JP2007295422A - Message exchange system and communication route switching method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a communication route switching method in which data transmission can be performed as intended by a sender, even when a communication fault occurs, and the other party can be notified about the occurrence of the communication fault, even when intended data transmission cannot be performed. <P>SOLUTION: In a method with which a plurality of communication routes can be utilized for data exchange between two persons and transmission is performed, while switching communication routes in the timing of a communication fault, a message exchange system 101 includes a communication fault detection function 103 for detecting the occurrence of a communication fault, includes a communication route information DB 108 for controlling the threshold about whether data transmission can be performed for each communication class and a destination information DB 107 for controlling the threshold about data transmission defined by the sender can be performed for each communication route, discriminates whether data transmission can be performed by using the thresholds and implements transmission of transmission data or communication fault information. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method in which a plurality of communication paths can be used and the communication path is switched at some opportunity, and in particular, when the amount of communicable data and the data type differ depending on the communication path, The present invention relates to a method for performing transmission by switching a communication path in response to a communication failure.

  A plurality of communication paths can be used, and a technique described in Patent Document 1 is known as a related art relating to a method of performing transmission by switching a communication path in response to something. In this prior art, the system selects a route based on the priority of the communication route set at a predetermined time interval until the system receives the confirmation message, and makes the data suitable for the designated route. The present invention relates to a method of performing conversion and transmission. As another conventional technique, for example, a technique described in Patent Document 2 is known. This prior art relates to a method in which the system selects a plurality of communication methods including wireless and wired based on the priority of the set communication path and the priority of the communication path based on the data type.

  The term “communication path” may mean an individual communication line as hardware, or may mean a communication method using a different communication protocol even for the same communication line.

JP 2000-276414 A JP 2003-008681 A

  In order to improve the management efficiency of a company, it is indispensable to improve the efficiency of operations using computers and the like in every aspect of corporate activities. In business related to commerce, transactions using telephone, postal mail, FAX, etc. have been performed by hand. However, from the viewpoint of improving business efficiency, a computer network is established between companies and electronic commerce is realized. As a result, significant business improvements have been made. In addition, the two parties that conduct business transactions are connected by a dedicated line, telephone line, LAN, Internet, etc., and different computer systems and software must communicate via a common procedure in order to exchange data. The possible data amount and data type vary depending on the communication procedure.

  When two parties can communicate with each other through a plurality of communication procedures, that is, with a plurality of communication paths, there is a method for improving the efficiency of the business by exchanging data and exchanging data in response to some communication failure. Since the amount of data that can be transmitted and the data format differ depending on the type, there is a possibility that the intended data exchange between the two parties cannot be performed. For this reason, in commercial transactions, the problem is how to efficiently perform the intended data exchange between the two parties.

  Further, when a failure occurs in a communication path with high priority used for data exchange between two parties, it is necessary to restore the communication path as soon as possible. For this reason, the issue is how quickly the sender notifies the communication partner that a communication failure has occurred.

  In the prior art described in Patent Document 1 described above, when the communication path is switched, the content of the transmission data is converted into a format suitable for the communication path and the data is transmitted, so that the content of the original transmission data is lost. Have the problem of being

  Although the prior art described in Patent Document 2 described above selects a communication path according to the data type, there is a problem that the path cannot be switched when the communication failure information is received.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and even when a communication failure occurs, a communication failure occurs if the data transmission intended by the sender can be performed but the intended data transmission cannot be performed. It is possible to provide a communication path switching method that can notify the other party of the fact.

  In order to solve the above-described problem, in the present invention, when any communication failure occurs, it is determined whether or not a communication path having a lower priority is suitable for data exchange intended by the sender.

  According to the present invention, a plurality of communication paths can be used in data exchange between two parties, and in the method of performing transmission by switching the communication path triggered by a communication failure, the message exchange system has a communication failure. Whether or not data transmission is possible based on the threshold for whether or not data transmission is possible for each communication type and the threshold for whether or not data transmission defined by the sender for each communication path is managed. The transmission data or the communication failure information is transmitted.

