JP2009206872A - Communication system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a communication system which determines urgency of faulty communication equipment to inform a user of the urgency. <P>SOLUTION: In the communication system with: a plurality of pieces of communication equipment 100 mutually connected via a network, and management communication equipment 200 which manages the plurality of pieces of communication equipment, it is characterized that the management communication equipment 200 includes: a communication part 201 which transmits/receives a packet with other pieces of communication device 100; an influence degree acquisition means 210 which acquires an influence degree based on the packet received by the communication part; a dependence degree acquisition means 211 which acquires dependence based on the packet received by the communication part; a communication amount acquisition means 207 which acquires communication amount information based on the packet received by the communication part; and an importance calculation part 214 which calculates importance based on the influence degree, the dependence, and the communication amount information to notify the importance of the communication equipment. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a communication system that makes it possible to determine the urgency of a failed communication device and notify a user.

  In a wireless ad hoc network, since a network is configured by installing a large number of communication devices in a wide area, there is a problem that the cost of replacing a failed communication device is high. For this reason, it is practical to replace the failed communication device in a state where it is gathered to some extent.

  In a wireless ad hoc network that performs relay communication, when a certain communication device A fails, not only data cannot be acquired from the communication device A but also data cannot be acquired from a communication device that uses the communication device A as a relay communication device. . In other words, a failure of one communication device may greatly affect the system.

  For this reason, when a communication device that greatly affects the system fails, it is necessary for the user to immediately know the failure of the communication device and take measures such as repair and replacement.

  However, at present, there is a problem that the importance (degree of influence on the system) of the failed node cannot be determined, and it cannot be determined whether or not the failed communication device should be replaced immediately.

  As described above, in the conventional wireless ad hoc network, there is a problem that it is impossible to determine the importance (degree of influence on the system) of the failed node and whether or not to replace the failed communication device immediately.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to obtain a communication system that can determine the urgency of a failed communication device and notify the user of the urgency.

  The communication system according to the present invention is a communication system including a plurality of communication devices connected to each other through a network, and a management communication device that manages the plurality of communication devices. A communication unit that transmits / receives a packet to / from the communication device, an influence degree obtaining unit that obtains an influence degree based on the packet received by the communication part, and a dependency degree based on the packet received by the communication part A degree of importance based on the degree of influence, the degree of dependence, and the amount of traffic information, a degree of traffic acquisition means for acquiring the amount of traffic information based on the packet received by the communication unit, An importance level calculation unit that calculates and notifies the importance level of the communication device is provided.

  According to this invention, it is possible to obtain three parameters called impact, information amount, and dependency from a communication device through a network, and determine the urgency of a failed communication device from the importance of each communication device from the three parameters. It is possible to notify the user.

  The present invention is a communication system including a plurality of communication devices connected to each other through a network and a management communication device that manages the communication device. When the communication device fails, the communication is performed by the management communication device. The management communication device acquires three parameters called impact, information amount, and dependency from the communication device through the network, and determines the importance of the communication device in which the device has failed. From this, the importance of each communication device is determined, and each communication device is displayed to the user, or when a communication device having a higher importance than the threshold specified by the user fails, the failure is notified to the user.

Embodiment 1 FIG.
A communication system according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are block diagrams respectively showing the configurations of a communication apparatus and a management communication apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In the following, in each figure, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

  In FIG. 1, a communication device 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention is connected to each other via a network, and a plurality of communication devices are managed by a management communication device. Receives and transmits packets to other communication devices using the wireless communication function, receives packets from other communication devices, notifies neighboring communication device information to neighboring communication device management unit, and routes information and alternative routes to route management unit The communication unit 101 that notifies the information, and the adjacent communication device information from the communication unit 101 are received, the adjacent communication device information is notified to the adjacent communication device storage unit 103, and the adjacent communication device information or the change of the adjacent communication information is notified to the communication unit 101. The adjacent communication device management unit 102 that notifies the data transmission request and receives the adjacent communication device information from the adjacent communication device management unit 102 The adjacent communication device information is stored, the adjacent communication device storage unit 103 notifies the adjacent communication device information to the adjacent communication device management unit 102, and the route information or the alternative route information is received from the communication unit 101. A route management unit 104 for notifying route information, notifying the alternative route storage unit 106 of alternative route information, notifying the communication unit 101 of a change in route information or route information, and notifying a request for data transmission; Receiving route information from the unit 104, storing the route information, receiving the route information to the route management unit 104, receiving the alternative route information from the route management unit 104, storing the alternative route information, The route storage unit 106 for notifying the route management unit 104 of the alternative route information, and the communication amount information from the communication unit 101 are received. 1 is notified of a request for transmission of traffic information, the traffic information is notified to a traffic data storage unit 109, which will be described later, and the time management unit 108 is notified of the passage of a fixed time. A traffic management unit 107 that calculates a traffic volume within a predetermined time based on the information, a time management unit 108 that notifies the traffic traffic management unit 107 of the passage of a fixed time based on the notification of the traffic information, and a traffic management unit 107 A communication amount storage unit 109 that receives the communication amount information from the communication amount, stores the communication amount information, and notifies the communication amount management unit 107 of the communication amount information.

