JP2000032031A - Communication network, communication system and changing method for constitution information on the system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To update the constitution information on a communication system and also to attain the system conversion without stopping the system operation by detecting the non-coincidence of constitution information between communication systems, starting the time counting in response to the detection of the said non-coincidence to decide the time of the non-coincidence and outputting an alarm to show the occurrence of abnormality when the counted time exceeds a prescribed time. SOLUTION: If a request is received to partly change the constitution information 1 on a master area into the constitution information 2 while a communication system is operating on the information 1, the part of the information 1 to be changed is copied to a backup area. Then the system operation is carried on while referring to the backup area side. The constitution information on the master area is updated into the information 2 while the system is operating on the information 1. At the same time, the information 2 is notified to other systems which are connected to a LAN and every system updates its constitution information in the same way. When the constitution information to be updated is notified, every system starts to update the master area regardless of the operations of other systems.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a communication system in which a change in the configuration of a communication system connected on a network via a communication line or the like mutually affects the operation of the communication system, and suspension of the transfer is not allowed. The present invention relates to a transition system of a communication system.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in this type of apparatus, system migration is performed while the system is stopped, and after the configuration information is updated, the system operation is started after confirming the completion of updating all the systems on the network. FIG. 1 shows a case where a plurality of communication systems A to D have a communication line (LA).
N) illustrates a configuration example of a network system connected via N).

Here, for example, the configuration information of the system A is changed by the control terminal device A1 of the system A of FIG. This change may require a change in system operation in another system, for example, systems B and D, which are communication partners. Each system (A1, A2, ...; B1, B2, ...; C) is connected to each system via various I / Fs (not shown).
1, C2,...; D1, D2,...) Or output to various devices to perform monitoring and control.

[0004] In addition, various devices connected to another system on the network are controlled by data input in one system. In order for each system on such a network to operate correctly and cooperatively, for example, configuration information as shown in FIG. 3 is necessary. That is, a memory table of configuration information such as hardware information (rack / slot number, I / F type, partner system / partner device for input / output) of each system on the network and address information of each system is communicated. Must be carried between systems.

If the configuration information has an inconsistency in its own system and between the systems, data to be processed is lost, causing a malfunction of the system and preventing normal communication. In order to prevent such a situation, updating is conventionally performed according to a procedure as shown in FIG. 1) The system A requests the systems B,... D to stop the system, and waits for a stop response from all the systems. 2) After stopping all the systems, the system A notifies the systems B,... D of the configuration information, and waits until the update of the configuration information of all the systems is completed. 3) After the update of the configuration information of all the systems is completed, the system A requests the systems B,... D to restart the system operation, and restarts the system operation.

However, such a conventional method has the following problems. First, when the system configuration information is updated, the communication operation of the system must be stopped. This is a problem particularly when the system must be constantly operated without stopping. Furthermore, if any abnormality occurs while updating the configuration information of the system, the entire system remains stopped until all the systems become normal, even if the own system and the partner system are normal. Communication could not be performed.

[0007]

As described above, in the prior art, the system is temporarily stopped when the configuration information is updated, and the operation is restarted after the update is completed. Therefore, the system must always be operated without interruption. This is a problem in systems that do not. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a communication system, a communication network, and a method for changing the configuration information of a communication system, which can eliminate such problems, update configuration information without stopping the system, and perform system migration. I do.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication network in which a plurality of communication systems are connected via a communication line, and at least one of the communication systems has a change in the system configuration. In a communication network for updating the configuration information possessed by the other communication systems with the configuration information relating to the change, detection is performed to detect that the configuration information possessed by each communication system is inconsistent between the communication systems. Means, a timer that starts counting when the configuration information mismatch is detected by the detection means, and a timer that counts a time when the configuration information is mismatched between the communication systems, and a time measured by the timing means. Alarm output means for outputting an alarm indicating an abnormality when a predetermined time has elapsed.

According to the communication network of the present invention, when the configuration information of the communication system is updated, the mismatch of the configuration information between the communication systems occurs within a predetermined time required for completing the update. There is no alarm output even if there is. For this reason, when updating the configuration information of the communication system without stopping, the system is not stopped due to unnecessary alarm output, and it is possible to identify whether the updating operation is normal or abnormal by the timer.

In the communication network according to the present invention, a plurality of communication systems are connected via a communication line.
When at least one of the communication systems has a change in the system configuration, in a communication network that updates the configuration information held by another communication system with the configuration information related to the change, the configuration held by each of the communication systems When updating the information, if the time during which the configuration information does not match between the communication systems is within a predetermined time, this is permitted, and the control means operates with the configuration information before update without stopping the communication system. Is provided.