  Further, according to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a communication path switching program that allows a plurality of communication paths to be used in data exchange between two parties, and that performs transmission by switching the communication path in response to a communication failure. The step of managing communication failure information by detecting the occurrence of a communication failure, the threshold value of whether or not data transmission is possible for each communication type, and whether or not data transmission defined by the sender for each communication route is possible It is determined whether or not data transmission is possible from the threshold of whether or not, and the step of transmitting transmission data or communication failure information is executed in the message exchange system.

  According to the present invention, when a plurality of communication paths are available, it is possible to notify the communication partner that a failure has occurred in the communication path, and therefore it is possible to expect a reduction in the time required for recovery from the communication failure. . In addition, since it is possible to flexibly determine whether transmission is possible for each communication path, data transmission unintended by the sender can be avoided.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a communication path switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

<Functional configuration diagram>
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of a system that implements a communication path switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 101 is a message exchange system, 102 is a communication processing unit, 103 is a communication failure detection function, 104 is a communication path selection unit, 105 is a data division function, 106 is an image data conversion function, 107 is a destination information DB, 108 Is a communication path information DB, 109 and 110 are communication means, 121 is an input device, 122 is an output device, 131 and 132 are networks, and 141 and 142 are communication networks.

  A system for executing a communication switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a message exchange system 101, an input device 121, an output device 122, and at least two or more communication networks 141 and 142. As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatuses are connected by networks 131 and 132. The networks 131 and 132 may be wired or wireless LAN, and are used for exchanging data.

  The input device 121 may be a PC, a scanner device, or the like, and the output device 122 may be a PC, a display device, a printer device, or the like.

  The message exchange system 101 may be a server computer, a PC, and the like, and a program for operating the communication processing unit 102 and the communication path selection unit 104 is stored in the memory and executed by the CPU of the message exchange system 101. The The communication processing unit 102 has a communication failure information detection function 103, and the communication path selection unit 104 has a data division function 105 and an image data conversion function 106. The destination information DB 107 and the communication path information DB 108 are stored on the secondary storage device such as a magnetic disk of the message exchange system 101. The DB described above is accessed by the communication path selection unit 104 described above. The communication means 109 and 110 are means for performing communication using the communication networks 141 and 142 described later, and may be FAX communication software, mail software, WWW software, job management software, ebXML communication software, etc. 109 is described as a communication means). The communication networks 141 and 142 may be communication lines such as a FAX network, an SMTP network, an HTTP network, an FTP network, a SOAP network, an ebXML network, an AS2 network, and the like. Is a path for performing communication in accordance with a communication procedure determined in (1) (hereinafter, 141 is described as a communication network). The message exchange system 101 is connected to each terminal via communication networks 141, 142, which have an external server 209. A terminal connected to the message exchange system 101 is a device such as another message exchange system, a FAX, a telephone, or a PC, and has a communication function corresponding to each of the communication networks 141 and 142.

  Although the system shown in FIG. 1 is shown as a configuration that includes the input device 121, the output device 122, and the message exchange system 101 independently, this embodiment can also be configured in a computer that includes an input / output device. .

  Each part is described as a block by function, and each part can be divided and integrated. Each unit can also be implemented as hardware.

  <Hardware Configuration> FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of a message exchange system that implements a communication path switching method according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 201 is a CPU, 202 is a memory, 203 is a hard disk device, 204 is a NIC (Network Interface Card), 205 is an input device, 206 is an output device, 207 is a bus, 208 is a network, and 209 is an external server. . The hard disk device 203 stores a software group for performing processing for performing the communication path switching method according to the embodiment of the present invention. These software are loaded into the memory 202 and executed by the CPU 201. The NIC 204 controls an interface to the network 208 and connects to the external server 209. The NIC 204 is controlled by the communication means 109 and used to use the communication network 141. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the NIC 204 and the external server 209 are connected via the network 208, but it is sufficient that the communication unit 109 can use the communication network 141, and the NIC and the network printer are connected via the network 208. The NCU (Network Control Unit) and the modem device may be connected via the bus 207.

