JP2004282257A - Network system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a network system which grasps the state of a fault caused in a communication controller of a customer in real time and quickly copes with the fault. <P>SOLUTION: A communication controller 10 detects information of a fault caused in its own station and discriminates a fault level. When detecting the occurrence of the fault of a predetermined fault level, the controller 10 informs a center station about the fault information via a network 1. The center station 20 is provided with: a notice destination database 27 for storing the notice destination of a mobile terminal 2 which has been correlated with each of the communication controllers in advance; and a fault notice means for informing the notice destination of the mobile terminal 2 stored in the notice destination database of the notified fault information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a network system having a center station and a plurality of communication control devices connected via a network, and more particularly to a network system suitable for promptly responding to a failure occurring in a communication control device. .
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a failure occurs in a communication control device such as a private branch exchange or a router generally used by a user (customer), the customer informs a communication control device maker or a construction company by telephone or the like. On the other hand, the communication control device maker or the contractor receiving the notification of the occurrence of the failure checks the situation at the time of the failure while communicating with the customer in order to obtain detailed information of the failure, and communicates with the customer in the occurrence of the failure. After dispatching maintenance personnel to the customer side where the control device is installed to obtain detailed trouble information, trouble measures are taken.
[0003]
In order to save labor and reduce costs for maintenance that has occurred in such a communication control device, a maintenance method for automatically reporting failure information generated in the communication control device to a service center via a network is known. (For example, see Patent Document 1). This is because after receiving the failure information notified from the customer's communication control device via the network, the operator of the service center issues a maintenance manual or the like appropriate for the troubleshooting from the storage means of the information processing device installed in the service center. It takes out and examines the fault measures. Then, the operator of the service center issues a dispatch instruction of the maintenance staff to the site where the failure has occurred.
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-7-210729
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, according to the above-described maintenance method, when a failure occurs in the communication control device of the customer, the user (customer) needs to contact the maker or the contractor of the communication control device. Further, the customer who has installed the communication control device is not always familiar with the details of the failure, and it is difficult to notify the manufacturer or the contractor of accurate failure information. For this reason, the maker, the construction company, or the like dispatches a maintenance person to the customer side where the communication control device is installed, and obtains detailed information of the failure before taking measures. For this reason, there is a concern that it takes a long time to recover from the failure.
[0006]
Further, even in a maintenance method of automatically notifying a trouble that has occurred in a communication control device of a customer, for example, via a network, an operator of a center station determines the trouble information, selects an appropriate maintenance person, and then performs There is a problem that it takes a long time to recover from a failure because dispatch is instructed to maintenance personnel.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to be able to grasp in real time the status of a fault that has occurred in a customer's communication control device, and to quickly respond to the fault. It is to provide a simple network system.
[0007]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, a network system according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a center station and a plurality of communication control devices connected via a network,
Each of the communication control devices,
Failure detection means for detecting failure information generated in the own station;
Failure information storage means for storing a failure level assigned in advance for each type of failure information,
Failure determination means for comparing the failure information detected by the failure detection means and the failure type stored in the failure information storage means to determine a failure level occurring in the own station;
The fault determining means includes fault notifying means for notifying the center station of fault information of the own station when the occurrence of a fault of a predetermined fault level is detected,
The center station,
Report destination storage means for storing report destinations of the mobile terminal device previously associated with each of the plurality of communication control devices,
When the fault information is notified from the communication control device via the network, fault notification means for notifying the fault information to the notification destination of the portable terminal device stored in the notification destination storage means is provided. I have.
[0008]
In particular, the center station includes a failure history storage unit that stores detailed failure information of a failure that has occurred in each of the communication control devices,
The failure information notified to the portable terminal device is configured to include address information indicating a storage area of the failure history storage unit.
Therefore, according to the present invention, a failure that has occurred in the customer's communication control device can be confirmed in real time on the center station side, and the customer contacts a communication control device maker or a contractor every time a failure occurs. Thus, it is possible to receive the response to the obstacle promptly and accurately.