  2, the management communication device 200 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention transmits and receives packets to and from other communication devices based on the acquisition request for adjacent communication device information, route information, and alternative route information. 201 and adjacent communication device information in a packet received from another communication device received by the communication unit 201 based on the acquisition request of the adjacent communication device information to the communication unit 201 is obtained and stored in the adjacent communication device storage unit 203 The adjacent communication device management unit 202 and the communication unit 201 obtain route information and alternative route information in a packet from another communication device received by the communication unit 201 based on the route information and alternative route information acquisition request to the communication unit 201. The route management unit 204 that stores the route information in the route storage unit 205 and stores the alternative route information in the alternative route storage unit 206, and the communication amount acquisition request to the communication unit 201. The communication amount management unit 207 that obtains the communication amount information in the packet received from the other communication device received by the communication unit 201 and stores it in the communication amount storage unit 209, and the adjacent communication device information from the adjacent communication device storage unit 203 And an influence degree management unit 210 as an influence degree acquisition unit that calculates an influence degree based on the route information from the route storage unit 205 and stores the influence degree in the influence degree storage unit 212, and adjacent communication from the adjacent communication device storage unit 203 Dependency management unit as a dependency acquisition unit that calculates the dependency based on the device information, the route information from the route storage unit 205, and the alternative route information from the alternative route storage unit 206 and stores the calculated dependency in the dependency storage unit 213 211, the importance degree is calculated based on the influence degree from the influence degree storage unit 212, the dependency degree from the dependency degree storage unit 213, and the communication amount information from the communication amount storage unit 209. And a key calculation unit 214 of the importance obtaining means for notifying THE like.

  Here, the packet of the present invention may include adjacent communication device information, route information, alternative route information, and traffic. A dedicated packet format may be set for each value, or a packet including all values in one packet may be used.

  The adjacent communication device information is a list of communication devices existing within the radio wave arrival of the communication device 100. The route information is a list of destination communication devices and relay destination communication devices. When the packet is received, the destination of the packet is compared with the route information, and the relay destination communication device to which the packet is to be transferred is determined. Further, the route information is acquired using an ad hoc network routing protocol such as AODV or DSR. The alternative route information is a list of route destination communication devices and relay destination communication devices. When the destination indicated in the route information cannot be used, the packet is transferred to the relay destination communication device described in the alternative route information. Further, the alternative route information is acquired using an ad hoc network routing protocol such as AODV or DSR.

  The packet used by the communication device 100 includes an index called importance indicating whether the packet is important. The importance of the packet is set for each communication device by the system designer at the time of system design.

  The traffic information is a list of the importance and the number of transmissions of packets transmitted by the communication terminal within a predetermined time. The importance level is calculated by the importance level calculation unit from three parameters called influence level, information amount, and dependency level. The degree of influence is the total number of communication devices, called cooperative communication devices, connected from the communication device to the end opposite to the side where the management communication device exists. As the number of linked nodes increases, the degree of influence increases and the degree of importance increases.

  FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of the cooperative communication device according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In the example illustrated in FIG. 3, the cooperative communication devices of the communication device 301 are the communication devices 302 to 306. Here, a method in which the management communication device 200 acquires the influence level will be described. When the communication apparatus 100 transfers a packet transmitted by another communication apparatus, its own address information is added to the packet. When the management communication device 200 receives a packet from the communication device 100, the route through which the packet is transferred can be known from the address information included in the packet. The configuration of the network is determined from the information, and the degree of influence of each communication device 100 is determined.