  Next, regarding various processing operations in the system shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the DB configuration shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the example of the definition file shown in FIG. This will be described with reference to the message example shown in FIG.

<Outline of processing procedure>
FIG. 3 is a flowchart for explaining the outline of a basic processing procedure of message transmission executed by the message exchange system 101. First, this will be described.

  (1) First, the sender inputs transmission data and a destination name from the input device 121 and transmits them to the message exchange system 101. The transmission data is data depending on the input device 121. The data input from the scanner device may be image data or the like, and the data input from the PC may be arbitrary electronic data or the like. The destination name specifies the communication network 141 and the communication partner, and is information used to specify destination information in the destination information DB 107 described later, or information specifying a direct communication path and a communication partner. It may be. Next, the message exchange system 101 takes in the transmission data and the destination name (step 301).

  (2) The message exchange system 101 retrieves data corresponding to the destination name acquired in step 301 from the destination information DB 107 described later, and takes in the destination information. The destination information is information about the transmission partner, information such as the priority of the communication path that is referred to when a plurality of communication paths are available, the amount of data that can be transmitted and the data type of the communication path depending on the transmission partner, etc. Information necessary for communication processing depending on the communication procedure 109, and the like. Next, the message exchange system 101 takes in the communication type information from the communication path information DB 108 described later. The communication type information is information related to the communication type of the communication network 141, and is related to information such as the data amount and data type that can be communicated for each communication type depending on the system, and the communication procedure for each communication type depending on the sender. It may be information such as various parameter information and default values (step 302).

  (3) Next, the communication path selection unit 104 selects one unprocessed communication path from the destination information, and determines whether transmission data can be transmitted from the destination information, the communication type information, and the transmission data acquired in step 301. Determine. The transmission data used for determining whether or not transmission is possible may include communication failure information when a transition is made from step 306 described later. Next, the communication path selection unit 104 converts the transmission data determined to be transmittable into a data format suitable for the communication path. The converted transmission data is appropriate transmission data for each communication path, and may be a data format suitable for the communication path, data divided into an appropriate amount of data, a data format specified by the sender, or the like. (Step 303).

  (4) The communication processing unit 102 transmits the transmission data by the communication unit 109 using the communication path information acquired in step 302. The communication procedure used by this communication means is a communication procedure determined between two parties, and may be a standard communication protocol, a unique communication protocol, or the like. Next, the communication processing unit 102 acquires the transmission result of the communication means 109 (step 304).

  (5) Next, the message exchange system 101 determines whether or not a communication failure has occurred from the result of the transmission process acquired in step 304 (step 305).

  (6) If a communication failure has occurred as a result of the determination in step 305, the message exchange system 101 determines whether there is an unprocessed communication path from the destination information acquired in step 302. If there is an unprocessed communication path as a result of this determination, the process proceeds to step 303 described above (step 306).

  (7) If no communication failure has occurred as a result of the determination in step 305, or if no unprocessed communication path exists as a result of the determination in step 306, the message exchange system 101 performs communication described later. A communication failure notification message 1001 is stored in the failure history buffer. The communication failure history buffer is stored on the memory 202 (step 307).

  (8) The message exchange system 101 transmits the data stored in the history buffer to the output device 122 and ends the process (step 308).

<Communication route selection processing>
FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are flowcharts for explaining the processing operation of the communication path selection unit 104, which will be described next. This process is a process of selecting a communication path from the transmission data, communication path information, and communication type information in step 303 and converting the transmission data into a data format suitable for the communication path.
(1) First, the communication path selection unit 104 acquires communication path information with the highest priority among unprocessed communication paths from the destination information acquired in step 302 (step 401).

(Destination information DB)
FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of the destination information DB 107. Here, the destination information DB 107 will be described. The destination information DB 107 includes a plurality of records storing a destination name 601, a priority 602, a route type 603, a destination definition file path 604, and an identifier 605. The destination name 601 stores a destination name for searching for data. The priority 602 stores the priority of using the communication path when there are a plurality of communicable paths.