[0009]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a network system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a network system according to the present invention. In this figure, reference numeral 10 denotes a communication control device (customer system) such as a customer PBX (private branch exchange) or a router. Further, in this figure, reference numeral 20 denotes a communication device (center station) of a service center that performs a maintenance service of the communication control device 10 installed on the customer side. The center station 20 plays a role of aggregating maintenance of the communication control devices 10 of a plurality of customers connected via a network 1 such as a LAN (local network), a WAN (wide area network), and a public telephone network. I have. In particular, this center station 20 will be described in detail later, and when a failure occurs in the customer's communication control device 10, the portable terminal device (mobile phone) 2 carried by the maintenance staff in charge of the customer gives the trouble. It is provided with a failure notification means for automatically notifying the status.
[0010]
Schematically, the present invention is characterized in that, in the network system configured as described above, when any failure occurs in the communication control device 10 installed on the customer side, the communication control device 10 This fault information is automatically reported to the center station 20 of the service center via the network 1, and the center station 20 of the service center receiving the information transmits the trouble information to the portable terminal device owned by the maintenance staff in charge of customer maintenance. (Mobile phone) Automatically reporting fault information of the communication control device 10 to the mobile terminal device 2 and a mobile terminal device (mobile phone) in which the maintenance person has address information of a database storing detailed information of the fault. 2 is to be notified.
[0011]
In other words, the network system according to the present invention has a function of automatically notifying a maintenance person in charge of maintenance of the customer of the occurrence of a failure when the communication control device 10 on the customer side has a failure, and the function of the communication control device 10 of the customer. It is characterized in that a function of referring to the detailed information of the trouble as needed from the mobile phone 2 carried by the maintenance staff is provided.
[0012]
More specifically, if the communication control device 10 on the customer side is a private branch exchange (PBX), for example, the communication control device 10 includes a communication interface 11a for accommodating a plurality of telephones 3 and an IP network. And a network interface 11b for connecting to a network 1 such as a public telephone network. The communication control device 10 includes a control unit 12 that controls the entire communication control device 10, a storage unit 13 that stores programs and data that control the operation of the communication control device 10, an operation time of the communication control device 10, and the like. And a input unit 15 for registering information in various databases described later.
[0013]
Further, the communication control device 10 includes a failure detection unit 16 that detects failure information generated in the communication control device 10. A fault information storage means (fault information database) 17 for storing fault information detected by the fault detection unit 16, and a fault information storage means (fault information database) for storing fault levels pre-assigned for each type of fault. ) 18 and address information (center station information database) 19 of a service center 20 for notifying the failure information via the network 1.
[0014]
The failure history database 17 includes, for example, as shown in FIG. 2, the date and time when a failure occurred in the communication control device 10, the failure level and failure code stored in a failure information database described later, and the communication control when the failure occurred. It is configured to store detailed information that holds the operation status of the device. These pieces of fault information are stored in chronological order for each fault that has occurred in the communication control device 10.
[0015]
The detailed information stored in the failure history database 17 includes information of about [500] bytes to [1] kilobytes for each failure. Specifically, the detailed information includes, for example, a memory dump of the storage unit 13 of the communication control device 10 in which the failure has occurred, various control information, and the like.
On the other hand, the failure information database 18 is classified with a failure level according to the content of a failure that has occurred in the communication control device 10. Specifically, the fault information database 18 classifies the fault levels into general faults, light faults, and heavy faults according to the fault content, for example, as shown in FIG. In addition, a failure code is provided for each failure content.
[0016]
The service center information database 19 stores the IP address of the center station 20 when the network 1 is an IP network constructed by, for example, a LAN or a WAN, although the specific format is not specifically shown. When the network 1 is constituted by a public telephone network, the telephone number of the center station 20 is stored. The information stored in the failure information database 18 and the service center information database 19 is set, for example, by input from the input unit 15 or by downloading from the center station 20.
