JP2002185486A - Simple terminal apparatus and connection diagnostic method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a connection diagnostic method for conveniently verifying that the connection of a network apparatus and a network system is normal, even if the network system is of a semi-duplex communication type, and a simple terminal apparatus realizing this method. SOLUTION: A network apparatus 3 is connected to a network hub 2a of a network system 1. A simple terminal apparatus 4 is already connected to the network system 1. The network apparatus 3 transmits a packet to the terminal apparatus 4, and upon receipt thereof, this apparatus 4 transmits an answer packet to the network apparatus 3 which has a sample packet previously expected for answer. The network apparatus 3 receives the answer packet and, if the answer packet agrees with the sample packet, the network apparatus 3 is normally connected to the network system 1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention easily diagnoses that the connection state between a network system and a connected network device is normal even if the network system supports only half-duplex communication. And a simple terminal device for realizing the method.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a user connects a network device to a network system, it is extremely important for the user to be able to easily verify that the connection has been made normally. In recent years, with the rapid spread of network systems, users without advanced knowledge are increasing. Therefore, there is a need for a method and system that can verify whether a network device is normally connected to a network system even by such a user. In particular, since a connection failure often occurs in a half-duplex communication network system, it is required to establish a verification method in a network system that supports only half-duplex communication.

As a first conventional technique for verifying the connection state, a verification method based on loopback is known. In this method, a network device first specifies a predetermined portion of the network device as a start point, and specifies a network hub or the like in a network system as a direction of a destination. Then, the network device sends a packet as a transmission signal from the starting point toward the destination. In this packet, it is specified that the response result is returned to the start point. Thus, when the signal sent from the network device arrives at the network hub, it reverses the route on which the signal was sent and returns to the network device again.

Here, a method of verifying a network device using loopback will be described. FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for verifying a connection state between a network device and a network system using loopback.

[0005] The network interface in the network device first performs loopback inside the media access controller (step S401). At this time, if a communication error occurs (step S402 / Ye
s) The error content is displayed (step S403). Here, if no communication error occurs (step S402)
/ No), loopback is performed inside the physical layer device (step S404). At this time, if a communication error occurs (step S405 / Yes), the content of the error is displayed (step S406).

[0006] Here, if a communication error does not occur (step S405 / No), loopback is performed at the network terminal (step S407). Here, the network terminal has a function of sending data from the network device to the outside. If a communication error occurs in this loopback at the network terminal (step S408 / Yes), the content of the error is displayed (step S409). If there is no communication error, it can be said that the network device is functioning normally. At this time, a message to that effect may be displayed (step S410).

At this time, if the network device receives the response result and the response result received by the network device at the start point matches the result expected from the transmission signal,
It can be said that no communication error occurs. This indicates that the network device and the network system are normally connected. As described above, the verification method using the loopback is a simple and effective verification method when the network system can simultaneously perform transmission and reception.

[0008] As a second conventional technique, a conventional technique of performing verification using a dedicated terminal such as a network analyzer or a protocol analyzer or specialized software is also known.

[0009]

However, the first prior art cannot be used when the network system supports only half-duplex communication because transmission and reception are performed separately. Therefore, this technique cannot be said to show any countermeasure against the above problem.

In the second prior art, equipment such as analyzers and software requires extremely high costs, and high-level technical knowledge is required to analyze data obtained by these analyzers and the like.
That is, not everyone can easily use the analyzer or the like, and as a result, if a failure occurs in a network system supporting half-duplex communication, the response will be greatly delayed.

Even if the operation of an analyzer or the like can be performed with a certain level of knowledge, if a failure occurs in the network system, the result of analysis of the system using the analyzer indicates that the cause of the failure is the equipment. There are many cases where the connection is extremely simple, such as a disconnection of a cable connecting the cables or an electrical connection failure at a connection portion.
In particular, even when the connection state between the network system and the network device is normal, when the load on the network system is high, a failure due to a communication error frequently occurs when the connection is attempted. In this way, even if a failure occurs, it is highly likely that the connection state between the network system and the network device is actually normal. Therefore, it is extremely efficient to introduce an expensive analyzer or the like immediately for analysis. It will be bad.

[0012] The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems. Even when the network system supports only half-duplex communication, whether the connection state between the network device and the network system is normal or not. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for easily verifying the above, and a simple terminal device for enabling the method.

[0013]

In order to achieve the above object, a simple terminal device according to the first aspect of the present invention transmits a response packet obtained by subjecting a packet sent to its own station to a predetermined processing to a transmission source. It is characterized by doing.

The connection diagnosis method according to the second aspect is the first aspect of the invention.
Transmitting a packet to the simplified terminal device described in the above, generating a sample packet obtained by subjecting the packet to predetermined processing, and when the response packet and the sample packet match, the network device is connected normally. And the step of recognizing that

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the connection diagnosis method of the second aspect, a step of transmitting a plurality of packets to the simple terminal device, whether or not a response packet has been received, a response packet and a sample packet, And a recognition result storing step of storing a result of recognition as to whether or not the received packet matches, a ratio of the received response packet to the number of transmitted packets, and a ratio of the response packet and the sample packet matching each other are equal to or more than predetermined values. And recognizing that the network device is normally connected in some cases.