  The route type 603 stores a name for specifying the communication protocol type. A destination definition file path 604 stores a storage location of a destination definition file 901 described later. The identifier 605 stores an identifier used for specifying a communication path in the information defined in the destination information file 901.

  In the case of the example shown in FIG. 6, if the destination name acquired in Step 301 is “(Company A)”, “(Company A)” is searched from the destination information DB 107, and the result acquired in Step 401 is , The priority 602 is “1”, the route type 603 is “ebXML”, the destination definition file path 604 is “D: ¥ communication route definition ¥ A company.xml”, and the identifier 605 is “EBXML”. It becomes.

  (2) Returning to FIG. The communication path selection unit 104 reads a destination definition file 901 (to be described later) from the destination definition file path 604 and the identifier 605 of the destination information DB 107 acquired in step 401, and acquires the communication path information specified by the identifier 605 (step). 402).

(Destination definition file)
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of the destination definition file 901 referred to by the destination definition file path 604. Here, the destination definition file 901 will be described.

  The data of the destination definition file 901 is composed of items 902 to 914 shown in FIG. 9, and can be arbitrarily defined by the user in accordance with the rules shown below. The route corresponding to the destination is defined in both the destination definition file 901 and the communication route DB 108 as the default communication route setting. If the condition of the destination definition file 901 set by the user has a smaller load than the setting of the communication path DB 108, the destination definition file 901 has priority. In other words, the destination definition file 901 can be given a setting with a margin for the maximum allowable load of each communication path according to the user's preference.

  The element content of the element “communication path definition” 902 describes the definition of the communication path. The element “communication path” 903 is uniquely identified by adding additional information of the attribute “id” 904. In the attribute value 905 of the attribute “id” 904, a value stored in the identifier 605 of the destination information DB 107 is described. Information necessary for communication is described in the element “parameter” 906, the parameter name 908 is described in the attribute value 908 of the attribute “id” 907, and the parameter value 909 is described in the element content. Since this element “parameter” 906 has different information necessary for communication for each communication path, a plurality of element “parameters” 906 can be described, and the parameter name 908 and the parameter value 909 are used by the communication processing unit 102.

  The element content of the element “common setting” 910 describes a child element that allows the user to arbitrarily redefine data in a communication path information DB 108 to be described later with the stored value as an upper limit value. In the element content of the element “maximum data size” 911, a maximum data size 702 described later is described, and in the element content of the element “maximum division number” 912, a value overwriting the maximum division number 703 described later is described. Further, in the element content of the element “common setting” 910, an element “division unit” 913 and an element “data transmission” 914 are described. The element content of the element “division unit” 913 describes a division unit for dividing transmission data into file units or data units.

  The element content of the element “data transmission” 914 describes a value for designating whether or not data transmission is possible. If a value indicating that transmission is not possible is described in this element content and any communication failure has occurred, the communication path is not used for transmission of transmission data, and is stored in a communication failure history buffer described later. The communication failure notification message 1001 is transmitted.

  In the case of the example shown in FIG. 9, when the destination definition file path 604 of the destination information DB 107 is “D: ¥ communication path definition ¥ company A.xml”, the file referred to is the destination definition file 901. The information specified by “EBXML” of the identifier 605 is the information “parameter name = parameter value” is “CPA = C: \ ebxml \ cpa \ company_a-center-cpa-*** 2, SERVICE = EDI”. , “ACTION = Send”, and the common setting information indicates that the maximum data size is 100 MB, the maximum number of divisions is 2, the division unit is a file, and data transmission is possible.

<Communication path information DB>
7 and 8 are diagrams showing examples of the data structure of the communication path information DB 108. Here, the communication path information DB 108 will be described. Data in the communication path information DB 108 is stored for each data format because the data format that can be handled differs depending on the type of communication path, that is, the communication protocol type.

