

At this time, the master transmission line and the slave transmission line may be connected to maintain the impedance of each transmission line the same.

The priority setting module 160 can set the network connection priority of each port in the port bank.

That is, the priority setting module 160 can set the priority based on the traffic transmission speed when wireless, wired, and cellular network connections such as Wi-Fi and Ethernet are all available.

For example, the priority setting module 160 can set the wired network as a higher priority than the wireless network, and then set the priorities in that order: cellular, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet.

The power supply unit may be provided with a plurality of power modules that provide redundant power required to drive the network redundant electronic patch device.

For example, the power supply unit may include a first power module 171 and a second power module 172 to provide redundant power necessary for driving a network redundant electronic patch device.

The power monitoring module 180 monitors the power supply status of the first power module 171 and the second power module 172, and monitors the switching module 120 and the user terminal 300 when power supply is interrupted or power is re-supplied. A bypass function can be performed to allow this connection.

Figure 2 is an example diagram provided in the front and rear description of the network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 3 is provided in the description of the PCB configuration of the network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is an illustrative diagram, and FIG. 4 is an illustrative diagram provided in the description of the switch port bank and PCB pattern of the network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 2, the network redundant electronic patch device according to the present invention is for stable line transmission of Ethernet, and has a switch port bank 111 including one or more ports so that the switching module 120 is connected to the front. A terminal output port bank 112 including one or more ports is disposed at the rear so that a user terminal can be connected.

A switching module 120 is connected to the switch port bank 111, and different user terminals 300 are connected to the terminal output port bank 112. FEP equipment may be connected to the user terminal in the terminal output port bank 112.

At this time, the switching module 120 includes a main switch 121 that provides a master transmission line through which each port of the port bank 110 is connected to the server 200 through the main network or backup network, and a sub switch that provides a slave transmission line. It may include a plurality of switches such as switch 122.

That is, each switch of the switching module 120 and each port of the port bank 110 are connected one to one, and at this time, the control module 140 sets the minimum port number to independently control each switch of the switching module 120. One MCU (MicroController Unit) can be applied.

And the switch port bank 111 may include one or more input port modules to be connected to the master transmission line.

For example, the switch port bank 111 is placed at the top and connects the input port 111a of the main slot through which the master transmission line is connected to the 12-port main switch 121, and the 12-port sub-switch 122 is placed at the bottom. ) may include an input port (111b) of the sub-slot to which the slave transmission line is connected.

In other words, in the switch port bank 111, each input port module in which the input ports of the main slot and the input ports of the sub slots are modularized is placed in the form of an external slot at the input terminal of the motherboard (port modularization), so that when a network port is defective, it is quickly replaced. It is configured with dual ports, so hot swap function can be implemented, and communication distance can be secured with optimal port arrangement.

Here, each input port module includes an input port (111a) of one main slot and an input port (111b) of one sub slot, and can be used as one of the 12 input ports of the master/slave card.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first and second power modules 171 and 172 are placed at the output terminal of the main board as a monitoring MCU, and a master/slave card is connected to the input terminal.

A monitoring MCU is placed on the main board to control the switch port bank 111 where the master/slave card is placed and the terminal output port bank 111b, so it is not affected by traffic.

Apply one MCU to each port of the master/slave transmission line to prevent MCU interrupt conflicts. For example, 24 MCUs are used for 24 ports. At this time, preliminary firmware can be programmed into the MCU in advance and used by selecting it according to mode or situation.

When an individual MCU is applied to each minimum port of the master transmission line and the slave transmission line, the control module 140 provides a monitoring MCU that monitors the operation status of each MCU, network connection status, and occurrence of events including port change and recovery. Includes.

The monitoring MCU can be modularized together with the first power module and the second power module and placed in the form of an external slot at the output terminal of the main board.

Accordingly, the first and second power modules 171 and 172 and the monitoring MCU disposed on the main board can be modularized and easily replaced.

The monitoring MCU controls the master/slave card, controls the main board, controls the relay switch of the bypass module 150, monitors for abnormalities in the control tapping line, monitors board removal and installation, presence of system failure, and Ethernet. Supports management and monitoring functions for each interface. Additionally, the main board on which the monitoring MCU is placed may include a USB connection terminal and an SD card input terminal.

The main switch 121 is connected to the input port 111a of the main slot, and the sub switch 122 is connected to the input port 111b of the sub slot.