According to the communication network of the present invention, when updating the configuration information of the communication system, inconsistency of the configuration information between the communication systems occurs within a predetermined time required until the update is completed. Even if there is, allow this and do not stop the system. For this reason, even if a mismatch of the update information during the update occurs, the system is not immediately stopped, so that the configuration information of the communication system can be updated without stopping.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system comprising:
A storage unit having a first storage area and a second storage area, storing configuration information of the communication system, and when changing the configuration information, change input means for inputting the configuration information to be changed; When a change is input to the change input unit, the configuration information before the change is copied to the second storage area,
Storage control means for storing the changed and input configuration information in the first storage area; determining means for determining that the change of the configuration information is completed; and An operation control unit that operates based on the configuration information before the change copied to the second storage area, and after the completion of the change is determined by the determination unit, operates based on the configuration information stored in the first storage area. Have.

According to the communication system of the third aspect of the present invention, when the configuration information of the communication system is updated, the system is operated with the old configuration information copied to the second storage area during the update, and the update is completed. The operation shifts to the operation using the new configuration information later. For this reason, it is possible to operate without interruption even while updating the configuration information of the communication system.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication system comprising:
A first storage unit for storing configuration information to be referred to during normal times, and a second unit for copying and storing the configuration information before the change when at least part of the configuration information stored in the first storage unit is changed. The storage means, and during the change of the configuration information is operated by the configuration information before the change stored in the first or second storage means, after the change of the configuration information is switched to the configuration information after the change Control means for operating.

According to the communication system of the present invention, when the configuration information of the communication system is updated, the portion of the configuration information relating to the change is updated in the second storage means during backup. Operate with reference. For this reason, it is possible to operate without interruption even while updating the configuration information of the communication system.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for changing the configuration information of a communication system according to the present invention. The operation is continued based on the changed configuration information, and it is checked whether or not the change of the configuration information is completed. When it is determined that the change is completed, the operation is switched to the changed configuration information and the operation is performed.

According to the configuration information changing method of the communication system of the present invention, the communication operation can be continued without interruption by the backup old configuration information while the configuration information of the communication system is being changed. it can. Further, after the change is completed, the communication can be switched to the new configuration information immediately without depending on the operation of another communication system, and the communication operation can be performed.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. In the network system of FIG. 1, a case will be described as an example where there is a request to change configuration information from the control terminal device A1 connected to the system A.

Each of the systems A to D is, as shown in FIG.
It has a memory table in which address information and hardware information of each system are stored for mutual communication. Each system refers to this memory table,
In the case of transmission, the address information of the system to which the destination terminal device is connected, the hardware information of the destination terminal device (rack / slot number to which the terminal device is connected, F
An I / F type such as AX or modem) is added to the header of the transmission packet and the transmission packet is transmitted over the LAN. On the other hand, in the case of reception, it refers to the header of the packet sent via the LAN, compares it with the configuration information of its own memory table, and identifies whether it is addressed to its own system or not. If it is addressed to, it is further determined whether or not the hardware information of the destination terminal device matches, and the packet is received only when the hardware information matches. That is, a normal communication operation cannot be performed unless the configuration information matches between the communicating systems. If the hardware information does not match and there is no destination terminal even though the packet is addressed to the own system, the packet is discarded.

Here, when there is a change in the configuration of the system on the LAN, for example, when the terminal device A2 of the system A is disconnected and the terminal device A2 'is connected, the terminal device A2' starts communication. Must update the memory table in which the configuration information of the system A is stored. However, in a system that handles urgent information such as a disaster prevention monitoring system, it is not allowed to stop the system even for a short time. Therefore, in a memory table in which system configuration information is stored, a master area that is normally used and a backup area that is used only when updating are prepared. FIG. 4 shows a configuration information updating method according to the present invention. For example, when a request to change a part of the operating configuration information to the configuration information is made during the operation based on the configuration information of the master area, the configuration information of the changed portion is changed as shown in FIG. Copy to the backup area and continue the operation while referring to this backup area. That is, the operation is continued with the configuration information before the change. Then, the configuration information of the master area is updated during the operation with the configuration information of the backup area.
At the same time, as shown in FIG. 5, the configuration information is notified to other systems connected on the LAN, and the configuration information is similarly updated in each system. That is, when notified of the configuration information to be updated, each system starts updating the configuration information of the master area without depending on the operation of other systems, and operates with the configuration information of the backup area. Operate with area configuration information,
Notify other systems that the update has been completed. Note that a plurality of configuration information changes may be performed at the same time. For example, when a part of the configuration information in operation is changed to the configuration information, FIG.
As shown in (b), the configuration information of the part to be changed is copied to the backup area, and the operation is continued while referring to the backup area side. Update the information to

As described above, the system operates with reference to the configuration information of the backup area while the configuration information is being updated in each system and the configuration information of the master area after the update, so that each system can be configured without stopping. Information can be updated.

However, until the update is completed, the inconsistency of the configuration information in the own system and the inconsistency of the configuration information between the systems will occur.