  In FIG. 7, data of a communication path that handles transmission data as electronic data is stored, and is configured by a record that stores a path type 701, a maximum data size 702, and a maximum division number 703. The route type 701 stores a name for specifying a communication protocol type that can be used by the message exchange system 101. The maximum data size 702 stores the maximum value of the transmittable data size depending on the path type 701 and the system. The maximum number of divisions 703 stores the maximum number of divisions that can be divided when data exceeding the maximum data size 702 is transmitted.

  In FIG. 8, data of a communication path that handles transmission data as image data is stored, and includes a record that stores a path type 801, a format size 802, and a maximum number 803. The route type 801 stores a name for identifying a communication protocol type that can be used by the message exchange system 101. The format size 802 stores the size of image data defined by the user. The maximum number 803 stores the maximum number of images that can be transmitted with image data of the format size 802.

  In the case of the example illustrated in FIG. 7, a record referred to when the route type 603 of the destination information DB 107 is “ebXML” has a route type 701 of “ebXML”, a maximum data size 702 of “200 MB”, and a maximum number of divisions. “5”.

  In the example shown in FIG. 8, the route type 801 is described as FAX. However, in addition to this, when a communication route that handles only a specific data format is used, a data configuration suitable for the communication route may be used.

  (3) Next, the communication path selection unit 104 determines whether or not the communication path can transmit transmission data from the element content of the element “data transmission” 914 that is one of the acquired communication path information. (Step 403).

  (4) If the result of determination in step 403 indicates that the communication path can transmit transmission data, the communication path selection unit 104 determines from the communication path information DB 108 the path type 603 that is one of the acquired communication path information. The corresponding information is acquired, and mapping processing with the element content of the element “common setting” 910 which is one of the acquired information is performed. If a value exceeding the value stored in the communication path information DB 108 is described in the element content of the element “common setting” 910, or if the element content of the element “common setting” 910 is not described, the communication path The value of the information DB 108 is adopted (step 404).

  In the case of the example shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the route type 701 is “ebXML”, the maximum data size is “200 MB”, the maximum number of divisions is “5”, and the element “common setting” 910 is not used. The values of the element content, that is, the maximum data size “100 MB” and the maximum division number “2” are adopted as the maximum data size and the maximum division number value of the communication path.

  (5) If the result of determination in step 403 indicates that the communication path cannot transmit transmission data, the communication path selection unit 104 determines whether or not a communication fault notification message 1001 is stored in a communication fault history buffer described later. Is determined (step 405).

  (6) If the communication failure notification message 1001 is stored in the communication failure history buffer described later as a result of the determination in step 405, the communication route selection unit 104 sets the communication failure notification message 1001 as transmission data (step 406). ).

  (7) If the communication failure notification message 1001 is not stored in the communication failure history buffer described later as a result of the determination in step 405, the communication path selection unit 104 stores the communication failure notification message 1001 in the communication failure history buffer described later. Then, the process proceeds to step 308 described above (step 407).

  (8) Next, the communication path selection unit 104 determines whether or not the value of the path type 603 that is one of the acquired communication path information is FAX (step 408).

  (9) If the result of determination in step 408 is that the communication path type is FAX, the communication path selection unit 104 determines whether the data format of the transmission data is image data. This criterion is based on a TIFF (Tag Image File Format) file format, a GIF (Composite Graphics Interchange Format) file format, a JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group file), etc. It may be a general image file format, a unique image file format that can be used by a specific application, or the like (step 409).

  (10) If it is determined in step 409 that the data format of the transmission data is not image data, the communication path selection unit 104 determines whether the transmission data can be converted into image data. This criterion is that transmission data cannot be converted into image data as a result of step 411 described later, and depends on the implementation form of the image data conversion function 106 (step 410).

  (11) If the result of determination in step 410 is that the transmission data can be converted into image data, the communication path selection unit 104 converts the transmission data into image data. The conversion to the image data is not limited as long as the transmission data can be converted into the image data by some method, and the XML format file is converted into a form image PNG (Portable Network Graphics) file format using a style sheet and a conversion tool. For example, a file such as a document format or a text format may be converted into an image file format such as a PDF (Portable Document Format) file format. Also, the conversion to image data is performed in units of the format size acquired in step 404. The format size represents a unit of a document to be transmitted, that is, a page unit, and depends on the mounting form of the image data conversion function 106 (step 411).