The input port module to which the main switch 121 and the sub switch 122 are connected is in an active state, and the rest are in a standby state, so the switching module can be operated in active-standby mode. If necessary, the network redundant electronic patch device may be operated in an active-active manner.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 4, the switch port bank 111 consists of 12 ports per input port module and 4 input port modules, that is, 4 slots.

The 12-port master/slave cards are uniformly placed in the main slot located at the top of each input port module and the sub slot located at the bottom, so that the module characteristics are consistent.

Figure 5 is a diagram provided to explain the redundant access process of the network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figure 5, the network redundant electronic patch device uses a relay switch when a failure occurs in the main switch 121, recognizes that a failure has occurred in the master transmission line, and switches to a slave transmission line to which the sub switch 122 is connected. .

At this time, the main switch 121 can be a main terminal switch, and the sub switch 122 can be a backup terminal switch.

The network redundant electronic patch device uses a relay switch to switch to the master transmission line when recovery after a failure of the slave transmission line is detected.

Therefore, the network redundant electronic patch device of the present invention can automatically implement a failover environment in the event of a switch or link failure, and can implement a non-stop system for services and major terminals.

In addition, the first power module 171 and the second power module 172 are physically duplicated, so power stability can be ensured, and the first power module 171 and the second power module 172 are controlled by the power monitoring module 180. When the power module 172 is unavailable, the switching module 120 and the user terminal 300 are directly connected through the bypass function.

Figure 6 is a diagram illustrating the monitoring results of a network redundant electronic patch device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 6, the network redundant electronic patch device can constantly monitor the occurrence of events such as line connection disconnection, recovery, and port change through the monitoring MCU, and provide monitoring data including event occurrence details.

In addition, the network redundant electronic patch device allows port change and recovery, stores information on various errors and changes as log data, and can be used for failure prevention and maintenance through analysis of the stored log data.

Figure 7 is an example diagram provided in the front and rear description of a network redundant electronic patch device according to another embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 8 is a description of the PCB configuration of a network redundant electronic patch device according to another embodiment of the present invention. This is an example provided in .

When a network redundant electronic patch device is connected using a 10G or higher optical cable, the server will not recognize it if the 10G or higher optical cable is connected as is, so a 48-port switch port bank (111) must be installed to accommodate a 48-port switch for SFP or GBIC. It can be composed of:

That is, the network redundant electronic patch device according to the present embodiment, unlike the embodiment described above with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6, has a 48-port switch port bank 111 disposed at the front, as illustrated in FIG. 7, and a rear switch port bank 111. A terminal output port bank 112 of 24 ports may be arranged.

And the switching module 120 is connected to the switch port bank 111, and different user terminals 300 are connected to the terminal output port bank 112.

In addition, a first power module 171, a second power module 172, and a control module 140 are disposed on the rear of the network redundant electronic patch device 100.

The switch port bank 111 consists of a main slot (111a) to which a 12-port main switch is connected to be connected to the master transmission line, and a sub-slot (111b) to which a 12-port sub-switch is connected to be connected to the slave transmission line. , the main slot 111a is located at the top, and the sub slot 111b is located at the bottom of the main slot 111a.

The switch port bank 111 is composed of redundant ports, so hot swap function can be implemented, and communication distance can be secured with optimal port arrangement.

As shown in FIG. 8, the PCB of the network redundant electronic patch device according to this embodiment is provided with a master/slave transmission board (100a) and a main board (100b) in a stacked form, and the PCB arrangement is arranged in a certain manner. When adding ports, additional boards can be stacked. In addition, the master/slave transmission board (100a) and the main board (100b) are designed as a detachable structure, so not only are they easy to replace, but the master/slave transmission board (100a) is also designed to have a detachable structure depending on the number of ports to which the PCB pattern is applied. arranged regularly.

Apply one MCU per port (or minimum port) of the master/slave transmission line to prevent MCU interrupt conflicts. For example, 24 MCUs are used for 24 ports. At this time, preliminary firmware can be programmed into the MCU in advance and used by selecting it according to mode or situation.

The control module 140 includes an MCU for monitoring as well as an MCU applied to each port. The monitoring MCU is placed on the main board 100b at the top of the slot along with the first and second power modules 171 and 172. Accordingly, the power modules 171 and 172 and the monitoring MCU disposed on the main board can be modularized and easily replaced.