  As a method for the management communication apparatus 200 to acquire the influence degree, there is a method for determining the influence degree of each communication apparatus 100 by determining the network configuration from the adjacent communication apparatus information and path information of each communication apparatus 100. A communication device located next to each communication device 100 can be determined from the adjacent communication device information, and a communication device from each communication device 100 to the management communication device 200 can be determined from the path information. From these pieces of information, the network configuration is determined, and the degree of influence of each communication device 100 is determined.

  One method for the management communication device 200 to acquire adjacent communication device information and path information is a method in which the system designer sets the management communication device when the system is started.

  In addition, as one method for the management communication device 200 to acquire the adjacent communication device information and the route information, the communication device 100 that has transmitted the request for the impact notification from the management communication device 200 to all the communication devices 100 and has received the request. Has a method of notifying the management communication device 200 of the degree of influence. When the route information or the adjacent communication device information changes, the communication device 100 that senses the change notifies the management communication device 200 of the changed information.

  The amount of information is the importance of data passing through a node as a route. The amount of information is calculated from the importance of the packet and the transmission frequency of the packet within a certain time. The information amount is calculated from the communication amount information. The calculation formula may be different for each system, and is a combination of multiplication, addition, subtraction, and division of the importance of the packet and the number of transmissions. The importance of the packet and the number of transmissions can be weighted by multiplying, adding, subtracting, and dividing by a coefficient set by the user for each system, and the weighting degree differs for each system.

  The method by which the management communication device 200 acquires the information amount will be described. When the management communication device 200 issues an information amount transmission request to the communication device 100 and the communication device 100 that receives the request transmits the information amount, the management communication device 200 can acquire the information amount.

  Further, as a method for the management communication apparatus 200 to acquire the information amount, there is a method that is set by a system designer when the system is started.

  As a method for the management communication device 200 to acquire the information amount, there is a method for transmitting the information amount to the management communication device 200 when the communication device 100 has passed for a certain time.

  Further, as a method for the management communication device 200 to acquire the information amount, there is a method for transmitting the information amount to the management communication device 200 when the remaining usable memory capacity of the communication device 100 exceeds a certain threshold. . As a result, measurement omission due to insufficient memory can be avoided.

  In addition, as a method for the management communication device 200 to acquire the information amount, the communication device 100 periodically notifies the adjacent communication device of its own information amount, and when a failure occurs, the packet that notifies the failure has failed. There is a method of notifying by adding the information amount of the communication device.

  The dependency is a value expected by the communication apparatus 100 as an alternative route. As the communication device has fewer routes other than the routes configured by the communication device itself, the degree of dependence becomes higher and the importance becomes higher.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of dependency. In the example of FIG. 4, when the number of routes is 1, the degree of influence is 100, when the number of routes is 2, the degree of influence is 10, and when the number of routes is 3, the degree of influence is 1. These influence levels differ depending on each system, and the ratio of each influence degree may not be constant.

  In the example of FIG. 4, since the communication device 5 is a communication device that configures a route (the number of routes is 1) in which no alternative route exists, the importance is 100. Further, since the communication device 2 is a communication device that constitutes a route (the number of routes is 3) in which there are three alternative routes, the importance is 1. Further, since the communication device 1 is a communication device that configures three routes (the number of routes is 1) in which no alternative route exists, the importance is 300. In this example, when a plurality of paths are configured, the calculation is performed by adding the importance of each path. However, the calculation may be performed by a combination of multiplication, subtraction, division, and addition.

  You may consider the failure rate of each communication apparatus 100 at the time of calculating a dependence degree. Each communication apparatus 100 stores the number of times of failure and the time of failure, and calculates the dependency from the number of times of failure or the failure rate (failure occurrence time / operation time).

  FIG. 5 shows an example of the dependency when the failure rate is considered. In the example of FIG. 5, when the number of routes is 1, the degree of influence is 100, when the number of routes is 2, the degree of influence is 10, and when the number of routes is 3, the degree of influence is 1. From the failure rate of the communication device 3, the dependency of the alternative route of the route including the communication device 3 is increased. In the example of FIG. 5, the dependency of the route from the communication device 5 to the communication device 4 and the route from the communication device 5 to the communication device 2 is increased.