  (12) If the result of determination in step 409 indicates that the data format of the transmission data is image data, or the result of step 411 is that the communication path selection unit 104 determines that the number of pages of transmission data is the maximum number acquired in step 404 It is determined whether or not the value is exceeded. If the number of pages of transmission data does not exceed the maximum number as a result of this determination, the communication path selection process is normally terminated (step 412).

  (13) The communication path selection unit 104 determines that the transmission data cannot be converted into image data as a result of the determination in step 410, or the transmission data exceeds the maximum number of pages as a result of step 412. Then, it is stored as a communication failure notification message 1001 in a communication failure history buffer, which will be described later, and the process proceeds to step 308 described above (step 413).

  (14) If the communication path type is not FAX as a result of the determination in step 408, the communication path selection unit 104 determines whether the transmission data exceeds the maximum data size from the maximum data size acquired in step 404. To do. As a result of this determination, if the transmission data does not exceed the maximum data size, the communication path selection process is normally terminated (step 414).

  (15) If it is determined in step 414 that the transmission data does not exceed the maximum data size, the communication path selection unit 104 determines the maximum data size acquired in step 404, the maximum number of divisions, and the acquired communication path information. Whether the transmission data can be divided is determined from the division unit 913. This criterion is that when the division unit is a file unit, the transmission data can be divided within the maximum data size and the division number is within the maximum division number, or when the division unit is the data unit, Whether the transmission data is equal to or smaller than the product of “maximum data size” and “number of divisions” (step 415).

  (16) If the result of determination in step 415 indicates that the transmission data can be divided, the communication path selection unit 104 divides the transmission data. When the division unit is a file unit, the transmission data may be divided so that the divided transmission data does not exceed the maximum data size and the maximum number of divisions. The division method compresses several files together. The file may be divided by storing several file units in a folder, divided by creating data indicating the division position of the file, or divided by renaming the file name.

  In addition, when the division unit is a data unit, the divided transmission data may be divided so as not to exceed the maximum data size and the maximum number of divisions. May be split using a tool, or may be split using a tool that compresses and splits the data into a recoverable file format. Further, after dividing the transmission data, the communication path selection process is normally terminated (step 416).

  (17) If the result of the determination in step 415 indicates that the transmission data cannot be divided, the communication path selection unit 104 stores it in a communication failure history buffer, which will be described later, as a communication failure notification message 1001, and transitions to step 308 described above. (Step 418).

<Transmission process>
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the processing operation of the communication processing unit 102, which will be described next. This process is a process for transmitting transmission data according to a determined communication procedure based on the transmission data and communication path information acquired in step 304 described above.

  (1) First, the communication processing unit 102 selects the communication unit 109 suitable for the route type from the route type 603 that is one of the acquired communication route information (step 501). In selecting the communication means 109, a table in which each communication means is associated with the path type is stored in the secondary storage device 203, and the communication means is read from the table using the path type 603 as a key. Can do.

  (2) Next, the communication processing unit 102 selects one piece of unprocessed transmission data and passes it to the communication unit 901 together with the parameter name 908 and the parameter value 909 which are the acquired communication path information. The parameter value is a value necessary for the communication unit 109 to execute transmission processing, and depends on the implementation form of the communication unit 109. Next, the transmission means 109 performs a transmission process (step 502).

  (3) Next, the communication failure detection function 103 of the communication processing unit 102 acquires the result of the transmission process executed in step 502 (step 503).

  (4) Next, the communication failure detection function 103 determines whether or not the transmission process has succeeded from the result of the transmission process acquired in step 503. This criterion is to interpret the transmission process as a failure at some point, and to consider it as a communication failure based on the passage of a certain time from the start of transmission, except when the transmission process is successful due to the retransmission process. (Step 504).