The monitoring MCU controls the master/slave transmission board (100a), controls the main board (100b), controls the relay switch of the bypass module (150), monitors for abnormalities in the control tapping line, and removes and mounts the board. It supports monitoring, system malfunction, Ethernet management, and monitoring of each interface. Additionally, the main board on which the monitoring MCU is placed may include a USB connection terminal and an SD card input terminal.

In the above, preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, but the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and may be used in the technical field to which the invention pertains without departing from the gist of the invention as claimed in the claims. Of course, various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art, and these modifications should not be understood individually from the technical idea or perspective of the present invention.

110: port bank
111: switch port bank
111a: Input port of main slot
111b: Input port of sub slot
112: terminal output port bank
120: switching module
121: main switch
122: sub switch
130: communication module
140: control module
150: Bypass module
160: Priority setting module
171: first power module
172: second power module
180: Power monitoring module
200: server
300: user terminal

Claims (12)

A port bank including a plurality of ports connected to different user terminals;
A switching module including one or more switches individually connected to a plurality of ports to provide a master transmission line connected to the server through a main network or a slave transmission line connected to the server through a backup network;
A communication module that communicates with an external control device to receive control commands and transmits monitoring data on the network connection status to the external control device;
A control module that controls the switching module based on received control commands, detects the connection status for each port and the master transmission line and the slave transmission line, and provides monitoring data on the detected connection status;
Based on the monitoring data, when an operational failure of the master transmission line occurs, the role of the master transmission line is switched to the slave transmission line, and when recovery of the master transmission line is detected, the role of the master transmission line is switched to the restored master transmission line. Bypass module to enable;
A power supply unit provided with a plurality of power modules that provide redundant power required to drive a network redundant electronic patch device;
A power monitoring module that monitors the power supply status of a plurality of power modules and performs a bypass function to connect the switching module and the user terminal when power supply is interrupted or power is re-supplied; and
It includes a priority setting module that sets the network connection priority of each port in the port bank,
Port Bank,
a switch port bank including one or more ports to which switching modules are connected; and
Includes a terminal output port bank including one or more ports for a user terminal to be connected,
A switch port bank includes one or more input port modules,
The input port module is,
It includes an input port of the main slot disposed at the top to which the master transmission line is connected, and an input port of the sub-slot disposed at the bottom to which the slave transmission line is connected,
The input port module is,
The input port of the main slot and the input port of the sub slot are modularized and placed in the form of an external slot at the input terminal of the motherboard.
Each switch of the switching module and each port of the port bank,
Connected one-on-one,
The control module is,
At least one MCU (MicroController Unit) is applied per port to independently control each switch of the switching module.
The control module is,
When an individual MCU is applied to each minimum port of the master transmission line and the slave transmission line, a monitoring MCU that monitors the operation status of each MCU, network connection status, and occurrence of events including port change and recovery;
A plurality of power modules,
Comprising a first power module and a second power module,
The MCU for monitoring is,
It is modularized together with the first power module and the second power module and placed in the form of an external slot at the output terminal of the main board,
The priority setting module is,
In cases where wireless, wired, and cellular network connection settings are all possible, set the network connection priority of each port in the port bank based on the traffic transmission rate,
First and second power modules and a monitoring MCU are placed at the output terminal of the main board of the network redundant electronic patch device,
A master/slave card is connected to the input terminal of the main board,
The master/slave card is,
In order to provide consistent module characteristics, they are consistently placed in the main slot located at the top of the input port module and the sub slot located at the bottom,
The power monitoring module is,
Monitors the power supply status of the first power module and the second power module, and if the first power module and the second power module cannot be used, the switching module and the user terminal are directly connected through the bypass function,
The first power module and the second power module are,
A network redundant electronic patch device characterized by physical duplexing to ensure power safety.
delete delete According to paragraph 1,
The bypass module is a network redundant electronic patch device characterized in that it consists of one or more relay switches.
According to paragraph 1,
The master transmission line and the slave transmission line are,
A network redundant electronic patch device characterized in that it is connected to maintain the impedance of each transmission line the same.
delete delete delete delete delete delete According to paragraph 1,
The communication module is,
A network redundant electronic patch device characterized in that it communicates with an external control device using a UART communication interface.