JP2000059360A - Information acquisition method in network management system and its device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an information acquisition method in a network management system and its device that easily solve various troubles without relying on experience and knowledge and the need for complicated and time-consuming hand work for inquiry to a manufacture. SOLUTION: A network management system 20 is provided with a retrieval keyword acquisition means 21 that obtains a retrieved keyword from a cause of occurrence of trouble on the occurrence of trouble in the device, and an inquiry from generating means 22 that generates a form of an inquiry document to a device manufacture in response to the designation by the manufacture to obtain information required to solve trouble. Thus, information is easily acquired by home pages 31-33 of the manufacture on the Internet 30.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for acquiring information in a network management system connected to a database on a network other than the network to be managed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art There are a wide variety of devices constituting a network, such as routers, hubs, ATM switches, and the like (however, simple components such as cables and connectors are excluded).
In addition, each device is manufactured and sold by a number of manufacturers (makers), and the entire network is hardly constituted by devices of only a specific manufacturer except for the company's internal network. .

Conventionally, a system for managing a network composed of a variety of devices manufactured by a large number of manufacturers has been known, but software and the like for setting and controlling each device are provided for each manufacturer and product. Since each case is different, if any trouble occurs in the network, different measures are required. For this reason, conventionally, an operator of the network management system (hereinafter, referred to as a network administrator) has dealt with troubles of the devices themselves and troubles between the devices by referring to the manual of each device.

On the other hand, among the manufacturers of the above-mentioned devices, there are databases on networks other than the network to be managed, for example, homepages on the Internet, and setting information and manuals of the above-mentioned devices constituting the network, the latest control software Some of the information necessary for solving such problems is disclosed. Therefore, when the manufacturer's homepage can be referred to, the network administrator manually obtains the necessary information, for example, by searching for information on the manufacturer's homepage.

[0005] Further, if the problem is not solved by the above-described method, and the maker responds to the inquiry about the trouble, the network administrator manually sets the format of the document for the inquiry in accordance with the designation of each maker. And a document for inquiries.

[0006]

As described above, the conventional network management method mainly relies on the experience and knowledge of the network administrator, including the acquisition of information. There was a problem that the elderly could not easily cope.

If a new trouble with no experience occurs, it may take a long time to search for a place in the manual where the coping method is described, and if the coping method is not known. Has to manually repeat the same search process on the maker's homepage, which causes a problem that immediacy is hindered.

An object of the present invention is to easily solve various troubles without relying on the experience and knowledge of a network administrator, and without requiring a complicated and time-consuming manual operation for inquiries to a manufacturer. An object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for acquiring information in an automated and generalized network management system.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, in a network management system for managing devices constituting a network to be managed, when a trouble occurs in a device, a search keyword is set based on a cause of the trouble. And connecting to a database on a network other than the network to be managed, and using the search keyword to acquire information necessary for troubleshooting.

Further, according to the present invention, in a network management system for managing devices constituting a network to be managed, when a trouble occurs in a device, the trouble is determined based on information relating a cause of the trouble and a search keyword. A search keyword obtaining means for obtaining a search keyword from the cause of occurrence of a query, and an inquiry for creating a format of an inquiry document to a manufacturer of the device for obtaining information necessary for troubleshooting according to the specification of the manufacturer of the device. And a form creation means.

According to the present invention, in the event of a network trouble, information can be obtained by utilizing a huge database such as a homepage provided by the manufacturer on the Internet without manually searching for information. ,
It is possible to easily cope with various troubles.

Further, in a device in which control software (drivers) can be replaced, by accessing a manufacturer's homepage when a trouble occurs, information on a bug-corresponding driver corresponding to each device and the latest version of the driver can be obtained. Can be obtained, and the driver can be upgraded to always operate in the best condition.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a network to be managed, reference numeral 20 denotes a network management system, and reference numeral 30 denotes the Internet.

The network 10 to be managed includes devices 11 to
16. Here, the devices 11, 12, 13
Are different types of devices manufactured by Company A, namely Aa device, Ab device, and Ac device.
15 is a different type of device manufactured by Company B, ie, Ba
The device 16 is a device manufactured by the company C, that is, a Ca device.

The network management system 20 includes a search keyword acquisition unit 21 and an inquiry format creation unit 22
And the Internet connection function 23,
6 is managed.