The invention according to claim 4 is the invention according to claim 2 or 3.
3. The connection diagnosis method according to item 1, further comprising a step of notifying a user that the network device recognizes that the network device is normally connected.

[0017]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a configuration example of a network system in which a simple terminal device according to the present invention is introduced. The network system 1 includes a network hub (2a, 2b, 2c), a network device 3
And a simple terminal device 4.

The network device 3 is connected to an empty port of the network hub 2a in the network system 1. It is assumed that the network hub 2a supports half-duplex communication. Regarding the network hubs (2b, 2c), it does not matter whether half-duplex communication is performed.

The simple terminal device 4 is connected to the network hub 2b.
Connected to an empty port. The connection destination of the simple terminal device 4 is not limited to the network hub 2b. The simple terminal device 4 only needs to be able to transmit and receive data at least when verifying the connection state between the network device 3 and the network system 1. When verifying whether the connection between the network device 3 and the network system 1 is normal,
A packet registered in the network device 3 in advance is used.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the network interface of the network device 3. The network interface of the network device 3 is the physical layer device 2
1, media access controller 22, transformer 23
And a connector 24.

FIG. 3 shows an embodiment of a configuration example of the simplified terminal device 4 according to the present invention. The simple terminal device 4 includes a network controller 31, a memory 32, a CPU 33, a display unit 34, and an input unit 35. The input unit 35 has a function of setting a network address of the simple terminal device 4. The pattern of the response to the packet received by the simplified terminal device 4 is fixed. For example, a packet having a complement of the packet (hereinafter referred to as a response packet) may be created and transmitted to the network device 3. The response packet created by this response pattern causes the network device 3 to confirm that the packet has been sent to the simple terminal device 4.

Next, the connection state between the network device and the network system according to the present invention is verified (hereinafter, this method is referred to as a connection diagnosis method). The first method will be described with reference to the flowchart in FIG. Here, it is assumed that the network system 1 supports half-duplex communication.

The network device 3 connected to the network system 1 first detects a defect inside the network device. That is, a failure of the network interface is detected and confirmed. Since this is irrelevant to the network system 1, it does not matter whether it is full-duplex communication or half-duplex communication. That is, the verification method by loopback in FIG. 4 can be used as it is (steps S401 to S40).
6). As a result, the inside of the network device 3 can be verified, and a failure in hardware such as a failure of each device in the network device 3 can be detected.

Next, it is verified whether the connection state between the network device and the network system is normal. First,
The simple terminal device 4 is connected to an empty port of the network hub 2. The simple terminal device 4 has the network system 1
And assign only one network address. The network device 3 sets the destination address of the packet used for the connection diagnosis method to the address corresponding to the simple terminal device 4.

Next, the network device 3 transmits the packet to the address of the simple terminal device 4. Upon receiving this packet, the simple terminal device 4 applies a predetermined response pattern. That is, the simplified terminal device 4 generates the response packet, and sets the source address of the received packet (that is, the address of the network device 3) as the destination. This response packet is transmitted to the network device 3.

Upon receiving the response packet, the network device 3 performs the following operation. Network device 3
Predicts in advance the contents of a packet sent to the network device 3 as a result of the response from the simple terminal device 4, but prepares the predicted packet as a sample packet. That is, a sample packet is created by performing the same processing as that of the simple terminal device 4 on the transmitted packet. Therefore, if the contents of the sample packet match the contents of the packet received by the network device 3, the packet transmitted by the network device 3 normally reaches the simple terminal device 4 through the network hubs 2a and 2b,
It can be seen that the response packet has traversed the network system in the reverse order. That is, from the network device 3 to the network hub 2a to the network hub 2
It can be seen from b that the normal connection state is established between the simple terminal devices 4. Thus, the network device 3 determines that the network device 3 exists in the network system 1 in a normal state.

Next, a second method for verifying a connection state between a network device and a network system according to the present invention will be described. The user sets the number of transmissions of the packet in advance. The network device 3 records whether a response packet has been received for each transmitted packet. If the response packet is not sent to the network device 3, it is recorded that an error has occurred. Also, for each packet, whether the sample packet and the response packet match is recorded. If they do not match, it is recorded that an error has occurred. These pieces of information are stored in the information storage unit of the network device 3 (not shown) as error information.

On the other hand, the network device 3 calculates the total number of times of occurrence of the error based on the accumulated error information, and obtains the error occurrence rate. That is, the arrival rate of the response packet with respect to the transmitted packet and the coincidence rate between the response packet corresponding to the transmitted packet and the sample packet are calculated.

Based on these error occurrence rates, it is determined whether or not there is a failure between the network device 3 and the network system. That is, if the arrival rate or the matching rate does not exceed the predetermined rate, or if the reaching rate and the matching rate do not exceed the predetermined rate, it is determined that an error has occurred. This predetermined ratio can be arbitrarily determined. Further, the cause of the problem can be specified based on the occurrence of these errors. This will be described below.

As a case where the problem can be identified, for example, there is a case where no response packet is sent. In this case, it can be seen that electrical consistency between the network device and the network system is not established.