  If the transmission process fails, if the destination information contains an error and the sender cannot be identified and the relay device fails to resolve the address, or if the communication procedure (communication protocol) is incorrect, the communication If the communication partner does not correspond to the route, it is a case where the receiving device of the communication partner cannot accept data for some reason. In this case, a communication failure notification message notifying that the communication partner has failed to receive is received. Here, the state where the receiving device of the communication partner cannot accept the data for some reason is (1) the received mail storage area of the mail server exceeds a predetermined threshold, or the received data due to insufficient HD capacity Cannot be stored, (2) the number of connections accepted at the same time has been exceeded, (3) login to a server requesting login such as FTP cannot be performed, and the like. If the message exchange system 101 receives data from the other party under such conditions, the communication failure information is sent back to the other party.

  (5) When the transmission process is successful as a result of the determination in step 504, the communication processing unit 102 determines whether there is unprocessed transmission data. If there is transmission data as a result of this determination, the process proceeds to step 502 described above. Alternatively, if there is no transmission data, the transmission process is normally terminated (step 505).

  (6) If the communication failure detection function 103 of the communication processing unit 102 determines that the transmission process is not successful as a result of the determination in step 504, the communication failure detection function 103 stores the detailed information of the communication failure in a failure history buffer, which will be described later, and normalizes the transmission process. (Step 506).

  In the case of the example shown in FIG. 9, the transmission data is 150 MB, and it is assumed that the transmission data is divided into 100 MB and 50 MB transmission data by the above-described step 416. Further, it is assumed that the information of CPA, SERVICE, and ACTION necessary for the communication unit 109 whose path type 603 is ebXML is acquired in step 402 described above. Next, 100 MB of data is transmitted according to the procedure of the ebXML server that is the external server 209. If the result of this transmission processing is successful, 50 MB of data is continuously transmitted, and if it is unsuccessful, communication failure information is acquired from the ebXML server (steps 501 to 506).

<Reception processing>
The message exchange system 101 detects the transmission data transmitted from the other message exchange system by the transmission process by the communication means 109, 110. However, the detected transmission data may not be accepted. In this case, the message exchange system 101 that has detected the transmission data transmits a communication failure notification message to the transmission data transmission source. The state in which the message exchange system 101 cannot accept data for any reason is that the detected transmission data cannot be stored due to insufficient HD capacity, or the number of connections that can be accepted simultaneously has been exceeded.

<Communication failure notification message>
FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a data configuration example of the communication failure notification message 1001 stored in the communication failure history buffer by the communication failure detection function 103 of the communication processing unit 102. Here, the communication failure notification message 1001 will be described. The data of the communication failure notification message 1001 is created by the communication failure detection function 103 and includes items 1002 to 1008 shown in FIG. In this data configuration example, 1002 is the subject of the message, 1003 is the destination information of the destination, 1004 is the destination information of the source, 1005 is the route type, 1006 is the date and time of occurrence of the communication failure, 1007 is the detailed information of the communication failure, Reference numeral 1008 denotes a character string indicating a delimiter position from the previous failure information. The data configuration example illustrated in FIG. 10 is a data configuration example stored in the communication failure history buffer when the message exchange system 101 transmits a message to the company A and a communication failure occurs.

  In creating the communication failure notification message, data is extracted from the communication failure message returned from the receiving device of the communication partner.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the system which implements the communication path | route switching method by one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the system which implements the communication path switching method by one Embodiment of this invention. 4 is a flowchart illustrating an outline of a basic processing procedure of message transmission executed by the message exchange system 101. It is a flowchart (the 1) explaining the processing operation of a communication path selection part. It is a flowchart (the 2) explaining the processing operation of a communication path selection part. It is a flowchart explaining the processing operation of a communication processing part. It is a figure which shows the data structural example of destination information DB. It is FIG. (1) which shows the data structural example of communication path information DB. It is FIG. (2) which shows the data structural example of communication path information DB. It is a figure which shows the data structural example of a destination definition file. It is a figure which shows the data structural example of the communication failure notification message which the communication failure detection function of a communication processing part preserve | saves in a communication failure log buffer.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 Message exchange system 102 Communication processing part 103 Communication failure detection function 104 Communication path selection part 105 Data division function 106 Image data conversion function 107 Destination information DB
108 Communication path information DB
109, 110 Communication means 121 Input device 122 Output device 131, 132 Network 141, 142 Communication network 201 CPU
202 Memory 203 Hard disk device 204 NIC
205 Input device 206 Output device 207 Bus 208 Network 209 External server