[0017]
On the other hand, the center station 20 connects a control unit 21 that controls the overall operation of the center station 20, a storage unit 22 that stores programs and data operating in the center station 20, and connects the center station 20 to the network 1. And a network interface 23 for interconnecting the plurality of communication control devices 10 connected to the network 1. The center station 20 has an input / output unit 24 having an input function of registering information in various databases described later and a function of displaying various information of the center station 20, and a mobile phone network interface 25 connected to a mobile phone network. It has.
[0018]
Further, the center station 20 includes a customer information database 26 storing customer identification information assigned to each customer for identifying the plurality of communication control devices 10 connected via the network 1, and a maintenance staff assigned to each customer. It has a report destination database 27 storing contact information and a failure history database 28 prepared in association with the communication control devices 10 of a plurality of customers.
[0019]
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4, for example, the customer information database 26 stores a unique customer ID assigned to each customer, a customer name associated with the customer ID, and maintenance of the communication control device 10 of the customer. The name of the maintenance company in charge, the name of the maintenance staff, and the mail address and telephone number of the mobile phone 2 owned by the maintenance staff are stored.
[0020]
Further, the failure history database 28 individually assigned to each of the communication control devices 10 of a plurality of customers managed by the center station 20 stores, for example, as shown in FIG. Of the communication control device 10 when the failure occurs, and detailed information for holding the operation status of the communication control device 10 when the failure occurs.
[0021]
Further, the failure history database 28 includes a plurality of storage areas for storing failures occurring in the communication control device 10 in time series for each customer. Incidentally, in the storage area of the detailed information of the failure history database 28, for example, the contents of the storage unit 13 of the communication control device 10 in which the failure has occurred, various control information, and the like are stored. Specifically, detailed information of about [500] bytes to [1] kilobytes is stored in the detailed information storage area. Thus, the failure history database 28 is configured to store a plurality of failure histories for each customer.
[0022]
In the network system thus configured, when a failure occurs in the communication control device 10 on the customer side, the failure detection unit 16 detects the failure and notifies the center station 20 via the network 1. Then, the center station 20 reports the information of the failure to the mobile phone 2 carried by the maintenance staff of the communication control device 10 by e-mail.
[0023]
Hereinafter, a reporting procedure for reporting the failure information to the center station 20 when the failure detection unit 16 of the communication control device 10 on the customer side detects a failure will be specifically described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG.
First, during normal operation, the failure detection unit 16 of the communication control device 10 monitors whether or not a failure has occurred in its own station (step S1). If a fault occurs in the own station, the fault detecting unit 16 collects the fault information and notifies the control unit 21. Then, the control unit 12 having received the notification refers to the failure level and the failure code stored in the failure information database 18 and stores the failure occurrence time, the failure level, the failure code and the details of the failure in the failure history database 17. Information is recorded (step S2).
[0024]
Next, when the control unit 12 determines that the level of the failure is a minor failure or a major failure (step S3), the control unit 12 edits information transmitted to the center station 20 via the network 1 (step S4). This information includes, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, the address information (destination address) of the center station 20, the customer ID (source address) for identifying the source communication control device 10, the date and time of occurrence of the failure (TIME), the failure The frame format is composed of a level (LEVEL) and detailed information of a failure. Of course, frame formats other than those exemplified here may be used. The point is that the fault information generated in the communication control device 10 may be configured to be in a format that can be reported to the center station 20.
[0025]
Then, when the editing of the fault information generated in the communication control device 10 is completed, the communication control device 10 acquires the destination information of the center station 20 from the center station information database 19. Then, the destination information (for example, an IP address or the like) of the center station information database is set as the above-mentioned destination address in the frame format (step S5). When the preparation for data transmission is completed, the communication control device 10 transmits this information to the network 1 via the network interface 11b (step S6). The fault information sent to the network 1 by the communication control device 10 in this way is taken into the center station 20 via the network 1.
[0026]
Next, a procedure in which the failure information is taken into the center station 20 will be described with reference to a flowchart showing the operation of the center station 20 shown in FIG.
First, the failure information (frame) transmitted from the communication control device 10 via the network 1 is received via the network interface 23 of the center station 20 (step S10). The failure information includes the source address information as described above. Therefore, the control unit 21 checks whether or not the transmission source address information is registered in the customer information database 26 (Step S11).
[0027]
When the control unit 21 determines in step S11 that the source address information is not registered in the customer information database, the process is not performed because the source address information is not supported by the center station 20. On the other hand, when the control unit 21 determines that the transmission source address information is registered in the customer information database in step S11, the communication control device 10 is a communication control device 10 supported by the center station 20. For this reason, the control unit 21 records the failure information of the communication control device 10 transmitted via the network 1 in the failure history database 28 (Step S12).
[0028]
When the controller 21 determines that the failure level included in the failure information is a minor failure, it records only the failure history database 28 described above, and does not perform other processing (step S13). On the other hand, when the control unit 21 determines that the received failure information is a serious failure (step S13), the control unit 21 reports the report destination information (mail address of the mobile phone) of the maintenance person in charge of maintenance of the communication control device 10. The information is retrieved and acquired from the destination database 27 (step S14).
[0029]
By the way, based on the customer ID (source address) included in the data (frame) including the failure information received by the center station 20, the control unit 21 identifies the customer from the report destination database 27. You can search for and obtain the maintenance staff in charge.
In this manner, when the notification destination of the maintenance staff can be obtained from the notification destination database 27 by mail search (step S15), the control unit 21 registers the simple information of the failure and the registration destination of the detailed information (described later in detail) (step S15). The text of the mail is edited so that the URL (Uniform Resource Locators) can be transmitted as a mail of the mobile phone 2 (step S16). When the editing is completed, the control unit 21 sends an e-mail including the simple information of the failure that has occurred in the communication control device 10 of the customer and the registration destination (URL) of the detailed information to the mobile phone network 4 via the mobile phone network interface 25. Send out.
[0030]
On the other hand, in step S15, when the control unit 12 cannot search for a mail by the maintenance person in charge of the communication control device 10 of the customer in which the failure has occurred, the control unit 21 displays the display device of the input / output unit 24 of the center station 20. An alarm indicating that search is not possible is performed (step S18). Then, the operator of the center station 20 reports the failure using the registered telephone number in order to take measures against the failure that has occurred in the communication control device 10 of the customer whose alarm is displayed (step S19). .
[0031]
By the way, the content of the e-mail sent from the center station 20 to the mobile phone 2 carried by the maintenance staff includes simple information and detailed information as shown in FIG. 9A, for example. That is, the name of the service center (center station 20) is displayed as the transmission source, and the failure information is displayed as the subject. Then, in the text of the mail, customer information in which a failure has occurred, for example, a customer company name, a telephone number, an address, a failure level and a failure code, and a failure date and time are displayed. Further, a URL indicating the storage address of the failure history database 28 of the center station 20 in which the detailed information of the failure is stored is displayed in the body of the mail.
[0032]
Then, the maintenance person who has received the failure information goes to the installation location of the communication control device 10 in which the failure has occurred based on the contents of the mail. At this time, when detailed information on the failure that has occurred in the communication control device 10 is required, the maintenance staff clicks the URL indicating the storage address of the failure history database 28 of the center station 20 displayed in the mail, and clicks the URL. Get detailed information of.
[0033]
Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 9B, the detailed information of the fault includes, for example, the fault level, the fault code, and the date and time of occurrence of the fault, the operation state necessary for analyzing the fault, and the dump list in the storage unit 13. Etc.
The transmission and reception of the failure information mail between the center station 20 and the maintenance staff will be described in detail with reference to the transmission sequence diagram shown in FIG.
[0034]
First, when a failure occurs in the communication control device 10 on the customer side, the failure detection unit 16 detects this failure (step S20). Then, the communication control device 10 sends the failure information to the center station 20 of the service center by the above-described means (step S21). The notification sent from the communication control device 10 to the center station 20 is transmitted via a network 1 such as an IP network using a WAN or a LAN or a public telephone network. Then, the center station 20 receiving the failure information analyzes the content of the failure and notifies the customer-side communication control device 10 of the receipt of the failure information as an acknowledgment (step S22).
[0035]
Next, if the failure information is a major failure as described above, the center station 20 receives a report from the report destination database 27 storing the report destinations of the maintenance personnel associated with each customer. Is selected. Then, the center station 20 notifies the mobile phone 2 carried by the maintenance staff of the outline of the failure state of the communication control device 10 (step S23). The transmission of the trouble information is usually performed via a mail server of a mobile phone carrier, but is carried by a maintenance staff, for example, via an IP network using a mail server provided in a center station 20 (not shown). You may comprise so that it may notify a portable terminal device.
[0036]
Then, when the failure information is notified from the center station 20 to the mobile phone 2 owned by the maintenance staff, the maintenance staff returns an acknowledgment for confirming that the failure information has been notified (step S24). Specifically, for example, this is performed by clicking a specific key of the mobile phone 2 assigned for confirmation of reception.
Next, when the maintenance person who has received the mail needs detailed information on the trouble that has occurred in the communication control device 10, clicks the URL indicating the detailed information described in the mail sent from the center station 20. I do. Then, the click information is transmitted from the mobile phone 2 to the center station 20 via the mobile phone network 4 (step S25).
[0037]
Upon receiving this click information, the center station 20 sends the corresponding detailed information of the failure history database 28 to the mobile phone 2 owned by the maintenance person who has requested the detailed information via the mobile phone network interface 25 and the mobile phone network 4. Is transmitted (step S26). Then, the maintenance staff having received the detailed information returns a confirmation response confirming that the detailed information has been received from the mobile phone 2 possessed by, for example, pressing a specific key of the mobile phone 2 (step S27). ).
[0038]
In the transmission sequence diagram described above, although not shown, communication between the communication control device 10 on the customer side and the center station 20 and communication between the center station 20 and the mobile phone 2 carried by maintenance personnel are not shown. If the acknowledgment is not obtained, the sending side of the failure notification retransmits as required.
Incidentally, regarding the communication between the mobile phone 2 and the mobile phone network 4, for example, when the transmission is guaranteed in the lower layer, and when there is no need for the maintenance staff to confirm and respond, steps S22, S24 and The confirmation response performed in step S27 may be omitted.
[0039]
Thus, in the network system configured as described above, the communication control device 10 installed at the customer is provided with the fault detection unit 16 that detects fault information generated in the own station. Then, the control unit 12 of the communication control apparatus 10 makes a determination by comparing with a failure information database 18 in which a failure level assigned in advance for each type of failure information detected by the failure detection unit 16 is stored. When the fault level generated in the own station as a result of this determination is a predetermined fault level, the center station 20 is automatically notified of this fault information via the network 1.
[0040]
On the other hand, the center station is provided with a report destination database 27 that stores report destinations of the mobile phone 2 possessed by maintenance personnel associated with each of the plurality of communication control devices 10 in advance. Then, when the communication control device 10 notifies the trouble information via the network 1, the trouble information is automatically notified to the mobile phone 2 owned by the maintenance staff stored in the report destination database 27. Has become.
[0041]
For this reason, it is possible to promptly and automatically report a failure that has occurred in the communication control device 10 of the customer to the maintenance staff in charge of the maintenance of the customer. Further, the maintenance staff can grasp the failure information not only from the terminal device such as the personal computer but also from the mobile phone 2 in real time, and can access the failure history database 28 of the center station 20 as needed, thereby By referring to the content of the failure information that has occurred in the communication control device 10 and the history of the failure that has occurred in the communication control device 10 in the past, it is possible to know the guess and tendency of the failure.
[0042]
Further, the fault information of each of the plurality of communication control apparatuses 10 is transmitted to the center station 20 of the service center, so that the center station 20 can collectively manage the fault information.
As described above, it is possible to provide a quick and highly reliable service to the customer who has installed the communication control device 10. Further, since detailed information of the failure can be provided to the maintenance staff, it is possible to reduce the trouble confirmation work with the customer.
[0043]
In addition, the present invention can be variously modified and implemented without departing from the gist thereof. For example, among the failure history databases (17, 28) provided in the customer communication control device 10 and the center station 20, the failure history database of the customer communication control device 10 may not be prepared. In this case, the capacity of the storage device of the communication control device 10 can be reduced, and a compact and inexpensive communication control device 10 can be configured. In this case, the history information of the failure that has occurred in the communication control device 10 may refer to the failure history database 28 of the center station 20.
[0044]
Further, a soundness diagnosis for checking the soundness of the communication control device 10 may be performed from the center station 20 at predetermined intervals. In this case, not only the determination of the soundness diagnosis of the communication control device 10 but also the line diagnosis between the center station 20 and the communication control device 10 via the network 1 can be performed.
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the network system of the present invention, a failure occurring in a communication control device of a customer is automatically reported to a center station, and a maintenance person in charge of maintenance of the customer is performed via the center station. Can be automatically notified of the failure information. Further, since the maintenance person who has received the notification of the failure can download the failure information from the portable terminal device, the trouble confirmation work with the customer can be reduced, and quick and accurate troubleshooting can be performed. A great effect in practical use, such as being possible, can be obtained.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a structure of a failure history database of the communication control device in the network system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a structure of a failure information database of the communication control device in the network system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a structure of a report destination database of a center station in the network system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a structure of a failure history database of a center station in the network system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a failure notification procedure of the communication control device in the network system according to one embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a configuration of a data packet of fault information notified to a center station by a communication control device in a network system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a procedure of a failure report process of the center station in the network system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a mail notified from a center station to a mobile phone of a maintenance staff in the network system according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 10 is a transmission sequence diagram showing a communication control procedure in the network system according to one embodiment of the present invention.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Network
2 Mobile phone
3 telephone
4 Mobile phone network
10 Communication control device
11a Communication interface
11b, 23 network interface
12 control unit
13,22 storage unit
14 Clock section
15 Input section
16 Failure detection unit
17,28 Failure history database
18 Failure information database
19 Center station information database
20 center stations
21 Control unit
25 Mobile phone network interface
26 Customer Information Database
27 Report destination database

Claims (2)

A network system comprising a center station and a plurality of communication control devices connected via a network,
Each of the communication control devices,
Failure detection means for detecting failure information generated in the own station;
Failure information storage means for storing a failure level assigned in advance for each type of failure information,
Failure determination means for comparing the failure information detected by the failure detection means with the failure type stored in the failure information storage means to determine a failure level occurring in the own station;
The fault determining means includes fault notifying means for notifying the center station of fault information of the own station when the occurrence of a fault of a predetermined fault level is detected,
The center station,
Report destination storage means for storing report destinations of the mobile terminal device previously associated with each of the plurality of communication control devices,
When the fault information is notified from the communication control device via the network, fault notification means for notifying the fault information to the notification destination of the portable terminal device stored in the notification destination storage means is provided. Network system. The center station includes a failure history storage unit that stores detailed failure information of a failure that has occurred in each of the communication control devices,
2. The network system according to claim 1, wherein the fault information notified to the portable terminal device includes address information indicating a storage area of the fault history storage unit.

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