When an error occurs at a constant rate, the following problems may be considered. The network device 3 identifies the cause by performing case classification based on the error information as described below.

When an error occurs at a constant rate, the cause can be identified as a collision (communication collision). That is, the cause of the failure is not in the connectivity between the network device 3 and the network system 1 but in the network system itself. Therefore, the network device 3 can normally connect to the network system 1 and perform normal transmission and reception. In this case, since the load on the network system 1 is high, it is considered that the data transmission / reception speed is low. That is, a collision occurs between the packet and another packet sent to the network device 3. To eliminate this problem, the performance of the network system 1 may be improved.

When an error occurs at a certain rate or more, the following two causes can be considered as causes of the malfunction. That is, this problem occurs due to electrical consistency between the network device 3 and the network hub 2a, between the network hub 2b and the simple terminal device 4, or some problem in the network system 1 other than performance. .

Therefore, the network is made up of only the network device 3, the network hub 2a, the network hub 2b, and the network terminal 4, and the second method is executed again.

As a result, when an error occurs at a certain rate or more, it is determined that a problem exists in the electrical consistency between the network device 3 and the network hub 2a or between the network hub 2b and the simple terminal device 4. it can. When the error is equal to or less than a certain ratio, it can be determined that the network system 1 has some problem separately from the performance. The user only needs to perform a detailed analysis using a protocol analyzer or the like for the first time when it is determined that the latter problem exists.

If it is determined that the connection state between the network device 3 and the network system 1 is normal as a result of implementing the connection diagnosis method according to the present invention, this fact may be displayed on a display unit (not shown). . If it is determined that the state is not normal, the fact may be displayed on the display unit. If the problem is not normal and the problem causing the problem is determined, the expected problem may be determined and displayed on the display unit.

It should be noted that a technician having specialized knowledge of the network system may check the contents of error records and statistical data to determine whether the connection state between the network system and the network device is normal. At this time, if the network device has an output unit, or if there is an output device on the network, information on these error records may be output.

The simple terminal device 4 may be provided inside a network hub (2a, 2b, 2c) or a device constituting the existing network system 1.

Further, even if the network system 1 supports full-duplex communication, the connection diagnosis method of the present invention may be implemented. In this case, the same effect as above can be obtained.

[0040]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention, even if the network system supports only half-duplex communication, the method for verifying the connection state between the network device and the network system is implemented. It is possible to do.

Further, if the diagnosis result is stored, the stored information is output at an appropriate time and periodically repeated, thereby enabling the follow-up inspection of the periodic inspection of the network. For example, if a regular survey shows that a network device is not properly connected after a certain day, a change is made before or after that day that causes some trouble in the setting of the network device or network system. It is possible to predict what is being done.

Further, the results of the self-diagnosis performed repeatedly can be stored and accumulated as statistical information. This allows us to clarify the cause of the problem, such as what percentage of the verification self-diagnosis is performed normally and what kind of error is generated. And effective statistical data can be provided. Further, the reliability of verification can be improved. Even if this data is used for inspection of a network system, it is more effective due to the objectivity of the data.

Further, a technician may independently evaluate a failure of the network system based on the statistical data. At this time, a technician who analyzes the network can obtain objective data for narrowing the analysis points. Therefore, the efficiency of the verification can be improved.

Further, it is possible to display the result of determining the cause of a defect from objective information based on statistical data. Therefore, a person who verifies the network device can determine whether the network device is in a normal state in the network system without having a high level of specialized knowledge. Further, even if the network device has a problem, the cause is specified to some extent. In particular, when the cause is a problem of electrical consistency between the network system and the network device, the problem can be quickly resolved without using expensive equipment such as a network analyzer. .

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an example of a configuration example of a network system in which a simple terminal device according to the present invention is installed.

FIG. 2 is a schematic block diagram showing one form of a configuration example of a network interface in the network device.

FIG. 3 is a schematic block diagram showing one embodiment of a configuration example of a simple terminal device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic flowchart illustrating a method for verifying the state of a network device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Network system 2a, 2b, 2c Network hub 3 Network equipment 4 Simple terminal equipment 21 Physical layer device 22 Media access controller 23 Transformer 24 Connector 31 Network controller 32 Memory 33 CPU 34 Display part 35 Input part

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A simplified terminal device for transmitting a response packet obtained by subjecting a packet sent to its own station to predetermined processing to a transmission source. 2. A step of transmitting a packet to the simplified terminal device according to claim 1, a step of creating a sample packet obtained by performing a predetermined process on the packet, and the response packet and the sample packet match. And a step of recognizing that the network device is normally connected in the case. 3. A step of transmitting a plurality of packets to the portable terminal device, storing a result of recognizing whether the response packet has been received and whether the response packet matches the sample packet. When the recognition result storage step, the ratio of the received response packet to the number of transmitted packets, and the ratio of the response packet and the sample packet matching are each equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the network device is normally connected. 3. The connection diagnosis method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of: 4. The connection diagnosis method according to claim 2, further comprising a step of notifying a user that the network device recognizes that the network device is normally connected. .