Claims (7)

In a data exchange in a message exchange system that is connected to a communication device via a communication line and can communicate with the communication device through a plurality of communication routes, a communication route switching method that switches data when a communication failure occurs and transmits data There,
The message exchange system includes processing means, storage means, and a plurality of communication means respectively corresponding to the plurality of communication paths,
The storage means stores communication path information according to the communication device,
The processing device transmits data to the communication device via a first communication means,
When the first communication means receives information indicating the occurrence of a communication failure from the communication device,
The processing device switches to a second communication path different from the first communication path corresponding to the first communication means, out of the communication paths stored in the storage device corresponding to the first communication means. A method for switching communication paths, wherein the transmitted data is converted into data suitable for the second communication path and transmitted. In a data exchange in a message exchange system that is connected to a communication device via a communication line and can communicate with the communication device through a plurality of communication routes, a method of switching the communication route in response to a communication failure,
The message exchange system includes processing means, storage means, and a plurality of communication means respectively corresponding to the plurality of communication paths,
The storage means stores a threshold of the size of data that can be transmitted for each communication device and each communication path,
When the processing means detects that a communication failure has occurred in the first communication path,
If the size of the data to be transmitted does not exceed the threshold value corresponding to the second communication path among the threshold values stored in the storage means, the processing means passes the communication means corresponding to the second communication path. And transmitting the data to be transmitted. In the communication path switching method according to claim 1 or 2,
When the processing device detects that a communication failure has occurred, the processing device stores communication failure information indicating the content of the communication failure that has occurred in the storage device,
A communication path switching method, comprising: notifying the communication apparatus of the communication failure information via a communication unit corresponding to the second communication path. The communication path switching method according to claim 2,
The storage device further stores the maximum number of divisions that can be transmitted by dividing the data to be transmitted for each communication device and for each communication path,
The processing device is obtained by dividing the size of the data to be transmitted by the second division of the communication paths stored in the storage device and the maximum number of divisions corresponding to the communication apparatus. When the communication path and the threshold value of the communication apparatus are not exceeded, the data to be transmitted is divided and transmitted to the communication apparatus via the second communication path. In the communication path switching method according to claim 2 or 4,
The data to be transmitted is created in a first data format,
When the processing apparatus determines that the data to be transmitted can be converted into the second data format depending on the second communication path, the processing device converts the data to be transmitted into the second data format. A communication path switching method characterized by transmitting. In the communication path switching method according to claim 5,
When the processing device converts the data to be transmitted into the second data format, the processing device sets the threshold corresponding to the second communication path and the communication device stored in the storage device after the conversion. When the data size does not exceed, it is determined that the data to be transmitted can be converted into the second data format. A message exchange system that is communicably connected to a communication device via a communication line via a plurality of communication paths, and that performs transmission by switching the communication path in response to a communication failure,
Processing means, storage means, and a plurality of communication means respectively corresponding to the plurality of communication paths,
First communication means for transmitting data to be transmitted created in a first data format to the communication device;
Storage means for storing information on a plurality of communication paths according to the communication device;
When the first communication means receives information indicating the occurrence of a communication failure from the communication device, the first communication means is a communication path different from the first communication path corresponding to the first communication means, and the storage device A processing device that selects a second communication path stored in association with a communication device, and converts the data to be transmitted into a second data format suitable for the second communication path;
A message exchange system comprising: second communication means for transmitting data converted into the second data format.

Images