The search keyword obtaining means 21 has information 21a as shown in FIG. 2, which associates the cause of the trouble and the search keyword with each other in advance. When a trouble occurs in the apparatus, the search is performed from the cause of the trouble. Ask for keywords. Further, the inquiry format creation means 22 includes designation information for each manufacturer of the device regarding the format of the inquiry document for acquiring information necessary for troubleshooting in advance, and specifies the manufacturer of the device as shown in FIG. The form 22a of the corresponding inquiry document is created.

The Internet connection function 23 is provided with a line for connecting to an Internet provider or a Web connection.
Browser.

The Internet 30 is a network other than the management target network to which the network management system 20 is connected, and homepages 31, 32, and 33 of respective manufacturers, that is, companies A, B, and C are set up. Here, the homepage of each manufacturer provides: ・ Product and technical information ・ Setting method manual for each product ・ Troubleshooting method ・ Control software (driver) information ・ Search function by the search keyword of the information Shall be.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.

FIG. 3 is a flow chart for explaining in more detail the troubleshooting process in the network management system.

The network management system 20 waits until a trouble is detected (step 101). When a trouble is detected, the search keyword acquiring means 21 determines a search keyword from the cause of the trouble based on the information 21a shown in FIG. 2 (step 102). Further, device information of the device in which the trouble has occurred is obtained from the device set in advance and the device information such as the manufacturer name (step 103). Furthermore, a homepage address to be connected is determined from the preset manufacturer name and homepage address information (step 104), and the homepage 31 to 33 of the manufacturer on the Internet 30 is connected (step 105).

Next, it is confirmed whether the connection to the homepage has been completed (step 106). If not connected to the homepage, the relationship between the manufacturer name and the information on the homepage address is reset, and the homepage is connected again (step 110).

When the connection is completed, the search function of the homepage is used to search for the product information and technical information for the trouble countermeasure, the manual for the setting method for each product, and the trouble information. Attempt to acquire a corresponding method (step 107). If there is such data, the result is displayed (step 108).

If the corresponding data could not be obtained, an error is displayed (step 111) and the operator is asked whether to make an inquiry to the maker (step 11).
2). When making an inquiry to the manufacturer, the inquiry format creation means 22 creates the format 22a corresponding to the designation of the manufacturer shown in FIG. 2, and further writes a document describing the trouble content using the search keyword and the input information by the operator. It is created (step 113) and transmitted by a method specified by the manufacturer (for example, e-mail) (step 11).
4).

The above embodiment is an example of the present invention, and it goes without saying that the present invention is not limited to this. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the case where this network management system is applied to the network shown in FIG. 1 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and may be similarly applied to other networks. it can.

In the above embodiment, the network management system has been described as being connected to the Internet, but the point is that a database connected to a network other than the network to be managed may be used. Of course, information may be obtained by a search keyword of a database other than the Internet.

According to the above embodiment, various troubles can be dealt with even in a network composed of various manufacturers and various devices.

[0029]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, it is possible to make inquiries to the manufacturer without complicated and time-consuming manual work without relying on the experience and knowledge of the network administrator. An information acquisition method and apparatus in an automated and generalized network management system capable of easily solving various troubles can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram illustrating an example of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing details of a search keyword acquisition unit and an inquiry format creation unit;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a trouble handling process in the network management system.

[Explanation of symbols]

10: network to be managed, 11 to 16: device, 2
0: network management system, 21: search keyword acquisition unit, 21a: information, 22: inquiry format creation unit, 22a: format, 23: Internet connection function, 3
0: Internet, 31-33: Homepage.

Claims (2)

[Claims] In a network management system for managing devices constituting a network to be managed, when a trouble occurs in a device, a search keyword is obtained from a cause of the trouble, and the search keyword is connected to a database on a network other than the network to be managed. An information acquisition method in a network management system, wherein information required for troubleshooting is acquired using the search keyword. 2. In a network management system for managing devices constituting a network to be managed, when a trouble occurs in a device, the trouble is determined based on information relating the trouble cause and a search keyword. A search keyword obtaining means for obtaining a search keyword, and an inquiry format creating means for creating a format of an inquiry document to a manufacturer of the apparatus for obtaining information necessary for solving a problem in accordance with the specification of the manufacturer of the apparatus. An information acquisition device in a network management system, comprising: