JP2005242447A - File downloading method and remote device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent the overloading of a remote device caused by a sudden increase in processing of the remote device while downloading a file from a center device to the remote device. <P>SOLUTION: When the file is downloaded from the center device to the remote device via a communication circuit, a CPU operating rate, an average value of a past designated period for the CPU operating rate, a communication circuit use rate, an average value of a past designated period for the communication circuit use rate or the like of the remote device are determined whether or not they are a designated level or below. Then, when an operating condition is the designated level or below, the remote device transmits a demand for starting of downloading to the center device. When the operating condition exceeds the designated level, the remote device transmits a demand for a stop of starting of the downloading to the center device. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a file download method and a remote device, and more particularly to a method for downloading a file from a center device to a remote device via a communication line and the remote device.

  Conventionally, it is very common to download a file from a center device to a remote device via a communication line. Furthermore, a technique for downloading a program executed by the remote device from the center device to the remote device is also known.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of downloading a program from a center device to a remote device via a communication line. In this method, a data request signal is generated when a remote device requests communication data from a center device. When the center apparatus detects a data request signal, it stops the program download process to the remote apparatus, and when it does not detect the data request signal, it performs the program download process to the remote apparatus. Therefore, since the center device that has detected the data request signal from the remote device stops the program download process to the remote device, the center device can download the program without stopping normal data communication.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a program transfer method for transferring a program for operating a base station to the base station. In this method, while the CPU is in a non-operating state, a program to be executed by the CPU is transferred from the outside, forcibly written in a mounted random access memory, and then the CPU is in a non-operating state. To do.

  However, the method disclosed in Patent Document 2 is difficult to apply when it is necessary to keep the CPU of the remote device in the operating state in order to download the program with the CPU in the non-operating state. On the other hand, Patent Document 3 discloses a software download method based on remote broadcasting in an online state without stopping the function of the device when updating software of a plurality of devices constituting the network. In this method, the CPU is operated by registering a program in a duplicated EEPROM. Accordingly, program data can be downloaded simultaneously to a plurality of remote devices in the normal operation state.

JP 2003-280911 A (FIGS. 1 and 3) JP 2001-326955 A (FIGS. 1 and 3) JP-A-5-158703 (FIG. 1)

  When the remote device is a base station device of a communication line, it is necessary to download a program in a normal operation state in order to avoid interruption of the service provided by the base station. For example, in Patent Document 1, the center device detects the communication status of normal data communication and downloads it to avoid stopping normal data communication in the remote device. However, when the remote device performs processing not related to the center device, the center device only detects the communication status in the center device, and cannot know the processing status of the remote device. Will run. For this reason, the processing of the remote device may overflow. Even if the center device detects the communication status of normal data communication and performs the download, the processing status of the remote device is likely to change during the download. That is, when the remote device is a base station device, the status of the service provided changes every moment, and there is a possibility that the processing of the remote device rapidly increases during the download and the processing overflows.

  Further, by the method disclosed in Patent Document 3, software can be downloaded from the center in an online state without stopping the function of the remote device. However, as described above, there is still a possibility that the processing of the remote device will increase rapidly during the download and the processing will overflow.

  That is, in the known file download method, it is not possible to appropriately determine whether or not to execute the download in accordance with the operation status of the remote device, and if the processing of the remote device increases rapidly during the download. As a result, the remote device may become overloaded and the original processing of the remote device may be delayed. In order to avoid this, it is necessary to sufficiently increase the processing capability of the remote device.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a remote device and a file download method that prevent a remote device from overloading due to a rapid increase in processing of the remote device during execution of file download from the center device to the remote device. There is.

  To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect, a file download method according to the present invention is a method for downloading a file from a center device to a remote device via a communication line. In this method, when starting to download a file, a step of determining whether or not the operating status of the remote device is below a predetermined level, and if the operating status is below a predetermined level, the remote device issues a download start request. The center device includes a step of sending to the center device, and the center device receiving the start request downloads a file to the remote device.

  According to another aspect, a remote device according to the present invention is a remote device that downloads a file from a center device via a communication line. When the remote device starts downloading a file, the remote device determines whether or not the operating status of the remote device is below a predetermined level, and if the operating status is below the predetermined level, the remote device sends a download start request to the center device. And a communication means for transmitting and receiving a file downloaded based on the start request.

  In the present invention, preferably, the operating status may be a status of call processing of communication in the remote device.

  In the present invention, preferably, the operating status is the CPU operating rate of the remote device, the average value of the CPU operating rate of the remote device for the past predetermined time, the communication line usage rate of the remote device, and the communication line usage rate of the remote device. At least one of an average value of past predetermined times, a signal communication rate between predetermined functions in the remote device, and an average value of signal communication rates between predetermined functions in the remote device in the past predetermined time, Also good.

  Further, in the present invention, preferably, the past predetermined time may be the time at the same time of the previous day or the same time of the same day of the previous week.

  In the present invention, the remote device refers to a device that is arranged away from the center device and can be connected and communicated via a communication line. Here, the communication line is a communication path composed of wired, wireless, or any other communication medium, and a relay device, an exchange device, or the like may be arranged in the middle of the communication path.

  According to the present invention, when starting the download of a file from the center device to the remote device, it is determined whether or not the operating status of the remote device is below a predetermined level, and the file is downloaded based on the result of this determination. . Accordingly, it is possible to prevent the processing of the remote device from rapidly increasing and the processing of the remote device to be overloaded, and it is not necessary to increase the processing capability of the remote device more than necessary.

  Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to prevent the processing of the remote device from being overloaded, so that the original processing of the remote device can be performed without delay.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an entire mobile communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, the mobile communication network includes a radio base station device 10, a base station control station device 11, a mobile communication switching center device 12, a maintenance monitoring device 13, and a mobile communication terminal device 14. Note that the base station control station apparatus 11 and the mobile communication switching center apparatus 12 are referred to as upper stations, and the radio base station apparatus 10 is generally installed at a position away from the upper stations. The maintenance monitoring device 13 corresponds to a mobile communication maintenance monitoring console connected to the mobile communication switching center device 12.

  The radio base station apparatus 10 converts voice and data (non-voice) signals from the base station control station apparatus 11 into high-frequency signals and radiates them into space in accordance with a control signal from the base station control station apparatus 11. In addition, the mobile communication terminal device 14 receives a high frequency signal converted from a voice and data (non-voice) signal into a high frequency signal and radiated into the space, and transmits it to the base station control station device 11.

  The base station control station apparatus 11 can install and control several tens of radio base station apparatuses 10 under its control. Further, it is controlled by the mobile communication switching center apparatus 12 and mainly controls the radio channel of the radio base station apparatus 10.

  The mobile communication switching center apparatus 12 is connected to several tens of base station control station apparatuses 11, and performs wired line switching control of the mobile communication network.

  The maintenance monitoring device 13 can constantly monitor and confirm the states of the mobile communication switching center device 12, the base station control station device 11, and the radio base station device 10. Further, it is possible to remotely control execution of resetting of these devices. Furthermore, the state of the high frequency signal (wireless) between the radio base station apparatus 10 and the mobile communication terminal apparatus 14 can also be monitored. Also, programs executed by the mobile communication switching center apparatus 12, the base station control station apparatus 11, and the radio base station apparatus 10 in the mobile communication network are stored, and the programs of each apparatus can be remotely transferred to each apparatus as necessary. Can be downloaded from

  In the mobile communication network configured as described above, the maintenance monitoring device 13 corresponds to a center device, and the mobile communication switching center device 12, the base station control station device 11, and the radio base station device 10 correspond to remote devices. For example, a file such as an operation program for the remote device is downloaded to the remote device from the center device via the communication line. When such a remote device starts downloading a file, the remote device determines whether or not the operating status of the remote device is below a predetermined level, and if the operating status is below a predetermined level, issues a download start request. And a communication means for sending a download start stop request to the center apparatus when the operation status exceeds a predetermined level.

  Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the remote device and the center device according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the remote device 20 includes a CPU 21, a RAM 22, a FROM 23, a ROM 24, and a communication interface unit 25, which are connected by a bus 26. The communication interface unit 25 is connected to the center apparatus 30 via the communication line 27. The FROM 23 is a rewritable memory whose contents do not disappear even when the power is turned off. The remote device 20 is provided with other various processing units for functioning in the mobile communication network, but the description thereof is omitted because it is not related to the present invention.

  The CPU 21 executes a program stored in the FROM 23 and mainly executes call processing in the remote device 20. Further, the communication interface unit 25 is operated to communicate with the center device 30, and a program is downloaded from the center device 30 as necessary to rewrite the contents of the FROM 23. The ROM 24 stores a boot loader of a program and is executed when the remote device 20 is started up. The RAM 22 functions as a work area for the CPU 21 and temporarily stores various data.

  On the other hand, the center device 30 includes a CPU 31, a RAM 32, a ROM 33, a storage unit 34, and a communication interface unit 35, which are connected by a bus 36. The center device 30 is provided with other various processing units for functioning in the mobile communication network, but the description thereof is omitted because it is not related to the present invention.

  The CPU 31 executes a program stored in the storage unit 34 and mainly executes monitoring processing of other devices. Furthermore, in addition to the program executed by the center device 30, the storage unit 34 manages and stores files such as programs to be downloaded to the remote device 20 for each version. This is shown in FIG.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the management status of download files stored in the center apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 3, the center device 30 includes mobile communication switching center devices (MSC1, 2, 3,...), Base station control station devices (BSC1, 2, 3,...), And radio base station devices (BTS1,. 2, 3, ...). That is, according to the link information shown in FIG. 3, the program to be downloaded as a file to the mobile switching center apparatus MSC1 is the MSC program A, and the program to be downloaded as a file to the base station control station apparatus BSC1 is the BSC program. It is shown that the programs to be downloaded as files to the radio base station apparatuses BTS1 and BTS2 are the BTS program A and the BTS program B, respectively.

  The download file stored in the center device 30 does not have to be the entire program (operation program) executed by the remote device 20, but may be a part of the program or required data. .

  On the other hand, the CPU 31 operates the communication interface unit 35, communicates with the remote device 20, and downloads a program stored in the storage unit 34 as necessary. The ROM 33 stores a boot loader of a program and is executed when the center device 30 is started up. The RAM 32 functions as a work area for the CPU 31 and temporarily stores various data.

  Next, operations of the remote device 20 and the center device 30 configured as described above will be described. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a communication sequence between the remote apparatus and the center apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 4, an example will be described in which the remote device 20 is the radio base station device 10 (hereinafter abbreviated as BTS) and the center device 30 is the maintenance monitoring device 13 (hereinafter abbreviated as OMC).

  When the BTS is powered on (step S10), the BTS is activated by a program (old program) stored in the FROM 23 in the BTS (step S11). The activated BTS transmits a version report of the program used for activation to the OMC (step S12).

  The OMC that has received the version report transmitted from the BTS compares the version of the BTS program stored in the OMC with the program reported from the BTS by the version report as shown in FIG. 3 (step S13). .

  If the versions match as a result of the version comparison, the OMC reports to the BTS that the versions match (step S14). The BTS that has received this report performs a service as a normal BTS (step S15).

  On the other hand, if the version does not match as a result of the version comparison, the OMC transmits a download start signal to the BTS (step S16). The BTS that has received the download start signal executes an operation status determination process for determining the operation status of the BTS (step S17). The operation status determination process will be described later.

  If the BTS that has completed the operation status determination process can receive the program download even after the OMC executes it, the BTS transmits a download start response to the OMC as OK. If the BTS cannot be received, a download start response is sent as NG to the OMC (step S18).

  The OMC determines a download start response from the BTS, and if the download start request is started (download start response is OK), the OMC proceeds to step S20. If the download start request is stopped (download start response is NG), the process proceeds to step S24, and the series of processes is terminated.

  The OMC that has received the download start response from the BTS as OK executes program download for the BTS (step S20). The BTS receives the program transmitted from the OMC by program download and stores it in the BTS. When the program transfer is completed, the BTS transmits a program download completion report to the OMC to the OMC (step S21). Thereafter, the BTS checks the received program (checksum confirmation, etc.), and if it is correct, stores the received program in the FROM 23 (step S22). Further, the BTS restarts with a new program (step S23), and performs a service as a normal BTS with the new program transferred from the OMC.

  In the above description, the power supply to the BTS has been described. However, the download start signal may be transmitted from the OMC during the normal operation of the BTS (step S16), and the download may be started. In this case, the processing after the download start signal (after step S16) is the same as described above.

  Next, the operation status determination process will be described. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a flowchart of the operation status determination process. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of the time variation of the CPU usage rate (operation rate) or the line usage rate of the remote device.

  In FIG. 5, the BTS that has received the download start signal from the OMC first checks the CPU usage rate at that time (step S31). As a result of the check, if the usage rate is higher than the usage rate A shown in FIG. 6, the process proceeds to step S36, and if the usage rate is low, the process proceeds to step S32.

  In step S32, the transmission line usage rate at that time is checked. If the usage rate is higher than the usage rate A shown in FIG. 6 as a result of the check, the process proceeds to step 36. Proceed to S33.

  In step S33, the CPU usage rate for the past X minutes is checked. This check compares the usage rate A with the average usage rate for the past X minutes. As a result of the check, if the average usage rate is higher than the usage rate A shown in FIG. 4, the process proceeds to step 36, and if the usage rate is low, the process proceeds to step S34.

  Finally, in step S34, the transmission path usage rate for the past X minutes is checked. This check compares the usage rate A with the average usage rate for the past X minutes. As a result of the check, if the average usage rate is higher than the usage rate A shown in FIG. 4, the process proceeds to step 36, and if the usage rate is low, the process proceeds to step S35.

  In step S35, the download request is started (download start response is OK), and the process returns to FIG. 4 in step S37.

  In step S36, the download request is stopped (download start response is NG), and the process returns to FIG.

  In the above description, when comparing the CPU usage rate (operating rate) or the line usage rate with the usage rate A, the usage rate A in FIG. Although the past CPU usage rate and the past line usage rate are shown to be the same, generally different values may be used.

  In FIG. 6, at time Y, the CPU usage rate (or line usage rate) is checked, the CPU usage rate (or line usage rate) for the past X minutes is OK, and a download request is started (a download start response is received). OK) is made. On the other hand, at time Z, the CPU usage rate check (or line usage rate) is OK, but the CPU usage rate (or line usage rate) for the past X minutes is NG, and the download request is stopped (download start response is not received). NG). That is, at time Z, the CPU usage rate (or line usage rate) decreases instantaneously, and the CPU usage rate (or line usage rate) immediately increases. If it is determined that the download start response is OK at time Z, the download is started immediately after the CPU usage rate (or line usage rate) increases, and the CPU may fall into an overload state. Therefore, by adding the past average usage rate to the determination, it is possible to avoid the start of download based on the instantaneous decrease in CPU usage rate (or line usage rate).

  In the above description, the CPU usage rate, the transmission path usage rate, the CPU usage rate for the past X minutes, and the transmission path usage rate for the past X minutes are used to determine whether or not these values are larger than a predetermined value. ing. However, when it is not necessary to use all of the CPU usage rate, the transmission path usage rate, the CPU usage rate for the past X minutes, and the transmission path usage rate for the past X minutes, some of them may be used. Further, for example, it is possible to make a determination based on the usage rate of the X minutes of the same time of the previous week and the same time of the previous week instead of the past X minutes. That is, when the remote device is a device in a mobile communication network, it is expected that the operation status of the remote device will show the same situation at the same time of the previous day and the same time of the same day of the previous week. Therefore, it is effective to refer to past operating conditions.

  In addition, what affects the downloading of a file to the remote device, such as the signal communication rate between the arbitrary function A and the arbitrary function B in the past X minutes in the remote device, also corresponds to the determination target. In other words, the operation status in the remote device corresponds to the current and past statuses of call processing of communication executed in the remote device.

  As described above, when starting the file download from the center device to the remote device, the operation status of the remote device is determined not only at the present time but also the past status, and the file download is executed based on the result of this determination. Configure remote devices. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the processing of the remote device from increasing rapidly and the processing of the remote device from being overloaded.

  The present invention can be applied not only to a mobile communication network but also to a system that downloads a file from a center apparatus to a remote apparatus via various communication lines or systems.

1 is a block diagram of an entire mobile communication network according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the remote apparatus and center apparatus which concern on the Example of this invention. It is a figure explaining the management condition of the file for download stored in the center apparatus which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a figure showing the communication sequence between the remote apparatus and center apparatus which concern on the Example of this invention. It is a figure showing the flowchart of the operation condition determination process which concerns on the Example of this invention. It is a figure which shows the example of the time fluctuation | variation of CPU usage rate (operating rate) or line usage rate of a remote apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Radio base station apparatus 11 Base station control station apparatus 12 Mobile communication switching center apparatus 13 Maintenance monitoring apparatus 14 Mobile communication terminal apparatus 20 Remote apparatus 21, 31 CPU
22, 32 RAM
23 FROM
24, 33 ROM
25, 35 Communication interface unit 26, 36 Bus 27 Communication line 30 Center device 34 Storage unit

Claims (13)

In a method of downloading a file from a center device to a remote device via a communication line,
Determining whether the operating status of the remote device is below a predetermined level at the start of downloading the file;
When the operating status is below the predetermined level, the remote device sends a download start request to the center device;
The center device that has received the start request downloads a file to the remote device;
A file download method comprising:   The file download method according to claim 1, wherein the operation status is a status of call processing of communication in the remote device.   The operating status includes the CPU operating rate of the remote device, the average value of the CPU operating rate of the remote device in the past predetermined time, the communication line usage rate of the remote device, and the past predetermined value of the communication line usage rate of the remote device. It is at least one of an average value of time, a signal communication rate between predetermined functions in the remote device, and an average value of past signal communication rates between predetermined functions in the remote device. The file download method according to claim 2.   4. The file download method according to claim 3, wherein the predetermined time in the past is a time at the same time of the previous day or the same time of the same day of the previous week.   The file download start is based on the determination that the center device downloads a new version of the file based on the file version information of the remote device notified from the remote device to the center device. The file download method according to claim 1. The file is an operation program of the remote device,
The center device that has received the download start request downloads an operation program to the remote device,
6. The file download method according to claim 1, wherein the remote device stores the operation program, and restarts the remote device with the stored operation program.   2. The file download method according to claim 1, wherein the remote device is any one of a radio base station device, a base station control station device, and a mobile communication switching center device in a mobile communication network. In a remote device that downloads a file from the center device via a communication line,
Means for determining whether the operation status of the remote device is equal to or lower than a predetermined level at the start of downloading the file;
A communication means for transmitting a download start request to the center device and receiving the file downloaded based on the start request when the operation status is equal to or lower than the predetermined level;
A remote device comprising:   9. The remote apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the operating status is a status of call processing for communication.   The operating status includes the CPU operating rate of the remote device, the average value of the CPU operating rate of the remote device in the past predetermined time, the communication line usage rate of the remote device, and the past predetermined value of the communication line usage rate of the remote device. It is at least one of an average value of time, a signal communication rate between predetermined functions in the remote device, and an average value of past signal communication rates between predetermined functions in the remote device. The remote device according to claim 8.   The remote device according to claim 10, wherein the predetermined time in the past is a time at the same time of the previous day or the same time of the same day of the previous week. The file is an operation program of the remote device,
The operation program downloaded from the center device is stored in a nonvolatile memory,
9. The remote apparatus according to claim 8, wherein reactivation is performed according to the stored operation program. 9. The remote apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the remote apparatus is one of a radio base station apparatus, a base station control station apparatus, and a mobile communication switching station apparatus in a mobile communication network.

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