  The relationship between the failure rate and the dependency may be different for each system, and may be calculated from a combination of weighting, multiplication, subtraction, division, and addition of each parameter. Further, it is only necessary to weight the alternative route and the route including itself, and instead of adding to the dependency of the alternative route, a method using subtraction, multiplication, and division of the own route may be used.

  The importance is calculated from a combination of multiplication, addition, subtraction, and division of the influence, the amount of information, and the dependence. The calculation formula may be different for each system. The degree of influence, the amount of information, and the degree of dependence can be weighted by multiplying, adding, subtracting, and dividing by a coefficient set by the user for each system, and the degree of weighting differs for each system.

For example, as an example, the importance is calculated as shown in the following equation.
Importance = α × Influence + β × Information + γ × Dependency
(Coefficients α, β, and γ are weighting factors set by the user for each system)
This calculation formula is an example, and the formula varies depending on the combination of addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division depending on the system.

  The management communication device 200 can notify the importance of each communication device 100 to the user using a display or the like by calculating the importance from the influence, the amount of information, and the dependency.

  In addition, the management communication device 200 can notify the user of the failure when the communication device having an importance level equal to or higher than a certain threshold value is calculated by calculating the importance level from the influence level, the information amount, and the dependency. The importance threshold is set in advance by the user.

  The user can receive a failure notification when a node having an importance level equal to or higher than a certain threshold value has failed. The importance threshold is set in advance by the user.

  In the above embodiment, the influence degree and the dependency degree can be acquired based on the address information in the packet.

  In addition to the display, the management communication device 200 can also make the user recognize the importance level by using a speaker or the like.

  Further, the management communication device 200 can make a distant user recognize the importance by using a tool using a network such as mail or instant message.

  The importance can also be set using a man-machine interface such as a keyboard or a touch panel.

  In addition, the importance can be set from a distance using a communication device such as a mobile phone or a personal computer.

It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the communication apparatus 100 which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the management communication apparatus 200 which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the cooperation communication apparatus which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the dependence which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the dependence which concerns on Embodiment 1 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

  100 communication device, 101 communication unit, 102 adjacent communication device management unit, 103 adjacent communication device storage unit, 104 route management unit, 105 route storage unit, 106 route storage unit, 107 traffic management unit, 108 time management unit, 109 communication Amount storage unit, 200 management communication device, 201 communication unit, 202 adjacent communication device management unit, 203 adjacent communication device storage unit, 204 route management unit, 205 route storage unit, 206 alternative route storage unit, 207 communication amount management unit, 209 Communication amount storage unit, 210 Influence degree management part, 211 Dependency degree management part, 212 Influence degree storage part, 213 Dependency degree storage part, 214 Importance degree calculation part

Claims (7)

A communication system comprising a plurality of communication devices connected to each other through a network, and a management communication device for managing the plurality of communication devices,
The management communication device is
A communication unit that transmits and receives packets to and from other communication devices;
An influence degree acquisition means for acquiring an influence degree based on a packet received by the communication unit;
Dependency acquisition means for acquiring dependency based on a packet received by the communication unit;
A communication amount acquisition means for acquiring communication amount information based on a packet received by the communication unit;
An importance level calculation unit that calculates an importance level based on the influence level, the dependency level, and the communication amount information and notifies the importance level of the communication device. The communication system according to claim 1,
The importance calculation unit notifies a failure of a communication device when the calculated importance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold. The communication system according to claim 1 or 2,
The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the influence degree acquisition unit calculates the influence degree based on neighboring communication device information and path information in a packet received by the communication unit. The communication system according to claim 1 or 2,
The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the influence degree acquisition unit acquires the influence degree based on address information in the packet received by the communication unit. The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the dependence degree obtaining unit calculates the dependence degree based on neighboring communication device information, path information, and alternative path information in the packet received by the communication unit. The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 5,
The communication system according to claim 1, wherein the dependence degree obtaining unit obtains the dependence degree based on address information in a packet received by the communication unit. The communication system according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
The communication amount obtaining means obtains communication amount information from the importance of a packet transmitted by each communication device, the transmission frequency within a predetermined time, and its own failure rate.

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