First, a countermeasure for a case where the configuration information in the own system does not match will be described. For example, consider a case where a card (hardware) defined in the configuration information of the memory table in the system A is not actually mounted and has a different I / F type. The system A can recognize the hardware information (mounting information, I / F type, and the like) actually connected to the system A from the memory map shown in FIG. 6 allocated to the CPU. By comparing the memory map allocated to the CPU with the memory table storing the configuration information, it is checked whether or not the actual connection state matches the setting information. The result of this check is held as a status, and if there is no match, the process waits for a match for a predetermined period, and treats the same as the case where the configuration information is not set. The predetermined period is
This is a necessary and sufficient time to update the configuration information of the own system, and if the mismatch state is resolved within this predetermined period, it is not determined that the system is abnormal.

Next, a description will be given of a countermeasure in the case where the configuration information is mismatched between the systems. For example, system A
Operates with new configuration information, and system B operates with old configuration information.

In the new configuration information, the terminal A of the system A
It is assumed that data input from 1 is defined to control the state of the terminal device B5 of the system B. On the other hand, in the old configuration information, the terminal device B5 of the system B is undefined.
It is assumed that packets are transmitted from the system A to the system B at regular intervals, for example, as shown in FIG. Assuming that data 2 is input data of the terminal device A1 set in the system A, the data 2 is discarded because it is undefined in the system B. Alternatively, the data 2 is stored in a buffer (not shown), and the data 2 is processed when the system B is updated to the new configuration information.

On the contrary, the system A uses the old configuration information and the system B
Is operating with the new configuration information, the packet sent from the system A to the system B does not include data corresponding to the terminal device B5 of the system B, so that output processing cannot be performed. Therefore, the terminal device B5 that is the output destination is stopped or remains in the stopped state. Of course, the long-term continuation of the mismatch state is abnormal, so an alarm is output. As described above, the configuration information between the systems on the network can be updated without interruption and the system can be migrated.

[0027]

As described above, according to the present invention, the configuration information can be updated without stopping the system, and the system can be migrated.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration example of a network system.

FIG. 2 is a configuration information update sequence of a conventional system.

FIG. 3 is an example of configuration information.

FIG. 4 is a configuration information updating method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a configuration information update sequence according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a memory map format of a CPU according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a format of a message between systems according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A to D systems A1 to AN Terminal device of system A B1 to BN Terminal device of system B C1 to CN Terminal device of system C D1 to DN terminal device of system D

Claims (7)

[Claims] When a plurality of communication systems are connected via a communication line and at least one of the communication systems has a change in the system configuration, the other communication systems possess the configuration information relating to the change. In the communication network for updating the configuration information to be performed, detecting means for detecting that the configuration information possessed by each of the communication systems is inconsistent between the communication systems, and detecting inconsistency in the configuration information by the detecting means A timer that starts counting time, and counts the time during which the configuration information is inconsistent between the communication systems; and A communication network comprising output means. 2. When a plurality of communication systems are connected via a communication line and at least one of the communication systems has a change in the system configuration, the other communication system possesses the configuration information according to the change. In the communication network that updates the configuration information to be performed, when updating the configuration information possessed by each of the communication systems,
If the time during which the configuration information does not match between the communication systems is within a predetermined time, control means for permitting the operation and operating with the configuration information before update without stopping the communication system is provided. And a communication network. 3. A storage means having a first storage area and a second storage area for storing configuration information of a communication system, and a change inputting the configuration information to be changed when the configuration information is changed. Input means, and storage control means for, when a change is input to the change input means, copying the configuration information before the change to the second storage area and storing the changed and input configuration information in the first storage area Determining means for determining that the change of the configuration information has been completed; and before determining that the change has been completed by the determining means, operating based on the configuration information before the change copied to the second storage area, An operation control unit, comprising: an operation control unit that operates based on the configuration information stored in the first storage area after the determination unit determines that the change has been completed. 4. A first storage means for storing configuration information to be referred to during normal operation, and when at least a part of the configuration information stored in the first storage means is changed, the configuration information before the change is copied. A second storage means for storing the configuration information during the change of the configuration information is operated by the configuration information before the change stored in the first or second storage means, after the change of the configuration information after the change A communication system comprising: a control unit that operates by switching to configuration information. 5. The communication system according to claim 3, wherein said change input means is a control terminal connected to its own communication system. 6. The communication system according to claim 3, wherein said change input means inputs configuration information relating to the change from another communication system connected via a communication line. 7. When there is a request for changing the configuration information of the communication system, the configuration information before the change is backed up and stored, and the operation is continued by the backed up configuration information, and the change of the configuration information is completed. A method of changing the configuration information of a communication system, characterized in that whether or not the change has been completed is determined, and when it is determined that the change has been completed, the configuration information is switched to the changed configuration information to operate.